RECUMBENT FAQS

1/ Are recumbents comfortable ?

Yes recumbents are comfortable, gone are the days of a sore back, stiff neck, and a numb tailbone. You ride sitting in a comfortable sprung chair , with no pressure on your hands and wrists and with your head and neck in a natural upright position. Because of the extra comfort, people find they can ride a recumbent further and longer than normal and yet still arrive at their destination feeling refreshed. All this means that they have more fun and increase their fitness level.
 

2/ Are recumbents hard to ride ?

No recumbents are not hard to ride. Our recumbent bikes balance just like upright bikes. Here at FREEDOM HPV’s we find that if a new rider relaxes their hands and leans back into the seat, they rapidly become totally at ease with the new riding position. Recumbent trikes are of course even easier to ride.
 

3/ Are recumbents easy to transport ?

All of FREEDOM HPV’s models are able to be carried on normal car bike racks with little or no modification.
 

4/ Can recumbents climb hills ?

Properly geared recumbents can climb well. Early recumbent bikes were heavy and had inadequate gearing. Consequently, they developed a poor reputation for hill climbing. All FREEDOM HPV’s models are designed with adequate low gearing and weigh very little more than similarly equipped upright bikes. Most riders find that after a short acclimatization period they climb as effectively as on a similar weight upright bicycle.
 

5/ How safe are recumbents ?

Because of the relaxed, natural "heads up" seating position, you have better straight ahead and peripheral vision than on an upright bicycle. In a panic stop situation, the lower centre of gravity means you cannot get thrown over the handlebars onto your head and/or shoulders. If a rider does fall off, they are more likely to fall to the side, landing on a hip.
 

6/ Are recumbents faster or slower than normal bikes ?

Not many people know that recumbents hold all of the absolute speed records for bicycles. These include nearly 110 kph over a flying 200 meters and almost 75 km in one hour. In fact the reason this style of bike is not more common is that they were banned from official competition back in the mid 1930’s because it was claimed they gave an unfair advantage to the rider! This ban remains in force today. Whilst FREEDOM HPV’s build custom racing recumbents, its production models are designed more for touring and leisure riding than speed. You will still be surprised how much less effort these models require to ride at the same speed as you friends on their upright bikes.
 

7/ Don’t recumbents look funny?

The shape of a conventional bike hasn’t changed much for more than a century. Here at FREEDOM HPV’s we enjoy showing people that there are human powered vehicles that look different and function better than normal. Why be conventional, show people that you are an innovative person.