Old Town

Are there any recumbant bikes available in the US that are priced well below 2000 dollars? All the models I've found online are very expensive. And why do no major bike manufacturers offer a recumbant? There has to be enough interest among cyclists to make these bikes on a larger scale and thus bring the price down. Or maybe not. I have only ridden one recumbant and it was long ago. I remember liking the thing and thought it was cool. But the owner told me it cost almost 3 grand. I'm not indigent but that's a big obstacle.

prathmann

This one is significantly below that price:
https://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10983235

Engyo

Hi, OT -

Lots of bikes available for $1k-$2k. Under $1k it's either used, or chinese-made. Take a look at Bentrider Online. Your first problem is to decide what style of recumbent you are interested in.

Now if you want titanium, or carbon fiber, it's probably $3k and up.

jherrman3

Try ActiionBent.com. Pretty nice looking bikes. I almost bought the Tango GT but got put off by the grouchy tone I got back from them on an e-mail. They are direct order only (no retail bike shops). Components are pretty nice.

I ended up buying a Bacchetta Giro-20 ATT. Nice bike.

jeffh129

Giro 20 by Bacchetta. Priced around 1,500.00 A VERY good recumbent.

lukenm

The new models from RANS bikes are a little less expensive than they have been. For instance, their Enduro Sport is $1495 (I think) and the Formula LE is around $1200.

PaPa

RANS, Bachetta, Cruzbike and a number of other manufactures' farm-out overseas fabrication including frames, seats and numerous other parts. And least I forget tires and components which are typically installed state side.

chucky

There are very few in the entire bike industry that don't (and if you count tires and components none). But so what? Overseas people are people just like us and, frankly, many eastern countries have far superior technology for making bicycles. Provided they're treated properly I don't see how taking jobs away from them helps anything.

Many members of this forum hail from asia and other overseas locations and, frankly, I think it's a bit offensive for some members to point out the origins of certain bikes with the implication that they must, therefore, be inferior or immoral or whatever it is the jingoists think.

bentneophyte

I bought a Global Cooler 27 UH which is sold by actionbent. I believe they list for less than $1300. It is my first bent, so I can't compare, but I am happy with it. The welds are well done, the paint and finish is well done. I bought mine used with a upgraded crank from someone who had too many bents. The service guy at actionbent is rough around the edges, but fair. I understand that their bikes sometimes need some assembly, so it helps to be handy. You might give actionbent.com a try.

Doug5150

Sun and Cycle Genius are two lower-priced brands but (like most) they are brick-and-mortar dealer-sales only, so getting to a dealer can be a hassle.
~

BlazingPedals

Technically, almost every bike shop in the country is a Sun dealer. Their bikes are in the J&B catalogs that all of them use. The problem is, nobody stocks them, so finding one for a test ride is difficult.

radioflier

Go to the Rans and Sun web pages and search on Dealers in Florida. Check out their web sites or given them a call and see what they have.

bobbycorno

Three of the "biggies" (Cannondale, Giant, and Trek), tried and did such a bad job of it that nobody would buy them. The df faithful wouldn't even try 'em, the 'bent community took one look and said, "You've GOT to be kidding!", and the general public didn't want to pay that much. End of story.

SP
Bend, OR

Old Town

Thanks, all. An earlier poster, Engyo, put me on to some sites I had not found before. Seems there are more sources than I thought. Funny thing about the web, once you're into the correct thread, there is almost no end to information.

Old Town

bobbycorno: You mean those companies did not bring in recumbant experienced rider/designers? That's pretty stupid business procedure if you ask me.

gcottay

You may want to spend some time at BentRider Online.

PaPa

Take a chill pill Chunky. I was only correcting Engyo's obvious misinformation (post #3).

Crank57

We have a manufacturer here in Tennessee. These guys bought the designs and tooling from the old Burley recumbent manufacturing company. Their products are mostly made locally, by hand, and seem to be competitive with the imports.

https://www.got-bent.com/index.htm

I'm not saying import bikes are bad, but if I have an issue, it's nice to have someone here in this country to talk to. Somebody who knows how the bike was built because it was made right there by someone they know on a first name basis.

Engyo

Just for the record - my comment was not intended to imply problems or lack of quality; just that the website for the bikes in question is partly in chinese, along with english.

bobbycorno

From looking at the bikes, the attitude seems to have been, "It's just a recumbent. How hard can it be?"

SP
Bend, OR

BlazingPedals

Trek's recumbent was an exercise in what NOT to do. They had one guy in the company that was pushing for them to market a recumbent. From there, corporate-think went something like the steps below. It reminds me a lot of the video on You-Tube about Redesigning the Stop Sign.

1. Trek is known for aluminum bikes (this was before OCLV,) so give it a BIG 3" diameter aluminum main boom.
2. Recumbents are made for comfort, and everyone knows that means full suspension.
3. I hate sloping top tubes, so make the top tube level.
4. Whoa! The seat is pretty high, so let's make it a dual-20.
5. We're not making the price point; lose the front suspension.
6. What's left is going to have to go up against a RANS Rocket which is half the price. What to do to differentiate ours? I know - let's give it a mid-drive! Don't worry about the bike-specific parts required.
7. We're behind production schedules - get it out the doors and we'll worry about bugs later.

The recumbent community watched as the pre-production specs went down and down further, while the MSRP, which was already on the high side, stayed the same. What they ended up with was a bit porky, it wasn't the performer TREK had promised, and it was over-priced for the specs. In spite of that, they sold a bunch of them. In fact, the first couple of production runs sold out and the overall numbers were well over projections. BUT... during the second or third production year, the ONE GUY in the company that was pushing them suddenly died; and without his support, the execs immediately pulled the plug on the project.

Dealers with inventory were left hanging. And then along came the Valley Bikes fiasco. SUPER DAVE at Valley Bikes bought all of TREK's remaining inventory, still in crates, and sold them as-is for $600 each. They sold out in a matter of a few weeks, totally demolishing the value of the bikes still on showroom floors.

Old Town

BlazingPedals: Thanks for the inside scoop on Trek.

I have to think if Kona or Specialized came out with a properly designed recumbent (I've learned to spell it without the "a") for less than 1500 and had them in show rooms, they would sell very well. They are different and offer more real variety in frame design compared to conventional bikes, (to my eyes) I can't imagine it being a bad idea.

GreenGrasshoppr

what kind of recumbent do you like?

BlazingPedals

OT, the other part of the formula that TREK got wrong was that nobody trained the dealers on how to sell the things. My understanding is that any shop selling TREK has to buy a minimum number of bikes per year; and the years they sold the R200, every dealer got one whether they wanted it or not. Most shops sat the thing in the darkest corner they had, and even when customers showed interest in it, the sales staff shunted them back to the main part of the showroom floor. The only sales they made were from people coming in specifically looking for an R200 and refusing to be dissuaded from buying it. The mind boggles when one thinks how many they could have sold if they'd been trying!

Sure there's room in the market for an upright brand to make a recumbent. If they design their own, though, they should avoid the Trek mistakes. They should have someone familiar with the recumbent world help design it, and it should be a light sporty, dare I say "sexy?" model. And they shouldn't force the bikes on an unwilling and untrained distributor network.

layedback1

Rans has both a SWB and a LWB bent that are well below 2K. I have the Stratus LE, and for a LWB I think it has the most bang for the buck on the market.

Do shop around, and test ride if possible. This is the best time to buy a bike since it is at the end of the season, and it would seem they would like to deal on left over stock.

As with most everyting these days, never assume that the price on the tag is set in stone. Always ask "what can you sell me that bike for today". It never hurts to ask, and you would be surprised what you can save on a bike or most everything. Wheel and deal!!!!!!