Recumbent - Are recumbants better for you

i have heard that recumbants a nice and comfy but are they also better for you to ride? For instance are they better for your hands and back?

Recumbents take all the strain off not only your butt bones but your entire upper body. That makes them awful for getting an upper body workout, but very nice for comfort.

I've been 'bent for a couple of years and am noticeably smarter and better looking. Plus, I don't have to shake my hands/wrists while I ride, to maintain peripheral nervous system function.

I cant ride an upright more than 5 miles without getting wrist pain,neck pain. I do 50-60 miles on my Cruzbike Silvio and still feel great at the finish. Jack

I've been 'bent for a couple of years and am noticeably smarter and better looking.

You, too? I thought it was just me, but obviously, it's the bent!

Don't forget younger.

It is inherently a more ergonomic design. Think about it, you are using your legs for propulsion, why should the upper body suffer? Machines evolve just like animals, except machines require human intervention to do it so it can be faster evolution if there's profit in it, or slower evolution if there are rules against it.

I'm tired of being jealous of my wife's bent, so I'm getting one.

I did a century on an upright last year and could hardly move after.

I did a century on my bent this year and could have gone dancing after, if I hadn't regressed into a 9-year old. A cute and highly intelligent 9-year old, though.

My two little fingers no longer tingle (ulnar nerve) and the 'roids are in complete remission. Nuff said.

They're better for your self esteem too. Everyone smiles and waves at you, or at least smiles and points.

All bikes are great of course, however for my longer rides I prefer my bent, for many of the above listed reasons.

Bents are better for me I ride them so much further and more often.

As a person who has pedaled over 40,000 miles on regualr bikes and 2000 miles on recumbents, I will answer your question: recumbents are better for you. It didn't take me long to realize the advantage of a recumbent over regular bike.

It didn't take me long to realize the advantage of a recumbent over regular bike.
Sounds like it took you 40,000 miles. ;)

Bents haven't made me better looking. On the contrary, they've made me ugly as a stick. Fortunately, all those people keep smiling and waving at me.

This is me:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-big.jpg
This is my wife:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/diane-big.jpg

We've covered maybe 20,000 miles on recumbents, with an equal history on uprights before that. We've been married for 16 years, all of that while riding recumbents. (In fact, we had Tim Brummer, the builder of our original Lightnings, at our wedding.)

I dunno... to paraphrase Chico Escuela: recumbents been berry, berry good to me!

i have heard that recumbants a nice and comfy but are they also better for you to ride? For instance are they better for your hands and back?

YES!

This is me:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-big.jpg
This is my wife:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/diane-big.jpg

We've covered maybe 20,000 miles on recumbents, with an equal history on uprights before that. We've been married for 16 years, all of that while riding recumbents. (In fact, we had Tim Brummer, the builder of our original Lightnings, at our wedding.)

I dunno... to paraphrase Chico Escuela: recumbents been berry, berry good to me!

well, one thing for sure, you definitely married 'up' in the world! :D

well, one thing for sure, you definitely married 'up' in the world! :D

Yep- besides being a 5-foot-10 blonde, she's got a Master's in Computer Science. (Current job: release manager for a beverage distribution software company. It's beer software!)

I am profoundly blessed.

Q: "Are recumbents better for you?"

A: Recumbents are better for me!

Yes. Much better! No comparison......

They're a god-save for my riding! For the past few years my neck, shoulders, and hands have been giving me trouble while riding my upright, a little more each year. Last year I couldn't ride for more than 10 minutes without my arms starting to go numb. Good old arthritus setting in! Mid-summer I bought a Sun EZ-SPORT long wheel base recumbent and once again all is right with the world! No pain - just some tiredness in the legs as I build up those 'recumbent necessary muscles'. I highly recommend you test ride a few for yourself!

They're better for your self esteem too. Everyone smiles and waves at you, or at least smiles and points.

No... their laughing at the Soon-To-Be-Roadkill. they might be nice.. but damn your low to the ground and have to be extra paranoid of cagers.

No... their laughing at the Soon-To-Be-Roadkill. they might be nice.. but damn your low to the ground and have to be extra paranoid of cagers.

If they're laughing at you, it means they have noticed you. If they have noticed you, it's an indication that you are less likely to be roadkill. Use just a little bit of logic when making assertions.

Revolvers? Semi-Auto's? Never rode one????

If they're laughing at you, it means they have noticed you. If they have noticed you, it's an indication that you are less likely to be roadkill. Use just a little bit of logic when making assertions.

This assumes the one laughing is the one driving. not neccessarily so. use a bit yourself.

Can they go,,,,like fast?

This assumes the one laughing is the one driving. not neccessarily so. use a bit yourself.

I think that the long time recumbent riders here will probably tell you that I did.

Can they go,,,,like fast?

Yep,,,,,,,,,,if you can pedal,,,,,,,,,like fast.:rolleyes:;)

No... their laughing at the Soon-To-Be-Roadkill. they might be nice.. but damn your low to the ground and have to be extra paranoid of cagers.

Be nice to Nova5; after all, he's just a poor troll from the A&S forums. He doesn't even know what a recumbent is, except that the guys at his bike shop seem to think they're something bad.

No... their laughing at the Soon-To-Be-Roadkill. they might be nice.. but damn your low to the ground and have to be extra paranoid of cagers.

Someday you'll understand. I have DFers jealous of all the room the cagers give me.

i have heard that recumbants a nice and comfy but are they also better for you to ride? For instance are they better for your hands and back?

This is, as you've no doubt noticed by now, a forum focusing on recumbent bicycles that is frequented by recumbent bicyclists and recumbent fans.
All the responses you'll receive to your query will be, like mine, hopelessly biased in favour of recumbent bicycles.
All the responses you've received to date, like mine, are (of course) true.

Are they (recumbent bicycles) better for you to ride?
-Yes.

Are they better for your hands?
-Yes.

Are they better for your back?
-Yes.
:D

i have heard that recumbants a nice and comfy but are they also better for you to ride? For instance are they better for your hands and back?
Just as it's difficult to make broad statements about uprights (try comparing a cruiser with BMX with tri with MTB), it's even harder to make such statements about bents which are significantly more diverse.

I have 2 bents, both of which I love, but neither of which I would pretend is "better" for me. If anything, I think my DF racing bike is better for my back because it stretches it. Also, it's easier to work different muscle sets on an upright.

I like the fact that the bents a lot of weight off the hands. But I don't even think they are necessarily more comfortable. The trike with the mesh seat is reasonably comfortable, but my butt hurts more when I ride my highracer which is equipped with a CF seat than my DF because of where the weight actually goes. Truth be told, if I'm going to be riding for 10 hrs, I'll probably feel most comfortable if I take the DF.

My trike is the most fun of my bikes, the highracer is the fastest and coolest looking, but I still love my racing bike which is just a great all around ride even if it is not nearly as unique.

Truth be told, if I'm going to be riding for 10 hrs, I'll probably feel most comfortable if I take the DF.

You should try it, ride your DF for ten hour straight and see if you could be as functional (functional) as getting from from a a ten hour ride from your highrcer.

You should try it, ride your DF for ten hour straight and see if you could be as functional (functional) as getting from from a a ten hour ride from your highrcer.
After riding 10+ hrs, I stink like hell and won't stay conscious very long, so having things not work really isn't going to affect what's happening that night...