Recumbent - I think you've all seen this, but...

www.kreuzotter.de

The lines on that bike are amazing! After I saw this one, I became very interested in bents.

That aside, I was thinking about buying a 'bent, just for recreational riding. I live in the suburbs, and the roads are (mostly) fairly wide with little traffic. However, the downside is that there are quite a few hills. Most are fairly gradual, although one near my house is about 1/2 miles at a grade steep enought to allow me to go only 6-7mph on my roadie. Would a low racer like the VK-2 have trouble with hills like this? The reason I am interested in low racers is because this will be a fun bike for me, period. I would just like something nice and good looking, and the lines on the low racers are amazing. What kind of a learning curve am I looking at? Is it completely insurmountable, or will I just have to give it some extra parking lot practice time?

Plus, I hear they're fast :p

You might expect to go a little slower up the big hill, but yes, you'll make it. A VK2 is fairly light, so it's a good climber - for a recumbent. Just remember, you can't stand to climb when you're riding a 'bent so you need low gears. And yes, a lowracer will be somewhat faster everywhere else.

www.kreuzotter.de

The lines on that bike are amazing! After I saw this one, I became very interested in bents.

That aside, I was thinking about buying a 'bent, just for recreational riding. I live in the suburbs, and the roads are (mostly) fairly wide with little traffic. However, the downside is that there are quite a few hills. Most are fairly gradual, although one near my house is about 1/2 miles at a grade steep enought to allow me to go only 6-7mph on my roadie. Would a low racer like the VK-2 have trouble with hills like this? The reason I am interested in low racers is because this will be a fun bike for me, period. I would just like something nice and good looking, and the lines on the low racers are amazing. What kind of a learning curve am I looking at? Is it completely insurmountable, or will I just have to give it some extra parking lot practice time?

Plus, I hear they're fast :pHow fast you will learn to ride your VK2 is difficult to say. A lowracer with a tiller steering is a challenge even to someone who has ridden a Bacchetta for example( direct steering)The main thing is your attitude- I'll get myself a VK2 and I will make it sooner or later. Start the first exercises on a lawn where you are likely to spare your VK2 from damage and yourself of course, Be completely relaxed in your body especially in your elbows and allow yourself to fall at your first attempts. You certainly won't hurt yourself if you follow my advice. Only practice starts and stops at the beginning and remember to be in a low gear before starting again. When you start focus on the horizon relax and off you go! Good luck!

I don't have any problems climbing most hills. Its all about the engine anyhow. I don't see much difference between climbing hills with a tailfairing mounted vs riding the vk2 in stock form either. The tiller steering isn't a big deal either. You will be used to it in a few miles. Just watch out for the incredible downhill speed of these bikes. It could scare you if you aren't used to that kind of downhill speed.

While researching options for my first recumbent four years ago, lowracers caught my attention for the same reasons you mention. I thought, however, that a "racer" might be too big a leap from a DF experience so I opted for a slightly-less-fast but more "road-worthy" SWB model. It was so easy to acclimate to that I quickly realized I probably could have gone straight to a lowracer, which is just a lower SWB afterall. Well, my second recumbent is a lowracer. I enjoy both bents, but for flat-out speed the lowracer is my choice, of course. I find that hill-climbing is not noticably different between the two, and neither are as quick as the DF on sustained climbs. Ahh, but the descent . . .

www.kreuzotter.de

Did anybody check out the calculators on this page? They are awsome! Ivan, Thank you for sharing this.

Did anybody check out the calculators on this page? They are awsome! Ivan, Thank you for sharing this.


Yeah....Great page.....especially after I translated it into English....

I came across the calculator a couple years ago and have reposted the link many many times.

No need to worry about hills Ivan. There are no fast recumbent riders except for Fast Freddie or Sam Wittingham. Walking up a hill or walking and riding a recumbent work just fine.

A good used bent can be bought or made for a few hundred dollars or less and they all climb about the same. A hill is a hill and no recumbent is fast up one unless some young pro racer like Lance Armstrong rides one.

I hear those Bacchetta people make recumbents that are good to ride. Practical and faster than those low race models. No one races professionally with a recumbent anyway and "low racer" is a funny name for a bike model eh? Most bicycle racers I see on TV ride regular bikes.

Every now and then some used Bachettas pop up for sale here and there. If you want to spend a couple grand to look glitzy get one of those. Or you can hire a local welder to build you a recumbent from old bike frames or a muffler pipe. Who needs some expensive recumbent when a local welder can build the same thing for a few hundred dollars eh?

No learning curve needed on a recumbent Ivan. You got to get use to slow riding. Take your time climbing a hill, enjoy the scenery and wave to those funny looking spandex riders that pass you.

Spuds

hah. fast freddie? Markam you say? Yeah I met freddie at the bentride in new york last summer. Waxed him up every hill. Freddie was a good time though. Lots of cool stories. He's still a very fast rider. What makes him fast in a streamliner though is good power to weight ratio and lots of experience piloting the bikes.

No need to worry about hills Ivan. There are no fast recumbent riders except for Fast Freddie or Sam Wittingham. Walking up a hill or walking and riding a recumbent work just fine.

A good used bent can be bought or made for a few hundred dollars or less and they all climb about the same. A hill is a hill and no recumbent is fast up one unless some young pro racer like Lance Armstrong rides one.

I hear those Bacchetta people make recumbents that are good to ride. Practical and faster than those low race models. No one races professionally with a recumbent anyway and "low racer" is a funny name for a bike model eh? Most bicycle racers I see on TV ride regular bikes.

Every now and then some used Bachettas pop up for sale here and there. If you want to spend a couple grand to look glitzy get one of those. Or you can hire a local welder to build you a recumbent from old bike frames or a muffler pipe. Who needs some expensive recumbent when a local welder can build the same thing for a few hundred dollars eh?

No learning curve needed on a recumbent Ivan. You got to get use to slow riding. Take your time climbing a hill, enjoy the scenery and wave to those funny looking spandex riders that pass you.

Spuds


hmm you must be one of those funny looking spandex riders that I pass on the upwrongs. wave at me next time when I go by you eh?

Hey Blazin........this spuds kinda sounds like mr nocom but with a milder type of harrassment.

Feeling like the Rodney Dangerfield of the cycling community?
I tell'ya I get no respect....

Waxed him up every hill.

You waxed Fred Markham up a hill eh? Good to see you make a living selling bikini and leg waxing service.

Fred Markam holds many United States National bicycle racing records. Do you?

Fred Markam was on the United States Olympic Cycling team. Have you ever been on that team?

Fred Markam races a human powered recumbents at Battle Mountain. Do you?

Fred Markam has set many human power speed records. Have you?

Fred Markam is a racer who has raced bicycles all of his life. Please show respect to him. Fred Markam does not need to race up a hill at recumbent rally. He has nothing to prove to any recreational recumbent rider with an expensive bicycle who never raced for the United States National team.

Spuds

I hold the 2003 National superstock championship from the North American nationals held at the Arlington Criterium in Chicago. So yes, I have a gold medal that says north american champion. Do you? Of course not, especially if you are walking your bike up little hills.

You waxed Fred Markham up a hill eh? (snip)

Spuds

Yep, same M.O. as Johnny: If you're not a world champ, it proves your bike is a slow bike.

This post proved what I already suspected; he's in my ignore bin as of now. Warning to others: this character absolutely killed another forum before he was banned. Ignore him now before he takes over.

Gotcha John, was just waiting for you to let me know it was the same ip address. Everybody put spuds on the ignore list so we can continue our conversations like normal.

I don't have any way to check his IP address. Presumably one or more of the Forum Gods would be able to. I'm just going by his pattern so far. Joined a day ago and immediately blanketed most of the active threads with negative posts. This time, he's taken on the personna of a FOG instead of an obnoxiously-conceited racer. Other identities will surface soon, if they haven't already; and pretty soon we'll have a war going, with all the personnas smearing anyone who posts anything about speed.

you notice john, that it now says oakton Va and not battle creek Mi under his name........... Thats it. I'm done with him. Everybody please ignore every single word he says. thankyou.

Recumbents are made for slow riding... The only racing going on is by that Lance Armstrong fellow from Texas...
Spuds
You're so wrong...

I just watched a rerun of the TV coverage of last years Ride the Rockies, the yearly 7 day rally through the Colorado rocky mountains. Anyway, they love showing close-ups of anguished faces struggling up the long ascents and the look of relief at the tops of the passes. The only guy they showed smiling (and passing df riders in the process) was riding a RANS rocket. They also showed the same guy smiling and waving as he passed the massage tent on his way to dinner. The df riders were lined up by the hundreds to get their necks, backs, and shoulders massaged.

Darren

PS: Not all homebuilders are like spuds, some of us believe in cheap and FAST! He is right about the cost though, if you have the time, learning to make new bikes out of old frames can save big bucks.