{"id":9254,"date":"2015-03-10T21:53:52","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T21:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/?p=9254"},"modified":"2023-10-18T20:00:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T03:00:45","slug":"robert-q-riley-arguable-founder-modern-day-recumbent-bicycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2015\/03\/10\/robert-q-riley-arguable-founder-modern-day-recumbent-bicycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Q. Riley\u200b, Arguable Founder Modern-day Recumbent Bicycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bike-PM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

R<\/strong><\/span>econnected with Robert Q. Riley<\/strong>\u200b, the arguable founder of the modern-day recumbent bicycle (HERE<\/a><\/strong> is the fun podcast we did together). I had asked him to comment on a thread I had begun in which I had asserted the ground-breaking importance of his work. And understandably there were many who had not heard of him even though he sold many thousands of sets of recumbent plans well before the work of Smitty Smith, Jack Baker, Dick\/Richard Walcott Ryan\u200b and the Avatar project, Gardner Martin, Timothy R. Brummer\u200b, the IHPVA and etc.<\/p>\n

———————————————–
\nHere is what he said:
\nThe original Ground Hugger was featured in the April 1969 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine (a major, at the time, popular magazine, it planted a seed, ed). Here\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> a link to the information page on my site. It was the culmination of work I did throughout much of the sixties, beginning perhaps around 1963 with the first prototypes. Here\u2019s a link<\/strong><\/a> to page from \u201cThe Recumbent Bike Forums\u201d, which mentions the original Ground Hugger.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a link<\/strong><\/a> to a video of one of the early tests of the original prototype. \u00a0It was taken in Griffith Park, around LA, CA. I do not recall the year it was filmed (8mm film). But it was far in advance of the feature in Popular Mechanics \u2013 probably around 1964 or 65. That\u2019s me riding it.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>If he Googles \u201c1969 Ground Hugger Popular Mechanics\u201d he\u2019ll find info on it. If he Googles just the name, \u201cGround Hugger\u201d, he\u2019ll find info on both the original Ground Hugger and the Ground Hugger XR2. If he Googles \u201cRobert Q Riley\u201d he\u2019ll find \u201cthis guy\u201d. But this guy is not mainly known for the recumbent work I did in the sixties. Here a link to my bio<\/strong><\/a>. If he Googles \u201cRobert Q Riley Enterprises\u201d he\u2019ll find links to my site.<\/p>\n

Taking from my bio, if he Googles \u201cNumo\u201d or \u201cLean Machine\u201d he\u2019ll find info on those. If he Googles \u201cAlternative Cars in the 21st Century\u201d he\u2019ll find info on my book, which is mentioned in my bio. If he Googles \u201cCalifornia Science Center\u201d, and looks in the aerospace area he\u2019ll find mention of my 1902 Wright glider that\u2019s on permanent display there. Here\u2019s a link<\/strong><\/a> to the reconstruction of the original (the one I flew in 1972), which was dropped and damaged around 2001 during remodeling there. \u00a0BTW. As near as I can determine, I am the first to fly a 1902 Wright glider since the Wright Brothers. I flew it in November of 1972. However, I will not guarantee that somebody did not do it before me. I found a report of someone having done it in 1973, after my flight.. But being \u201cfirst\u201d was not an issue for me, and I did not spend lots of time searching for a flight that might have preceded mine.<\/p>\n

\"bike-3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"bike-2\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"bike-1\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Afterthoughts:<\/p>\n

There were folks that began manufacturing recumbents after my failed attempt to get it off the ground. \u00a0About two years prior to the feature in PM, we had a display at a dealer show at West Coast Cycle in LA (West Coast Cycle was bought many years ago and is now under a different name \u2013 owners at the time were Leo and Howard Cohen).\u00a0 \u00a0We took about 35 orders for the original Ground Hugger, and then could not deliver.\u00a0 The 1969 PM feature, and the sale of all those plans, probably did a lot to stimulate interest in recumbents. \u00a0\u00a0But the fellow that began manufacturing recumbents after the PM feature was probably more influential than my efforts.\u00a0 But who knows.<\/p>\n

I appreciate your invitation to join the recumbent group. I did not join because I’m absolutely overwhelmed with work and I do not want to be a “no show” who doesn’t participate. Give me a little time to get my head above water. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


I noticed t<\/span><\/span>here there was a thread going on about who’s the best and the first. I don’t like those kinds of competitions, and I’m okay acknowledging the wonderful work of the others that actually manufactured products and worked years after I was involved in the field. My first prototype was about 1963. I did it for my own pleasure and fulfillment. I did try to begin manufacturing some time around 1965 or so, and was unsuccessful at putting enough dollars behind it. I’m still lousy at that sort of thing. <\/span>

I am proud to have contributed to the field, but I don’t need to be the first or the best, and don’t want to be in those kinds of conversations. It feels good to be acknowledged as you have done. But I think these other folks that emerged in the field did a hell of a good job of it. I feel pretty good for having created such an elegant design, early on, and done it in a vacuum of prior art (as I understood it at the time). Even though I was in the bicycle business at the time, I did not know about the recumbents from the 1930s. So I was truly operating in a vacuum of knowledge about them, and I think I did a damn good job of it. There’s an elegance in that original Ground Hugger design that still looks good to me today. In fact, that exercise got me started in the product design field. <\/span>

But I may join the group later on. And thank you for your acknowledgement and support.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reconnected with Robert Q. Riley\u200b, the arguable founder of the modern-day recumbent bicycle (HERE is the fun podcast we did… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recumbent","category-uncategorized-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3VuuR-2pg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14964,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2019\/09\/17\/godfather-of-recumbent-dick-ryan-just-joined-recumbent-two-wheel-bikes\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":0},"title":"Godfather of Recumbent, Dick Ryan, just Joined Recumbent Two Wheel Bikes!.","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"September 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you new to recumbent cycling, while Robert Q Riley can be thought of as the father of the modern day recumbent because of the LWB he built in 1962 that he could ride with no hands, Dick Ryan is thought of as the recumbent\u2019s godfather. While per\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recumbent"","block_context":{"text":"Recumbent","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/recumbent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screen-Shot-2019-09-17-at-9.46.29-AM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10083,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2015\/09\/10\/history-of-the-modern-day-recumbent-talk-coming\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":1},"title":"History of the Modern Day Recumbent Talk Coming","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"September 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"At the\u00a0Recumbent Tri-Cycle-Con Trade Show & Convention, held Sept 25-27 at the Sharonville Convention Center, in Cincinnati, OH, \u00a0Author and\u00a0National Bicycle Greenway Director, Martin Krieg will be giving a presentation that fleshes out the story behind the pictures below as well many more. Called the\u00a0\"History of the Modern Day Recumbent\",\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recumbent"","block_context":{"text":"Recumbent","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/recumbent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-shot-2015-09-07-at-9.38.50-PM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-shot-2015-09-07-at-9.38.50-PM.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-shot-2015-09-07-at-9.38.50-PM.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12224,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2016\/12\/17\/national-bicycle-greenway-supporting-sponsors\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":2},"title":"National Bicycle Greenway Supporting Sponsors","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"December 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 National Bicycle Greenway Supporting Sponsors (Historical & Current ) (see also NBG Individual Donors)\u00a0 \u00a0 A-B\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C-E\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Angle Lake Cyclery Cruzbike Bacchetta Recumbent Bikes J Cunningham Salon\u00a0 Bike Friday DoubleTree\/Hilton Berkeley Marina Bilenky Cycle Works \u00a0 East Bay Regional Park District \u00a0Bicycle Man Embassy\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"sponsor-angle-lake","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/sponsor-angle-lake.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8879,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2014\/12\/31\/recumbent-cyclist-news-has-been-archived\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":3},"title":"Recumbent Cyclist News has been Archived!","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"December 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Recumbent Cyclist News has been archived.\u00a0WoW! This is a crucial part of modern day recumbent history - HERE","rel":"","context":"In "Recumbent"","block_context":{"text":"Recumbent","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/recumbent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen shot 2014-12-31 at 6.49.51 PM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screen-shot-2014-12-31-at-6.49.51-PM-600x545.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screen-shot-2014-12-31-at-6.49.51-PM-600x545.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screen-shot-2014-12-31-at-6.49.51-PM-600x545.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9560,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2015\/07\/24\/rose-city-recumbent-cycles-honoring-marilyn-hayward\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":4},"title":"Rose City Recumbent Cycles Honoring Marilyn Hayward","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"July 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Marilyn Hayward's legacy lives on! The men she passed the torch to, the managers of her two shops,\u00a0Robert Holler and Jonathan Garcia,\u00a0have created an all new recumbent shop in Portland. While Robert comes from a long business career as a city planner and then a building project manager involved with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Portland"","block_context":{"text":"Portland","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/portland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"medium_Rose_city_recumbent_logo_jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/medium_Rose_city_recumbent_logo_jpg.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9597,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2015\/07\/30\/the-powerful-chemistry-behind-portlands-new-recumbent-specific-bike-shop\/","url_meta":{"origin":9254,"position":5},"title":"The Powerful Chemistry Behind Portland’s New Recumbent Specific Bike Shop","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"July 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Besides the international and national big city Mayors we interview and top cycle athletes and paranormal bike activists that we engage with on our NBG Mountain Movers Podcast series, the recumbent bike industry is filled with individuals who embody the highest art from of what it is to be an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Portland"","block_context":{"text":"Portland","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/portland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/10275929_10203839184530558_2214799492814130627_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9254"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17418,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9254\/revisions\/17418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}