Features

Having seen recumbent cyclists pass by me numerous times in my hometown of Minneapolis, MN, I’ve often been left with the impression that for the most part, this cycling subculture consists of middle-aged white males riding needlessly complicated machines. And the majority of them are, according to John McConaghay of Calhoun Cyclery in Minneapolis. But it is a slowly shrinking majority. The number of women purchasing recumbents from Zach Kaplan’s shop, Zach Kaplan Cycles, in Alameda, CA, has grown from 10 to 20 percent within the past 10 years.

“There is a pretty broad spectrum of people riding recumbent,” said MacConaghay. “The commonality is that they want to be more comfortable.”

’Bent bikes, as they are often referred to, are kinder on riders’ wrists, backs and behinds. They are also more aerodynamic. Sales figures in North America are difficult to find, but seasoned human-powered vehicle rider and product tester Jay Dixon says the figure batted around in her recumbent rider and manufacturer circles is “less than two percent.” Dixon says “some riders prefer it that way. It’s esoteric enough that they still cooperate and help each other.”

In the last 10 years, Dixon says she has noticed an unmistakable increase in the number of recumbent riders on bike paths and at club gatherings. The two camps she usually sees riders fall into are “gearheads” who are fascinated by the technology of ’bent bikes and “advocates who don’t mind when someone asks them about their bike and having to explain for the 700th time that ‘yes, it’s easier to ride, it’s faster, it’s a bike that makes more sense’.”

Whatever stigma has been attached to recumbents – i.e., that they are somehow dorkier than other bikes or designed for older people and those who cannot ride uprights – many recumbents on the market today look downright cool. The sleek, compact Go Go Lightning U2 Lowracer looks like a speed machine, and the space age machines of some European manufacturers are world speed record holders.

Calhoun Cyclery owner Luke Breen says he has seen a huge jump in recumbent trike sales in the last two years. Most of the people who visit Brock Davis’s store, Cambie Cycles, in Vancouver, BC, are baby boomers who want to keep cycling but need an alternative to the upright bike. Davis says his customers are showing a similar interest in trikes.

Recumbentjournal.com proprietor Travis Prebble owns a recumbent but bought a Tadpole trike – two wheels in the front and one rear wheel – after taking it for a test ride. In his words, riding the trike “was an instant rush: carving up the turns, lifting an outside wheel, all mere inches from the ground.”

Style drives the cycling industry, says Mark Colliton, co-founder of Bacchetta Bikes. He has seen Bacchetta’s recumbent sales grow in recent years and more young people – the impresarios of fashion – are adopting the technology. Dustin Anderson, director of the Bike Shorts Film Festival agrees: “I see people in their twenties riding recumbent in Vancouver. There are just more people riding them now, so the spectrum includes more different kinds of riders.”