Recumbent

Adding a self-built aerodynamic outer shell to a brand new Honda Innova 125i big-wheeled, step through scooter has resulted in its already pretty impressive fuel efficiency being improved considerably. Experienced Dutch cycle designer Allert Jacobs has spent the last couple of years designing, building and tweaking his machine before hitting the road recently for the all important road test. Read More

Picture it: You’re zipping down the road in a sleek, exotic vehicle that looks like it came straight out of Blade Runner. You pull up at a red light, and a gawking onlooker asks what sort of an engine it has. To their amazement, you open the top to reveal that it’s propelled by nothing but the superhuman power of your own body. Well, that fantasy can become a reality if you’re willing to spend several thousand dollars on a velomobile. There are a number of such vehicles being produced, but perhaps none are more lusted-after than the German Beyss Go-One3. That model may soon be upstaged, however, as Beyss is set to release their latest creation, the Go-One Evolution. Read More

For many, the words “recumbent bicycle” conjure the image of a strange-looking vehicle with the rider set low to the ground achieving less than remarkable speeds. That perception could well become a thing of the past with the Cruzbike Silvio, the world’s only recumbent racing bike that is not only fully compatible with road bike components, but aims to eliminate many health problems associated with standard cycling. Read More

Vehicles with a carving or tilting mechanism to assist in steering through corners make a lot of sense. We can attest to the validity of the theory following our test ride of the virtually undroppable Piaggio MP3 scooter and we've seen numerous design platforms that incorporate this approach including the VenturOne plug-in hybrid , the Xnovo three-wheeler, Brudeli's Leanster and the Lumeneo Smera. Human-powered carvers have also been spotted on the drawing-board, but we've never encountered a concept design that applies this principle to a four wheeled recumbent bicycle - until now. Read More

February 12, 2008 First came the dog-powered scooter, now inventor Mark Schuette has developed a dog-powered recumbent trike that employs the same "dog behind a steering wheel" configuration with the added stability offered by a sit-down trike design and twice the steering power and braking power of the scooter. Read More

It not exactly what Spielberg's ET had in mind, but it's as close as you can get to a flying bicycle without extra-terrestrial intervention. The Para-Cycle is a semi-reclined, 3-wheel recumbent bicycle combined with a powered parachute... Read More

Recumbent bicycles or Human Powered Vehicles (HPVs) as they are known, are both faster and more efficient and the traditional bicycle and if the idea hadn't been dealt such a poor hand by history earlier this century we could well be watching Lance Armstrong wearing the yellow jersey on a recumbent bicycle in this years' Tour de France. Read More