Steve's Recumbent Projects - Other Recumbents

Since publishing the Woody and TreeBike pages, I have received a steady stream of recumbent e-mail. Many of those writing have shared their experiences and in some cases also photos of their recumbent projects. The intent of this page is to further share some of these great bikes. To respect privacy, I have included full names and e-mail addresses or URL's only for those individuals from whom I have received written consent. If you see your project listed and would like other builders to be able contact you, please let me know and I will add your contact information. If you don't see your bike but would like it added to this page, send a digital image (72dpi approx 5" wide works best) along with a few words describing your project to: steve@manytracks.com

A note here on contacting these builders. I do not publish photos, design information or contact information without permission. Many builders have chosen to be available directly via e-mail (that info is on their pages linked below) while others can be contacted through me. I'd like to thank all of those folks who have shared their recumbent building experiences with us. Thanks!!

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		March 2008 - John Reynoldson wrote from Australia with a link his homebuilt Carbon Fiber, Short-Wheelbase recumbent project. He has step-by-step photos of the process he used building this sharp-looking bike.
		March 2008 - Well, Joey Wallace has done it again! He has broken my unofficial record for building the most recumbents in a year. Frankly, I hate to mention this for fear of encouraging to go for the world record, whatever that may be. "Deltoyd" is a long-wheelbase trike - looks good! Back in January 2008, Joey completed "Lil' Hornet" and prior to that, in December 2007 he completed his third recumbent ,"Chopzilla". In November he finished a very creative recumbent trike he calls the "Twister". Check it out to see why this trike can turn on a dime. In September Joey put the finishing touches on short-wheelbase recumbent (bottom left) on which he has mounted a 'boat seat' for style and comfort. A very busy guy!
		December 2007 Update - Back in July John M. Rankin built the first version of this nice looking short-wheelbase, under-seat steering recumbent starting with his Grandson's 'Kid's Mountain Bike" (with permission). Then, in December he officially proclaimed "Krankinstien' to finished. John has put some significant miles on this good looking bike!
		September 2007 - Rafael Bautista form the Philippines built this cool Front Drive/Rear-Steer recumbent trike. I've included a close-up of the lean-steering and his non-steering front end setup. A few weeks later Rafael sent in some photos of his latest trike project. He has been a busy builder!
		August 2007 - Pastor Marvin Penner Has built a couple of recumbents, one with a medium long wheelbase and the other a good looking, laid-back Front Wheel Drive. He has used a unique technique to pivot the under-seat steering - check it out!
		April 2007 - Bill McKay has built his sixth recumbent and it is another winner. And I thought his previous bikes were unique! We still have info on his previous bike here too.
		April 2007 - R. Welker built four recumbents in the month of March, 2007. He has sent in photos of a long-wheelbase bike and a unique trike.
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		April 2007 - Andy Van Herwynen built this bike a few years ago and has ridden it in the challenging RAGBRAI, a ride across Iowa. He has upgraded it some and is now in the process of putting together a new recumbent.
		April 2007 - Bob McCutcheon has put together this sharp looking 20-20 short-wheelbase recumbent. Though it is still pretty new, Bob reports that it handles well. A nice clean looking bike!
		March 2007 - Peter Jones kids asked him for a "Go Cart" and he built them this very nice trike from recycled bikes and other scrounged materials. Check out the cool sunshade!
		February 2007 - Jack Janes from Kentucky built this recumbent from aircraft aluminum and an old Raleigh 27" upright bike. Looks good and rides well too.
		January 2007 - Ed Poste has spent nearly three years building this cool carbon fiber composite trike. It is one of the smoothest looking recumbents I've seen and may be one of the only ones in the Philippines.
		January 2007 - Leo just finished this good looking trike - adjustable seat and all. This was a major project and it looks like it turned out great! Also, back in October 2005 Leo sent in a few shots of his custom homebuilt recumbents. Check out the cool seat and U-jointed steering arrangement. He has built both medium and looong wheelbase bikes.
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		June 2006 - Way back in 2003 Handley Jackson shared some of his experiences building a couple of recumbent bikes. Now he has put together a nice looking Recumbent Trike.
		June 2006 - Bob Rupert has built a fun-looking super-short-wheelbase Trike and a two-wheeler too. That is one sharp-turning trike!
		April 2006 - Canaan built this long wheelbase recumbent from a one of many mountain bike frames he has stored up. Nice conversion!
		April 2006 - Amador Francisco Bouza from Portugal put together this front wheel drive leaning trike from a BMX bike and found materials. A very creative design well executed.
		March 2006 - Ed Atkins Has built a cool front wheel drive low racer-type recumbent. He has a web page on which he offers plans... http://www.geocities.com/atombikes/blaster.html
		January 2006 - A.D. Carson has been busy building and here is his "current best ride". Check out his web site: www.recycledrecumbent.com
		January 2006 - Mark Rehorst finished this full suspension recumbent last August. You can the construction process at his web site: http://mark.rehorst.com/CF_Bike/index.htm
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		December 2005 - Steve Rinker built this clean and fast looking Short Wheelbase recumbent. The only new component was the front tire, and that only cost $5.
		December 2005 - Henry Holmstrand has sent in this photo and construction notes from Sweden. He has put together a nice 'Tour Easy' type recumbent.
		August 2005 - Martijn Monné, an engineering student in the Netherlands, built this wood recumbent on a budget and it looks great! I especially like the simple, straightforward methods he used to attach the metal bike components to the wood frame. He has put together a web site to show you the results of his efforts. http://www.monne.nl/martijn/ligfiets.swf (Note: site requires Macromedia Flash Player)
		June 2005 - Harri Mommo from Finland built this short-wheelbase low recumbent. A nice bike from a country where riding is taken seriously. Soon Harri will have a web site showing step-by-step how this bike was built.
		June 2005 (Updated from October 2001) - Zach has finished his cool Wood-framed Medium-wheelbase Recumbent. This very well thought out and executed bike, from Finland has been in progress for a few years. Looks good!!
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------------- -------------- --------------		January 2006 (Update) James now has a web site where he offers plans for his bikes: http://mysite.verizon.net/res88kr1/. Also he has redesigned his Low Racer to a 'High Racer'. That is, a recumbent with 26" front and rear wheels. -------------------------- June 2005 (Updated from January 2003) - James Robinson is still at it! Click on the link to the left and see his plans for a Wood-Framed Sailing Recumbent Trike (for use on land). The sail transforms into a fairing when riding into headwinds. Check this out! -------------------------- James completed his "2 x 4 Low Racer" in 2003 and created a nice set of plans for it. The plans are now, (2005) available in Adobe PDF format. Click on the plans graphic on the left to see more of this cool bike. -------------------------- Previously James had built this long-wheelbase recumbent.
		May, 2005 - Charlie Little has put together a unique front wheel drive, rear wheel steering recumbent trike. This trike is getting a lot of attention wherever it's ridden.
		May, 2005 - Mark Everett sent in photos of his first homebuilt recumbent, now three years old, and also of his current project. He says he hopes to have it completed by June, 2005.
		April, 2005 - Pete Pace from western Montana has put together a recumbent that looks familiar! It is similar to 'Woody' but with some styling and construction refinements. A nice job!
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		April, 2005 - Here is Chris Chausse's new homebuilt recumbent. He has nearly all new components and has done a nice job on construction - a solid, inexpensive bike.
		October,2004 - Ray Young put this recumbent together for $28! A nice, solid conversion.
		February, 2004 - Alan Jarrett sent along a couple of photos from his excellent web site: Recumbent-Bikes-Truth-for-You.com - Lots of interesting stuff, from building a dirt-cheap recumbent to nutrition.
		November, 2003 - Paul Walters has built several bikes and trikes. His trikes have a unique front wheel mounting. His current project, an Optima Barron look-alike is nearing completion and looking good.
		October, 2003 - Eric Kragness put this wood-framed recumbent together using a hollow plywood frame and rear suspension from a 20" mountain bike. Wood bike cobbling at its best!
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		September, 2003 -- Handley Jackson built this metal-framed short wheelbase recumbent for less than $50. Quite a bargain for such a sharp looking bike.
		June, 2003 - Dick Scalone has been building bikes out of wood for quite a while; including this 4-Wheeler and two 2-Wheelers.
		June, 2003 - Adrian Hensen has built a nice compact-long-wheelbase bike Updated Nov. 2003 - Child-sitting solution...
		May, 2003 - Ron is still at it. Here is his latest, a short-wheelbase yellow commuter. January, 2000 - "I don't think the bike looks too bad for something that I basically winged. I probably really lucked out. I'm thinking in terms of a SWB model next so that I'll have some experience with both types before I spend real money on building my final commuting machine. Right now though I'm having fun just building bikes out of junk. Just this morning I found an old huffy at the dump that has a great looking headset and front forks. Sometimes things just fall into place." - Ron H.
		May, 2003 - W. Bruce Smith is hard at it in the shop, building this short-wheelbase bike (with a few tips from Ron Horvath (above). This 'Sandwich' frame building technique is cool. Can't wait to see the completed bike.
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		May, 2003 - Brad Graham has built this LOW bike... and a lot of non-recumbents too. He is writing a book on the subject, "THE ATOMIC ZOMBIE'S BICYCLE BUILDER'S (AND CUSTOMIZER'S) BONANZA" His web site is www.atomiczombie.com
		April, 2003 - Sandor Fule, from Hungary, sent along the link to his recumbent web site. He has made a nice, low-tech bike that as he says, "I avoided sophisticated technologies and materials, all what I used is available at every corner of the world." Link to his bike: www.part-ner.hu/recumbent.
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		January, 2002 - Michael S. built this bike in less than a month from plans from Easy Racers a few years ago. He says, "The bike is great. The only problem is the longest amount of time I can ride is about 10-15 min. because everyone is stopping you and asking where they can get one."
		October, 2001 - Bill Meacham has built himself a sturdy aluminum-framed homebuilt recumbent. He sent along pictures of his bike and also of his son and daughter enjoying it. His daughter is riding an 'allycat' ad-on making this one of the longest bikes on the road. You can contact Bill at meachamw@cableaz.com or visit his web site at:... http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/meacham/Bent/bents.htm
		September, 2000 - Jerome M.'s plans for a Long Wheelbase Recumbent
		June, 2002 (Update) - I figured I should update you on the situation. What I learned from that [previous trike] project and further research I put into a second leaning trike. This time, I designed it from the ground up using parts from regular bikes. I named it "Shinpo" which in Japanese means "advance(d). "It is supported by springs via cables (the mechanism is very light and simple) and the handlebars can be rolled to control the amount of lean desired. It's quite natural once one gets used to it. The roof is quite easy to take off by hand. GP
		January, 2000 - "I don't think the bike looks too bad for something that I basically winged. I probably really lucked out. I'm thinking in terms of a SWB model next so that I'll have some experience with both types before I spend real money on building my final commuting machine. Right now though I'm having fun just building bikes out of junk. Just this morning I found an old huffy at the dump that has a great looking headset and front forks. Sometimes things just fall into place." - Ron H.

Recumbent Share - Updated 03/11/2008