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Recumbent bicycles coming to Greenville
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Recumbent bikes will be popular on the Upstate's Swamp Rabbit Trail.
You've seen them in "what's new?" magazines such as Popular Science and Popular Mechanics -- pedal-powered contraptions that look like lawn chairs on wheels. Now recumbent bicycles are beginning to appear on Palmetto State streets and bikeways, thanks in part to the opening of a specialty shop in Greenville, SC.
"We're probably the most prominent recumbent bicycle shop in South Carolina, and almost certainly the only one that carries the variety of bikes and parts and accessories that we do," says Nathaniel McCray, part owner and operator of Tandem, Touring & Recumbent Bikes (TTRB) at 101 S. Hudson St. in Greenville. The 3,000-square-foot showroom and repair facility a stone's throw away from the developing 15-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail in Upstate South Carolina, showcases dozens of recumbent bicycles and tricycles as well as more conventional trail bikes, road racers and commuter bikes for urban dwellers.
There's even on display a baby stroller that can be pushed by someone walking or jogging, towed behind a bicycle or outfitted with skis for cross-country and downhill winter outings. Also a seven-person "conference bike" that is truly a marvel to behold.
Recumbent bikes differ from more conventional models in that the rider sits on a chair-like or bananna-shaped seat. The pedals on many models are out in front of the front wheel or wheels and this arrangement makes for a more comfortable riding posture with one's bottom planted on a wide mesh or padded seat, back supported as though lounging in a reclining chair and feet elevated in a manner so that blood flows more readily from the lower extremities to the heart and yet putting one's foot down on the ground is as easy as on any kiddie tryke.
Recumbent tricycles have three wheels -- two either in the front or back. They make balancing much easier, and so appeal especially to people with back or balancing problems, says McCray.
What's the appeal of recumbent bikes -- or any bikes for that matter -- in Greenville, which has hills to rival those of San Francisco?
"You just have to gear down and realize that you've got to go slow rather than try to muscle your way up a hill," says McCray. Equally important, though, is the location of TTRB in what is an out-of-the-way but urban rebuilding neighborhood of Greenville adjacent to the developing Swamp Rabbit Trail.
When completed, the walk and bike way between Greenville and Travelers Rest, SC will be a nearly flat outing destination for walkers, joggers and bikers who want to exercise without taking on the challenge of nearby North Carolina's mountainous terrain.
To make walking, jogging and biking as sweat-less as possible, the trail is blacktopped with one half of its width paved in rubber for the foot comfort of walkers and joggers. Short sections of the trail have been completed. The full 15-mile length is scheduled for completion next year.
While Greenville has older, more well-established bicycle dealerships than TTRB, McCray boasts that his store draws customers from as far away as Charlotte, NC, and Columbia, SC. To find out more about the shop and its offerings, visit the TTRB Web site at www.ttrbikes.com.
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