Links to Recumbent Manufacturers
News update: we have discontinued our tours as of 2009. We want to thank those who toured with us and say how much we enjoyed meeting all of you. We have also discontinued our Happy Riders email address due to spam, but for those of you who would like to contact us, you can reach us at: JeffreydotSparlingatorangedotfr

One of the attractions of recumbents is the sheer variety. There are no rigid concepts that limit what designers can do. We have selected the BikeE as the backbone of our recumbent fleet because it is well suited to organized cycle touring. Below are links to the Rans website, the two brands of recumbents in our fleet. We have also compiled links to other recumbent manufacturers (shown below). We encourage you to check out the world of recumbents.

BikeE   Rans
BikeE Corporation took the recumbent world by storm. Its futuristic looking recumbent was the hottest selling recumbent in the world for nearly 10 years. It garnered acclaim far and wide for its comfy, easy ride and twice won Bicycling's prestigious annual Gear Award for innovation. The suspended BikeE is the ideal recumbent for organized cycle tours. It meets the needs of experienced and first time recumbent riders alike. Alas, BikeE Corp. cycled faster than its pocketbook and it went under in the summer of 2002. But the BikeE is still a great recumbent for organized cycle touring. Many of the BikeE dealers listed on the dealer pages should be carrying other great recumbents.   Rans Inc. is one of the original recumbent manufacturers. It introduced its first recumbent in 1973 and has steadily expanded its product line to include a range of recumbents for recumbent "enthusiasts." Rans makes some of the finest recumbents on the market today, including short wheel base, mid wheel base, long wheel base, tandem and suspended ones. The Rans Tailwind is currently part of our fleet and we may expand the selection of Rans models in future years to suit the individual preferences of some recumbent riders.
Other Recumbent Manufacturers (alphabetical order)
Azub
A new manufacturer of short wheel base recumbents from the Czech Republic.
Bachetta Bicycles

Bachetta is a relatively new recumbent manufacturer with a long lineage since it was founded circa 2000 by John Shlitter, one of the founders of Rans, and Mark Colliton, who has been instrumental in the recumbent world for many years. Bachetta has taken the North American recumbent market by storm with its line of so-called "high-racer" recumbents, which include the Giro, Strada, Corsa and its out and out performance racer, the 10 kg (22 lb.) titanium Aero.
Barcroft
A new manufacturer of short wheel base, low racer and tandem models.
BigCat
A new manufacturer of tadpole trikes with a slightly higher seat than many other tadpole trikes.
Bigha
A new manufacturer of a high-end compact long wheelbase recumbent somewhat similar to the BikeE.
Burley
A manufacturer of high quality short and compact long wheel base recumbents.
Catrike
A relatively new manufacturer of tadpole trikes.
Challenge
A respected Dutch manufacturer of short wheel base and low racer recumbents.
Earth Cycles
America's first manufacturer of high quality tadpole trikes (2 wheels in front) under the brand name "Dragonflyer."
Easy Racers
Easy Racers is an established recumbent manufacturer and the proud builder of the Gold Rush, the first human powered vehicle to surpass 65 mph on the level. The original Gold Rush recumbent sits in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Both the Gold Rush Replica and its twin, the Tour Easy, are long wheel base recumbents. We may carry a few of them in later years, though for now logistics preclude this option.
Greengear
Manufacturer of the world famous folding Bike Friday and now the Sat-R-Day folding short wheel base recumbent.
Greenspeed
An Australian manufacturer and one of the world's leading producer of tadpole trikes (2 wheels in front) plus a short wheel base model.
Haluzak
A producer of premium short wheel base models.
Hell Bent Cycles
A manufacturer of tadpole trikes.
 
Hotmover
An Australian manufacturer of quality hand built recumbent trikes and velomobiles.
HP Velotechnik
A respected German manufacturer of short wheel base and low racer recumbents.
Human Powered Machines
A recumbent work shop located in Eugene, Oregon that develops and sells new models plus sells home building plans.
Inspired Cycle Engineering
British manufacturer of the renowned Trice tadpole trikes (2 wheels in front) and short wheel base models.
Lightning Cycle Dynamics
Manufacturer of the world famous "Lightning", a super lightweight short wheel base model that holds the current team RAAM record of 5 days 1 hour from Los Angeles to NYC.
Linear
A long time manufacturer of compact and long wheel base folding models.
Longbikes
Manufacturer of the proven "Ryan" long wheelbase models and tandems plus developer of some new short wheelbase and compact models.
Maxarya
A manufacturer of a compact long wheel base recumbent.
Optima
A respected Dutch manufacturer of short wheel base and low racer recumbents.
Penninger Recumbents
A manufacturer of delta touring trikes.
Peugeot
Canadian manufacturer of a long wheel base model.
Reynolds Weld Lab
A custom manufacturer of high performance lowracers.
Rotator
Long standing manufacturer of low mono tube performance long and short wheel base recumbents.
S&B
One of the original recumbent manufacturers, specializes in delta and tadpole trikes and short wheel base models.
TerraCycle
Manufacturer of custom short wheel base recumbents.
Vision
A major manufacturer of short & long wheelbase recumbents with over and under seat steering plus tandems.
Windcheetah
Manufacturer of the famous "Windcheetah" tadpole trike (2 wheels in front), the world's fastest trike.
WizWheelz
Manufacturer of a quality tadpole trike (2 wheels in front).
Last updated June 1, 2009