edthesped

The wife had neck surgery a couple of years ago and says it hurts too much to ride a regular bike. In my quest to find her a high handlebar granny style bike I stumbled across recumbents. The problem is that there are so many different variations that I have no idea which direction to go to find something suitable for her condition, (note she was never really into cycling)

I was thinking a trike would be ideal for her but she refuses to consider one so they are out of the question.

Most of our rides will be rails to trail type so easy transport with 3 other uprights is essential which leads me to believe that a LWB might be out of the question, agreed?

Thanks for any suggestions.

I tried searching and found a few posts from people that had similar surgeries but no real information on what particular style would be best for those with neck issues.

edit: budget, around 2K but less is always better.

2manybikes

It depends on what position hurts her neck the most. A recumbent will need to have the head tilted towards the chest. A straight up diamond frame or trike with high handlebars, will allow her to keep her head straight. Everyone is so different that she has to try something to know. I have neck problems just from the vibration of the ride. Big soft tires might help her. But, she really has to try something to see how it works for her.

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.

livin4eternity

I agree with 2manybikes that trying is the best. You might be able to fined bent riders in your area via the fourms & try out their bikes. Any chance you are near seattle?

That said, low-racers will have you laying farther back, putting your chin closer to your chest. Mid racers & high racers will get your chin up a little more. Any of them should help with your wife's concerns.

The higher you are, the better ballance & sight lines you have. Sometimes it is difficult to turn your head to look behind you on low racers.

Bents do tend to magnify the bumps because you can't use your legs to cushion them. So fatter tires or suspension might be beneficial.

JanMM

I wonder if a crank-forward style of upright bike would work for her. RANS crank forwards can be seen on www.ransbikes.com.

edthesped

How hard is it to get the hang of riding a crank-forward? They look a little unstable to me. I've been looking at ransbikes and am intrigued by the STRATUS XP TI, though I'm sure it's out of my price range. Plus it looks like it would be a real PITA to transport.

gcottay

CF's are a breeze to ride. My wife successfully tested a couple with about a three second learning curve.

The Stratus is easy to transport if you don't mind the bike hanging out beyond the car.

In general, I suggest it's more than worth the time and travel needed for your wife to do test rides and more than worth the money to have a bike she will gladly ride.

Check out the header at BentRider Online for some excellent dealers.

Mr Gnome

I should have neck surgery, but choose not to because I know what I'm living with now and never know what I'll end up with. I don't remember which discs are bad. Same on low back needing surgery and just living with what I have.

I haven't ridden any recumbents other than the Sun x3 sx delta trike I have now, so I can't speak about other ones. Reasons I got it was I couldn't take riding a diamond frame bike...and mainly to run my 80 lb lab dog. It's made to run a dog wanting to chase squirrels the other way!!! I get no pain in my neck and most of the time none in my low back. If I get any it's because I've over done it, or it's just a bad day, not anything from the trike.

When you said she doesn't want any part of trikes, was she thinking about a diamond frame tall trike, or a tad poll type with the under seat steering, etc? On my delta with ape hanger handle bars it's more like a regular recumbent. You can recline the seat back as much, or as little as you want, and that would put her neck in whatever position is good for her. I also run 2 mirrors where I have vary little neck/back movement to see what's behind me.

Mr Gnome

2manybikes

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.