Laidback Bike Report

We explore the exciting world of wind powered land racers with bent rider Mark Harris. He has raced his land boats for over 30 years and witnessed competitive speeds over 120 mph. Next we're joined by recumbent seat craftsman BJ Strass. He shows us the equipment and techniques he uses to repair and upgrade your old bent seats. Finally, professor Craig Cornelius returns to discuss how bents ha...

Nicola dreamed of touring Africa since he was a little boy in Italy. In 2018 he began touring near the western coast on his wide tired AZUB trike and trailer. Along the way he met amazing and generous people who gave him food and shelter. Then in early 2019 he ignored the warnings of local officials and rode off on the road to Timbuktu. Then next thing he knew he was looking at automatic weapons p...

Is it possible that you're illegally riding that Catrike, Terratrike. or even Cruzbike on the streets of America? It turns out to be a very difficult legal question fraught with insurance and financial implications. Doug Davis chats with legal experts Charlie Thomas, Steve Magas and Steven Hansen about laws excluding some 2, 3 or 4 wheeled bents from riding our roads. It's a real problem...

We cover the launch of the production Podbike Frikar with our German reporter and velomobile expert Josef Janning. He takes a test ride and has an interview with founder Per Sorenson. Next we take a wider look at these "Velocar" type vehicles with professor Craig Cornelius including their history and future. Mathieu Aubel from HP Velotechnik reveals their new Hand Powered Trike Adapter a...

Have you ever been rolling so fast on your bent that you imagined pulling back on the handlebars and taking to the skies? Today we talk about just that with our pal Barney Harle from the British Human Power (Flight) Club. He reports on the state of flying using only pedal power from his experience at the Icarus Cup event where competition pushes innovation of these flying machines. Next we visit w...

We're excited to have Dr. Craig Cornelius with us to take a wider look at tilting trikes. We've had quite a few tilters on the webcast over the last few months so I've brought in an expert to share an overview/summary of this cutting edge engineering realm. Craig is the Principal Researcher at HPTS (Human Powered Transportation Systems) who has been involved in the design and develo...

Greenspeed's Aero is one of the fastest trikes on the road. They also make the more sedate but ever so utilitarian Magnum. What if we raced these two trikes across Michigan and evened the odds by adding a Bosch motor to the Magnum? Meet Wizwheelz executives Marshall and Mark who conducted such a contest this month and hear their exciting stories of this adventure.  Also showing up for this ja...

Ron Thompson is a retired mechanical engineer. He's built a 2 wheeled bent he believes is the 4th major breakthrough in bicycle design. That's a lofty assessment but you owe it to yourself to hear him out. The ability to recruit supplemental hand power on a recumbent bike is the intriguing innovation he'll discuss with us today.  The sale of Bacchetta Cycles was in the news since ou...

Today we literally get into the weeds with our Italian bent builder Marco Ruga. He has created an amazing off road long wheel base recumbent and will show us how he did it and where he rides it. Then Englishman Alex du Pre (who is a naval engineer) reveals his first recumbent design. A tilting trike/velomobile made initially out of wood. We have two introductory reports: first from TerraTrike on t...

We all want to make sure our recumbent purchase transactions are transparent, honest and fair. We talk to Steve and Patti Erickson about their years long investigation into false prestige branding of recumbent trikes. Then Doug Davis shows us how to recognize "knock off" products that look just like the brands you know. Our panel then share their considerable experience with buying and s...

Jason Dubin has been hit by cars while riding his recumbent bikes and velomobiles in the streets of New York city many times. He joins us to share video and commentary of 3 of these horrifying collisions and talk about his personal safety. Then we widen the discussion with Steve Magas "Ohio's Bike Lawyer" and our panel to put bent safety into some context and search out the best way...

Among the very few prominent recumbent groups around the world precious few can boast of the long history of racing and designing bents as can the British Human Power Club. We'll chat with club officers Alan Goodman, Barney Harle and Chris Hamilton about their full racing seasons (including the World HPV Championships), member's unusual HPV builds and the early group history with foundin...

What're the latest developments in the Velomobile world? We span the globe to bring you the first velo dealer in China, a tandem Quest velo going into production in France, the latest on the purported fastest velo called the Snoek, updates to the Milan, the DF4, in Romania, the WAW from Czechia and the Rotovelo from Australia. In addition we bring you the news with Honza and Jonathan Garcia h...

From the Serbian headquarters of renowned frame builder Robert Stein we delve into the unusual concepts and designs he's been working on for 20 years at Steintrikes. Janet Buckwalter will tell us about bringing these trikes to America as she begins her new exclusive USA distributorship. Honza has "Bent News in 5", Doug starts his new "Fix it on the Road" segment and Nina r...

Creating a tilting trike in the early 1980s was anything but mainstream. Our guest for this podcast is David Ashenbrener. David will tell us his tale of designing such a recumbent and getting noticed enough to be published in Popular Science magazine in 1982. From there we talk about how he mysteriously lost track of his invention and its design for almost 40 years before resurrecting it this year...

Nina Paley is a car-free recumbent riding self described animator, director, artist and scapegoat. She is a woman who doesn't fit neatly into any of our preconceived categories and that is exactly what makes her so interesting. We talk to her about her distaste for automobiles, her large collection of recumbent bikes (including a velomobile), why she rides, her bike mechanical abilities, a bi...

Make your bent all that it can be by adding just the right accessories. Our expert panel  will share their advice on dozens of possible add ons to make your bike, trike or velomobile faster, safer, more comfy or just more fun. We'll tell you about our favorite recumbent online resources and events and then invite the manufacturers to make their 5 minute pitches to you about their best accesso...

Pedaling a futuristic looking bicycle down a remote stretch of state highway in 2016 Todd Reichert whooshed his way into the record books. After 5 miles of vein popping effort he crossed the finish line in Battle Mountain, Nevada at 89.59 mph creating a new world human powered mark that stands to this day.  As with so many other events the World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC) which is held...

Three compelling stories from bent riders fighting back hard to restore their mobility and health on a trike. These guys battle the ravages of diabetes, stroke, cancer and chronic pain all with the kind of determination and perseverance that will inspire you. We are joined by Greg Garduno, Sean Wendland and David Goldman who each share the pertinent details so you can take advantage of their hard...

Do you have the need for speed? Want to combine that with hours of laidback comfort? On this latest BentCon 2020 video (our virtual visit to a recumbent convention) we focus on how to evaluate bents for dropping roadies on your daily ride or leading the pack at any bike competition you enter. Segment 1 consists of an independent panel of experts who will guide you step by step through the buying p...

Bike touring in comfort is where recumbents excel. But how do you go about finding just the right bike, trike or velomobile for your road trip? In our second episode of BentCon 2020 we arm you with everything you'll need to make an informed decision. Set up as a virtual visit to a recumbent convention we attempt to bring you the total experience of a Spezi or Recumbent Cycle-Con in this onlin...

Choosing your very first recumbent bike, trike or velomobile? We will arm you with all the knowledge you need to succeed at purchasing your initial laidback transportation. Set up as a virtual visit to a recumbent convention we attempt to bring you the total experience of a Spezi or Recumbent Cycle-Con though we won't have the test track.  If you wish to watch this episode on YouTube here is...

Per Hassel Sorenson is an engineer from Norway who has designed an environmentally friendly velomobile meant for mass production. I first sat in a Podbike at Spezi in 2017 and was taken by its sleek, futuristic design and very practical features. Per joins us today to talk about the Podbike’s past, present and future. We are excited to introduce Honza Galla as our news director. Honza is the edito...

Widely regarded as the leader in recumbent trike sales TerraTrike continues to innovate and expand their offerings. Marshall Randall the director of Sales and Marketing gives us the detailed view of the entire lineup for 2021 including specs, pricing and a look at what's coming up. TerraTrike webpage  https://www.terratrike.com/ Please support the amazing folks who make the Bent Expo series p...

The entire recumbent triking community was saddened by the death of Greenspeed founder Ian Sims. Fortunately, WizWheelz purchased the Australian company and has begun the process of updating the line and expanding the marketing of these great three wheelers. National marketing manager Torey Groen takes us through the remarkable lineup of trikes including specs, pricing and a glimpse into the futur...