Birk riders and drivers

Jürg Birkenstock

I myself am still fascinated by the efficiency of the Comet RT. For me the best recumbent on the planet!

Rosmarie Bühler

I’ve had a Comet since 1999, which thanks to much loving care still looks like new today. I actually only use the Comet for racing and I always keep it in the dry in bad weather. For me, the Comet is the best recumbent bike and I’m still completely stoked about it. I was able to win numerous World Championship titles and Swiss Championship titles and I’m really glad that - even though I’m over 50 – I was still able to win the World Championship in the 4-hour race in 2009.

Charles Henry

I’m passionate about riding recumbent bikes and love making them too. No other form of transport converts energy so efficiently and also protects spinal joints and soft tissues like modern recumbent bikes. Thanks to its moderate seat position, the Birk Comet is currently probably the fastest partially encased recumbent bike with which riders can train safely, even in traffic. It accompanied me all the way to the 24-hour race in Schötz in 2002. I completed the 930km race as the fastest recumbent rider ever, riding over many mountain passes and some tours.

After a year’s creative break I’m planning to get back into racing with my own solid fully faired bike, which is almost an everyday bike. I’ll return to racing with more life experience and the insight that good equipment is more effective preparation for a race than putting in many training miles. (Charles Henry, World Champion Recumbant Bike Racer 2007)

Simon Nef and Tanja Manz

Simon Nef is a passionate recumbent bike rider. His garage holds around ten recumbent bikes, standing, lying around and hanging on the walls. He has every type, from two-wheel recumbent bikes and recumbent tricycles through to Twikes. His sporting achievements are just as impressive. Time and again he’s out-ridden his fellow riders and gone on to secure a place in the top three.

He is the owner of the largest Birk collection. Birk 02 and 05; Birk Comet 06, Birk Butterfly 07 Birk Comet RT.

Tanja Manz is Simon Nef’s partner and is just as obsessed with recumbent bikes as he is. She likes to have the same eye level as her partner, which is why she also rides Comet RT. Even their children are driven to school with a recumbent bike.

Viktor Leitsoni

I’ve been riding bikes since the age of 9. I love riding over long distances.

One of my favourite pass roads is The Grosse Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland. Hardly a day goes by in the year that I don’t get on my bike. Every year I cover a total distance of about 9000 km on bikes.

RT = Run & Tours. The Birk Comet RT is a racing bike that is also fit for touring.

The World Cup in Tilbourg (Netherlands) was my first race with the Comet RT, where I surpassed my best times. My greatest achievement was the world title in the 200m sprint for partially encased bikes. The Comet RT is great for races.

After 3 days of the World Championship and 5 hard races, I took a day off. After that I rode 79 hours straight on the Comet RT: 840 km from the Netherlands to Switzerland. Travel time 34 hours, resting period 48 hours. A week with the Comet RT at races and tours - great times!

(Viktor Leitsoni, born 1964, works a social worker in the youth welfare service.)

Arlen Troost

The Speed Bike by Jürg and Regula Birkenstock is for me the best and most beautiful bike. It’s simply the best, from the seat angle to the elevation of the bottom bracket. The bike is both comfortable and fast. The quality of the wheel and the personal support from Birkenstock is first class.

With some training and the comet at their side almost anyone can achieve a remarkable performance. When travelling the Comet RT has already taken me over 350 kilometres in one day. The other road users were very accepting. That said, riders should cultivate a more aggressive driving style to make sure other road users notice you.

When I bought this bike I suddenly caught the racing fever. The bike challenges you to give it your best.

At one Criterium race I was riding with an average speed of more than 48 km/h. And when you ride over 160 kilometres in four hours, a completely normal person suddenly turns into a runner-up in the World Championship (4-hour race in Tilburg (NL) 2009).

Andreas Seilinger

Andreas Seilinger is from Ottenhofen near Munich and has been on the recumbent bike racing scene since 1999. He has been driving the first Birk Comet RT since 2008. In 2009 he won the European Championship on it. But there is another reason why his Comet RT is famous throughout the scene: It is the first and only vehicle on the starting line with an elaborate airbrush design.

The workmanship is perfect in every detail. This is more than just a bicycle, it’s a work of art. And it would be hard to say otherwise about the performance too. (www.traumvelo.de)