Recumbent - How many recumbent riders still ride a wedgie?

How many recumbent riders here still ride a wedgie road bike? For the purposes of this thread mtn bikes do not count because I know some of us like to off road on a mtn bike, but we stick with recumbents while riding on the road.

Just wondering how many are purists & ride only recumbents & how many still ride wedgie saddle/diamond frame road bikes? If you still ride a road bike, why?

I haven't touched my hybrid road bike since I got my trike. Well technically I did touch it, to move it to the back of the garage. ;)

My recumbents take up too much room

I still ride my upright a bunch, but only on short rides to crosstrain, or when it's traithalon season. If I weren't doing tris, I'd have sold it. It's light and accellerates and I'm fast on it, but not as fast nor as fun as the lowracer. And now that I have a p-38 as my commuter, I have even less reason to bother with an upright, except to hit muscles that bents don't.

My bikes are tools for conquering pavement. I ride the tool that best fits the needs of the day. Big climbing rides usually the wedgie comes out, windy days, usually the trike. Long stretches in areas known for bad pavement, take the wedgie. Rolling hills, good pavement take the trike. Occasionaly the wedgie comes out just to fit into a group ride, but it isn't because I can't usually keep up with the average wedgie rider around here, pacelines are no place for a trike.

Being a bikeshop junky, I have more bikes than I have limbs.. all for different type of riding... can never have enough bikes, motorized or not.

I've got 2 bents (swb & trike), DF hybrid, folder, MTB, road, city, they all get used, though the SWB gets the most miles each year, second is tied with the trike & MTB, then the folder, hyrid, road, city. Just depends on my mood and the ride. I enjoy each and everyone of them

Brian

I ride my DF bikes in town where I prefer them to bents. I also would use my DF bikes for touring depending on where I was going and what the road surface/traffic would be like.

For the most part I use my bents for long distance highway riding and the DF for urban medium to short distance rides.

My DF bikes are more versatlie than my bents, but after 100kms a day the bents start to look really good.

As someone else mentioned above - use the right tool for the right job.

I use my DF when I commute to work.

DF (Cross Check) during winter, DF are better on ice/snow/mud etc.
Recumbent (Street Machine) the rest of the time- more comfortable and
satisfying ride.

Yes, but time will tell if it remains so. I'm thinking that my fat tired DF(whether mountain or comfort) will still be a mainstay. DF road bikes are gone forever.

DF is used for faster or hillier group rides with other DF, most of whom are faster than I am anyway. Or when I ride with 2-3 friends on a reasonably fast ride. The bent is used on certain group rides, and on most of my solo rides, it is just tooo comfortable.
Neck limits get to be a hassle up around 60-70mi on the DF or on subsequent day
rides on the DF. Takes 2-3 days to get over the neck ache. OTOH recently started
doing occas rides as a stoker on a tandem an enthusiastic friend bought for a short
lived new squeeze. It is interesting, we average 2-4mph faster than on a DF solo, and I have no neck problems at all (more erect posture) and the crotch cramps are 'tolerable'. Planning a century this Sat on the tandem.

Up til the recent tandem surge, I was spending about 45% of my annual mileage
(4kmi-5.5kmi/yr) on the bent. Not sure how it is going to work out now.

I ride about 220miles per week on my roadie. Most of my riding buddies are roadies so it makes sense to ride such a bike. I do ride my trike with a roadie bunch around the local velodrome, once a week. Try to stay at the back for safetys sake, yet it does make turns off the front awkward for everyone :( . Still better then being in the middle of a pack of cyclists though :) . For me, the trike really is an awkward piece of equimpment to use alongside other machines. I do the most miles on my trike, on twisting, urban bike paths, usually alone. That isn't a bad thing I may add :)

I sold all my Road bikes after purchasing my recumbents. I kept them for a couple of years but never rode them after buying the bents.

I still ride my wedgie, but only to commute to work... I would love to ride my 'bent full time, but my employer (a big 3 automaker) dosen't allow bikes onto company property, so they are left outside the plant, chained to the fence... The gate that I use to enter the plant is kind of desolate and I work steady mid-nights... A real recipe for disaster and easy pickings for bike thieves.... Luckily, I will be retiring at the end of May, and can finally relocate my wedgie to the rafters of the garage...

My MTB wedgie caused too much pain. Sold it right after buying my bent so I could buy more accessories for it.

my employer (a big 3 automaker) dosen't allow bikes onto company property

Seriously? Is that an insurance thing, or an anti-bike thing?

I usually use my Diamond frame for commuting to work, sometimes I'll trike it, but I like to ride to the gym at lunchtimes some days during the week and the trike is just too much hassle to tie up outside it. So I find my upright better and quicker for that, given my limited time. Both are a lot of fun to ride but I will always favour the bent over long distances.

Seriously? Is that an insurance thing, or an anti-bike thing?
Jeff, I kid you not... It's definitely not an insurance issue, nor do I think that it's an anti-bike statement..
It's just the company's view that the only thing that should be on the property is the employee... So the bicycles are relegated to the bike racks on the city sidewalks, or chained to the perimeter fence... This practice will never be changed either as they have gone to an un-manned swipe-card turnstile system for workers to enter and leave the plant and thus eliminate a large number of security guards who used to man the open gates.... So the best thing to do is ride an old beater to and from work, and hope that it's still there when your shift ends... I'm retiring the middle of May and glad I'm outta there !!!...

My DF stays in my trainer, next to the treadmill and in front of a DVD TV. My wife and I use that setup occasionally to exercise together (with me on the bike). We almost never ride together -- my idle speed is the same as her moderate-effort cycling speed. Otherwise I use the 'bent outside.

However, following recovery from a recent accident where I broke my hip, I may use the DF to start with -- easier to put my feet down than my high-racer. "Right tool for the right job..."

I still have a wedgie and ride it occasionally. As others have written, it's better for ice and snow, and off-road too if I did off-road. I hate to do rides over about 10 miles with it, though.

I own an upright tandem that I ride with my wife. In fact, did 33 miles today. :)

I love all my bikes. My bents are good at different things than the DF bikes, and each gets ridden for what it does best.

Ive only had my bent for a month now. I use it everyday, I rode my DF twice and it was literally a pain in the neck. I think I'm going to put it on craigslist. It should pay for some new pedals, shoes, and a fairing!

My intention was to ride both. Reality is the upright ended up parted out on ebay.

I have 3 recumbents and 1 triathlon bike.
I can't wait until I finish my next triathlon, so I can switch back to bent!

I ride my DF more than my bents. (a tailwind and a bike-e.)
I use the DF's during the week when there are more cars on the road. I feel more comfortable around traffic on a DF than I do on a bent.

I prefer the bents for riding comfort but put most miles on them on the weekends.

Mark

My 5-year-old daughter rides slowly, and stops about 2 feet after braking. I ride my DF with her.

I ride mostly my DF touring bike with higher bars, Brooks sprung saddle and 32mm tires. This has proven to be the most versatile bike I own. It allows me to climb hills due to good gearing and position, is comfortable on rough roads, can be ridden on smooth trails and gravel, is easier to fit in my car, costs less to maintain and surprisingly is comfortable enough on my maximum distance of 50 miles.

The recumbent on the other hand is, 2-5 mph faster on smooth roads with rolling hills or flatter sections of road, riding it results in no discomfort, other than numb feet, gets alot more comments from other cyclists, is better in headwinds, more confidence inspiring on fast descents and is way cooler looking.

I like all bicycles and am in the process of building a single speed out of junk parts, want a folder and wouldn't mind and probably will need, a trike, in about 10-15 years. :eek:

My bikes: http://www.myspace.com/eccentriccyclistcharlie

2 bents, 6 wedgies, ride 'em all. Variety is the spice of life.

Bent

I was hoping when I purchased the Bent to ride it more than my other bikes, unfortunately this is not the case, my folders gets used during the week for work, touring bike and mtb in the hilly parts of the county and road bike when I feel the need for a bit of speed, must spend more time on the Grasshopper, although have been looking at an ICE trike

With so many bikes, I just grab the handiest one! :D
(5 bents, 6 roadies, 1 cross bike, 3 MTB's, 2 long skateboards & 5 pair of quad skates!)
See what I mean? :p

Sold my last DF yesterday. I guess it all bents for me now!

Sold my last DF yesterday. I guess it all bents for me now!

I almost did that but after 2000 miles on my recumbent I bought a 1983 Raleigh tour bike frame off E Bay for $99. I put a Brooks saddle and a tall stem on to get the bars much higher than in my youth. Instantly, I was comfortable on a DF. Since then, its been a tossup as to which style I ride. I see less shortcomings of either style of bike and enjoy both equally. Unless a rider has a medical reason to ride only a recumbent, it becomes strictly a preference. I was at first very gung ho on bents until I realized I could still ride an upright. Either way its a good thing to excercise on any bicycle. ;)

To all of you who've dumped your DFs, where do you ride? I like bents, but in town they're not much fun. Starting and stopping a highracer for constant lights is a hassle, and my trike is down pretty low. I ride mostly open roads, but if I was in town all the time, DF seems like it would be the way to go.

I still ride a hybrid on the roads on occasion, but no road bikes at this time. My mountain bike is just collecting dust. Between two recumbents and the hybrid, I haven't ridden the mountain bike in almost a year.

Sometimes I just crave being on an upright bike, it's just a different feeling and it's a lot of fun if you haven't ridden one in a while. Plus, it always helps to remind me how much more comfortable recumbents are. My recumbents are terrible on gravel roads, but the hybrid with it's bigger tires does fine on them. So it's good to have that option.

To all of you who've dumped your DFs, where do you ride? I like bents, but in town they're not much fun. Starting and stopping a highracer for constant lights is a hassle, and my trike is down pretty low. I ride mostly open roads, but if I was in town all the time, DF seems like it would be the way to go.

I only ride my recumbent on the open road out in the country. I tried riding it in town and you are right its a hassle. Gravel or rough roads don't allow the rider to deweight and its hard on your kidneys. If I have smooth roads and ample shoulders the recumbent is tops for speed and comfort. ;)

Rare that I get on a DF...I just enjoy the bent position more. However I have not said NO to Df forever... ... ... ...peace

To all of you who've dumped your DFs, where do you ride? I like bents, but in town they're not much fun. Starting and stopping a highracer for constant lights is a hassle, and my trike is down pretty low. I ride mostly open roads, but if I was in town all the time, DF seems like it would be the way to go.

Crazy talk - I ride my bent everywhere and anywhere I used to ride my DF.

I'm going to make a prediction. I'm actually fairly good at times in picking trends. I think that it's because I'm sooooo average. It seems like what I like is what so many others like. I guess I'm not your typical 'out of the box' bent rider. At any rate, I truly believe that bents are the future of HPV's. The 1% ,I'm willing to bet, will be closer to 30% in a reasonable amount of time (ie 10-15 years).

There are some hurdles........handling/storing/transporting a larger machine, expense, hill climbing etc., but with larger sales will come some of the solutions. The popular bent of the future might look different than currents and bents may become even more specialized but I love mine and 12 months ago I wouldn't even look at one.

Don't laugh too hard when I first said that fitness facilities (not hard core iron dens) would be in every community and used by moms and athletes alike people thought I'd been drinking the hard stuff. Bents are the future of mainstream riding.......if I had spare money I'd put it on it.

Trike for touring and all around fun
Road bike for group rides (generally lots of hills and suffering)
Commuter bike for.......commuting and it can jump curbs
Fixed gear to learn how to ride a fixed gear
planning on a 2 wheel bent next.....possibley cruzbike

I don't have a 'bent yet, but when I get one I plan to still use my DFs. 'Bents and DFs use different muscles, so rotating the bikes will keep me from overdeveloping certain muscles and underdeveloping others.

I don't have a 'bent yet, but when I get one I plan to still use my DFs. 'Bents and DFs use different muscles, so rotating the bikes will keep me from overdeveloping certain muscles and underdeveloping others.

Thats partly why I ride both.

My DF works better when riding with my 5-year-old daughter; slow riding, instant stops, on and off the bike. Additionally, my trail-a-bike will not fit the bent (requires a seat post). Riding with her is the only reason I keep it.

Just wondering how many are purists & ride only recumbents & how many still ride wedgie saddle/diamond frame road bikes? If you still ride a road bike, why?
I have a LWB and a semi-recumbent (RANS Fusion).

I have a newsboy-cruiser on order, for a motor kit I have. For various reasons motor kits tend to work better on uprights.

And will likely order another of the same brand of newsboy cruiser (Worksman) for a utility/"basket" bike. For various reasons I think a cruiser type bike is a better choice here as well.
~

My DF got moved to the family vacation house to be used by everyone who wants to take a ride. Every time I ride it, I can't figure out what it was that I liked about that bike for so long. I can't imagine a distance ride on it. My Sun EZ Sport is soooo much more comfortable. bk

I ride the recumbent, a road bike, a folding bike, and a mountain bike. I bring the mountain bike out for snow. The road bike isn't used near as much, now that I have the bent. The folder is used for travelling - ie taking on Light Rail, buses, etc. I used it exclusively for a recent trip.