Curious ... do any of you recumbant folks swap and ride your upright now and then? If so, how often/frequently? And, what are the quibbles you have or notice when switching between the two.
I ask because ... I was introduced to HPVs / Recumbants back in 1991 and 1992 in Columbus, IN where they were nearly ALL home-grown contraptions. And, many folks built shells for them and raced in crit-like ovals in parking lots, etc.
We bought a couple lightnings (I think that was the brand - square metal frames) that same year ... boy are those things heavy and terrible to steer!
But, I have several friends who ride (i.e. a EZ, and a Bachetta come to mind) bents and we get together every couple weeks to ride.
I'm VERY interested in getting one. But, I LOVE my Trek 5200 (old 1992 model). I simply love the whole idea of bents.
I think I WANT every type of bike ... as I have a upgright Tandem on order from my LBS currently. :D
Trsnrtr
07-06-05, 03:29 PM
I still ride an upright tandem with my wife but have sold all of my single uprights in favor of my two high-racers..
-Dennis
bentrox!
07-06-05, 03:44 PM
While I no longer have a road bike, I do keep my Specialized Stumpjumper for short jaunts. I have two sets of wheels, knobbies for the trail, of course, and slicks, which I use most often as I ride around town. Hopping on the Stumpie is more spontaneous when all I need is a quick ride of a few miles or less. For longer rides, though, I wouldn't dream of riding anything other than my recumbent.
bentcruiser
07-06-05, 03:57 PM
Curious ... do any of you recumbant folks swap and ride your upright now and then? If so, how often/frequently? And, what are the quibbles you have or notice when switching between the two.
After I had my first recumbent, my regular bike was out the door in a month. I have considered, however, getting a new upright. But just a folding bike for trips...nothing too serious.
sbhikes
07-06-05, 07:18 PM
I will preface this by saying I did not decide to get a recumbent because of pain or weight issues. I got one because it looked like fun.
Today I rode my regular bike (a Trek mountain bike) for the first time in 8 months to work. My crotch hurts. My elbows hurt. My neck I think is broken. But man did I feel like I was flying, especially up hills. My bent has a somewhat high bottom bracket and I really noticed that on a regular bike you get an assist from just the gravity of your legs. I also had to ride a bit strangely not having the same muscles in shape anymore. Strong hamstrings, weak whatever they are in front. It was fun except for the pain. I was wishing for something more upright, just like some old man with arthritis. Ready to go get a "comfort bike", but then I remembered I already have one--my recumbent!
I'd like to keep doing both to keep all my muscles in shape, but maybe I'll have to stock up on vitamin I before riding the mountain bike (vitamin I = Ibuprofen). I gotta find a way to get really fast on the bent, too. I want to fly so fast people don't know what hit them. I've been taking it way too easy.
Lucky13
07-06-05, 07:24 PM
I ride both...a Burley recumbent and a Bike Friday folding upright.
>>And, what are the quibbles you have or notice when switching between the two.>>
Hmm...my hands prefer the 'bent, my knees prefer the upright.
In general terms, I enjoy riding upright bicycles more than recumbents. With the latter, the ride seems just a bit too, uhmm, passive...just sit 'n spin. Also, I don't climb very well on my 'bent...and I live in Florida with only the occasional draw bridge to crest! Climbing bothers the knees...and I try to concentrate on spinning low gears. In contrast, the Bike Friday is quite the good climber. The difference has been dramatic.
I'm on my second 'bent now, solely because of some numbness issues in my fingers when riding an upright. If I hope to head out on a long tour in the future, I may be forced to ride a recumbent bicycle.
Anyway...
Hallyx
07-06-05, 11:49 PM
Sadly, my arthritic thumbs prevent me from safely riding my roadbike more. As an avid motorcyclist and a dedicated quadruped I really enjoy the balance, the road feel and the natural body position of a DF. I loath automobiles (haven't owned one for 25 years now) and find the typical bent posture too much like driving a car. But I can sure go a long ways on one.
Hal
cjs1948
07-07-05, 11:32 AM
Curious ... do any of you recumbant folks swap and ride your upright now and then? If so, how often/frequently? And, what are the quibbles you have or notice when switching between the two.
I ask because ... I was introduced to HPVs / Recumbants back in 1991 and 1992 in Columbus, IN where they were nearly ALL home-grown contraptions. And, many folks built shells for them and raced in crit-like ovals in parking lots, etc.
We bought a couple lightnings (I think that was the brand - square metal frames) that same year ... boy are those things heavy and terrible to steer!
But, I have several friends who ride (i.e. a EZ, and a Bachetta come to mind) bents and we get together every couple weeks to ride.
I'm VERY interested in getting one. But, I LOVE my Trek 5200 (old 1992 model). I simply love the whole idea of bents.
I think I WANT every type of bike ... as I have a upgright Tandem on order from my LBS currently. :D
The simple answer is NO. When I had more than one kind of bike (Proflex and Cannondale recumbent) in addition to my trike, I tried to give equal time but always wanted to go out on the trike. So, that's all I have now and do not plan on any pedaling without three wheels. I suspect those two-wheeled recumbent fanatics feel the same way about their riding choice.
Chip
JenM
07-07-05, 05:37 PM
I look at my beloved DF, already promised to my neice, and wish I could take it for a spin or two, but then I remember how high and out of control I would feel, how unaccustomed I've become to ever putting my feet on the ground, and how claustrophobic the DF makes me feel. Plus how hard it is for me to get ON it. So, though I will always enjoy looking at uprights, and even envy their riders a little, I'll just keep rollin' on on my trike.
JoelMW
07-07-05, 08:08 PM
For 75%-80% of my mile this year (approx. 2500) I will be riding my Bacchetta Corsa because I prefer it for road riding. Since I ride through the winter (Minnesota) and occasionally go find dirt to play in I get out my cyclocross bike and ride it. I am probably going to do some cyclocross racing this fall.
JoelMW
megaman
07-07-05, 09:40 PM
I still have a hybrid sitting in the basement. Hasn't been ridden in almost 3 years. It's got a new chain and cassette, fairly new seat and tires.
But when I enjoy riding my bent so much it just doesn't seem worth it to even get on it anymore.
ChiliDog
07-07-05, 11:18 PM
Over the past 5 years, I've been through phases of giving-up the DFs for the bent and vice versa. Now I've got 2 DFs (hybrid/road, MTB), a SWB, and am getting a trike. I look at the 2 DFs and my butt hurts just thinking about it, though I have ridden both this season. Mostly I've been on the bent.
Now, after 5 years, I'm starting to focus on bents/trikes and always lusting after one or another of these. They are just such fun! DFs seem "alien" to me, but I think I would miss them if I gave them up. So they sit and wait for me to take them out! I don't know what the future holds for them...I try not to think about it! :)
woodcycl
07-08-05, 06:57 AM
Interesting responses ... but pretty much what I expected. I, too, am afraid I'd give up my upright if I went to the darkside. My biggest gripe, though, is that the upgright uses different muscle groups than the bent ... and just because you are in shape from extensive use of one ... switching for a bit or a few rides won't necessarily be the same due to the different muscle groups. That would frustrate me.
I noticed that the old bents we bought back in the early 90's were INFINITY'S and were built by someone in or near Bloomington, IN I believe. Anyone else ever see or ride these? They were neat for their time/era.
Vrex
07-08-05, 08:32 AM
I've been riding my V-Rex for about two years now, and I much prefer it for longer rides in rural areas that I typically do on weekends. OTOH, I still like my old Dawes DF for around town because it's easier to see behind me, stop and start at intersections, etc.; plus I have a set of capacious saddlebags on it for running errands. Overall I've found the V-rex to be a nice complement to the Dawes but not a direct replacement for it.
steveknight
07-08-05, 10:13 AM
after three montsh on my bent when I finally got the df repaied from getting hit by a car i tried to ride it. it fel like I was going to fall over forwards. it was really wierd. plus the cranks felt really small and it was hard to pedal. plus the seat was killing me.
I would not mind somethign easy to hop on for quick trips but other then that I can't see putting enough time on the df to make the seat feel good.
spambait11
07-08-05, 03:45 PM
I'm back on a DF, a Bike Friday single-speed. In my case, I think I bought a recumbent too early in life, and wish I had waited. After I followed Rivendell's advice of raising my handlebars slightly higher than my saddle, I've been so comfortable on my DF that I haven't been riding my Rocket for the past 8 months.
I know I'll eventually end up on a 'bent - hopefully later rather than sooner - so I still keep my eyes open to the new technologies and design refinements coming out in the 'bent world. But I'm pretty satisfied for now.
sch
07-08-05, 05:29 PM
Depends on who I am riding with and the terrain. I go up hills 2-3mph slower on the bent, so if I am riding with a group of faster riders or on a very hilly course I ride the DF, otherwise I ride the bent. Works out to about 50-60% bent, 40-50% DF. I switch hit on rides alone, partly to avoid DF deconditioning, which never the less has occurred, especially in the saddle.
Steve
woodcycl
07-08-05, 05:43 PM
Depends on who I am riding with and the terrain. I go up hills 2-3mph slower on the bent, so if I am riding with a group of faster riders or on a very hilly course I ride the DF, otherwise I ride the bent. Works out to about 50-60% bent, 40-50% DF. I switch hit on rides alone, partly to avoid DF deconditioning, which never the less has occurred, especially in the saddle.
Steve
Interesting sch! That is what I would most likely attempt to do also ... but like you say ... the ol' rear-end would suffer without the near 100% DF saddle time.
By the way ... I'm a noob when it comes to bent terminology for upgrights. What does DF refer to?
sch
07-08-05, 06:07 PM
Diamond frame (DF), or standard road bike, and many ATB bikes. Also referred to as uprights, upwrongs, safety bikes. Steve
ChiliDog
07-08-05, 10:06 PM
Some people, of course, go to bent bikes and trikes because of health issues or whatnot. I was not one of those. I got interested because it looked like fun, and it is!
Now, though, I find it so much fun, that I sometimes neglect my DFs. (they are fun too, but different). I would never consider touring on anything other than a bent, however.
It's nice to have both, even though you may prefer one over the other. I may, at some time, go totally "bent". It could happen! :D
Here's a nice compromise for those on the fence:
http://www.ransbikes.com/fusion26x26.htm
geebee
07-09-05, 06:51 AM
I ride my chopper style df's (they are IMO much more comfortable than most df's)for variety but the trike does the vast majority of my milage.
Has anyone else noticed that on a df cars will almost scrape your handle bars as they go past but on a trike they will give you 2~3 feet or even change lanes?
sbhikes
07-09-05, 01:18 PM
Yes, I've noticed that. When riding my mountain bike they will treat me terribly, laying on the horn, revving the engine, passing way too close, passing even if I'm taking the lane on a twisty mountain road going downhill at their speed. On my recumbent they don't hardly ever do that sort of thing, or not to the same degree, and definitely not with the same hatred being expressed.
BuckyYuen
07-09-05, 02:04 PM
I ride both. I'll admit I have too many bikes (road, mountain, folding, cruiser, hybrid, recumbent trike)... but I can't part with any of them because they all have a place in function and my heart. I get a little emotionally attached to my bikes. I've had no issues riding either upright or recumbent, and enjoy what each brings to me.
aikigreg
07-09-05, 05:21 PM
I have a sweet all carbon trek road bike that I race with in triathalons, so as we get into the season for that here in Texas I switch over to it until the season is over. Otherwise, for any other riding where I want to truly have fun, I ride bent. If I could ride my bent in the triathalon I'd get rid of the road racer in a heartbeat :)
geebee
07-09-05, 05:38 PM
Aikigreg, on a forum in Aus. I came across a club in Sydney that allow bents in triathlons, one of the other riders said he would be riding feeling great and powerful and then this lowracer would go past like he wasn't even trying. :)
Might explain why they don't allow them normally.
If I can find the link again I'll post it.
bigmoose
07-09-05, 10:52 PM
Yes, the Trek Navigator gets out about once every month during the summer to let it know I havent forgotten about it. Otherwise its all the EZ-1. The Trek also sees all the rain and snow too. I like riding the Trek just because of the manuverability. Dont like the numbness and usual things about the df bikes. Also the Trek does not receive the attention the 'bent gets. Sometimes that well meaning attention can be a little much. (Not saying that it is a bad thing.)
Wheel Doctor
07-10-05, 07:21 AM
I have a few physical issues with uprights. However, I still ride my MTB on XC Trails and some technical stuff. Most all of my road riding is recumbent. I do some short rides <20 miles on my roadie and ss/fixie, but not often as of late.
Jude
aikigreg
07-11-05, 09:03 PM
Aikigreg, on a forum in Aus. I came across a club in Sydney that allow bents in triathlons, one of the other riders said he would be riding feeling great and powerful and then this lowracer would go past like he wasn't even trying. :)
Might explain why they don't allow them normally.
If I can find the link again I'll post it.
That would be, in the words of Eric Cartman, totally sweet. :)
BlazingPedals
07-11-05, 09:23 PM
Lessee, I used to ride my Trek hybrid to work, and my bents the rest of the time. But since I no longer have a practical bike commuting route available, the hybrid has been gathering dust. Last fall my oldest kid took it out and scratched the h*ll out of it :eek:, so it now looks used-er than it ever did when I was riding it regularly.
I still ride it a couple times a year, when the snow and ice on the roads discourages me from taking my 'nice' bikes out.
Greg, did you get the headset problem worked out on your Baron?
BlazingPedals
07-11-05, 09:43 PM
Aikigreg, on a forum in Aus. I came across a club in Sydney that allow bents in triathlons, one of the other riders said he would be riding feeling great and powerful and then this lowracer would go past like he wasn't even trying. :)
Might explain why they don't allow them normally.
If I can find the link again I'll post it.
Greg probably heard this story, but last year Lowracer1 and I were doing a century ride. About 45 miles into the ride, we came onto the time trial portion of a triathlon. All the racers were streched out on their aerobars, sinew and muscles straining, sweating profusely, & with agony written all over their faces. LR and I accelerated to flyby speed and started passing them in job lots. They made a cool swooshing sound when we went by them, kind of like when you pass a fencepost. :) Yeah, none of them had a prayer of coming within 5 mph of us.
You'll never hear me complain that I'm not allowed to compete directly against the racer DF types. With the advantage my bike gives me, comparing my speed to theirs is literally an apples to pineapples thing. I only wonder why, when my speed advantage is so obvious, don't more of them want to get a lowracer so they can go fast too?
jeff-o
07-12-05, 04:10 AM
Perhaps the triathletes were getting tired, or at least saving their strength for the running portion?
geebee
07-12-05, 06:49 AM
Aikigreg, sorry to say the forum comes up system message error now days, but I found this quote from it on my HDD.
"By the way when Glenn does a surge on the flying furniture 'lowracer' he rides it is embarrassing, kind of like ringing a Mini out and cruising along at 180kph with a big smile on your face only to have a V12 Jaguar move up beside you so effortlessly that your smile is gone and you feel slow and unpowerful. "
BlazingPedals
07-12-05, 11:16 AM
Perhaps the triathletes were getting tired, or at least saving their strength for the running portion?
The overall body language said they didn't have anything to 'save,' so it'd be valid to presume they were tired. Or at least pushing their LTs. They were racing, after all! But it's not as if we'd saved ourselves for 45 miles so we could toast them. Heck, we didn't even know they'd be there until we saw them.
lowracer1
07-12-05, 09:50 PM
Yeah no kidding John! We sure weren't saving ourselves at all. If I remember right, we had hammered for 45 miles before coming up on them.
Actually though if you want to see a true comparison with true cream of the crop state time trial contenders, check these results out. I was in the open class on my lowracer. For the most part , only some of the masters and cat 1 class were beating mine and Frank Geyers times on the 40 k course.
I came in 23rd overall which isn't too darn bad concidering I'm not an elite cat 1 racer. Pretty much creamed all the cat 3's 4 's and 5's though.
Lessee, I used to ride my Trek hybrid to work, and my bents the rest of the time. But since I no longer have a practical bike commuting route available, the hybrid has been gathering dust. Last fall my oldest kid took it out and scratched the h*ll out of it :eek:, so it now looks used-er than it ever did when I was riding it regularly.
I still ride it a couple times a year, when the snow and ice on the roads discourages me from taking my 'nice' bikes out.
Greg, did you get the headset problem worked out on your Baron?
Sure did. Everything seems to be going very well, though I need to teach myself how to adjust that rear brake and make it tighter. It's kinda worthless when going up against the front disc.
BlazingPedals
07-13-05, 11:41 AM
Yeah no kidding John! We sure weren't saving ourselves at all. If I remember right, we had hammered for 45 miles before coming up on them.
I especially remember that paceline of 4 or 5 skinny racer-types that were doing 24-ish, about 2 miles before we saw the triathlon competitors. They didn't like getting toasted and they tried to catch back up but they blew up on the next climb.
andreaelassar
07-15-05, 11:11 PM
I like and prefer to ride my recumbent most of the time. I'm still on occasion riding the upright, a Jamis Aurora (2000) touring bike for short trips to the store and to commute a short distance to work, 2 miles, since I'm reluctant to lock up and leave my recumbent outside. The ratio is probably now it seems 90-95% recumbent miles to 5% upright miles per month.
Andrea
paulw
07-16-05, 12:43 AM
For a quick trip into town (4 kms) or when we're away in our RV, we take folding Birdy's.
They're easier to transport and probably a little safer in traffic.
Hal Hardy
07-24-05, 09:45 PM
After 3 years of riding my only bike, a Tour Easy, I've concluded that there are a few circumstances were it isn't appropriate. Most of my fishing holes are reached by hiking utility/fire roads. I kept thinking that a bike would get me there faster and easier, but the TE won't handle soft, loose surfaces. I finally bought a MTB last week, but haven't ridden it much. Too uncomfortable and it handles wierd. I'm waiting for the hornless saddle and taller handlebars I ordered to shift some weight rearward turning it into a vertical semi-bent. I fear I've been ruined against normal DFs. :p
ChiliDog
07-24-05, 11:10 PM
After 3 years of riding my only bike, a Tour Easy, I've concluded that there are a few circumstances were it isn't appropriate. Most of my fishing holes are reached by hiking utility/fire roads. I kept thinking that a bike would get me there faster and easier, but the TE won't handle soft, loose surfaces. I finally bought a MTB last week, but haven't ridden it much. Too uncomfortable and it handles wierd. I'm waiting for the hornless saddle and taller handlebars I ordered to shift some weight rearward turning it into a vertical semi-bent. I fear I've been ruined against normal DFs. :p
Hal, here's what you need for getting to your fishing holes:
http://www.ransbikes.com/dynamik.htm
Hal Hardy
07-25-05, 07:10 AM
Hal, here's what you need for getting to your fishing holes:
http://www.ransbikes.com/dynamik.htm
You're right. That bike is much closer to what I would like to have gotten. They need to offer a cheapskate model. I didn't know Rans made DFs. I have to get out of the house more often.
I have gained a lot of respect for those downhill MTB racers I see on TV. Ripping down a trail on a bike with this frame geometry is the LAST thing I'd do with it. Maybe if I mounted the saddle on a rear rack.