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A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle which places the rider in a seated or supine position (rarely, in a prone position). Recumbents hold the world speed record for a bicycle and were banned from international racing in 1934. more...

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The back of the rider is supported, and the rider's legs extend forward to pedals that are at about the same height as the seat. Steering is either above- or over-seat steering (ASS or OSS) using a handlebar in front of the rider, or under-seat steering (USS) using a handlebar under the seat. The wheels are often smaller and/or farther apart than on an upright bicycle.

Records of recumbent designs go back to the early days of cycling, but recumbent use was not widespread until the late 20th century. Recumbent riders hold world speed records for unpaced, human-powered vehicles. Tricycles form a substantial part of the recumbent market (far more so than they do for uprights); the generic term "trike" tends to be applied to these as well.

Description

Recumbents can be categorized by their wheelbase, wheel sizes, steering system, faired or unfaired, and front-wheel or rear-wheel drive.

Wheelbase

Recumbent bicycles may be classified according to their wheelbase: long wheelbase (LWB) models have the pedals located between the front and rear wheels; short wheelbase (SWB) models have the pedals in front of the front wheel; compact long wheelbase (CLWB) models have the pedals either very close to the front wheel or above it. Within these categories are variations, intermediate types, and even convertible designs (LWB to CLWB) - there is no "standard" recumbent.

Wheel sizes

The rear wheel of a recumbent is usually behind the rider and may be any size, from around 16 inches to the 700c of an upright racing cycle. The front wheel is commonly smaller than the rear, although a number of recumbents feature dual 26-inch (ISO 559), ISO 571 (650c), or ISO 622 (700c) wheels. Notable among these are "highracers", such as the Bacchetta Corsa and Strada or Volae Team, or the "LWB-style" RANS Stratus XP. Larger wheels generally have lower rolling resistance but a higher profile leading to higher air resistance. Highracer aficionados also claim that they are more stable, and although bicycle stability increases with the height of the centre of gravity above the ground, the wide variety of recumbent designs makes such generalizations unreliable. Another advantage of both wheels being the same size is that the bike requires only one size of inner tube.

The most common arrangement is probably an ISO 559 rear wheel and an ISO 406 (20-inch) front wheel. The small front wheel and large rear wheel combination is used to keep the pedals and front wheel clear of each other, avoiding the problem called "heel strike" (where the rider's heels catch the wheel in tight turns). A pivoting-boom front-wheel drive (PBFWD) configuration also overcomes heel strike since the pedals and front wheel turn together. PBFWD bikes may have dual 26-inch wheels or larger.

Read more at Wikipedia.org