Recumbent - Questions on Touring Bents

I have found that I have a 60 mile rear end with conventional bikes.
If my rides are going to get much longer, it is likely that I'll need to
go the recumbent route. I suppose that I'm looking for a relatively
small (I'm 5'5") and/or short wheel base that can take touring loads
and panniers or a trailer.

I'll be scanning the rest of this forum for other info.

Cheers

CE

Ps
Do your arms fall asleep with the high handle bars? Is there an advantage over the
under seat handle bars?

pps
(i should really think this through before writing)
Just so you know, I'd prefer to stay on the less expensive side...Please?

GF and I both have Vision R40s since 2006, at the time the most she's ridden a bicycle was 4-5 miles, since the Vision R40s we ride regularly 20-40 miles rides, for a non-bike rider to stay on a pedaled vehicle is a big deal.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/cat0020/16%20Dec%202006/SUC50011.jpg

I bought the Vision R40s from different Craigslist sellers, both under $500, originally they were Under Seat Steering (USS) machines; I have no prpblem maneuvering them in traffic, but GF at 5'0" and short arms, havr little difficulty getting used to the USS handling, so I converted USS to Over Seat Steering (OSS), then I fould that OSS have narrower profile, take up less room on roads and easiler to maneuver between cars in bumper to bumper traffic. So I also converted mine to OSS. Never had a problem with arms (or feet) falling asleep.
I don't know about towing a trainler, I think those things are dangerous in city traffic, maybe if I actually get a trailer to tow behind me would give me better idea.

OSS is also easiler to walk along side of the bike when you have to crosss a bridge or walk into a building with your bike.

OSS is also easier to transport the bike in cars, bus or trains.. I could fit both of our Vision R40s with weekend getaway luggage and two person into my tiny 1990 Mazda 323 2-door hatchback, no problem if we ride into the city and deside to take the train or bus home... but the train conductor would not let us onto the trian with a tandem.

Things to keep in mind once you get a recumbent:

Change the crankarms to 165mm or less,

Up your pedaling cadence all around,

Get a loud horn, bell unless you have naturally loud voice,

Get at least one mirror on your bike.

I as well ride a Vision R-40 but maintained the under-seat steering (USS) position. Alot of it comes down to personal preference, but I like the relaxed feeling of having my arms hanging loosely at my sides while riding. The USS configuration takes some getting used to but there is a certain enjoyment of not having a stem or bars in front of me.

It's a great bike for the money; mine was $500 complete with shipping.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Picture001.jpg

If I may make a generalization, you can divide riders into groups by height: under 5'8", 5'8" to 6 ', and over 6'. Generally, those in the shorter group do best on LWB bikes, and those in the taller group do best with SWBs. This is because the tall people are best able to reach their legs past a front wheel to reach the pedals, while the shorter people less able. Also, excepting lowracers, LWB tends to have lower seat height than SWB.

Those in the middle height range can ride either wheelbase equally well.

Can you take your hands off the handle bars and not crash.
Or to reword it, is it as stable as a 'conventional' bicycle?

CE

Riding with one hand is not an issue and I have less than 50 miles on this particular design. I'm not so sure about no-handed, but I was never comfortable with no hands on a DF.

Can you take your hands off the handle bars and not crash.
Or to reword it, is it as stable as a 'conventional' bicycle?

CE

To be sarcastic: can you use your brake with your hands off the handlebars and not crash?

Handlebar is there to control the bike, why would you think that letting go the controls of a bike it would be safe or stable? why would you want to have your hands off the handlrbar for extended amount of time?

Sure you could be stable on a LWB or conventional bike when you let go of the handlebars, but you would have minimal control of the bike and no braking performance unless you hit something.

Taking your hands off the handlebars is not safe, but with enough practice one can be stable while riding no handed, on just about any bicycle.

A long time ago, I was told that bents are not no-hands stable because making them so would make pedal steer much more noticeable. I don't know if that's true, but it's a no-brainer that a bent rider doesn't have a saddle horn between his/her legs, with feet directly beneath the pedals, to give the leverage needed to control the bike without hands on the handlebars. Even if the geometry made it possible, it would only be marginally safe to do so.

Just so you know, I'd prefer to stay on the less expensive side...Please?

In the last month I have seen 3 Greenspeed GTO's go for $1,100, $1,300 & $1875.

Excellent for touring and less than half the price of new.
Easy to ride with "no hands". ;) at least until you start to drift. :p

So far, the count is 4 hits on my upright and none on my lowracer. And my lowracer has about 20x the mileage.

Be certain to visit BentRider Online (http://www.bentrideronline.com/). The General Discussion forum has a "New to recumbents" subforum which will be very helpful to you.

As many will tell you, it is best to try a variety of recumbents to see what types suit you, particularly after you get beyond the first few minutes of learning one (it's not that hard, but I would not advise trying to start out going uphill clipped into a high racer in motor vehicle traffic for your first ride).

With a recumbent, long rides are a pleasure, and can also be faster depending on the terrain and recumbent.