Recumbent - Gearing

Who thinks that I'll need lower gearing on a recumbent than I'm used to using on a conventional bike?

Generally, most bikes are geared too high for loaded touring. If you tour or you live in a hilly region, (Missouri) why not gear everything down? At least you will have the low gears if you need them. It is a lot easier to creep up a steep hill (let the gears do the work) than walk/push a 'bent. Perhaps a minimum low would start about 19" gear inches. My Rans long wheelbase is stable at 3mph up steep grades. Not sure about the short wheelbase. I think most 'bent riders shift more often than conventional cyclers. Going from diamond frame to 'bent may require 70% mental attitude adjustment. But the comfort rewards are worth the adjusment.

Keep in mind that getting out of the saddle is never an option on a 'bent.
I consider a triple crank a necessity on a 'bent unless hills are never encountered.
A couple of RANS bikes (including the Enduro Sport) come with mountain triples. That's plenty low for climbing but maybe too low on the top end. Depending on your needs and preferences.
I find the stock gearing on the V-Rex and V3 (30/39/52 rings with 11-32) generally low enough (and high enough). Might consider an 11-34 when it's time to replace the cassettes.

Welcome to BF, Bikest.

Have you ever tried Rapid Fire shifters with a recumbent? I'm thinking that initially I might just transfer the whole drivetrain from my Porsche mountain bike and ride it like that for awhile. I'm thinking then I'll have a better idea of what's going to work for me. A 50/34 compact double will yield a 26" low gear. That sounds pretty low to me.

I switched from SRAM SX5 gripshifters to X9 triggershifters on my V-Rex. Works very well. Sticking with the gripshifters on the V3 for now.
I appreciate the ability to trim the FD with the gripshifts. Lack of that is not a problem with the triggers on the V-Rex.
You should be fine with a compact double, at least for as long as it takes you to figure out if that is what you want in the long run.

I just put a 39/53 on my M5 CHR, but then it rarely encounters anything worse than 5%. If I go someplace hillier, I'll just take one of my other recumbents.

To answer the original question, I'd say the 26 inch gear is probably sufficient for 8% and short 10% hills.

A 26 inch gear should be fine for day rides on 5%-10% grades mentioned. Loaded touring is another matter. Adding only 30-40lbs is a real wake up call on steep grades.

It depends on whether or not you want to pedal up hills. I used gears off a 10-speed DF on my homebuilt recumbent. My lowest gear is 39 gear-inches. Totally unsatisfactory. I can only go uphill for so long, and only after I've got into the habit of pedaling a hundred miles in a week. Until that point, I just stay on flat ground.

I think you will need lower gearing.

I recently got a recumbent. And not being able to stand to get an extra burst of torque matters in a lot of instances.

Have you ever tried Rapid Fire shifters with a recumbent? I'm thinking that initially I might just transfer the whole drivetrain from my Porsche mountain bike and ride it like that for awhile. I'm thinking then I'll have a better idea of what's going to work for me. A 50/34 compact double will yield a 26" low gear. That sounds pretty low to me.

I have Rapid Fire shifters on both the wife's and mine Gold Rushes:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-grr/index.htm
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/diane-grr/index.htm

They work fine as long as you use the correct front derailleur. With a double there may be some interesting choices that I haven't tried, but the Shimano FD-R443 has worked perfectly for me on triples.

I have a rule of thumb regarding gearing: you will never miss a too-high "high" gear. You will always regret not having a low enough "low". With that in mind, my gearing goes from 18 inches to 130 inches. I've used the low while loaded touring (15-20% slope) and I've used the high on flat time trials (with a tail wind).

Thanks everybody,

I think that I'll initially build up my new recumbent using a mountain bike crankset and 8-speed rapid fire shifters that I already own and ride it like that for awhile.

If my gearing needs turn out to be what I suspect, maybe next year I'll convert to a compact double with Dura Ace barcons and Paul's thumbies.

My impression after a few years of benting on a somewhat heavy (38lb) LWB and a Trice trike, is that it's really nice to have a low gear up the hills (northern New England in the CT Valley / White Mountain area), and almost as nice to have a reasonable top end.

'Bents seem to be at least as fast as DFs downhill and on the straights, so a decent top end is good to have, but uphill is another matter, depending on what you are riding.

I'm not the strongest rider out there (been away from cycling far too long and travel too much to do many miles), but I found my SUN with 30/42/52 on the triple and 11/32 to be a bit too high geared for me.
I've put an 11/34 on a week ago, but a bad fall and some snow have stopped me testing it out. I'm likely drop the small ring to a 24 or 26, and possibly go to a 48 on the big ring.
THis is a 226" rear, so IIRC it gives me an 18.4 bottom with the 24, and 113 gi on the 48 ring. Some folks have managed to go 24/38/52 on the SUN, I may trie that first as I have found a source of cheap(ish) chainrings.

My Trice (20" wheels) is geared at 16.2 TO 106 GI, and IMHO is near perfect for that machine, although I will likely go with the Alfine 11 rear hub when it arrieves, to get a bit more range as well as to get rid of the rear derailleur which hangs a bit too close to the ground for my liking.

Initially I did not like the SUN, and IMHO one of the biggest reasons was the gearing, which is just too long for the bike, especially when loaded up for a longer ride. A more intelligent choice by SUN (maybe an 11/34 cassette and 26/38/48 gearing) would probably have endeared it to me a lot quicker

FWIW, my 7-speed Grip Shift Rans Nimbus now has a 11-34 MegaRange; 24-34-38. I changed the original 46 to a 38. I guess a 39 would have been a more "perfect" set up, but it's fine. The MegaRange has a small "gap" between 3rd & 4th but shifting to the 38 fits in between. Used on the flats with a headwind or to maintain a 90-100 rpm cadence. Rarely use the granny gear on a day ride, but long climbs or loaded, it comes in handy. Stripped, the Rans weighs 30lbs but how many ride without carrying something. From food to tool essentials, it starts to add up. Water being the heaviest single item.

On my tadpole I have an 11-34 cassett and orginally had a 53-39-30 and the 30 was just too tall for the hills around the river valley here. Aquired a 24 granny and changed to a 48 upper as I wasn't using the 53 totally and the 53-24 exceeded recomended spreads. 29 teeth vs 24 teeth. The gearing is perfect for me now and I use all the 48 and most of the 24 and the shifting is perfect. Now goes from 118-19 GI.

FWIW, my 7-speed Grip Shift Rans Nimbus now has a 11-34 MegaRange; 24-34-38. I changed the original 46 to a 38. I guess a 39 would have been a more "perfect" set up, but it's fine. The MegaRange has a small "gap" between 3rd & 4th but shifting to the 38 fits in between. Used on the flats with a headwind or to maintain a 90-100 rpm cadence. Rarely use the granny gear on a day ride, but long climbs or loaded, it comes in handy. Stripped, the Rans weighs 30lbs but how many ride without carrying something. From food to tool essentials, it starts to add up. Water being the heaviest single item.

You don't miss a high gear when you encounter a downhill? (Not a whole lot of those in Central/Northern Indiana.)

A 38T big ring? All I can say is "WOW."

You don't miss a high gear when you encounter a downhill? (Not a whole lot of those in Central/Northern Indiana.)

One has to choose how fast they want to go. Maybe a motorcycle is fast enough? A long downhill can also be followed by a steep ascent. Don't see the point of hammering down @ 45mph then be hit by a brick wall @ 5mph the other side. Admitedly, not too many lengthy "walls" encountered in these parts. But crossing the Wabash River valley can give one pause.

One has to choose how fast they want to go.

True, dat. But with a 38T, I'd miss my high gears every time I got a light tailwind; never mind a downhill.

Don't see the point of hammering down @ 45mph then be hit by a brick wall @ 5mph the other side.

It's only a wall if the down and the up are separated by a stop, otherwise, momentum is your friend.

:)ensen.

Generally, most bikes are geared too high for loaded touring.

ATMO, most bikes are geared to high for ANYTHING. Except maybe flatland tailwinds.

I was happy with a 26/26 low on my df (I climb big mountains), and have a 24/30 with a smaller drive wheel on my bent. On the df, I spent a lot of time grunting up the big climbs. Now I spin up 'em, and still get there plenty fast enough.

SP
Bend, OR

ATMO, most bikes are geared to high for ANYTHING. Except maybe flatland tailwinds...

SP
Bend, OR

This is where my problem starts. People who live in mountains start suggesting that people everywhere else should have gears appropriate for the mountains. What you should be saying is that most recumbents are geared too high for you. If anything, when I ride in mountains, I want to keep my current low gear and add a bigger high gear.

I was just looking at the EasyRacers website. The Tour Easy has an 11/32 cassette, and 26-42-52 or 24-36-46 chainrings depending on the model.

That is on a 700 rear wheel: they quote GI ratios of 21"-128" and 19"-113", which seem fairly realistic to me.

Who thinks that I'll need lower gearing on a recumbent than I'm used to using on a conventional bike?

I don't think so. If you're shooting for the full on relaxi-taxi experience, then yeah, you'll need to lower the gearing, but with the right technique you can ride a recumbent just like any other bike.


Keep in mind that getting out of the saddle is never an option on a 'bent.

I don't really understand why people say this. Of course you can get out of the saddle on a bent. I do it all the time on my highracer and, although I'd like to say that maybe you can't do it on other types of bents, it would seem that riding out of saddle should in fact be easier on other types of bents due to their lower bottom brackets.

Maybe most bent riders are just lazy and don't want to get out of the saddle?

Maybe most bent riders are just lazy and don't want to get out of the saddle?

Fast Freddy Markham demonstrated the 'bridging' technique in a thread over on BROL. While it does seem to work, I'd have to say that it has much less benefit than standing does on an upright.

Fast Freddy Markham demonstrated the 'bridging' technique in a thread over on BROL. While it does seem to work, I'd have to say that it has much less benefit than standing does on an upright.

On an upright bar adjustment, position, hand position, bar type, and personal preference all have a major influence on the efficiency of techniques like riding out of saddle, bar pulling, etc. Why should it be any different on a recumbent?

I think most bent riders don't spend enough time experimenting with these things because they've been told you "can't" pull on the bars or ride out of saddle when riding a recumbent. While not entirely satisfactory, I personally find tweener bars to be pretty good for providing enough adjustment and hand positions to effectively pull and ride out of saddle with a comparable benefit to what I experience on my upright. However, just like on an upright, YMMV so you have to find what works for you (not just mimic what you see posted on the internet by supposed "experts" like Freddy Markam).

I am absolutely unable to get out of the 'saddle' and stand up to pedal on either of my recumbents. Raise my butt off the seat a little, yes, but cannot stand up and pedal.