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Motorcycle Book Store > Motorcycle books beginning with R
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The Recumbent Bicycle |
Author: Gunnar Fehlau
Published: 2006-09-07 |
List price: $21.95
Our price: $19.75
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Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: November 22nd, 2008 03:52:24 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Well written, interesting book.
I recently purchased a recumbent bike, and was interested in learning more about them. There are not many books about recumbents, but this book was just what I was looking for. It gives the history of the bikes, some of the design issues, and a review of the industry. Many people trying to set bicycle speed records are using recumbents, and the book covers a lot of these topics in depth. Worthwhile reading.
 Recumbant Bikes
I ordered this book for my husband and he enjoyed it very much. He keeps it out for reference and there are many irems he can refer to. Very good, informative book. Very rapid shipping .
A good introduction
The land speed record for a recumbent bicycle under special conditions is 136 mph! Most speed records are more in the area of 65 mph. "Benders" can ride many miles in a day and claim not to feel tired. Those things alone should make any cyclist want to know more about the pros and cons of recumbents. The best advice in the book is to rent different styles of recumbents for personal trial before buying or building.
Many design parameters are discussed for the person who wants to build his own "bent." No actual plans are given, but there are plenty of pictures of different designs others have used. A large number of additional sources are listed.
Much of the book deals with the advantages of a "bent" over a conventional bike. I wish the book had included actual plans for both a short wheel base model and a long wheel base model.
If you have any interest in a "bent," get this book and read it.
Excellent book for new recumbenteers
I bought Gunnar Fehlau's book, "The Recumbent Bicycle," while shopping for my first recumbent bike. There's a lot of recumbent bicycle information available on the web, but most of it is disjointed.
This book covers the topic of recumbent bicycles in an organized and cohesive way. It introduced me to the different types of recumbents and their merits. The chapter "Basics of Recumbent Design" was particular helpful in contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of short vs. long wheelbase geometries.
The history of recumbents provided interesting background information. The author has a sense of humor. The treatment is technical where required, but at a layman's level. The section on aerodynamics is the only one containing mathematics.
I read the book over the course of several weeks, both before and after buying my bike. The index is comprehensive and that made it easy to lookup various topics when I wanted to refer back to specific points.
The photos and illustrations are good and clear.
If you want to compare specific brands and models, subscribe to the various recumbent bicycle email lists. Read specific product reviews and owner comments at the recumbent and other bicycle web sites. Models change each year so a book detailing specific models would become out of date quickly.
I highly recommend "The Recumbent Bicycle." This is the only book I could find devoted to recumbents, and luckily it's a good one.
 Awful!!
MINUS 5 stars-save your money
Vague. Covers mostly recumbent racing of decades gone by (who cares)-coverage of so called "modern" recumbents is little. Most brands covered have gone by the wayside.
So called "Homebuilder's" section elaborates on the obvious with a few small dark pics. Very few pics in the book and the ones in there are small, dark and black & white. The color pics in the center of the book, of course, cover racing.
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