page_title: Recumbent bicycle
section_title: Recumbent tricycles
hierarchical_section_title: Recumbent bicycle / Variations / Recumbent tricycles
caption_attribution_description: hand &amp; foot recumbent trike2
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: Recumbent tricycles (trikes) are closely related to recumbent bicycles, but have three wheels instead of two.
caption: Hand and foot recumbent tricycle
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