We were surprised September 8, 2006 when Burley announced it was immediately stopping recumbent production. At the time Burley was one of the largest recumbent makers in the US. They reported that their recumbent business was profitable but they were losing money overall and needed to shrink and re-focus. Michael Coughlin purchased Burley and has a good track record of saving financially troubled companies. Burley is now focusing on importing their bicycle trailers.

The rest of the information on this page is left for historical purposes.

Burley Limbo Recumbent Bicycles

All Burley recumbents are OSS and the Limbo converts between CLWB and SWB without additional parts. The frame is a Chromoly mono-tube with a rear air shock. Its rear suspension “bobs” when you pedal hard on a hill climb. Combined with it’s ~38 lb weight this makes it a poor hill climber. Burley thinks the CLWB setup will be its primary appeal for casual riders and beginners due to it’s its lower bottom bracket and excellent stability. It is one of the few ‘bents that can be ridden no hands.

Set up as a SWB it is more nimble, with a slightly higher bottom bracket. It might appeal to more aggressive riders except that it is a pretty low performance, comfort bike. It wasn’t as nice as I had expected from a company with Burley’s reputation for quality and innovation. If you will be riding significant hills here is a tip for tuning a Limbo: Pump more air in the shock; you will climb better but feel bumps more too.