Recumbent bikes are the ‘riding chairs’ that make your journey comfortable. These bikes have a seating provision that supports the backs of the riders while riding. These recumbents have two variants – the recumbent bicycles and the recumbent tricycles. The tricycles run on three wheels while the bicycles, as the name indicates, run on two.

Recumbents are popular amongst riders for many reasons. They are easy to learn and balance. Besides, they allow you a comfortable seating position with the body weight being distributed over the entire area of the back rest and seat. A recumbent bike rider may not be able to ‘stand on the pedals’ like a conventional bike rider does. However, he can use the back support as leverage for gaining extra power while pedaling. The results are stunning; the recumbents can run at real high speeds that may even pose as a competition to the performance of the conventional bicycles! In fact, the recumbent bikes are known to have outperformed the conventional bikes in terms of speed on many occasions.

A recumbent bike can go to sufficiently high speeds. Recumbent riders mount the bikes in a natural ‘aerodynamic tuck position’. Hence, the rider can pick up good speed on the roads. High racers, which are the most recent additions on the roads, are in fact faster than the upright bicycles. The aerodynamic tuck position is the secret of the rider’s comfort. In an upright bicycle, it is difficult to maintain this position for more than a mile or two. However, the recumbent bike makes it easy to maintain this position and thus, the rider can concentrate his energy into gathering reasonable speed.

Another reason as to why the recumbent bikes can travel at higher speeds is the comfort of riding. A recumbent rider can pedal comfortably in a seated position. The ergonomic design of the bike prevents any unnecessary stress on the wrists, neck or shoulders of the recumbent. He can exert more pressure while pedaling and thus, reach up to great speeds. The great stability offered by the bikes makes it possible to go for ‘stress free high speed’ rides.

Francis Faure crossed the previously set speed records in the year 1993. He used a recumbent bike to achieve this feat. As a result, the Union Cycliste Internationale without delay enforced a ban on using recumbent bikes for racing events. The U.C.I. felt that the recumbent rider had an undue advantage of maintaining the aerodynamic tuck position for longer durations of time. Thus, recumbents were rarely manufactured on massive scale. Of late, the numerous advantages of this ‘green biking option’ have come to light. More and more people are turning to the recumbent bikes owing to the fact that they offer a relaxed riding experience.