Cruzbike

Cruzbike
Manufacturer Cruzbike
Cycle line recumbent bicycles
Introduced 2004
Status In production
Website www.cruzbike.com

Cruzbike is a brand of recumbent bicycles based in Lumberton, North Carolina, United States. The company was founded in 2003 and all models are now designed and assembled in the United States. Cruzbike started life in Australia and was featured on the ABC show The New Inventors.[1] It is fairly unusual in that it makes a front-wheel drive recumbent bicycle with a Moving Bottom Bracket (MBB). The bottom bracket is the piece that the pedals attach to, and in this case it moves (or pivots) left and right with the front wheel when steering the bicycle.[2] This design allows for better climbing ability (due in part to some involvement of the upper body as well), and eliminates "heel strike" on turns, but comes with a learning curve as there is pedal steer.

History

In 2004 John Tolhurst developed a kit to convert a regular (diamond-frame, or upright) bicycle to a front-wheel drive recumbent.[3] The purpose of the kit was to provide a means to circumvent the high purchase price of recumbent bicycles.[4] The conversion kit served its purpose but had several disadvantages including the aesthetics of the converted bicycles, the difficulty of fitting the bike to the rider, as well as concerns about the longevity of a frame not designed for the stresses encountered in recumbent bicycles. A further concern was the lack of a direct connection between the handlebars and the bottom bracket, a problem also seen in previous recumbent bicycle designs. John Tolhurst designed the Silvio to overcome these shortcomings and was awarded a US patent for the front wheel drive moving bottom bracket Silvio in 2010.[5]

Jim and Maria Parker joined the company in 2005 and started producing recumbent bicycles in addition to the now discontinued conversion kits. In January 2015, the Parkers bought out John Tolhurst's interest in the company and became the sole owners.[6]

Records

Maria Parker attempted the women's 12-hour record on October 12, 2009 on a Silvio.[7] She achieved 240.01 Miles in 12 hours. This set the UMCA 200 Mile Road Record - Women Unfaired Recumbent and UMCA 100 Mile Road Record - Women Unfaired Recumbent records. In 2011 she broke her own record.[8] In 2012 she set the adult female 24 hour time trial recumbent record with a distance of 469 miles.[9] She also rode a Cruzbike on the 2013 Race Across America and took first in the women's over-50 category.[10]

In October 2015, Larry Oslund set the 100 mile TT world masters record for unfaired recumbent, by riding 100 miles in just under 4 hours.[11]

In January 2016, several Cruzbike riders entered the Bike Sebring race, held at the Sebring Raceway. Kevin Gambill set a course record for the 12-hour division, riding 276.6 miles on a Vendetta.[12]

Models

Previous models include the Sofrider, Quest and the conversion kit. A tilting trike attachment is in development.

References

  1. ↑ "CRUZBIKE−invented by John Tolhurst". ABC New Inventors. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Quest review". Bentrider online. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Conversion kit history". Cruzbiking AU. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  4. ↑ (A1) US application 2006226630 (A1), John Irven Tolhurst, "Assembly for converting standard bicycle into a recumbent and a bicycle incorporating the assembly", published 2006/10/12
  5. ↑ US patent 7753388, John Irven Tolhurst, "Front Wheel Drive Recumbent Bicycle", issued 2010/07/13
  6. ↑ "Changes at Cruzbike". Cruzbike. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Woman Attempts 12-hour World Record on New Front-Wheel-Drive Recumbent Bicycle". PRWEB. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Cruzbike records". Cruzbike. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "WRRA records". World Recumbent Racing Association. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "RAAM 2013 - A year of records and inspiration". bikemag. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "WRRA records". World Recumbent Racing Association. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bike Sebring race results, 2016, 12-hour". Bike Sebring. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

See also

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