Roadie curious about recumbents.

[Sincitycycler]

I saw some chick riding a recumbent today with her feet way in the air and it looked like one comfortable machine. :)

What's the history of these machines? Are they faster than roadbikes? Are they for people with back problems? I heard that you can't climb with these contraptions...Enlightenment please! :D

[Supertick]

I don't claim to be an expert by any means but I will give you my take on this. I have two DF's and two bents. I like them all. I can climb much faster on the DF's. Part of the reason, I think, is because the bents weigh about twice as much as the DF's, at least mine do. I can go maybe a little faster on the flat and for sure faster on the down hills on my bents. I can ride the bents further in a day and be more comfortable at the end of the day. Some say that the climbing ability of bents depends on how high the bottom bracket is. In my case this is true but I don't know about others opinion of this. I have toured on both DF's and bents and they both have their good and bad points. I am not ready to give up on either type at this point.

[Mooky]

Get a ReBike if you want a recumbent. You can buy a used one for around $80. My feet are not high in the air when I ride my ReBike. The seat is very cushy and comfy. My big yellow flag is seen by all the car drivers on the road

I ride my ReBike in Mesa Verde County up mountains and I pass all of the group riders all the time.
The ReBike is one of the best recumbents ever made and you will be enlightened once you own one.


Mooky


I saw some chick riding a recumbent today with her feet way in the air and it looked like one comfortable machine. :)

What's the history of these machines? Are they faster than roadbikes? Are they for people with back problems? I heard that you can't climb with these contraptions...Enlightenment please! :D

[jeff-o]

Oh geez, not the rebike again... You have to try a number of different recumbents to see which one you like best.

[bentbaggerlen]

Sincity,

What's the history of these machines? The best history I've found on line can be found at http://www.bicycleman.com/history/history.htm


Are they faster than roadbikes? They can be if thats what your looking for see http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2005/speedchallenge-2005.htm
Now most of the bikes that are setting the records above 75 mph would be useless for everyday riding. Any bike bent or DF is just as fast as it's engine.


Are they for people with back problems? No,anyone can ride a bent. But offten people with back or neck problems can ride a recumbent with out pain.

I heard that you can't climb with these contraptions. Most but not all recumbents will climb slower then a DF but then again a lot has to do with the fitness of the riders.

[ppc]

I saw some chick riding a recumbent today with her feet way in the air and it looked like one comfortable machine. :)

What's the history of these machines? Are they faster than roadbikes? Are they for people with back problems? I heard that you can't climb with these contraptions...Enlightenment please! :D

I believe that a street-worthy road bent (that is, any recumbent that can be ridden safely on the road, not radical lowracers and other extreme record-settings bikes) has a slight advantage over a road bike, simply due to the lower frontal area presented by the rider, and thus lower air resistance.

Due to their slightly higher weight, climbing with a bent can be marginally slower than with a road bike, but that difference is getting smaller and smaller as "serious" bents get lighter and lighter. At any rate, you make it up with a higher top speed than road bikes going downhill, so unless you ride up all the way in a race, you still have an advantage.

Finally, bents don't sap your strenght as fast as roadies do, due to the better seating position. On long rides, again you have the advantage, because you stay fresher longer than roadies.

BUT, and this is the big but, you have to train to get the best of your recumbent. Your leg muscles don't work the same on a road bike and on a bent, and so a roadie won't be as efficient on a bent without putting many miles on it first, and vice-versa. I think this bents-can't-climb myth originates from the experience of roadies who try a bent and get dissappointed, without realizing they need to retrain to get the best of the bent. All that I said above only holds true if you compare a trained roadie to a trained bentist.

[MaxBender]

I got into recumbents (and cycling) this spring.
On my 'bent, I can ride for three hours, and when I am done nothing hurts.
No back pain, no wrist pain, no neck pain...
Oh, yeah, no pain in the butt or crotch either.

I'm getting a little faster each ride, and to go uphill I just drop down and spin.
(Trying to leg press the big gears is not fun)

Riding should be fun, right?

[Mooky]

I can ride my ReBike for 18 hours when I go across state and nothing hurts with that extra thick gel padded seat.

I average 20 miles per hour when I tour back roads with my ReBike with racks and BOB trailer. I was much faster on my Columbia Racer some years ago. My Columbia Racer is a highracer bicycle. Some recumbent people in St. Petersburg, FL say they manufacture and sell highracers. They have no knowledge of the one true highracer made by Columbia in 1886.

http://home.inreach.com/rhowehmd/AntiqueBikesImages/1886ColumbiaRacer.jpg


Mooky

[aikigreg]

Bents have some great advantages. And some disadvantages - just like a road bike. Tell us why you want one (other than the fact that they are extremely cool) and we can help further.

Many bents are heavy - they are not the best climbers, but some work just great, and KILL on the downhills and flats, and small rolling hills. MUCH better than road bikes. I ride my road bike during triathalon season but the bent the rest of the year - it's just WAY faster and more fun!.

[erik forsgren]

I saw some chick riding a recumbent today with her feet way in the air and it looked like one comfortable machine. :)

What's the history of these machines? Are they faster than roadbikes? Are they for people with back problems? I heard that you can't climb with these contraptions...Enlightenment please! :DHello, As for history search for the Mochet history in google. As for speed they seem to be faster. In Switzerland where they hold competitions for uprights and recumbents in the same category the three best cyclists are mostly recumbentists. As far as your back is concerned it will improve dramatically if you use a recumbent. The reason for this is the leaned back position and the high position of your feet.

[Paul L.]

I am faster on the bent. Even on hilly routes around my house the average speed is faster. Now this may not be true for everyone. My bodytype dooms me to a bit of a stomache even when i am in great shape so a road bke's position doesn't let me breathe good and does hurt my back when climbing hard. A bent opens up my position (in fact, the more open the position the more aero I am) so I breathe better, and the fact that the back doesn't hurt allows me to push harder on hills. I managed to average 22 mph on my 24.4 mile commute this morning which is something I was not able to accomplish on a road bike over 2 years on shorter commute with more downhill. So for some people they are faster, and for some they aren't. Just have to go try a bunch. I ride a Bacchetta Strada High Racer by the way. I prefer the high racer for riding in traffic as it puts you up higher but still gives you a pretty aero position.

[sbhikes]

Recumbents are not necessarily faster. But fast is only one measure of a bike. They can also be more comfortable, more relaxing, and easier to ride for a long distance.

If you are strong and have a recumbent that is set up good for hills, you may find you climb just as well or almost as well as on a traditional bike. I feel a bit slower on hills, but I also seem more able to catch up to people on hills on my recumbent. I don't get that at all, but there it is.

They are also quite a hoot to ride. People stare and want to ask you about it. Little kids act like they've seen the coolest thing ever. You make people smile (and you make some people sneer--oh well.) It's like a totally new toy in your toy box. Like a regular bike but different. Why only ride one kind unless you have to?

[ppc]

Recumbents are not necessarily faster. But fast is only one measure of a bike. They can also be more comfortable, more relaxing, and easier to ride for a long distance.

I'll second that. I'm only marginally faster on my bent in the long haul (although I did try to go fast, and I certainly was faster than on my upright), but I can ride halfway across Belgium with it, as opposed to having to stop 15 times with an upright to do the same thing, to rest my sore bum.

For me though, what a bent has to offer that any other bike can't is that feeling of gliding over the road on a magic carpet. There's just nothing like it.

[bentrox!]

For me though, what a bent has to offer that any other bike can't is that feeling of gliding over the road on a magic carpet. There's just nothing like it.

Yes, that gliding feeling is unlike riding a regular bike. On a lowracer, the near-horizontal, laid-back orientation has a front-on view of the road surface as it quickly approaches you and zips away behind and below your back, presenting an entirely different perception of speed from that looking down at the road from a few feet up hunched over handlebars.

In addition there is the thrill of pushing the limits of cetripetal force by cornering under full-speed spin (because the cranks are up so high there's no danger of pedal strike) which, from the close-up view of blurring asphalt inches from your elbow and shoulder, really feels like a you're banking a glider, albeit a very low-flying one.

Yep, it's addictive.

[Mooky]

In addition there is the thrill of pushing the limits of cetripetal force by cornering under full-speed spin......really feels like a you're banking a glider, albeit a very low-flying one.
Yep, it's addictive.

I push the corners hard on my ReBike when I go down mountain switchbacks. I can fly on my ReBike. My huge yellow flag never slows me down one bit when I reach 59 miles per hour.

Riding a ReBike is addictive.

Mooky

[BlazingPedals]

For me, riding a lowracer on a twisty road gives the inches-off-the-road perspective of driving a go-kart, along with the banking sensation which I prefer comparing to a jet fighter. But whether jet or glider or somewhere in between, it's a pretty cool feeling.

[bentrox!]

I push the corners hard on my ReBike when I go down mountain switchbacks. I can fly on my ReBike. My huge yellow flag never slows me down one bit when I reach 59 miles per hour.

Riding a ReBike is addictive.

Mooky

Mooky, why do you do this? Seek help now for your personal problems. Please!

[Sincitycycler]

Recumbents are not necessarily faster. But fast is only one measure of a bike. They can also be more comfortable, more relaxing, and easier to ride for a long distance.

If you are strong and have a recumbent that is set up good for hills, you may find you climb just as well or almost as well as on a traditional bike. I feel a bit slower on hills, but I also seem more able to catch up to people on hills on my recumbent. I don't get that at all, but there it is.

They are also quite a hoot to ride. People stare and want to ask you about it. Little kids act like they've seen the coolest thing ever. You make people smile (and you make some people sneer--oh well.) It's like a totally new toy in your toy box. Like a regular bike but different. Why only ride one kind unless you have to?
They are also quite a hoot to ride. People stare and want to ask you about it. Little kids act like they've seen the coolest thing ever. You make people smile (and you make some people sneer--oh well.) It's like a totally new toy in your toy box. Like a regular bike but different.

Awesome! :D

[Trsnrtr]

Mooky, why do you do this? Seek help now for your personal problems. Please!

Spuds can't help it. Too many PB&Js.

[nedgoudy]

While I don't own one of these particular
recumbents I have hear HOT THINGS about
them, particularly from ex-diehard roadies.

Check em out... Bachetta Recumbents...
http://www.bacchettabikes.com/

It is the best of both worlds.

You might check out the P-38 on the
Lightning Bikes website listed below.
My two recumbents are listed below
my name.

Ned Goudy
Glendora, CA. USA
Easy Racer EZ1-SC http://www.easyracers.com/ez_1_sc.htm
Lightning Thunderbolt http://www.lightningbikes.com/thunderbolt.htm

[hiracer]

Sincitycycler:

I've gone the other way. Started cyling with bents first, and recently purchased my roadie, a Sarthe just like yours.

My Sarthe (61cm) with pedals is 20.5 pounds. My Bacchetta Aero (titanium and carbon) without pedals is 22.5 pounds. I am much, much faster on the flats with my B-Aero. I am much, much faster on the uphills with the Sarthe. I'm in the process of equalizing bike weights to verify exactly how much the difference is in the uphills.

On the descents, the Aero is obscenely fast. I pass tandems no problem. Shoot, I pass cars. I live in a hilly area and hit 40 mph almost everyday. Mountain passes are nuts.

In general riding (uphill, descents and flats) the relative overall speed of the bikes depends on terrain. The Aero excels in flatter terrain; the Sarthe excels in the hills.

My bents (also have Bacchetta Strada) are much more comfortable. I tend to grab a bent whenever the ride is over fifty miles. I also use the B-Strada for touring. The panniers hang from the seat, between the wheels, so the weight is low and centered. The bike is more stable fully loaded for touring than when empty. Amazing. Plus, I can easily see the terrain because my head is pointing up, instead of down at the road all day. Much better posture for touring.

BentRidersOnline.com is the best place to learn about bents, and the forums there are much more active than here, and the knowledge basis is much deeper. FWIW.

BTW, bents are more expensive because the small market dictates handmade bikes. And the designs vary about fifteen times more than upright bikes. It's very confusing for a beginner to figure out, and the best answer is to just test ride as many bents as you can.

[scarry]

Everyone has said it all, (ignore Mooky). As far as climbing goes, I'm slower climbing now on my Aero, than 10 years ago on my Trek, but I'm now 51. I'm able to ride and train more throughout the year because of less pain overall. So actually my avg speed is good.

As far as climbing, I've completed the Markleeville Death Ride, (15,000 ft over 5 mountain passes in a day) 7 times on a bent. My times have improved over the past 3 years, since I got my Aero. Keeping in mind that I should be getting slower at my age, this makes me happy.

I was getting problems with saddle sores and prostate problems from my Trek, that's why I got a bent.

[scarry]

I push the corners hard on my ReBike when I go down mountain switchbacks. I can fly on my ReBike. My huge yellow flag never slows me down one bit when I reach 59 miles per hour.

Riding a ReBike is addictive.

Mooky

You are a hoot, but are you related to Cindybin?
http://www.cindybin.com/
http://yahootrolls.com/