Cruzbike

Last updated
Cruzbike
ManufacturerCruzbike
Cycle line recumbent bicycles
Introduced2004;17 years ago
StatusIn production
Website www.cruzbike.com

Cruzbike is a brand of recumbent bicycles based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States. The company was founded in 2005 and all models are now designed in the United States and manufactured in Taiwan. 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 (for some people) a slightly longer learning curve as there is a pedal-steer effect.

Contents

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 WUCA 200 Mile Road Record - Women Unfaired Recumbent and WUCA 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 category. [10]

On May 16, 2015, Lief Zimmerman established the WUCA recumbent record crossing the state of Washington, north to south, 254.8 miles in 12h 28m. [11]

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. [12]

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 (V20). [13]

Models

Previous models include the Sofrider, Quest, QX559, QX100, and the conversion kit. A tilting trike attachment is in development.

Related Research Articles

Bicycle Pedal-driven two-wheel vehicle

A bicycle, also called a bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.

Tandem bicycle Type of bicycle

The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement, not the number of riders. Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the mid 1880s. Tandems can reach higher speeds than the same riders on single bicycles, and tandem bicycle racing exists. As with bicycles for single riders, there are many variations that have been developed over the years.

Recumbent bicycle Type of bicycle

A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks. On a traditional upright bicycle, the body weight rests entirely on a small portion of the sitting bones, the feet, and the hands.

Tricycle

A tricycle, often abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.

Velomobile

A velomobile, velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. They are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and tricycles, but with a full fairing. A fairing may be added to a non-faired cycle, or the fairing may be an integral part of the structure, monocoque like that of an airplane. The term velomobile can be thought of as similar in scope to the cycle world as the term automobile is to the automotive world.

Bottom bracket

The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset (chainset) to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely. It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the bearings that allow the spindle and cranks to rotate. The chainrings and pedals attach to the cranks. Bottom bracket bearings fit inside the bottom bracket shell, which connects the seat tube, down tube and chain stays as part of the bicycle frame.

Racing bicycle

A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, and once popularly known as a ten speed, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI rules were altered in 1934 to exclude recumbent bicycles.

Fixed-gear bicycle

A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle design but the fixed-gear bicycle remained the standard track racing design. More recently the "fixie" has become a popular alternative among mainly urban cyclists, offering the advantage of simplicity compared with the standard multi-geared bicycle.

Glossary of cycling Bicycling terminology guide

This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.

Motorized bicycle

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it always retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. However, for purposes of governmental licensing and registration requirements, the type may be legally defined as a motor vehicle, motorbike, moped, or a separate class of hybrid vehicle.

Electric bicycle Bicycle with an integrated electric motor

An electric bicycle also known as an e-bike or ebike is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but generally fall into two broad categories. Bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles.

Belt-driven bicycle

A belt-driven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a toothed synchronous belt to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel.

Bicycle suspension Bicycle part

Bicycle suspension is the system, or systems, used to suspend the rider and bicycle in order to insulate them from the roughness of the terrain. Bicycle suspension is used primarily on mountain bikes, but is also common on hybrid bicycles.

Luggage carrier

A luggage carrier, also commonly called a rack, is a device attached to a bicycle to which cargo or panniers can be attached. This is popular with utility bicycles and touring bicycles.

Barbara Buatois is a French racing cyclist and one of the fastest female recumbent racers and ultra cyclists.

Outline of bicycles Overview of and topical guide to bicycles

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to bicycles:

Maria Parker

Maria Parker is an American long-distance cyclist and the holder of multiple cycling records. She is also the founder of 3000 Miles to a Cure, an organization to raise money for Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered perhaps the most prestigious record in all of cycling. Over history, various cyclists ranging from unknown amateurs to well-known professionals have held the record, adding to its prestige and allure. There are several records, one of which is the record for streamlined human powered vehicles, also known as recumbent bicycles.

Lightning is a brand of recumbent bicycles produced by Lightning Cycle Dynamics based in Lompoc, California, United States. In 1979 the first Lightning recumbent was built by three students from Northrop Institute of Technology - Tim Brummer, Don Guichard and Chris Dreike. In 1981 Brummer won the Abbott prize in a Lightning recumbent for the first human-powered vehicle to break the then-common speed limit of 55 mph. A four-man team set the fastest time for the 1989 Race Across America, a record that still stands. They have also won the STP Challenge, among other achievements. Today Lightning Cycle Dynamics produces recumbent bicycles and carbon cranks. Many of the bikes are made in the U.S.

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) USapplication 2006226630 (A1),John Irven Tolhurst,"Assembly for converting standard bicycle into a recumbent and a bicycle incorporating the assembly",published 2006/10/12
  5. ↑ USpatent 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. ↑ "UMCA WA N-S record". Archived from the original on 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  12. ↑ "WRRA records". World Recumbent Racing Association. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Bike Sebring race results, 2016, 12-hour". Bike Sebring. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  14. ↑ https://cruzbike.com/products/q45
  15. ↑ https://cruzbike.com/products/t50
  16. ↑ https://cruzbike.com/products/t50e
  17. ↑ https://cruzbike.com/products/s40
  18. ↑ https://cruzbike.com/products/v20

See also

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