When I talk to people about recumbents it strikes me that it is like discussing religion, music art and so forth. If the person you talk to hasn't got a recumbent there is absolutely no need for persuading him that a recumbent is a far better vehicle than an upright. Not even scientific proofs of the matter would persuade him. Because you can't persuade a muslim that an uncircumcised woman is more desireable than a circumcised one. A muslim would never understand why you should choose an uncircumcised woman for marriage. A Hank William fan would certainly not change a CD of Hank Williams for a CD of Brahms or Mozart. Classical music is not his kind of music.
Very few people like recumbents in comparison to those who like uprights. But those who love recumbents can not think of any upright alternative, because for them there is no alternative anymore. The recumbent has come to stay in their life. So the question which bike is best a recumbent or an upright is entirely a question of taste tradition and belief.
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
You have said that those who ride recumbents do so for spurious reasons such as taste tradition and belief. That is false, I have discovered. It is more a question of experience. I know some people who ride both recumbent and upright and they choose the bike to suit the day's ride.
If someone is unwilling to gather the relevant experience, they are not really worth listening to, whatever the subject matter, are they? :D You need to ride, then decide. Much of the dismissive attitude of upright riders towards recumbent bikes can itself be dismissed.
John
BTW don't be offended, but I found the comments about muslims to be uninformed, unhelpful, inflamatory, bigoted and innappropriate. Imagine how I'd feel if I were one of our Muslim newsgroup members?
skydive69
When I talk to people about recumbents it strikes me that it is like discussing religion, music art and so forth. If the person you talk to hasn't got a recumbent there is absolutely no need for persuading him that a recumbent is a far better vehicle than an upright. Not even scientific proofs of the matter would persuade him. Because you can't persuade a muslim that an uncircumcised woman is more desireable than a circumcised one. A muslim would never understand why you should choose an uncircumcised woman for marriage. A Hank William fan would certainly not change a CD of Hank Williams for a CD of Brahms or Mozart. Classical music is not his kind of music.
Very few people like recumbents in comparison to those who like uprights. But those who love recumbents can not think of any upright alternative, because for them there is no alternative anymore. The recumbent has come to stay in their life. So the question which bike is best a recumbent or an upright is entirely a question of taste tradition and belief.
To me a recumbent is analgous to a mallet putter in golf - commonly used by old pros who have a case of the "yips," and can no longer putt. They look incredibly nerdy. The nerdiness of said putter is only exceeded by the nerdy look of recumbents. If recumbents were the only choice, I would go back to running.
And yes, your premise is dead on - no amount of discussion could sway me to the recumbent affirmation.
BlazingPedals
Very few people like recumbents in comparison to those who like uprights. But those who love recumbents can not think of any upright alternative, because for them there is no alternative anymore.
Rather than considering recumbent riders as bigots trying to convert the world to their uninformed viewpoint, consider this fact: Virtually all recumbent riders have significicant experience on uprights, and switched after deciding that uprights lacked some quality which recumbents provided. Let me rephrase that for clarity: "ALL recumbent riders speak from extensive personal experience of both platforms when they voice their preference of recumbents over uprights." It's not that there are no alternatives anymore, it's that uprights are inferior alternatives to them.
By contrast, a vanishingly small percentage of recumbent detractors have ever ridden recumbents AT ALL, much less far enough to be considered informed about them.
erik forsgren
Rather than considering recumbent riders as bigots trying to convert the world to their uninformed viewpoint, consider this fact: Virtually all recumbent riders have significicant experience on uprights, and switched after deciding that uprights lacked some quality which recumbents provided. Let me rephrase that for clarity: "ALL recumbent riders speak from extensive personal experience of both platforms when they voice their preference of recumbents over uprights." It's not that there are no alternatives anymore, it's that uprights are inferior alternatives to them.
By contrast, a vanishingly small percentage of recumbent detractors have ever ridden recumbents AT ALL, much less far enough to be considered informed about them.
I fully agree on your views on the matter, but if you consider the uprights to be inferior alternatives there is hardly any need to ride an upright anymore, is there?
erik forsgren
To me a recumbent is analgous to a mallet putter in golf - commonly used by old pros who have a case of the "yips," and can no longer putt. They look incredibly nerdy. The nerdiness of said putter is only exceeded by the nerdy look of recumbents. If recumbents were the only choice, I would go back to running.
And yes, your premise is dead on - no amount of discussion could sway me to the recumbent affirmation.How about tatoos Harley Davidsson and the like? Do you consider those things to be nerdy too? As for bikes I think you should stick to an ordinary upright, because on a recumbent you would certainly run the risk of being ridiculed if you don't know how to ride it. For the rest your ignorence of golf can only be exeeded by your total ignorence of recumbents.
BlazingPedals
I fully agree on your views on the matter, but if you consider the uprights to be inferior alternatives there is hardly any need to ride an upright anymore, is there?
That's true of my experience anyway. My upright gets almost no road time anymore. Problem is, it's an upright; so it's not worth enough to bother selling it. :lol:
Skydive said it all here:
They look incredibly nerdy.
Now that's a rational, well-reasoned line of logic. Herd mentality. :lol:
erik forsgren
You have said that those who ride recumbents do so for spurious reasons such as taste tradition and belief. That is false, I have discovered. It is more a question of experience. I know some people who ride both recumbent and upright and they choose the bike to suit the day's ride.
If someone is unwilling to gather the relevant experience, they are not really worth listening to, whatever the subject matter, are they? :D You need to ride, then decide. Much of the dismissive attitude of upright riders towards recumbent bikes can itself be dismissed.
John
BTW don't be offended, but I found the comments about muslims to be uninformed, unhelpful, inflamatory, bigoted and innappropriate. Imagine how I'd feel if I were one of our Muslim newsgroup members?
I don't see how a muslim could be offended by telling him something he beleives in. For a muslim the only woman worthy of marriage is a circumcised one. That is a matter of beleif as well as a matter of honour. For us it is merely incomprehensible. Maybe not all muslims beleives in circumcision. But three million women get circumcised each year. As for the role of knowledge and experience history shows that these factors have had little or no importance as for the choice of bike. In 1932 the majority of the members of the UCI knew of the superiority of the recumbent through a lot of testrides. Still they banished the recumbent from Tour de France. And still today it is banished.
dfulton
As for the role of knowledge and experience history shows that these factors have had little or no importance as for the choice of bike. In 1932 the majority of the members of the UCI knew of the superiority of the recumbent through a lot of testrides. Still they banished the recumbent from Tour de France. And still today it is banished.
Sticking to the uncircumcised bike history discussion, from what I've read about the history, the superior performance was never the issue in 1932. Most of the UCI member represented bike manufacturers, and simply had no interest in retooling their factories to make multiple styles of bikes. So the easy solution for them was to simply outlaw the other formats.
Since the late 1970's the IHPVA has worked very hard at producing a racing format that allows ANY style vehicle to show what they're made of. The record sprint time has increased over that 30 year period from under 50 mph (80 kph) to over 80 mph (128 kph) for a fully faired, recumbent style vehicle. The average speed for an upright, unfaired race legal road bike has increased only 2-3 mph (3.2 - 4.8 kph) over the same 30 years. So if you want to support inovation in the bicycle industry, you should be buying recumbents and following the IHPVA race results, not buying upright Trek's and following the Tour de France.
About the topic of looking nerdy, to a motorcycle rider, all bikes look like toys. To a car driver, all motorcycles look fragile and dangerous. To a pilot, all cars look just so limiting. So to each his own, just get out and ride! besides, anyone riding around with shaved legs, wearing plastic shoes, a Jellybelly team jersey, and wrasslin' tights with a maxi-pad sewn into the crotch shouldn't bring up the subject of who looks goofy.
Darren
10 homebuilts and counting!
77Univega
Here is a cut-and-paste from the Advocacy and Safety forum:
http://www.stickergiant.com/page/sg/PROD//mcs87
. . . And the next evolutionary step after the human on a bicycle is a human on a recumbent. Ha Ha
BlazingPedals
Here is a cut-and-paste from the Advocacy and Safety forum:
http://www.stickergiant.com/page/sg/PROD//mcs87
You left off the rest of the evolution. Here, this shows the whole story.
http://tinyurl.com/5fy7y
johntolhurst
They look incredibly nerdy.
Yes they do. The image of an upright cyclist on their bike has been etched in our minds and predates living memory.
Recumbents look nerdy because mostly they have:
a) a small odd ball wheel at the front, and
b) a musty looking deck chair style seat
In my last bike design I tried to change that.
http://www.cruzbike.com/GitaneIMG_1004med.jpg
But the sculptural carbon fibre low racers - Its pretty hard to accept them as nerdy!
John
www.cruzbike.com
steveknight
To me a recumbent is analgous to a mallet putter in golf - commonly used by old pros who have a case of the "yips," and can no longer putt. They look incredibly nerdy. The nerdiness of said putter is only exceeded by the nerdy look of recumbents. If recumbents were the only choice, I would go back to running.
And yes, your premise is dead on - no amount of discussion could sway me to the recumbent affirmation.
well for something so nerdy I get compliments every day. where as most do on a df bike I get ignored. so I would say regular people may disagree.
lowracer1
exactly........ take a look at the nocom for instance. nerdy? yah whatever dude.
To me a recumbent is analgous to a mallet putter in golf - commonly used by old pros who have a case of the "yips," and can no longer putt. They look incredibly nerdy. The nerdiness of said putter is only exceeded by the nerdy look of recumbents. If recumbents were the only choice, I would go back to running.
And yes, your premise is dead on - no amount of discussion could sway me to the recumbent affirmation.
I love my Specialized bike, skydive, but they don't make "nerdy" recumbents, even though I like to ride 'em, too. I never feel the need to advertise that I ride a Specialized or Optima (that's my recumbent - not that you'd know this). I prefer to use a blade putter myself but have no aversion to the mallet folks - does it really matter? "Nerdiness" - what is this quality that makes one a pariah? - it must be in the eye of the beholder - perhaps those that harbor insecurities? Image is such a b**ch....
erik forsgren
Sticking to the uncircumcised bike history discussion, from what I've read about the history, the superior performance was never the issue in 1932. Most of the UCI member represented bike manufacturers, and simply had no interest in retooling their factories to make multiple styles of bikes. So the easy solution for them was to simply outlaw the other formats.
Since the late 1970's the IHPVA has worked very hard at producing a racing format that allows ANY style vehicle to show what they're made of. The record sprint time has increased over that 30 year period from under 50 mph (80 kph) to over 80 mph (128 kph) for a fully faired, recumbent style vehicle. The average speed for an upright, unfaired race legal road bike has increased only 2-3 mph (3.2 - 4.8 kph) over the same 30 years. So if you want to support inovation in the bicycle industry, you should be buying recumbents and following the IHPVA race results, not buying upright Trek's and following the Tour de France.
About the topic of looking nerdy, to a motorcycle rider, all bikes look like toys. To a car driver, all motorcycles look fragile and dangerous. To a pilot, all cars look just so limiting. So to each his own, just get out and ride! besides, anyone riding around with shaved legs, wearing plastic shoes, a Jellybelly team jersey, and wrasslin' tights with a maxi-pad sewn into the crotch shouldn't bring up the subject of who looks goofy.
Darren
10 homebuilts and counting!
The recumbent of Mochet was not banished for reasons of retooling. It was only a matter of tradition. The UCI even rewrote the definition of a bike in order to get rid of Mochets great innovation. In other words a recumbent was not a bike and it still isn't according to the definition given by UCI.
erik forsgren
Yes they do. The image of an upright cyclist on their bike has been etched in our minds and predates living memory.
Recumbents look nerdy because mostly they have:
a) a small odd ball wheel at the front, and
b) a musty looking deck chair style seat
In my last bike design I tried to change that.
http://www.cruzbike.com/GitaneIMG_1004med.jpg
But the sculptural carbon fibre low racers - Its pretty hard to accept them as nerdy!
John
www.cruzbike.com
Looks is not so important as function and performance to me. But I have a strong feeling that looks is the most important factor when it comes to attracting buyers. If a bike looks nerdy or goofy the eventual buyer will not even try it. A typical upright racer like De Rosa is certainly beautiful but it is a horror to ride. I would certainly choose a "goofy" recumbent if a De Rosa was the alternative.
atom bomb
I don't understand why anyone would ride a bike in order to create a certain appearance. Unless, of course, you were riding for the purpose of appearing in a film, parade, or a performance of some kind in which creating a certain look was the objective. If your recreational riding is for the purpose of preening and creating a show of yourself, by all means, ride an upright - the nicest looking you can afford - and have a ball. If you seek comfort and speed....a recumbent is something to consider.
dfulton
The recumbent of Mochet was not banished for reasons of retooling. It was only a matter of tradition. The UCI even rewrote the definition of a bike in order to get rid of Mochets great innovation. In other words a recumbent was not a bike and it still isn't according to the definition given by UCI.
Where did you get your information? I've read at least 3 sources, that all get their information from the original meeting transcripts, that clearly indicate the UCI was protecting the interests of the manufactures when they created their definition of a race legal road bike. They also threw in a few token comments about safety with regard to the exposed cranks mounted on the front. (This, while completely disregarding the far more dangerous issue of head injuries when riders fly off an upright).
While this is academically interesting in regard to the history of bicycle design, the riding public is no longer constrained by this narrow point of view. My opinion is that more people would ride recumbents if the simply TRIED recumbents. How many half-forgotten DF bikes are moldering in garages right now because they are just simply too painful to ride? Next time you see a dusty old bike hanging in someone's garage or shed, ask the owner why the don't ride it. The answer I've gotten is 99% of the time related to pain.
Darren
steveknight
just like drivers want to show off in their cars. it's a vain thing to do but some people are that way. if you want other cyclists to maybe notice you then spend a lot of bling bling if you want regular people to notice ride a bent (G) if you wnat to be snubbed by regular cyclists ride a bent. but you know they are hurting and you are not (G)
mtessmer
To me a recumbent is analgous to a mallet putter in golf - commonly used by old pros who have a case of the "yips," and can no longer putt. They look incredibly nerdy. The nerdiness of said putter is only exceeded by the nerdy look of recumbents. If recumbents were the only choice, I would go back to running.
And yes, your premise is dead on - no amount of discussion could sway me to the recumbent affirmation.
I really find you ultra conservatives really entertaining. :roflmao:
skydive69
I really find you ultra conservatives really entertaining. :roflmao:
I am pleased to be able to amuse a liberal in that so many have weak processors! :D
BTW, recumbent users also remind me of Honda Gold Wing riders. They go out of their way to look nerdy, and they have the ugliest specimens of alleged females riding to their (oftentimes large) rear.
Having said all that, someone in an earlier thread probably made the best point - anyone that wears the kind of garb that we cyclist enthusiasts do, and shave our bodies, have little room to criticize what others do or wear! :)
toybox
BTW, recumbent users also remind me of Honda Gold Wing riders. They go out of their way to look nerdy, and they have the ugliest specimens of alleged females riding to their (oftentimes large) rear.
And those COOL guys on the Harley's always have the sweetest, skinny hotties riding on the pad. :rolleyes:
Oy! the generalizations are killing me. Ride what you want. Ride what you got. Just ride
skydive69
And those COOL guys on the Harley's always have the sweetest, skinny hotties riding on the pad. :rolleyes:
Oy! the generalizations are killing me. Ride what you want. Ride what you got. Just ride
Let me look back in my post to see where I mentioned Harleys. Hmmmm, can't seem to find it....
toybox
Let me look back in my post to see where I mentioned Harleys. Hmmmm, can't seem to find it....
Uummm....you didn't. You mentioned nerdy Honda Goldwings and......whatever, it is not worth explaining if you didn't get the obvious point.
skydive69
Uummm....you didn't. You mentioned nerdy Honda Goldwings and......whatever, it is not worth explaining if you didn't get the obvious point.
No, I understand you crystal clear logic. I understand that if one thinks Gold Wing riders are nerdy that it necessarily follows that one thinks that Harley riders are cool. Yeah, that's right - concise, clear, not unexpected logic. ROTFLMFAO!
toybox
ROTFLMFAO!
Did someone say something funny????? Or are you laughing at yourself.
skydive69
Did someone say something funny????? Or are you laughing at yourself.
Okay retardo, it's just that you are too funny. Having said that, let me extract myself from the world of the retarded and delete this thread subscription. Bye clown.
toybox
Okay retardo, it's just that you are too funny. Having said that, let me extract myself from the world of the retarded and delete this thread subscription. Bye clown.
Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! Now THAT was funny!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahah! SEEYA :lol: :roflmao: :lol:
mtessmer
Bravo!!! We got "Buba" to go back to his cave!
Strixowl
skydive69 I don't belive "you" mentioned Harleys. erik forsgren did in post #6.
:D erik asked: "How about tatoos Harley Davidson and the like? Do you consider those things to be nerdy too?"
:D Erik: I have tattoo's from my neck to my ankles and rode Harley's starting with the old Pan Heads (remember when ya jumped on the crank for hours to get it started-probably not). No those were not NERDY but dude, many of the folks riding Harleys now a days are. In my opinion their "Yuppy/Nerds" who can't even change the oil or adjust the mirror. "But" they are Happy/Free & have the right to ride what they like, when they like, without ridicule & with the wind blown in their hair.
In the context of your question, the people who have (complementary Harley Tats) & the Harleys (with Electric starters, belt drives etc. made today) by comparison are IMO NERDY/YUPPY people on NERDY/YUPPY Motorcycles, that "don't break down as much as mine did and are faster". If they are Happy/Free they should enjoy the right to ride what they like, when they like,without ridicule & with the wind blowing in their hair What's the problem?
Same with DF or Bents. You ride your "whatever" with your funny pants :roflmao: I"ll ride my bent
( Tats Out) & we'll get a beer :beer:
Enjoy Life Erik :)
Strixowl
:( Damn did Erik * skydive69 both split? I type to slow
johntolhurst
... I have a strong feeling that looks is the most important factor when it comes to attracting buyers. If a bike looks nerdy or goofy the eventual buyer will not even try it ...
I think that is right. Design is incredibly important to people. But its a right-brain thing. The left brain can struggle to explain the negative response the right brain is having. If we can design our way through that goofyness the response might be different.
funbun
It's called PAIN. I herniated a disk in my lower back a few years ago, plus I'm a saxophonist and a writer. These things combined make it painful for me to ride an upright for any length of time.
It's not about preference. It's about suitability.
atom bomb
It's called PAIN. I herniated a disk in my lower back a few years ago, plus I'm a saxophnist and a writer. These things combined make it painful for me to ride an upright for any length of time.
It's not about preference. It's about suitability.
I'm a saxophonist too, and it's painful for upright AND recumbent riders to listen to me play for any length of time.
BlazingPedals
From what I've seen, DFers have negative emotional responses to bents for a couple of reasons. One is the small front wheel that most have. Small wheels are for kids' bikes, and besides a proper bike should have two equal-sized wheels! The big-wheel bents are making inroads in that respect. Another is the image of FOGs with white beards riding them. Nobody riding uprights revels in trying to look like Santa Claus, and those among us who do are not doing the group any favors. As we see more performance-oriented sport riders coming into the fold, the FOG aspect will become less important. For now, sykdive69 sees lots of nerds riding bents and doesn't want to be associated with them. Shallow, high school-level thinking processes, but that's all he's got, so...
One big item that I'm afraid will always be an issue is body language. Simply put, tall is superior and low is inferior. Commoner bows to royalty lest he accidently attain a higher, threatening position. Dog cowers before his enraged master. Bird has strategic advantage over your car's windshield, etc. This factor is subconscious, primal. Uprights have the advantage here, although few recognize why. It's strictly a left-brain thing. Logic doesn't work against emotional responses, as skydive69 illustrated.
What's the moral? Nuttin'. Just go out and ride. But if you get a chance to upset someone's worldview, go for it!
mtessmer
Well put, Blazingpedals.
funbun
Ja!!
Strixowl
BlazingPedals
"Another is the image of FOGs" (Guess that means old foggies- hadn't heard that one :) ......with white beards riding them. Nobody riding uprights revels in trying to look like Santa Claus, and those among us who do are not doing the group any favors."
Well I guess if a FOG is an older male with a white beard who rides a bent you nailed me, but I sure as hell don't "revel in trying to look like Santa Claus" and I don't have a white beard to "hurt the image of bent riders or do them favors. I've had a beard for almost 25 years, because I like it and it's white because I'm 57yrs old. Now we've gone from bents vs DFs to white beards verse clean shaven. Come on.
I have a beard because I like it, I ride a bent because I like it and because I broke my back in 3 places. So what? I ride!!
Hopefully I've upset your world view a little. :beer:
Blazing: You also said a few interesting things that could be taken another way: "Simply put, tall is superior and low is inferior."........Uprights have the advantage here,"....
Small is inferior & in this context Uprights have the advantage, except if your at the level of the vital organs you can recumbent, whoops I meant render them useless. :crash:
Blazing: "Dog cowers before his enraged master."
Ever been bitten by a dog :cry:
Blazing:What's the moral? Nuttin'. Just go out and ride. But if you get a chance to upset someone's worldview, go for it!
Strixowl: to Quote Blazing "What's the moral? Nuttin'. Just go out and ride. But if you get a chance to [/[I]I] upset someone's worldview, go for it!" :D
sbhikes
Silly silly silly.
I love being a nerd. It's where it's at, baby. The richest man in the US is a nerd.
But even though I'm a nerd, I'm also a natural blonde California girl. I don't look like Santa at all. But I've got my own Santa at home ;)
I don't have a Harley, but I do have a Vespa. Harley guys ride up to me and compliment my Vespa. They give me the wave. See, I might be a nerd, but I'm cool, too.
I think recumbents are cool. The Optima Baron has to be the coolest looking thing I've seen. My recumbent is relatively geeky, but what is cool is that I bought it in person from the engineer who designed it himself. I've seen some uprights that look extremely cool lately, too.
Silly silly silly. It's not what you have or what you ride or what you play golf with. It's how much joy you can squeeze out of this short short life. I've found recumbent riders to be the type of people who squeeze a lot of joy out of life.
Strixowl
sbhikes :beer: Now that's well said oh wonderful nerdy California girl :D
Continue to squeeze as much joy out of this short, short life that you can. I've also found recumbent riders to be the type of people who squeeeeeeeze a lot of joy out of this thing called life :love:
erik forsgren
Silly silly silly.
I love being a nerd. It's where it's at, baby. The richest man in the US is a nerd.
But even though I'm a nerd, I'm also a natural blonde California girl. I don't look like Santa at all. But I've got my own Santa at home ;)
I don't have a Harley, but I do have a Vespa. Harley guys ride up to me and compliment my Vespa. They give me the wave. See, I might be a nerd, but I'm cool, too.
I think recumbents are cool. The Optima Baron has to be the coolest looking thing I've seen. My recumbent is relatively geeky, but what is cool is that I bought it in person from the engineer who designed it himself. I've seen some uprights that look extremely cool lately, too.
Silly silly silly. It's not what you have or what you ride or what you play golf with. It's how much joy you can squeeze out of this short short life. I've found recumbent riders to be the type of people who squeeze a lot of joy out of life. I think you have made a very good resume of the thoughts and opinions of this thread. Besides I think you are absolutely right when you point out what is essential in life: squeese out as much as you can of this short life and enjoy what you ride!
bentrox!
California girl...continue to squeeze as much joy out of this short, short life that you can. I've also found recumbent riders to be the type of people who squeeeeeeeze a lot of joy out of this thing called life
Aw, you guys are gettin' too mushy now. Ready? 1-2-3 >>> GROUP S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E!
BlazingPedals
BlazingPedals
"Another is the image of FOGs" (Guess that means old foggies- hadn't heard that one :) ......with white beards riding them. Nobody riding uprights revels in trying to look like Santa Claus, and those among us who do are not doing the group any favors."
Well I guess if a FOG is an older male with a white beard who rides a bent you nailed me, but I sure as hell don't "revel in trying to look like Santa Claus" and I don't have a white beard to "hurt the image of bent riders or do them favors. I've had a beard for almost 25 years, because I like it and it's white because I'm 57yrs old. Now we've gone from bents vs DFs to white beards verse clean shaven. Come on.
I have a beard because I like it, I ride a bent because I like it and because I broke my back in 3 places. So what? I ride!!
FOG stands for 'Fat Old Guy.' And what I meant by that was that every time a DFer sees a white-bearded FOG, the stereotype is reinforced. Guilt by association being what it is, it's assumed that bents are primarily designed for just that audience; and they don't want to be connected with the image of a feeble old man, barely able to garner enough speed to wobble down the bike path. I'm not saying the stereotype is fair, but that's how they see us. And yes, I realize I'm using stereotypes by lumping the DFers that way. Like all stereotypes, it may be based on a pattern but it isn't always accurate (as we already know.)
Personally, I like to use the stereotype to my advantage. It absolutely dumbfounds some of them when I do something they know a recumbent can't do.
Strixowl
Hey Blazing!! Hope you realize it was all friendly jesting :lol:
Except the Santa Claus part :beer:
Later My Friend :lol:
BlazingPedals
No offense taken, and I hope I didn't give any. I'd be happy to ride with you any time, beard or not!