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Recumbent Bikes an Enjoyable Experience
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This German made Hase has an enclosed gear set and can be folded up for
easy storage.
Photo by Jay Thompson |
(posted August 1)
Mike and Dianne McDowell, the owners of valleybikes.com, no longer have a store front in Carmel due to the redevelopment. Now
the couple sells their recumbent bikes on line from their west side home
a few blocks from Speedway.
She described the past location at 2nd Avenue NW "great" spot
for their bike store since it was on the Monon Trail. She said the private
developers purchased the entire block for redevelopment, but did not have
enough information about future building size and lease, so they thought
it was best not to commit with such uncertainties. McDowell said they left
Carmel in the fall of 2007 because demolition was scheduled.
She said she looked at the redevelopment plans for Speedway's Main Street
but never spoke to anyone about opening a retail store there. She did not
think there would be adequate store front parking that people expect when
coming to Main Street. Mall shoppers do not have that expectation of immediate
store front parking.
McDowell said they entered the recumbent bike business when the Valley
Bikes owner decided to sell when he felt a need to enter the ministry.
The business was located in Crawfordsville, but the McDowell's soon learned
their customer base was really from the north side of Indianapolis, so
they decided to relocate the store to Carmel.
McDowell knows the details of the recumbent and its benefits. "Nothing
ever hurts. People ride them across the United States" she said. McDowell
switched to a recumbent when the pain of riding an upright bike no longer
made riding enjoyable. She remembers the day vividly when she decided it
was time to change. She said her neck was in such extreme pain that by
the end of the ride she did not want to lift her head to see if traffic
was coming. She knew then that it was time to trade. Her hands would be
come numb within a few blocks of just starting her ride. "It wasn't
fun," she said. She knew she had to find a new bike style. Since the
switch about 15 years ago, Dianne now rides for hours. During their Florida
winter vacation, she covered 260 miles in one week.
Recumbents come in various styles, high-racer, low-racer, two-wheels, three-wheel
Delta or the Tad Pole. The Tad Pole has two wheels in front and one wheel
in the back. There are long and short wheel base models.
"We have all of those in stock," she said. Steering can either
be over or under the seat. McDowell emphasized the safety compared the
standard upright bike. She said the upright back has the rider positioned
over the top. If rider slams the brakes, it can mean going over the top
of the handle bars. The recumbent has the rider at the back where the legs
will absorb the impact first.
Other features include its short turning radius and its ability to "stop
on a dime" with the disc brakes.
Another neat feature is the ability to link recumbents together in a single
line while each bike is still able to act independently of each other.
That allows couples to ride together and pedal at their own pace since
each rider uses their own gear selection.
Her own personal recumbent is the Gold Rush. "Mine is the replica
of the one hanging in the Smithsonian, and it reached 65 mph."
McDowell was in Speedway test riding the Hase recumbent, a German made
bike. "It is the premier," she said.
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