JusticeZero

Oh yes, I absolutely adore how mine rides. Pretty high up as well, no worries about being hard to see or looking up at everything. Though really you should have adequate visibility, assuming reasonable precautions such as lights etc, to other drivers even if you were laying on a magic carpet skittering along the road; drivers need to be watching the ROAD for things like potholes which are on the road surface.
Will have to note that that 'upper body' effect is tiny at best if you know hw to pedal the thing; you can do hands-free onthe thing for long distances without too much trouble, and if you're slinging the bracket back and forth with your feet, you're going to be having trouble with control.

JanMM

The best thing about commuting on my RANS V-Rex is putting both feet down on the ground and relaxing in the RANS Comfy Chair at red lights.

dclaryjr

Timely thread for me. I rode a recumbent for years (Lightning P-38 then an EZ-1) but hadn't done much riding for some time until I started commuting on an old hybrid five-six months ago. I was having some problem with hand pain/numbness but I attributed that to the flat bar and an ill-fitting bike. I recently bought a Jamis Commuter 3.0 and it's a great bike--I love the Nexus drive train. However, my hand pain is getting worse despite several attempts at making adjustments to my position. I was just thinking today that I may run by a local shop that sells used recumbents and see if I can't make a deal. I need to get re-bent!

BTW, there was some discussion earlier in this thread on the shortcomings of a Rowbike. I had one and sold it to an engineer I work with. He modified it with a much beefier bungee cord and solved that problem.

FlyingAnchor

My Agio works well in traffic and it is big enough to garner attention. I don't see me ever going back to a df bike as the wrist, back, neck pain is a non event on the bent. I'm thinking of a trike next.

Stevne

Wilbur Bud

My commute is 13 miles each way, mostly suburban roadway. I rode 4500+ miles last year to and from work, no problem. You can have as much workout as you want, it's a question of how hard you want to work. I doubt I'll ever go back to an upright bike due to comfort and lack of pressure points. +1 on getting your feet down at the red lights and waiting comfortably.

Shantar42

I think you should get one then. I know your wife very well, and she would love it if you treated yourself to it. What model do you want. I'll hint it to her and maybe you'll get it for Valentine's Day!

evblazer

Ok forget blocking the silvio.. how do I hide my posts from my wife

If someone gets a recumbent for commuting and has to stop at alot of lights especially on hills make sure you can get a recumbent you can put your feet down and start up comfortably. Someoen just put their Giro 26 up for sale with <100 miles on the Bacchetta Forum because the pedals were too high _for them_ to keep starting and stopping all the time.

devianb

I wonder if the fwd has more control and stability over icy and slippery roads.

alpinist

Do some lurking here:

bentrideronline.com forum

And here (yes, I am biased):

Bacchetta forum

JusticeZero

Mine seems to do alright on the ice; I don't find myself wishing I had the freighter instead of the Cruz. I don't know how well a rear wheel drive bent does for comparison. My main issue is starts on ice, as it's easy to break the Mount And Grounds traction on thick ice with a cold start and spin out. Mine is a conversion - they won't, due to a design quirk, accept tires much wider than 1.9; that rules out the more aggressive studs. Spinning out is by no means a disaster, but it is annoying and not productive to getting through the intersection.

cod.peace

Every so often I try to think of a way to use my V-Rex as my office chair due to the comfort level. The Trek 520 I rode last summer for a bit always had me wondering how much $ finding a new saddle was going to cost me.