page_title: Recumbent bicycle
section_title: Tandem recumbents
hierarchical_section_title: Recumbent bicycle / Variations / Tandem recumbents
caption_attribution_description: This Barcroft Columbia is an example of how a tandem recumbent can be fitted within a compact layout for easy transport.
context_page_description: 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.
  Most recumbent models also have an aerodynamic advantage; the reclined, legs-forward position of the rider's body presents a smaller frontal profile. A recumbent holds the world speed record for a bicycle, and they were banned from racing under the Union Cycliste Internationale in 1934, and now race under the banner of the World Human Powered Vehicle Association and International Human Powered Vehicle Association.
  Recumbents are available in a wide range of configurations, including: long to short wheelbase; large, small, or a mix of wheel sizes; overseat, underseat, or no-hands steering; and rear wheel or front wheel drive. A variant with three wheels is a recumbent tricycle.
context_section_description: Just as with upright bicycles, recumbents are built and marketed with more than one seat, thus combining the advantages of recumbents with those of tandem bicycles. In order to keep the wheelbase from being any longer than absolutely necessary, tandem recumbents often place the stoker's crankset under the captain's seat. A common configuration for two riders in the recumbent position is the sociable tandem, wherein the two riders ride side by side. There are also hybrid recumbent designs such as the Hase Pino Allround that utilize a recumbent stoker in the front, and an upright pilot in the rear.
caption: This Barcroft Columbia is an example of how a tandem recumbent can be fitted within a compact layout for easy transport.
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