Occasionally, former Mount Greenwood resident Jim McCormick feels badly for the women he discovers staring longingly at his seat.
On his recumbent tricycle.
“I always feel guilty when I’m so comfortable and see other people struggling on an upright bike,” said the 72-year-old, who now lives in South Haven, Mich.
“It’s like riding in a La-Z-Boy,” McCormick said. “What I didn’t like about upright bikes was all the stress on my wrists and the back of my neck. I’d never ridden 15 miles in my life until my wife and I got these last year. Now that’s my regular ride and I’m looking to stretch that out.
“I’m a three-wheel guy. I’ve recommended them to so many people.”
More Top Picks Best Snow Blowers
One such moment came recently, as he chatted with a mother and daughter out for a ride on the state park trail near his home. The mother saw the padded chair from which McCormick pilots his Terra Trike, mounted her traditional bike and, peddling away, told her daughter, “I’ve got to get one of those.”
An opportunity to push all manner of nontraditional pedals comes Friday to the Tinley Park Convention Center, when the Chicago Unconventional Bicycle Expo (CUBE) takes residency for its second three-day celebration of recumbent bikes, electric-assist bikes, fat-tire bikes and more.
In addition to a dozen or so exhibitors, there will be a test-ride area and daily seminars covering such topics as fitness training on recumbents to biking for persons with disabilities.
“Times have changed,” said event organizer Julie Keating, a 60-year-old Glenview resident. “When we grew up, the only thing we had was a Schwinn 10-speed.
“There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring daily for roughly the next 17 years in the United States. What do you do with all these people who would like to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, but maybe a bike isn’t their thing anymore?”
If your back is the issue, Keating said a two- or three-wheel recumbent would do the trick. If it’s a wrist or knee problem, the same. Have a joint replacement you’re unwilling to risk in a fall? Or balance issues? The trike is the way to go.
“For me, it got to the point where I had to get off the bike to rub my hands and wrists so I could ride again,” she said. “Seventeen years ago, a friend of mine said, ‘I just got this newfangled thing, it’s a recumbent bike.’ I said, ‘It’s a what?’
“Then I tried it. No wrist pain. No hand pain. No butt pain. And you can just ride forever. That was it for me.”
While recumbent bikes have been around since the 19th century, modern versions — which start around $1,000 and go way up from there — first gained popularity in the 1980s. Though they make up a very small part of the roughly $6 billion in annual bike sales in the U.S., between one 1 and 3 percent of total annual sales from 2005 through 2012, Keating insists interest is rising.
“Last year, we had around 500 enthusiasts attend the first CUBE,” she said. “I’m really thinking this year we’ll double that.
“It’s an opportunity for riders to talk to manufacturers, to test-drive new products, to ask techno questions or give their two cents worth, like, ‘Hey, why don’t you do this?'”
Among the dozen or so exhibitors will be Ron Kittler, who owns FnA Bicycles in New Lenox. The bike shop is an expansion of a motorcycle shop, Motorcycle Medic, he operated for 12 years in Tinley Park before moving to New Lenox six years ago.
Kittler takes “unconventional” a step beyond recumbents — though he sells two- and three-wheeled models as well. He’ll also show fat-tire and electric-assist bikes.
Fat tire bikes are just that. The tires are four-plus inches across, more than twice that of a mountain bike.
“All year round, you’re riding,” Kittler said of fat tire riders. “These bikes really excel on sand and snow. All you do is regulate the air pressure.”
Electric bikes have been slow to catch on in the U.S. According to Navigant research, nearly 30 million e-bikes were sold in China in 2013, while just 53,000 were sold in the U.S.
Kittler suggested e-bikes are great for commuters, or recreational cyclists “who need a little boost up a hill.”
Truth be told, however, the recumbents may have won his heart in just the four short months he’s been selling Terra Trike and Catrike products.
“A month or so ago, I had a kid in here, 18 years old, on the autism spectrum,” Kittler said. “He’d never ridden a bike in his life.
“In 15 minutes, we had him riding a trike. It was beautiful.
“For special needs kids, this opens up their whole world. It blooms. That’s what I love about doing this.”
Phil Arvia is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Chicago Unconventional Bicycle Expo
When: Sept. 30 – Oct. 2
More Top Picks Best Drafting Tables For Artists
Where: Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive
Hours: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a .m.- 4 p.m. Sunday
Advance tickets: $40 for three-day pass, $15 Friday, $17 Saturday-Sunday
At the door: $20, cash only
Information: cube-expo.com
Etc: Test riders required to wear helmets in test ride area, so bring yours.