We make Linear recumbents because we think American manufacturing can compete successfully. Here is a bit more about us.
We were bike geeks and recumbent riders long before we bought the assets of Linear Manufacturing in 2002. Among us we have 100 years experience in the bicycle business. We have been recumbent riders since 1995.
We believe in sustainable business growth. Because of this we insulated our new building extremely well, we reuse as much packing material as practical and recycle as much of the rest as we can. We use debt sparingly and, Lord willing should be out of debt in 2014.
We prefer manufacturing in the USA because it adds jobs to our community and gives us better control of our bike’s quality.
We believe in carefully designing and testing our bikes before selling them. We are not the fastest at introducing new models but we have never had a customer break one of our NY made Linear frames.
We believe bikes can be a great form of transportation so we build practical bikes, not racing bikes. All our bikes can carry groceries or luggage. They all come with light, fast 1.5″ wide tires but can be fitted with rugged 2″ wide tires for a smoother ride or more rugged terrain.
We remember when we were kids riding our bike was exhilarating fun, close to flying. We think most kids feel that way but adults lose interest as they get busier and their bikes get less comfortable. We design Linear bikes so you can be really comfortable and enjoy flying again.
How we bought Linear Manufacturing’s assets in 2002
I was sad in 2001 when I heard Linear had gone out of business in Iowa. We liked the ride of their bikes so we looked into purchasing their assets. Don and I drove to Iowa and made the deal. We fit what we could in our can, the rest followed by truck. Over the next several years we set to work improving their ride and durability. We have redesigned the frame, testing the changes as we go to be sure our upgrades were actually improvements. We added bar ends to all our bikes for a more ergonomic USS hand position and introduced a totally new SWB bike, the Roadster, with dramatically improved handling compared to the Iowa built Linear Sonic. also upgraded the components with 27 gears, bar end shifters and much stronger brakes.
We recently we had a 2004 Linear in for an overhaul after 10 years and 11,000 miles. Since 2004 when that bike we have upgraded the frame and parts several times. Still it was gratifying to see that this 2004 was still structurally fine and after a mechanical overhaul ready for another 11,000 miles.
The Linear recumbent bikes we produce here in Alfred Station NY are the lightest under seat steering recumbents in their price range, the least expensive USS recumbent made in the USA. We feel they are now world class bikes. Try one and see for yourself!