'Belly-down' recumbent

[Riggers]

Anyone seen this chap? Bonkers or what? All I can say is "Up periscope!"

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FYawooL7XIo&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/FYawooL7XIo&rel=1</a>

[pcolbeck]

That's definitely a "but why" machine.  Has all the disadvantages of a normal bike and a recumbent with non of the advantages of either bar streamlining  I suppose.

[Wobbly John]

It's been done before, and lower and more elegantly - notibly  UK's Tim Esdale in the mid 90's.

Haven't seen the 'periscope specs' idea before though. 

[Quint]

He'll need new wedding tackle after a few miles 

[Si]

mate had a go on one.  said it felt both the fastest and most terrifying bike he'd every ridden.

[rower40]

Lots of luggage space though.  You could fit many panniers in between the wheels under the rider.  As the word "recumbent" (outside the bike world) means "lying down on one's back", I was of the understanding that belly-down bikes were called "Prone".

[Cudzoziemiec]

I suppose it has a couple of technical advantages over a normal recumbent; it avoids the long chain line, and it looks more aerodynamic.

[TimO]

Like Wobbly John says, it's been done before, probably many times.

This is one I took some photos of at a BHPC meet back in the 90s, although I'm not sure exactly when.  It could be the chap who John is talking about, I don't remember his name.

   

On that bike, one of the limitations was the space between the rear wheel and the riders nadgers!

One novel feature of the video, that I haven't seen before, are the mirror headset arrangements that the riders are wearing, and which allow them to stare at the ground, and still see where they're going.

[JonBuoy]

...and then there is the head-first-on-your-back-looking-in-a-mirror approach as demonstrated by Damjan Zabovnik

Not too practical in traffic though...

[Cunobelin]

I rode Tim Esldale's "CoolBreeze" and it was actually quite manageable and comfortable.

There is an article on it in Encycleopeia

[Jon P]

I've read they're good on hills.  Also much favoured for long rides by devout Muslims as you can have head bowed to the ground at the appropriate times without getting off the bike and, with any luck, also facing Mecca.

[Mr Larrington]

Tim's number 88 was one Mark Evans - Tim Elsdale is older and has less hair.  Tim won the unfaired division of the BHPC championships in 199, while his tame gorilla Matt Norman¹ came second as he didn't do a full season.  I once saw one Tim's machines parked outside Condor, so someone must have been bonkers enow to ride it in traffic...

1 - ex-F-i-L has some splendid footage of Matt failing to ride the unnervingly-coffin-like fully faired version at Eastway.

[Hilldodger]

Tim's number 88 was one Mark Evans - Tim Elsdale is older and has less hair.  Tim won the unfaired division of the BHPC championships in 199, while his tame gorilla Matt Norman¹ came second as he didn't do a full season.  I once saw one Tim's machines parked outside Condor, so someone must have been bonkers enow to ride it in traffic...

1 - ex-F-i-L has some splendid footage of Matt failing to ride the unnervingly-coffin-like fully faired version at Eastway.

Blimey, is that how long the BHPC has ben going

[clarion]

Every time I see the thread title, I think that one of our number in the North West has had an 'off'

[Cunobelin]

Tim's number 88 was one Mark Evans - Tim Elsdale is older and has less hair.  Tim won the unfaired division of the BHPC championships in 199, while his tame gorilla Matt Norman¹ came second as he didn't do a full season.  I once saw one Tim's machines parked outside Condor, so someone must have been bonkers enow to ride it in traffic...

1 - ex-F-i-L has some splendid footage of Matt failing to ride the unnervingly-coffin-like fully faired version at Eastway.

I remember the "Slug" at Goodwood.....

It was almost Centaur like with a slug like rear and human torso at the front!

[Kim]

Being belly-down on a recumbent is overrated...

[Tigerbiten]

Being belly-down under a recumbent is overrated...

Fixed ..........  

Edit:- Sorry, but I had to .....