From the outset, I've claimed that the Cruzbike format creates the only full body cycling experience with proper ergonomics. And I've claimed performance benefits of involving the whole body, specifically hill climbing ability. In the die-hard rear wheel drive recumbent community, this has caused quite a stir. The superior hill climbing (pound for pound) is also partly due to the compact front wheel drive arrangement, which is just like a convensional bike if you take it by itself.

So I am delighted to quote Mike Burrows' excellent book 'Bicycle Design'. Mike Burrows is a highly respected designer with many iconic designs and racing successes to his name and over 30 years experience including being head hunted for Giant. Burrows states as follow:

" ... The LB rider's inability to use any muscles other than leg, lower body means that he /she makes more efficient use of the aviailable power - heart/lung capacity - but makes less efficient use of the body as a whole. This could be explained by a conversation I had some years ago with one of the ONCE team doctors on the merits or not of out-of-the-saddle riding for racing cyclists. ONCE had done quite a bit of testing and concluded that, when you are using your upper body in this way, although not in itself an efficient use of the muscles, this sub-optimal use helps to re-absorb the lactic acid that the 'flat-out' leg muscles are producing. This could be boosting the body's total energy output."

So there you have it. By allowing use of extra muscles that are inherently less efficient, the more efficient muscles are able to stay at their peak output longer.

Our technology here at Cruzbike combines the full body athleticism of the world's most demanding sport, the perfect power transmission as developed from over a century of bicycle design, the superior aerodynamics of the recumbent position in a design that provides the ergonomics that we all should be demanding as standard in the 21st Century.