Alan is a long term customer and occasional riding buddy. As a downhill mountain bike racer Alan knows a thing or two about needing to have reliable kit which can be depended on in tough situations . When he's not careering down the off-season European skiing pistes on his downhill machine Alan indulges himself in a spot of what he calls 'brisk touring'. Alan's 'brisk' is what most normal riders would call 'flat out' and woe betide the unsuspecting riders who agree to accompany him on one of his weekend mini tours. Alan's idea of a quick touring weekend might involve 150 miles a day in the Scottish Highlands. Alan is typical of many customers who recognise the mile eating capabilities of the Windcheetah and enjoy long distance sports touring.




John works as a town planner in the beautiful New Forest Region and took delivery of his Windcheetah in 2002. He recently took part in the gruelling Paris –Brest-Paris event, a competition that attracts the cream of Audax riders from Europe and overseas. The event, which takes place every four years, is only open to riders who qualify by setting consistently good Audax performances in the preceding 12 months. John’s tale of the event makes fascinating reading and will be featured in the ClubWindcheetah magazine in the not too distant future. Here's a brief extract: ‘On the road the trike ran like a dream and with the added fuel of event excitement and adrenaline I managed personal best times both for 400km and 600km on the way out to Brest giving me time to grab 3 hours sleep on each of the first two nights[plus a bit less on the third night] and still be inside my planned schedule.

The Windcheetah needless to say was a source of much attention all the way with lots of questions and photo requests as well as those tried and tested comments: Did you make it yourself? Is it comfortable ? Is it fast? How do you steer it? The rear wheel is out of line! And where can I get one? Plus of course “Courage!”, “Chapeau!” and “Formidable!”’

At 55 years old John covered the 1225km distance in a creditable 84 hours, not bad for somebody who didn’t take up cycling until his late forties! When asked to submit a few notes about himself John revealed the following observation;


I am not a lifetime cyclist, and frankly still tend to describe myself as a beginner and can't quite relate my non-athletic self to the person who is completing long distance events. To paraphrase Hoffnung, "my cycling friends think I'm an accomplished mountaineer and my climbing friends think I'm a skilled cyclist - I just have to make sure I don't invite them round at the same time".

Your secret’s safe with me John!

John also owns…
Thorn tandem
Giant TCR… [see the Burrows profile elsewhere on this site]
De Mayo Audax/touring bike
Trek mountain bike
And … “Something with a basket on for shopping”…
I think the video clips on this site tell you most of what you need to know about my good friend and expert pilote du Windcheetah… Steve Beck.

Steve’s exploits on his Windcheetah had become the stuff of legend on various internet recumbent discussion groups and for a brief while at the factory we wondered if we had sold a Windcheetah to a stunt man as opposed to a cyclist. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Steve who was a helicopter crew chief in a former life, admits to “putting in a lot of inverted stick time” on his Windcheetah whilst trying to find the absolute outer limits of its performance envelope. Chuck Jaeger would have been proud of him. Prospective customers should be reassured at this point that “inverted stick time” is not a normal part of the Windcheetah learning curve…

Steve’s need for speed has led to him developing a riding style all of his own, unfortunately the journey has not been without incident and whilst looking back at spares we have sold Steve over his four years of Windcheetah ownership I was surprised that only one replacement chassis was required! The chassis, by the way, was required after Steve left the road at high speed and plunged his Windcheetah though the ice on a frozen river…

Steve very kindly accompanied me on the 2003 RAGBRAI ride across Iowa and displayed not only great riding ability, but also an uncanny knack of seeking out delicious food and alcoholic beverages.. This, above all else, makes him an ideal riding companion.

A racing cyclist for 25 years, Steve admits that since “going recumbent” some years ago has never since ridden an upright bike. Based in in Iowa City, Steve is always willing to discuss the pros and cons of Windcheetah ownership with fellow enthusiasts. We’ll be happy to put you in touch with him if you would like to find out just how fast a Windcheetah really can go.

What else lurks in Steve’s bike shed…

Greenspeed tandem
Windcheetah no 490
A new Windcheetah ClubSport
Other Things

Martin is now on his second Windcheetah, his original machine is now on permanent display in Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry. The museum proudly displays various examples of vehicles manufactured in the Manchester area and the Windcheetah sits alongside a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and other examples of the regions vehicular heritage.

Martin’s long association with the Windcheetah came after he decided that upright trikes were no longer providing him with the level of performance he required. Martins requirements are quite specialised due to having lost the use of his right arm in a cycling accident whilst still a teenager. Riding uprights with one hand is possible, but not very comfortable, particularly when braking. Martin had identified the Windcheetah and its joystick steering arrangement as the perfect solution for his needs. A keen touring cyclist and veteran of numerous overseas cycle trips, Martin’s Windcheetahs have carried him thousands of miles and he has honed his touring equipment to as fine degree. Over the years we have known him he has provided us with many useful pointers about long distance touring with Windcheetahs, and provided important customer feedback about the performance of our equipment. In common with many Windcheetah owners Martin has become a good friend over the years and often drops in and helps us out at the factory when time allows.

Martin also owns…
A classic Moulton
Whenever I speak to Fiona she is always en route to somewhere interesting or exotic. Her job as a geo-chemist takes her around the globe and emails arrive from all manner of locations . Somehow, in the midst of this globetrotting lifestyle she manages to fit in some serious bike riding . It isn’t unusual for Fiona to casually drop into a conversation that she has just competed in a long distance cycling event in Sweden or Switzerland, and then reveal that she is just off to the Andes for a walking holiday. We realised that Fiona was a little out of the ordinary when she rode her bike from her house to the factory for a service , nothing unusual in that you might say, except that Fiona’s home [at the time] was 120 miles away in the wilds of Cumbria. A keen Audax rider and long distance tourist Fiona is a perfectionist when it comes to her cycling equipment , so much so that she has designed her own cycle clothing specifically created as a result of her considerable cycling experience.

Fiona also owns…
An Airnimal folding road bike
Chas Roberts’s tourer
Heavy Tools mountain bike
And would like to own a Colnago C40

Teddy has recently joined the growing number of Scandinavian recumbent enthusiasts who have purchased Windcheetahs. He modestly describes himself as a Government Employee and is one of our best ambassadors for the Windcheetah , Teddy wastes no opportunity to enlighten other cyclists to benefits or the recumbent lifestyle. I recently asked Teddy to explain why we seemed to selling more machines in his part of the world and he replied;

“Regarding the [increased] level of interest here in Denmark-maybe its because I show off my trike to anybody that is interested –by now I believe more than 100 traditional bikers have tried it out. What they are most impressed by is the handling and braking and especially the almost non-existent roll resistance. I love riding this trike- my top speed so far is 65 kph [straight and level] and I average 35kph when riding to work, a round trip of 40km per day. I have reached speeds of 75 downhill, which feels a little scary I must say”

Owners like Teddy have helped tremendously in the past few years to promote our products around the globe and we are very grateful for their generous efforts and support.