You might have noticed there’s no shopping cart in our online shop, or that we don’t list every recumbent accessory under the sun. And we’re sure you’re wondering why. We’re sure because people have asked us over the years why things are the way they are.
We’ll attempt to answer some of those questions.
Can I order online?
Not using an automated cart system. Why? The short answer is because we want the opportunity to talk to you about your purchase.
In our experience, very few people purchase a stock recumbent bike. They want to change the derailleurs, the chainrings, the tires – they want to spec it to their tastes. That’s tough to capture in an online ordering system. Even offering the variations offered by the manufacturer wouldn’t be enough to capture the specific desires of ‘bent tweakers. And that’s fine by us! We want you to have the bike or trike that best fits your needs.
That’s actually another reason we want to talk to our customers. Some customers set their mind on what they want possibly not knowing that the bike they’re about to purchase is not suited to their intended use. Sometimes, customers new to recumbents simply buy way too much bike. Taking the ordering process “offline” means we have an opportunity to recommend a better fit. If you order online, we can’t know whether or not you want the whole family to be able to ride one bike and suggest something with a sliding seat or a chain tensioner. If you order online, we can’t know that you’re about to spend $4K on a luxury trike you’ll use only on rail trails. We won’t talk you out of anything if your heart is set on it, but we find that many customers appreciate our honesty and willingness to downsell.
It’s painful for everyone involved when a customer ends up with a recumbent they don’t like, so we like to take the orders personally in order to have every opportunity to serve you better.
What forms of payment do you accept?
RBR accepts cash, check, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. Sorry, no American Express. We also have financing available through Synchrony. Call us for details on applying.
Is shipping included in the price?
No, shipping is not included in the listed prices for our recumbents. Packing and shipping on a bicycle can run upwards of $200 depending on the weight of the bike, so please keep that in mind when calling to order.
Part of the reason that we don’t offer automated shipping calculation is that we rarely ship bikes/trikes out in the boxes they arrived in. We assemble and tune the recumbents, then break them down into a shippable configuration, recycling the boxes and packing materials from manufacturer deliveries to us. As a result, the box sizes (one of the metrics in calculating the shipping rate) are often unpredictable since we custom cut the cardboard to fit your purchase.
Do you stock everything listed online?
No, we don’t. We stock what we consider the most popular models of recumbents from several manufacturers, but our volume (and physical space) does not warrant having every single model available on the floor.
We do keep 25-30 recumbents in the shop on a regular basis, reflecting a wide variety of types (long wheelbase, short wheelbase, low racer, high racer, tadpole, delta) so even if we don’t have the model you’re interested in, we can get you on something that is likely to be similar.
That said, we can order any bike or trike from any of the manufacturers we carry. Just call and ask!
Do you list all the bikes for a particular manufacturer?
We do not list every available bike and trike from every manufacturer.
We like to put focus on two things: recumbents that have historically sold well and new recumbents that are likely to sell well.
Admittedly, it’s a guessing game. And it is tempting to just throw every model into our catalog, but if it is a bike that we’re not likely to stock, we’ll usually not list it in the catalog.
If you are interested in a model of recumbent that we don’t have listed in the online catalog and it comes from a manufacturer we do have listed, give us a call or contact us via e-mail. We can talk about getting one in for you.
Can I have a Sun, Catrike, TerraTrike or Bacchetta shipped to me?
Not at this time. In order to maintain the health of their dealer networks, TerraTrike, Catrike, Sun and Bacchetta restrict dealers from shipping their products within the US.
Same is true for Draftmaster racks. We are unable to ship any Draftmaster parts to other locations.
How often do the prices change?
Typically, once a year. Some recumbent manufacturers, however, adjust prices on a regular interval to account for changes in international exchange rates.
Do you sell components?
Absolutely! We don’t list individual components such as shifters, derailleurs, wheels, and hubs in the catalog because we currently have a very relaxed inventory system. But we can get you almost anything you need.
Specialty, custom, or legacy parts are sometimes harder to come by and may require more time to acquire.
