flyatnight

As someone who is just getting back into biking affter being away from it for years, I have what is no doubt a really dumb question, but I gotta know. Occasionally I go over to the Recumbent forum, probably because I find those bikes kind of alternately fascinating and repelling at the same time.... kind of a big fat old Lazy Boy chair on wheels, if you will. But invariably on that site, there will be one or more stories about how someone on one of those things absolutely waxed a roadie during a friendly competition, especially on the downhill part, which somehow seems horrifying to me. Is this true? Can they do that? Will the person on a bent almost always beat the person on two wheels, if they're both of equal athletic ability and all other factors are as equal as you can make them? If this is indeed the case, how come these things aren't participating in the Tour de France? ( I know, that's a terrible thought, but what's the deal on these things?)

garysol1 

Riders being equal the bent will be faster on the flats while the Roadbike will be faster on the climbs.
The rules that the TDF fall under specify that roadbikes only are allowed to participate. If the bent's were allowed they may do ok on a flat TT course but that would be about it.

wanders

They smoke roadies all the time. Just ask them.

StanSeven

Recumbents are more aero (lower, laid back position presents less frontal area) but much heavier and the rider can't stand up to generate more power. So recumbents go a little faster on the flats but really slow on hills. I used to do some big centuries where recumbents show up. I finished ahead of all recumbents even on very flat courses, except for those with fairings (they are like bullets)

kensuf

fixed that for you.

merlinextraligh

While the right recumbent bike, i.e. a low racer, can be inherently faster (as the recumbenites are quick to tell you) its funny that the majority of people actually riding recumbents, and that talk about fast their bikes are, aren't very fast themselves.

Of course there are exceptions to every generalization, but I haven't seen a really fast recumbent rider yet.

mattm

while they are more aero, recumbent drivers seem to be weaker on average..

and even if that isn't true, they don't always win. take the "24 hours at sebring" ride, chris R. won it (502) miles on an upright bike - recumbents did not win that one.

so i think if anything it just proves that, as always, it's the engine that really matters.

Engyo

Weren't all of the top bicycle speed records set on recumbents?

BlazingPedals

It's not always true, but it can be. On flats, downhills, and windy conditions, my lowracer can eke out more mph for my meager wattage. Even on short hills, I'm carrying more speed into them and as a result I carry further up them before losing speed. Big hills are simply a matter of watts/weight, and I lose in that category no matter what I'm riding.

They're not in the Tour de France because they're illegal under UCI rules. If you're interested, do a google search on "winning forbidden."

merlinextraligh

Even if they were permitted, I'm not sure how much they would be used. There would definitely be some advantage to a low racer on the flat stages, and a substantial advantage on a flat TT. However, I've got to think there would be a serious disadvantage on HC climbs. Also, even on the flat stages, the advantage would be somewhat muted by the drafting effect, and I'm not sure how well you can sprint or respond to attacks on those things.

Thus if you could only use one bike type for the entire race, I'm not sure its a foregone conclusion that people would select recumbents, particularly if fairings weren't allowed.

mattm

ah yes, the Great Conspiracy to keep 'bents oppressed.. so if bents are so fast/efficient/wonderful, why don't they win RAAM? https://stats.raceacrossamerica.org/2.../overview.html

in the end, i'm glad to see anyone on two (or three) wheels! (but not one, i hate unicycles!)

wanders

Do they have recumbent criteriums? I would like to see 50+ of them in a four-corner downtown race.

Full disclosure: I have ridden an easy racer gold rush and while it was fun, it's not what I would call 'responsive'.

garysol1 

Why do you hate wheelies?

StephenH

I get the impression from reading in the recumbent forum that while a recumbent can be faster, that's not true of all recumbents- some are faster than others, and they are not all automatically faster than other bikes (or intended to be, for that matter.)

When comparing bikes, you also have a fair bit of variation in what an upright bike consists of- giving the bike and rider the full time-trial treatment will up the performance considerably.

"so if bents are so fast/efficient/wonderful, why don't they win RAAM?" Good question, but I think you run into the same old issue that the faster riders are generally the racing riders, and they're riding upright bikes. That doesn't mean those bikes are faster. It would be interesting to see some first class riders using them in a more competitive setting (other than land speed records, that is).

Psimet2001 

Yay!!! A bent hating thread! I haven't had one of these to unload in for a while. First off...let me just say that the OP must either be:

1. Old
2. "Pleasently Plump"
3. With beard or other facial hair
4. Put up to this by a hoard of AARP cardholding doughnut eaters who wanted to pick a fight while waiting in line for their medication, but couldn't figure out how to use that "damned contraption" called a computer.
5. Some combination of the above

Generalizing any groups is silly, but fun. Keep in mind that I see through the crap I am about to spew forth.....

on that note....where to start....where to start. compare the Lay-z-boy to wedgie war to the Canada as "US HAT" conflict?

Bring up that recumbulators can only seem to "do it laying down" while normal cyclists can do it with something shoved up their butt?...

.....hmmm....the options are delicious....

gsteinb

Did you ever see those things? They're like space ships. Very little to do with anything related to real bicycles.



John Howard still went faster though.

Psimet2001 

Ooooo.....I like your style.

I can hear all the bones creaking as the recumbulators prepare to bum rush the road forum again.

halfspeed

The Tour de France isn't a competition to determine the fastest bicycle design (in spite of what bicycle marketers might tell you). It's a contest to determine the strongest upright bicycle rider. Allowing 'bents to be entered would not only change that, it would also strip the sport of much of the tactical challenge and teamwork that makes the race interesting.

Yes. At places like salt flats and indoor tracks. So if you only ride on salt flats and tracks, then a 'bent is perfect for you.

Nachoman

The simple pleasures.

Doggus

Dear recumbulators...this thread...

caloso

Wasn't it Anquetil who said that the purpose of a race bike isn't to go fast but to win bike races?

caloso

Does that mean Santa rides a recumbent?

Psimet2001 

Yes.

He then added, "As long as it's not on a recumbent."

He then impregnated 3 women just by staring at them and drank all the wine in the village before waking the next day and ripping the legs off of 2,000 cyclists.

Psimet2001 

That's a shift lever in his hand...not a coke bottle.



EDIT:...but he dropped like 10 roadies on the way to your house.

FWIW - I only got coal.

garysol1