Cruzbike

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Cruzbike is a U.S. brand of recumbent bicycles based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2005, with designs created in the United States and manufacturing in Taiwan. The company originated in Australia and was featured on The New Inventors. Cruzbike is known for its front-wheel-drive recumbents with a moving bottom bracket (MBB). The pedal crank moves left and right with steering, which can help with climbing and eliminates heel strikes on turns, though it can take some practice due to pedal steer.

The idea started with John Tolhurst, who in 2004 created a kit to convert an upright bike into a front-wheel-drive recumbent to lower costs. The kit had drawbacks, including aesthetics, fit, and frame stress concerns. Tolhurst then designed the Silvio to address these issues and earned a US patent for the moving bottom bracket in 2010. Jim and Maria Parker joined Cruzbike in 2005 and began producing recumbents. In January 2015, the Parkers bought Tolhurst’s stake and became the sole owners.

Maria Parker set several long-distance records on a Silvio, including a 12-hour record in 2009 (240.01 miles). She also set and later broke other WUCA records, rode in the 2013 Race Across America (RAAM) and won the women’s category. In 2015, Lief Zimmerman set a WUCA recumbent record across Washington state (254.8 miles in 12h 28m). In the same year, Larry Oslund set the 100-mile TT world masters record for unfaired recumbent. In 2016, Cruzbike riders competed at the Bike Sebring race, where Kevin Gambill set a 12-hour course record (276.6 miles on a Vendetta, V20).

Model names indicate the backrest angle (for example, Q45 and T50 are adjustable). The T50 has an option for electrification. Earlier Cruzbike models include the Sofrider, Quest, QX559, QX100, and a conversion kit.