Transportation

When I was eighteen I read an article in Popular Mechanics of a rear steer bike. It looked like a good idea for saving weight with the shorter chain. I spent 4 years designing and redesigning this bike. Once it was built it took me 2 hours to get both feet on the pedals. Once…

To the best of my memory, this was the first recumbent I built back in 1975. I made it in my metal class when I was 16. I never did get a picture of it, and I never finished it, but it was to be a two position bike either riding upright or reclined.

Itching to have a test ride. Of all the recumbent bikes I’ve made, this was my favorite and most used. I later added a 3 speed wheel with drum brakes up front, then added pontoons for a kinetic race, which never happened. A minute after this image was taken everything went South. The pontoons flipped…

This was my fourth recumbent build. I built it for my neighbor kid who thoroughly enjoyed it.  

This recumbent weighed in at 25 pounds. The main boom was made using 2″ aluminum tubing. To eliminate stress on the aluminum frame I placed the seat mounds directly over the steering tube and rear wheel stays. The crank length was adjustable, but often the hose clamps used to secure the crank tube would fail…

This prototype was my version of a modern micro Hobby Horse. It was intended for short trips to the bus stop, train station or subway. Unfortunately the seat put undue pressure on one’s prostate area. A later version would have included a poly suspension on the rear arm, also having the steering tube and rear…