Recumbent Bicycle

Climb Low Into A Recumbent Bicycle

You've seen it: the low to-the-ground bicycle that so many people seem to be turning to in the last decade or so.  It's strange, different, exciting.  It's the recumbent bicycle and I'm going to write about it right now.  If you keep reading, you'll learn a bit about it, and maybe even will want to go out and one of your own.

The recumbent bicycle is not a new design.  In fact, the design goes back almost a hundred years.  However, it's not been a popular design prior to about twenty years ago, and has steadily enjoyed increasingly greater celebrity.

The reasons for this popularity are manifold.  For one, the very design excites the eyes and mind, as models from the fifties and sixties of "cars of the future" did for little boys and girls (and secretly, their parents).

And there's a plus side for the tooshy, too.  The sit bones don't suffer so greatly with the pull-back inclined seat, as body weight is displaced.  This also has an advantage for people suffering from problems of the groin, whether from urinary track infection, or just getting hit at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That brings up a point of worry for many about the recumbent bicycle: getting hit, as in, by a car.  This is a warranted concern as the bike is so low that the average bloke driving a vehicle would probably miss the bike entirely in sight, yet run into it, or over it, with the full weight and impact of an automobile.  The truth is, most bicyclists are hit by motorists not paying attention, at least as much as due to low visibility.  With a recumbent bicycle, you'll get noticed, and not likely get hit.  And if that's not enough, a flag can be easily attached which will garner a lot of notice.

So if you're looking for something a little different.  Or if you really, really like the ground, or even don't like riding your bike up so close to the sky, go recumbent.  It doesn't get much more laid back than that.