Anyone else get this?

[Nigelnightmare]

I have been jokingly asked to get off mine so they can show me how to wheelie with it. It would be quite a miracle seeing a tadpole doing a wheelie.

They keep asking me to do wheelies.
I tell them I can't.
But I can do great 'Stoppies' though, and then show them.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Another thing about the Linear is that it looks rather "industrial" or home made. When you ride by on a girder with a garden chair on it, odd sized wheels and no apparent handlebars, it is a lot for the average person to take in.

People expect a bike to be made out of tubes, and it isn't. The odd thing is, it is comfortable and it works! It would be hard to have to explain to the average walker or non cyclist in passing. But they seem to be mostly entertained by it, rather than having their preconceptions challenged and stirred to anger. It has been a pretty life enhancing experience so far.

Iowa Linear have always been a show-stopper. It is also one of the first recumbents I saw after the Avatar. Must have been mid to late 1980's, and it really was a sensation. So different from any other bicycle I had seen.

 

[recumbentpanda]

My kids used to call my Linear the ‘attention seeking bicycle’. It does puzzle people. One chap asked ‘how are you steering that thing?’ ‘Mind over matter.’ I said. He seemed to accept this, but then, it is, in a way, true . . .

 

[yostumpy]

Does anyone remember a bike shop in Whitstable, called Herberts? The owner , at the time (25 years ago) had a lwb 'bent, and I always thought it was homemade, but the comment above about it looking industrial, now makes me think it was a Linear.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I thought many of those cycles from that time would be easy to reverse-engineer from a bit of good aluminum bar stock, some alu bike frames to cut up, and a welder. I actually threatened to mock one up with some marine plywood and the necessary bicycle parts, just as a proof of concept and geometry.

 

[a.twiddler]

My kids used to call my Linear the ‘attention seeking bicycle’. It does puzzle people. One chap asked ‘how are you steering that thing?’ ‘Mind over matter.’ I said. He seemed to accept this, but then, it is, in a way, true . . .

On my last trip on the Linear I made the error of passing through town at chucking out time at the local high school. Too much attention! 'Kinnell mister, what's that bike! Sick bike ! (Only heard this phrase a few weeks ago and now can't stop hearing it everywhere). Wotlitdoo then mate! And so on. I beat a hasty retreat to less youthfully populated regions. Mostly, the response is positive. Even if coated in cunning camouflage colours, a stealth bike it will never be. Its main advantage on the road, apart from the comfort factor, is that it definitely makes motorists give it loads of room in passing.

As for the steering, well, being under the seat it is rather stealthy, as I too have been asked how I steer it. It's still not as instinctive as steering an upright (with years of practice behind me). You can get quite relaxed with it but I find at my present state of learning that if my mind wanders, so does the front wheel.

 

[classic33]

Does anyone remember a bike shop in Whitstable, called Herberts? The owner , at the time (25 years ago) had a lwb 'bent, and I always thought it was homemade, but the comment above about it looking industrial, now makes me think it was a Linear.

Still there
https://www.herbertscycles.co.uk

 

[yostumpy]

I've been in touch with Herbert's , via there FB page, and the previous owner, Steve Green, built the 'bent himself, along with help from his apprentice, now the new owner. Steve is still around, and now in his 80's, which is good to hear.