Creakyknees

I saw quite a few people on their recumbent in Dallas' White Rock Lake Park on weekends. The recumbent are so slow that they almost weren't moving (I saw the leaves passed by them from underneath being swiped). Once when I came up from behind one of them, I thought it was stopped and was worried I nearly ran it over . Isn't it not only unpleasant to be slower than anything around you, but also dangerous if there is a bike, car, big truck, etc., on the road? They could also be run over by another bike and quite easily invisible to a vehicle driver until too late. Those people were almost lying on the ground.

markus_mudd

They're just slower cyclists and it won't matter what kind of bike they choose.

What sticks out to me is that this quote from your post is nearly identical to statements from motorists against ALL cyclists. ---> "Once when I came up from behind one of them, I thought it was stopped and was worried I nearly ran it over . Isn't it not only unpleasant to be slower than anything around you, but also dangerous if there is a bike, car, big truck, etc., on the road?"

Give the recumbents a break and let them smell the roses....Or stop and talk to them about it. As with all human powered vehicles, it's still the engine that determines the speed of the ride.

jimbalaya

You could say this about any type of bicycle. What's the point of posting this here? This topic would be better off in the trolling forum.

BlazingPedals

I ask that same question all the time on big rides: "Why are all the upright bikes so slow?" Maybe I should post my question on the road bike forum and be surprised if a few of them get riled up. Or did you do that already?

lovemachine

Sorry, I fed the trolls this time!

My usual response is silence, but cabin fever may be setting in. I thought it was funny myself but I don't want my crude humor to reflect poorly on this entire group who is probably already viewed as strange by the "normal people"

Dudelsack 

wut

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, it's really a dumb question. Tells us what kind of person the questioner is.

dekindy

If you know they are trolls, then don't feed them! I find some of the replies are ruder than the probable troll.

rydabent

The OP apparently seems surprised that all of a sudden "here is this recumbent in front of him". Maybe if he was on a bent and not staring down at his front wheel, he might not have been so "surprised". Some of us ride at different speeds on different days. Some of us never ride at a speed that produces heart rate that is at 95.983729654% of our maximum heart rate.

merlinextraligh

and wuts up with the white beards?

dcrowell

I can't even grow a beard.
I have the aero-belly though.

delcrossv

This is a good thread for this vid.

rydabent

del

Love that video!!!!

StickBiker

Maybe CreakyKnees would care to race a recumbent rider? Would he look like he is standing still in my rear view mirror?

cycle_maven

I tried to draft a recumbent one time on a diamond-frame road bike. Very unsatisfying experience. Plus the flag kept flapping in my face.

noglider 

If you were a very slow rider, you might find it uncomfortable to ride an upright bike. A recumbent would be a good choice.

Dudelsack 

Probable?

JanMM

A hit-and-run troll.

Dudelsack 

Anyway, ignoring the troll motives of the OP: I'm a slow bent rider. When I rode DFs, I was slow on those too.

I'm slow. Always have been. Always will be.

Put me on a Harley and I'd figure out a way to keep my average moving speeds at 12 MPH.

I would take pride in randonneuring and touring. I just renewed my RUSA number for two years.

I'll never shell out the hapless masses on a group ride. I'm totally cool with that.

BTW, the flag in the face comment was pretty funny.

BlazingPedals

I dislike challenges, even in this case. The reason being, it's still impossible to separate the engine from the vehicle. There will always be a difference in experience and wattage, making the results of questionable value. If CN really believes that bents are slow, it's only because he's never seen a fast one. Sooner or later, he probably will.

rydabent

When the posted video is over wait till several other windows for viewing appear. Click on the one that says recumbents cant climb. Its great too!

merlinextraligh

And that's the bottom line.

No doubt, low rider recumbants have an aerodynamic advantage, and a strong rider on a bent designed for speed can be very fast.

What I think strikes non bent riders however, is how many bent riders there are that will spend a lot of time telling you how fast their bikes are, but tehn ride them very slowly.

It may just be that "that guy" stick outs and leaves the most memorable impression.

JanMM

Can't really tell from the OP whether he's talking about recumbent bicycles or tricycles. (Or, both) To overgeneralize, both low racers (bikes) and tadpoles (trikes) are very low but low racers are ridden significantly faster than tadpoles.

fietsbob

Slow? Answer: Velomobile ! aerodynamics, FTW.

Fastest bikes are recumbents , low racers in a streamlined body.

Murray Missile 

The first time I ever saw a recumbent was about 1982 and I was on my Miyata 510. I tried to chase the guy down to ask him about it and could never even get close. I was about 27 and the recumbent pilot looked to be in his early 60's. I finally admitted defeat, put my tail between my seat stays and headed for home.