Touring - Recumbents

Do many folks use or despsie recumbent bikes for touring and / or commuting. I am trying to wade through all the information and it was suggested that those bikes might be better for a bad back? Drawback seems to be trouble climbing, no?

Thanks,
Kevin
Buffalo, NY

I am riding a standard bicycle (DF, or diamond frame), so I don't have a "pro-recumbent bias", whatever it means. However, I have yet to see anyone report under which conditions a DF frame is a better climber than a recumbent.

It is true that one may stand on one's pedals and climb very quickly, but that's also a fairly tiring more of climbing.

On the other hand, I always climb while sitting and spin my pedals. Under those conditions, would I be faster or slower if I were to ride a recumbent?

I have a friend who has done some touring with a recumbent and he loves it. Hills, however, are more difficult to climb with a recumbent, but if you practice and get strong, it should be OK.

Ok lets get soem things straight. some bents are slower climbers then others. a lot of it depends on weight. bents are on average heavier then a df for the same price range. you can still climb but you may go slower.
it takes awhile for your legs to adapt to a bent too.
I cummute on my bent every day. myself I like a short wheel base for it as you can manuver easier and it handles more like a regular df bike.
a lot of people find back problems go away with a bent. another place to really get more info is here
http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/index.php?

but then you have comfort a bent will usualy be far more comfy for long rides.
I cna haul 130 of wood on my bike trailer on my bent without a problem. you can mount racks and bags on it no problem.

>>I have yet to see anyone report under which conditions a DF frame is a better climber than a recumbent>>

The consensus seems to be that for moderate grades, a 'bent will do OK as long as the rider is in good condition and has been riding a recumbent for some time. Spinning is the key. It can be VERY tempting to use the seatback as leverage to push too big a gear...not advised for those who are fond of their knee joints. On really steep climbs, with double-digit grades, recumbents will lag behind.

Otherwise, I feel that a recumbent bicycle can make for a very nice touring machine.

I think it would be pretty cool to try one. I rode the KATY trail end to end Memorial weekend and saw quite a few bents. Some were touring. Of course, the KATY is pretty flat. Still I think it would be cool to ride one.

One thing for sure. Most of the people I saw riding bents had this big grin on their face!

i get the sore knee problem on realy steep hills on my bent but its a home built and at the moment only has standard mountain bike gearing need to get some lower gears on it but not sure the best way of doing it.. heres some pics.

Last summer I rode with a friend from Portland, ME to Virginia via Lake Ontario. We did multiple MAJOR climbs the Kanc (10% grade) for instance, I forget the names but there was one worse that the Kanc.....11.5%. We were both self supported on on Greenspeed GTO trikes. I can't say enough about those beasts. Absolutely the way to go.

All my touring bikes are recumbents... Yes they may climb slower then a DF. But the view they offer more then makes up for that. And in all reality just how fast is any bike going to climb once you load up all your gear? Our gear runs 70 to 80 pounds when fully loaded. (unless its a credit card tour) We tour on a Longbikes Gulfstream, and have also used a Rans Screamer and Organic Engines tandem trike. Trikes really have a lot going for them when touring fully loaded.

Vipes, nice job! Did you use a set of Greenspeed plans or just "eyeball" it? I like the use of the larger rear wheel, how low of a gear are you looking for? And what are you running for gearing now?

Speed is not an issuse, your on tour...not "THE TOUR"

looks like a big win for bents in a rave with 50,000 feet of climbing the bent team won.
Hi everyone - thought you might like to know that our own Team RAO Speedwagon did very well on RAO this past weekend. WE WON!!!!



http://www.raceacrossoregon.com/info_index.html click on the yellow box that says: Read the RAO BLOG for latest info.



We were the only recumbent team so we won first place in our division, but our team had the best overall time. One two-person team crossed the finish line about two minutes before we did, but they also started the race about two hours before us. We all had hoped we could win, but expected to finish maybe 3rd or 4th. We had very minimal technical problems (one pedal fell off, one flat tire after that leg was done, one chain came off). Only one rider had cramps and was able to ride them off. (Being in the pace vehicle and not with the other riders, we didn’t hear of any other problems)

Do many folks use or despsie recumbent bikes for touring and / or commuting. I am trying to wade through all the information and it was suggested that those bikes might be better for a bad back? Drawback seems to be trouble climbing, no?

Thanks,
Kevin
Buffalo, NY

Kevin.
Having ridden DF bikes and recumbents since 95, and having commuted on a bent and ridden around Australia on my trike, I can tell you that my SWB is fast enought up the hills and the trike a tad slower compared to a DF. Alot of the speed depends on the engine (rider), and it depends on what you want to achieve. For my money, a recumbent wins every time.
Regards
Andrew
http://www.geocities.com/andrewhooker59/CycleTouring.html

I often end up riding unsurfaced mountain trails, logging trails etc on my std touring bike. It can cope with climbing on lose surfaces and steep technical descents. How do bent's cope with rougher terrain.

>>How do bent's cope with rougher terrain>>

Generally, not as well as with, say, a mountain bike...or even a touring bike with wide tires.

Some recumbents are available with front suspension or even full suspension and when combined with appropriate tires can handle moderate conditions reasonably well. The occasional dirt road wouldn't be a problem.

For more serious terrain, I think that a 'bent would really suffer...the inability to stand up, the inability to impart any, uhmm, "body english" to the mix.