Best 'bent for climbing

[Aldone]

Which is the best recumbent for climbing?

LWB with 700c wheels?

[LandLuger]

P-38 had a reputation for being a great climber.

[edit]

The discussions on the recumbent forums seems to suggest that an upright seated "leg press" style geometry is conducive to faster climbing. It has been speculated that a recumbent that could "morph" from seat angle to another on the fly would be the fastest 'bent of all.

[GreenGrasshoppr]

Tadpole trikes are awesome for climbing.

[aikigreg]

I have a buddy who has a rans dual 700cc bike and he climbs like a fiend, but he trains for hills like a fiend, too! I climb pretty well on any bike, but the p-38 is my hilly bent of choice. Heck, I could climb well on my baron lowracer as well. Bachetta Aeros are also great climbers.

I think it's really about the person and whether they train for hills, though.

[BlazingPedals]

Tadpole trikes are awesome for climbing.

As I wrote in the other thread, when people talk about hill climbing, they usually mean speed. In that context, tadpole trikes are the worst climbers - their strength is climbing slowly.

[Dahon.Steve]

I think it's really about the person and whether they train for hills, though.

I remember last year in a group ride an old guy on a BikeE left us all behind on a small hill that had me in the granny gear. I tried to do what he did on that same bike and was exhausted which is why I never purchased the BikeE. However, he went up that hill like the bike was a DF! Go figure.

[aroundoz]

+1 to the above post. I road a bike E for 600 miles on a tour and I thought it was horrible at climbing. It's the motor not the machine (but I am not saying a good machine doesn't help us mortals).

[palmersperry]

Tadpole trikes are awesome for climbing.

Trikes are pretty much awesome for getting up "the hill" no matter what. However I would suspect that, all other things being equal, I would be faster up a given hill if I owned a Challenge Fujin SL-II (weight ~8.6kg) rather than a Trice QNT (weight >16kg).

[2manybikes]

Something as light as possible with plenty of low gears. And only two wheels.

P-38 comes to mind.

[cat0020]

What kind of climbing? going on a bridge for overpass?
Steady 3% grade for 20+ miles?
or 12% grade for 2000 ft?

Pavement or gravel?

I would assume that in Italy, roads are narrow, trikes should be out of the picture, and there are plenty of hills that are beyond what US rider consider "climbs", and once you get over the climb, you have some serious and dangerous downhill on the other side, you gotta be more specific of your needs.

If you are looking to get a recumbent, climbing ability shouldn't be priority, since recumbents are not meant for climbers on bicycles.

[aikigreg]

What kind of climbing? going on a bridge for overpass?
Steady 3% grade for 20+ miles?
or 12% grade for 2000 ft?

Pavement or gravel?

I would assume that in Italy, roads are narrow, trikes should be out of the picture, and there are plenty of hills that are beyond what US rider consider "climbs", and once you get over the climb, you have some serious and dangerous downhill on the other side, you gotta be more specific of your needs.

If you are looking to get a recumbent, climbing ability shouldn't be priority, since recumbents are not meant for climbers on bicycles.

Trikes sound fine for just such roads. Plenty of trike riders have gone up and down the Rockies with no issues whatsoever. Trikes have disc brakes which make them have excellent stopping power. And bents can climb just fine thank you, even on steep grades or long low grades. I have passed more DF riders uphill than I could count in a day.

[cat0020]

Like I said, without knowing the chriteria, you can not possibly make a good conclusion that trikes will be ideal for his usage.

What if he has to ride on narrow mt. pass with cars and motocycles and such? given the width of a trike, he might get bumpped off the cliff of a mountain pass in the Italian Alps. In that case, two-wheel might be better suited.

[GreenGrasshoppr]

As I wrote in the other thread, when people talk about hill climbing, they usually mean speed.

I didnt read your other thread, but when people ask about hill climbing, I usually assume they know that they know it depends on the rider's muscle strength and stamina.

If I had to choose for a bent to climb hills in urban areas, I'd choose a tadpole trike, simply because I can stop and go on the steepest climbs without any problem.

[cat0020]

I was thinking the starter of this thread is asking about a recumbent that could climb in the moutntain paases in the Italian Alps, where the roads could be less than 8 ft. wide shared with autos and motos, with a dropoff cliff side on one side of the road. Imagine riding a trike in areas such as Mt. Tamalpais or Golden Gate, Muir Woods area just north of San Francisco, trikes can not possibly be the better choice on those roads..

[GreenGrasshoppr]

I was thinking the starter of this thread is asking about a recumbent that could climb in the moutntain paases in the Italian Alps, where the roads could be less than 8 ft. wide shared with autos and motos, with a dropoff cliff side on one side of the road.

I think riding even a DF road bike there would be risky...

[chicagobent]

I rode a Haluzak Leprechaun on a tour in the Adirondacks a few years ago with a friend who was on a Titanium DF. I had no problem keeping up with him while climbing a very long (more than 20 mile) incline up to Lake Placid. We were going off the main route because we wanted more miles that day than the offical route. When we told the ride organizers where we would be so they could look for us if we didn't arrive by dinner, they said "Oh, you're going to ride up the mountain?" We were not looking at a topographical map when we picked the route, but we did it anyways. The incline was so steep that when we were riding up, we could smell the brakes burning on the trucks which were coming down. The next year we rode Moose Tour through the White mountains in Northern Maine. This time, my friend on the DF was struggling to keep up with me on my bent. Once you get your muscles trained on a recumbent, you can definitely ride up hill very well.

[Aldone]

I was thinking the starter of this thread is asking about a recumbent that could climb in the moutntain paases in the Italian Alps ...

Yes, I live in Turin (home of last year Winter Olymic Games) and I'd like a bent that I can use with friends riding nice DF road racers.
Trikes are impossible to use in narrow italian roads, riding a 2 wheeled bike is dangerous enough.

I understand that it's impossible to stand on the pedals on a bent but on long climbs you're going to stay seated even on DF, so the main problem is weight??

[GreenGrasshoppr]

so the main problem is weight??

The main problem is getting the proper muscles up to the task

[BlazingPedals]

I've never seen one here in the U.S., but if I were in Italy I'd try to look these (http://www.slywayprojects.com) up. They look like the Italian version of a Bacchetta. Highracers are probably the best recumbents to ride with uprights because they're almost at the same height. There will still be a difference in speed profiles, but the only way around that problem is to ride what the others are riding.

[Bruce]

Rotator is excelent for climbing with it's duel drive system

[yakmurph]

My Cruzbike climbs better than I do.

...except for steep gravel inclines, then the front wheel spins.