Originally Posted by
edthesped
Her issue is positional and it's the tilting her head back while riding a standard bike that causes her major grief. She can't snorkel anymore due to position. She seems to be OK looking down so that may not be an issue. The main problem is that I can't find any recumbent dealers. All the shops say they'll order something so I figure I'll narrow it down to a few models then start figuring out where we need to drive to in order to do a test ride.
At times I have the same positional problems exactly. It is possible to get an upright bike or trike to have your head straight, depending on what shop you go to you might have to modify a new bike to get that straight up. I very much like your idea about a recumbent to position the head closer the the chest.
I have seen somewhere on the internet some inexpensive trikes, one about $900. I can't remember the name right now. The problem of no trike dealers is exactly what I would have expected. Some trike makers may give a trike owners phone number to see if you could try one.
My neck is worse on a high pressure skinny tire bike. If she has not ridden an upright bike with large 26" tires (often called comfort bikes, not hybrids, with suspension under the seat and on the forks), the lack of small bumps may be helpful. Same for any trike.The trike in my signature now has the bars rotated up so I can ride straight up. They are the standard bars for most trikes like this.
I take tramadol and can ride a bike leaning forward and tip up my head for a while. And ride high pressure tires too.