Recumbent - First Recumbent

I just bought and rode my first recumbent. It's a Sun Speedster CX that I picked up for $375 off of craigslist. Being new to 'bents, I wasn't sure what to expect, but so far I'm loving it.

Thus far I rode:

5 miles on Monday
5 miles on Tuesday
10 miles today.


Already I can feel my speed increasing and my climbing techinique is getting better. Any tips and advice will be appreciated.

Not me in the picture but this is the exact bike (http://www.nationalbicyclegreenway.com/gallery/DC-Pittsburgh2005/Girl_Enjoying_Nick_s_Bike_2) I purchased

Speedster is an excellent bike, I considered purchaing it for myself when I first started riding recumbent bike.
I don't know your cycling background, but if you use clipless pedals or toeclips, pedaling in circles rather than push the pedals would allow you more muscles to work with to propel yourself forward.
Keeping a healthy cadence is key to avoiding injuries from overusage of joints and muscle aches, also allow to train for better cardiovascular condition.
Other than that, keep the rubber side down, speed is your friend to get yourself out of instability.

I'm using a pair of Crank Bros. Candy pedals...when I first got it, it had platform pedas with no clips. There was no way that was going to work.

It's a Sun Speedster CX ... so far I'm loving it.
EXCELLENT choice!

Kind of like piloting a supersonic fighter jet, huh? :D

And YES...spin is your friend! ;)

Great little bike! Welcome to the bent up world! I'll echo everyone above. On hills pretend you are an underpowered car - gear down and keep up the rpm's. You'll do fine!

I ride a recumbent since about two months now. An AB HiRacer. After the first honeymoon I discovered that I simply do not know the bike and that I have to learn. The honeymoon was fun, though. Dealing curves and hills (sometimes walking the hills) and having general fun riding and feelign the position. But once this is made, it appeared to me that I do not really know the bike and that it will take me much more mileage that finally say the same about that bike that any other DF bike I rode in the past 20 years. I expect some time next year to hit a milestone in feeling real cozy with the recumbent.

By that I mean being able to get to that speedy point where fastly crusing along seems effortless as on a regular bike. This is made thougher on a recumbent because that point is much further out. I might have to change the gears/cogs on the bike to achieve it. Presently I have the feeling of putting a lot of RPM on the cranks which otherwise wouldn't be there on a DF bike, not on hills that is. Not that I mind that much, but I feel there's a gap of some sort that I did not fill yet.

Then there are general issues such as starting which is still not always smooth. Or having sometimes the feet jump in the air when hitting a bumpy grass patch. Cleats would help in there. Also, I'm not confident in doing some smooth singletrack, nor even as doing long flat rides such as 80 kms.

One thing that's rightly apparent is breathing. On a recumbent, at least on the AB HiRacer, the breath is much more relax than when riding on a DF bike. The effort demand on the body is less, or so it seems. But then, the leg muscles are not exactly the same and I haven't developed yet the right ones for a recumbent.

On the other hand, with this extra muscular activity, when riding back on a DF bike, it seems much more easier than before.

Another thing is falling, which so far is a nicer experience. I recently hit a sand patch and, due mainly to the tires I think - maybe not - , I lost control and fell. You are much closer to the ground to start with, at least on that bike, so the feeling is not the same nor are the reactions. I felt I had more control in falling and preparing an approach to hit the ground than from high on a DF bike.

My two cents.

Cheers.

I just bought and rode my first recumbent. It's a Sun Speedster CX that I picked up for $375 off of craigslist. Being new to 'bents, I wasn't sure what to expect, but so far I'm loving it.

Thus far I rode:

5 miles on Monday
5 miles on Tuesday
10 miles today.


Already I can feel my speed increasing and my climbing techinique is getting better. Any tips and advice will be appreciated.

Not me in the picture but this is the exact bike (http://www.nationalbicyclegreenway.com/gallery/DC-Pittsburgh2005/Girl_Enjoying_Nick_s_Bike_2) I purchased

Awesome! My only tip is get out and ride your bike as much as you can....:D

Thanks for the advice and trust me, I ride ever time I can squeeze one in. Yesterday I skippped a doctor appointment just so that I could ride...priorities, y'know. ;)

I don't see mentioned a mirror. I myself feel half blind with out one when I ride. Great for traffic and any warp 3 pace lines that may sneak up on you, and just generally peace of mind knowing what’s going on around you.

You may think about a bike computer. My bike computer with cadence is like a personal coach to me. Before I ever used one, I would tend to get lost in thought (day dreaming) while riding and find myself mashing on the hills. Now with a cadence display in front of me, it almost talks to me. Be kind to your knees.

I have to warn you on something. You may start to hear a little voice each time you walk passed your bike. You will hear something like "Com'on lets go, just around the block, you know you want to, com'on I'm soooo comfy!!!"

Have fun!!
Mark

The bike came with a bar-end mirror, although I may get one that attaches to my glasses or helmet as an alternative.

I agree...a mirror is a good thing...especially on a recumbent.

I agree...a mirror is a good thing...especially on a recumbent.

+1 - I use two on my bents and I also use one on my DF bikes.

My first recumbent was a Sun Speedster only the Alm one
first thing I did was get rid of the 30/42/52 on the front and put a MTB one on... a 22/34/44
This alowed me to much more easly go up hill with a touring load on and taught me to spin.
Yes those 1st few weeks were plain hard work [but still fun]
But keep at it... it's worth it
Now I think nothing of going a 1000miles
Good bike you won't regret it

Train just as any road cyclist would. Do distance riding, intervals, and hill repeats, and you'll soon be faster and stronger than you ever dreamed you could be!

Congrats on joining the 'bent world! I had not ridden a bike in 15 years when I bought mine at the end of June this year. The first month was pretty hairy. I felt like I was learning to ride all over again. The hills were absolute murder.

But now, 1,500 miles later, when I ride the bike is almost part of me. Long steep hills are still harder than they would be in a DF, but I routinely pass DF'ers on the shorter hills, and easily go around 25 mph on the flats.

I have a mirror on the left and the right, because in our area there are some nice places where traffic merges into you on your right - fun!

I remember a long time ago when I had a DF -- a 30 mile ride was a literal pain in the butt. When I did my first century last July, my butt, neck, and back felt great. What a difference!

Hope you have fun with your new purchase!

Yesterday I went for my first 'bent ride ever. I've ridden DF bikes a lot - including a tandem. My brother in law got a used Vision (don't know the model or year) & I rode it about 25 miles.

My impressions:

1) I can see w/o craning my neck.
2) My neck, back, shoulders wrists & crotch don't hurt
3) It seemed like it took longer on the 'bent that it would have on my DF but it wasn't any more work
4) Cruising down moderate hills was like sitting in my La-Z-Boy

This Vision was a SWB/USS. At low speed handling, I noticed that my feet would hit the front wheel. Is this an inherent problem with SWB or SWB Visions?

The bike had platform pedals with toe clips. Do these bikes work well w/clipless pedals (e.g. SPDs)?

At higher speeds (+20 mph) the handling seemed "twitchy". Is this due to the SWB? It seemed like if I did the wrong combination of leaning & steering, the bike could crash very quickly.

I don't know how old the bike is (it has V brakes). The owner is offering it for $300. It looks like it has been used and maybe a bit neglected but not abused. Is this a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance for answering the newbie questions.

Vision is no longer in business, but then again neither is Burley or Bike-E and those bikes are still popular. Vision's lowest-level SWB was the R-40 and it retailed for about a grand. So in good shape, yeah I'd say $300 was a good price. Don't expect to find one cheaper unless there's something seriously wrong with it.

This Vision was a SWB/USS. At low speed handling, I noticed that my feet would hit the front wheel. Is this an inherent problem with SWB or SWB Visions?

Yes, the SWB nature of the Vision R40, really make slow speed, tight turns an involving task.

The bike had platform pedals with toe clips. Do these bikes work well w/clipless pedals (e.g. SPDs)?

Not a problem with clipless pedals, they actually help with the slow speed/tight turn situation since you could pedal with one foot, allow you to pull and push on the pedals

At higher speeds (+20 mph) the handling seemed "twitchy". Is this due to the SWB? It seemed like if I did the wrong combination of leaning & steering, the bike could crash very quickly.

The SWB nature requires a very "light touch" when you're traveling at high speed. try to relax your hands more.

I don't know how old the bike is (it has V brakes). The owner is offering it for $300. It looks like it has been used and maybe a bit neglected but not abused. Is this a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance for answering the newbie questions.

$300 is a great price for Vision R40 with V-brakes, as long as there is not frame damage or significant rust issues... usually prices for sed Vision R40 are around $400-$600 on the low end, $700-800 on the high.

There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it. It is dirty & a bit scratched up but everything works. Shifts to all gears. If I buy it I would overhaul it. Clean it up. Replace all the cables. Clean & re-lube the chain, etc. Because of the long chainline & proximity of the chain to my leg, it seems like this would be a good candidate for hot waxing the chain (cleaner).

Is the foot hitting the front wheel when turning an inherent problem with SWBs? Do clipless pedals work well?

Thanks!

I just bought and rode my first recumbent. It's a Sun Speedster CX that I picked up for $375 off of craigslist. Being new to 'bents, I wasn't sure what to expect, but so far I'm loving it....
I had that as my first bent too (http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcimper/assorted/inanities/recumbent/speedster/speedster_tube.html); you can do some mods on the chain tubes and get a bit less drive friction and noise.

I sold mine off as it turned out to be just a bit too short for me, and caused knee pain on longer rides.

I found the handling kinda edgy too, but on-road it was fine. It was when you tried to ride through gravel (especially at high speeds!) that it was really tough to steer straight. I test-rode other SWB's when I bought it, and they felt basically the same, so I don't think anything's really wrong with the bike,,, but you have been warned!

One thing I remember NOT liking with it is that you can't mount headlights on the handlebars.
The reason is that the handlebar ends up being very close to face-level, and the light at night draws bugs in, so you get a constant rain of bugs on your face if you do it that way. There's little "T"-shaped mounts (usually intended for trikes) that you can get that clamp onto the front derailler post, and allow you to mount a light there--where it's lower than your face.
Here's one example, by Trice, at Hostel Shoppe-
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=1182880155
but there are others. Look around for "trike accessories".

Happy riding!
~

A few other comments. First, two words: White Lightning. You may still get black spots on your legs but they will wipe right off. I don't buy the argument that other chain lubes are clean as long as you keep wiping them off. WL isn't the slipperiest lube out there but it's the cleanest for your legs.And it's easier than dumping your chain into a pan of hot wax.

Depending on which year the Vision is, it could be as short as a 36-inch wheelbase. Most modern SWBs have wheelbases from 42" on up, because longer gives a better ride. But what feels 'squirrelly' at first will seem 'responsive' once you get used to it.

The rear wheel was uniquely dished. I've heard it called 'dishless' but I think in reality it was offset to reduce the dishing. Any normal wheel can be tweaked to work, but be aware a standard wheel *will* need to be tweaked.

You should do a search on the 'ejection seat' issue. I don't remember the details, but IIRC it was easily fixed.

Good luck with the bike and give us a report when you've gotten 500 miles on it!