guille

I bougth a touring SWB recumbent, an Optima Dingo, it weights about 18 Kg at the moment. It has thick semi-slicks on it (schwalbe supremes). I know it should be slower than Bacchetas and such, but I never imagined it will be so slow! I have already ridden around 500 Km with it since the summer, and my typical avg speed is around 20 km/h in mostly flat terrain in a calm day. With my road bike it's around 30 km/h in the same conditions. It seems like too big a difference! Do you think the problem is the bike design? (I notice my legs are much more tired after a recumbent ride than on my road bike) Or will it just take much more time until I'm finally reasonably fast with this bike?

djwid

Trolls be trolls. I see tons of transportation, utility and recreational cyclists that are slow all the time. A small percentage of them are on recumbents. Maybe they like the comfort and the better view. I know my preference for a scenic ride is a recumbent trike. The thing to remember is that cyclists are traffic and just like cars need to respect you, you need to respect slower cyclists and pass safely when able.

Steamer

It's both. 500km over the course of 3 or 4 months isn't very much riding and not nearly enough to become adapted. It took at least a year of dedicated riding (4000 km+) for my legs to fully adapt to the new demands of riding a recumbent. Yes, it's that different. Plus, an Optima Dingo is a very slow design. Given proper training and adaptatino time, and a better bike, you'd find a big improvement in your recumbent riding speeds.

noglider 

I just realized that this thread, about slow riders, was started by a guy named creakyknees.

rydabent

A troll is defined as a person that posts something another person does want to talk about or agrees with.

guille

Thank you Streamer! I guess I'll have to be patient and just ride it then... I hope by the time I've trained enough on the recumbent I'll not become slow on the DF because of lack of training!
BTW something like a bacchetta giro 20 is as well a slow design? Its geometry seems quite similar to the dingo to my eyes (minus the rear suspension).

Steamer

You'd likely find it to be faster due to the stiffer frame, lack of suspension, and lighter weight.

That said, the Giro 20 is not a particularly fast bike. A good bike, but not particularly aero. I used to have one. I liked it, but I wanted something faster.

BlazingPedals

What the Giro has against it is the weight and the seat. Weight-weenie it out, including a carbon seat and a zotefoam seat pad, and it would do okay. It would probably be best to start with the aluminum ATT model, though.

minicoopers05

On my diamond frame mountain bike here in WV, our usual cruise speed is about 15MPH or more. If I can accomplish that on my new and very first ever bent, I'll be a happy camper!

Creakyknees

that's not actually my name.

Retro Grouch 

You again!

noglider 

Hmm, so your parents didn't give it to you? Well, then, who gave you that name?

BlazingPedals

You're not using your real name? I'm shocked, simply shocked!

Dudelsack 

WTF? Dudelsack IS my real name. I hate my parents.

Retro Grouch 

Spookypedal

Yeah the slow ones sure suck! Hard to draft them on a roadie if they aren't going quick

BlazingPedals

Au contraire, it's easy to draft them when they're going slow. It's just that slowing down like that sort of negates what you're trying to accomplish.

rydabent

After reading this thread a few times and pondering all the posts, might I suggest the following.

How about we put the OP on his best bike, and put John Slitter on a high racer, and then we can see who is slow.

DF riders have the handicap of of the pigheaded UCI and their antique formula that comes from 1890. Bent riders not bound by the UCI can pick from ANY of many designs that are available, some of which are designed for speed.

BlazingPedals

Reading the thread, my impression was, the OP asked why SOME bents were so slow. The possibilities are many, including the fact that some people are slow no matter what they ride, and if they're on a trike that actually enables them to go even slower if they want. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for some to take offense (not me) and getting the occasional good-natured cut from a visiting upright rider or two to keep things going. This thread is no big deal.

Now, if someone out there thinks that ALL recumbents are slow, well... sooner or later they will be educated. No challenges necessary.

rydabent

Blazing

You are right there. Even at my age, 75, on some of our club rides it is fun yelling "on you left" when going down hills. This is especially true when it is young riders in their pace line. I sure get strange looks.

Down hill with the wind, I am a rocket ship!

nogods

+1

The troll designation is also used to blame the poster for the reader's reaction to the post. The reader is responsible for his or her reaction, not the poster. The world would be better place if all of us learned to take control of our reactions to what other people say.

Dudelsack 

Good point. Good point.

Good point.

BlazingPedals

A troll is someone who posts things that are deliberately inflammatory, with the specific intent of causing arguments. Trolls thrive on conflict. I detected no trollwork here; it's a fact that some bents are slow. Just as some others are very fast. What can I say -- it's a diverse group. The humorous thing about threads like this is how so many people who are not fast themselves get all indignant about the question.

rydabent

Trolling? Why not stir the pot now and then? If everyone was happy with the way things are, nothing new would ever get invented. Was Kettering a troll when he said clicking on the switch and then getting out and hand cranking the car is not good?

BTW as to the the thread title, the bottom line here is it is not bikes that are slow, it is just there are slow riders.

Dudelsack 

There is such a thing as trolling. People use the term indiscriminately, but that doesn't mean trolling doesn't exist.

To whit:

"Lycra makes you look ghey".
"Gears are for sissies".
"DF riders are all idiots".

.