Recumbent - Bent Long Distant Hillclimber?

I'm considering joining the Bent Crowd and am wondering what Bent would you recommend to ride 100 miles that included significant climbing. For anyone that may be familier, I'm refering to rides like the 100+ mile Mount Mitchell ride. I'm always interested in the threads and post where posters say they ride df on short day to day rides but rely on their bents for long distance for the comfort.
Thanks for all replies.
Tony

The 'bent riders with vastly more experience than me over on bentrideronline.com seem to list the following bike as being 'good climbers' when the question is raised:
Easy Racers bikes (Tour Easy, GRR, TiRush)
Lightning P-38
Carbent bikes
Rans X-Stream, V3, Ti-Rex, V-Rex
Calfee Stiletto
Cruzbike Silvio

These bikes mostly have triangulated frames (except the carbents), straightforward chainlines, and aren't too heavy. It all depends on the engine though, right? Me, I'm slow no matter what bike I ride.

Bentrider online has a good thread (http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=44219&highlight=carbent+climb) on this.

The list there was something like

Carbent seadragon/raven
Rans X-stream
Lightning P-38
Easy Racers Gold Rush (or carbon rush)
Barcroft Virginia Ti
Calfee Stiletto
...

There is always something missing and it depends on the cyclist as well, different technique, training and fitness as well as adaptation to the bike are hugely impacting.

Thanks for the replies. Having never riden a Bent, it just seems so hard to not be able to stand on the pedals as the hill and speed slow. My real facination is with the ones that say they would ride nothing but a bent for the long rides due to the comfort (read no neck pain or wrist/hand numbness) not to mention other body parts going numb. Well actually I did mention it. :-)
Any Cruz bikes mentioned as climbers? I will check out bentrider.

If you aren't talking about speed up the hill but ease, then a trike is amazingly easy to get up a hill. Just not fast while doing it.

My 2 wheel bents are all pretty good on hills, I just have a minimum speed of about 3mph on most of them. But if I can put out the power to keep me going 3mph then it seems easier then my old DF days. But I was a hill hater as a DF rider. Now I seek them out for training purposes.

good list, and I'd pretty much put it in that order except move the stiletto either above or right below the p-38. though I have no basis for comparison with the C-rush.


Bentrider online has a good thread (http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=44219&highlight=carbent+climb) on this.

The list there was something like

Carbent seadragon/raven
Rans X-stream
Lightning P-38
Easy Racers Gold Rush (or carbon rush)
Barcroft Virginia Ti
Calfee Stiletto
...

There is always something missing and it depends on the cyclist as well, different technique, training and fitness as well as adaptation to the bike are hugely impacting.

good list, and I'd pretty much put it in that order except move the stiletto either above or right below the p-38. though I have no basis for comparison with the C-rush.Beyond the hypothetical lists posted, what criteria or attributes (excluding rider's ability, strength, etc) determines a superior "climbing" recumbent?

Beyond the hypothetical lists posted, what criteria or attributes (excluding rider's ability, strength, etc) determines a superior "climbing" recumbent?

Sames as with DF bikes. Light weight, light wheels, high pressure tires, comfortable seat, well maintained transmission, minimal frontal area. Oh yeah, and well sized and fitted to the rider.

:)ensen.

If you aren't talking about speed up the hill but ease, then a trike is amazingly easy to get up a hill. Just not fast while doing it.
Concur. My 2-wheeled recumbent had a gear low enough for spinning at 2 mph, but I couldn't keep it in a straight line under 4 mph. On my trike I just spin away and grab the brakes if I need a rest. Just hide the speedometer and wristwatch. :)

Hills with recumbents I tend to average the same speed as non-recumbent riders, but I consistently fall behind uphill, then pass them again coasting downhill (while they're spinning like mad in top gear trying to maintain their lead.)

there's a good video of a slyway bike climbing a mountain and speeding past some DFs on youtube somewhere, but i think they're really hard to get ahold of, more eye candy than anything else O:-)

Lightning Cycle Dynamics has a short video of their R-84 climbing a hill on the Solvang Century.
They also have a video of two F40's coasting past riders going downhill. The F40 is a fully faired bike based on the P-38.


http://www.lightningbikes.com/cyber.htm