Better a prosthesis than none at all.Originally Posted by xxtheshockerxx
I bought a Bacchettta Giro about a month ago. It has allowed me to enjoy cycling again.
I suffered up a long grade on a group ride today, but flew by people heading down. Love that aero position.
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prosthesis? you have an artificial taint?
prostatitis?
damn autocorrect....yea prostatitis.
Out on the road I much prefer riding a recumbent to a DF bike. As several others have posted, the biggies for me are seating comfort and forward vision without having to bend my neck upward. I think that the comfort difference after a 3 or 4 hour ride has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
In more urban areas I'm the opposite. I find it a bit more difficult to check traffic left and right because I can't rotate my shoulders so easily on a recumbent. I find frequent stops and starts to be a more of an issue on a recumbent. Acceleration is better with a DF bike too. For me, comfort isn't as much of a factor for that kind of ride because they typically don't last more than a 1/2 hour or so.
MY SWB recumbent has turned into my main bike but I'm keeping my DF beater bike for running errands.
I ride a bent because they are so comfortable and also for me a df is so uncomfortable.
I ride a bent for the simple fact that it allows me to ride again.
Due to an auto accident back in '96, (hit from behind with an impact speed of about 45 mph) I've not been able to ride a DF, (diamond frame) for more than about 30-45 minutes at a shot with out my back screaming in pain. That kind of effectively killed my 200+ mile a week habit of riding.
This summer my wife and I "got bent" to see if either of us could ride again, (she has bad arthritis in her hands), both of us used to love long distance riding and cross state tours. Riding a recumbent has allowed us to rediscover that love.
And in the process of rediscovering riding, it's meant that I've kicked my Type II diabetes in the teeth, dropped about 65 pounds and we've developed a healthy lifestyle that we are teaching our children.
Currently, I'm building base miles with the goal of several century rides next year and a double century in 2013. My wife is trying to lead me down the rando path, but I think those folks might even be crazier than I am!
Semper Fi
I have back pain but I can't decide if it's from working ten hour days in a factory, or from riding the bike hunched over with a backpack to work and back. It's probably a combination of both.
I know a guy that welds, so I might bring him the plans for one of those recycled recumbents and see how much it would cost to make.
In other news, I got a gift card from the company president at work, and will be using it to buy lube, grease, and a few other things for the bike. I'm thinking about buying a toolkit too.
Thanks for all the advice and comments on what you guys like about your recumbents, it's really helping decide if it's right for me.
Went for the speed, stayed for the comfort. I was one who didnt have a comfort problem on my tri-bike or my Trek 5500 BUT after riding a high racer I was hooked!
The upsides: like what others have said, more easy on the neck shoulders hands, back and backside.
With a trike you can go as slow as you like, so if you only want to meander on an MUP you can do so easily. when you stop, you have a instant deck chair.
The downsides: you can't take it on the bus, and an ordinary bike rack for your car does not accommodate it so easily. Trike doesn't fit through doorways, you have to carry it sideways halfway through then upright again so the seat goes through... visibility in traffic is an issue, because you are much lower to the ground than on a DF bike. Also clips or SPD pedals are important so you don't slip a foot off the pedal while you're going along at a good speed. Oh, and for low bents, it's more of a challenge to push them through sand and such. Especially trikes with loaded panniers. Offroading is kind of a challenge on singletrack (when I make shortcuts) but still doable if the rear wheel has traction!
That said, I lurve my trike...
What do you call a cyclist who sells potpourri on the road? A pedaling petal-peddler.
Passing expensive road bikes with the riders decked out in matching tights. Going fast around corners, it's just different on a recumbent.
Can't ride an DF anymore due to osteo-arthritis in my wrists and a few accidents causing whip lash,
wouldn't want to now that I've been riding a 'bent trike anyways.
Start by losing the backpack and getting some panniers. I had a trunk bag on top of a rack, but that makes the bike more top heavy while waiting at lights. Panniers shift the load further down.
About the cheapest new recumbent you can get is an EZ-1 from Sun. It's heavier than many other bents, but is a solid bike. Another bent for less than $1,000 would be the Cycle Genius Sparrow. Another heavy "starter" bent, but built solid. By keeping an eye on Craig's List, you might find an older EZ-1 for a decent price.The advantage of the EZ-1 over the Sparrow is that the EZ-1 will take a rear rack without a lot of modification of the rack and mounts.
http://www.sunbicycles.com/product_d...&cl1=RECUMBENT
http://www.cyclegenius.com/stx.html
If you might build one, I'd get plans for one with either 2 406 wheels, or a 559/622 in the back with a 406 up front.
Last edited by Dchiefransom; 01-02-12 at 01:04 PM.
Silver Eagle Pilot
Terratrike have afew starter models, Catrike... then there's the used market, where you can get a trike that has already been built up......
I'm up-grading to the 26"wheel with the Terratrike extensions as well as using my ScramDualDrive, should get me up those pesky hill's
Last edited by Trikin'; 01-02-12 at 04:39 PM.
Let's see; No crotch numbness, no low back pain, no neck or shoulder pain and no wrist pain. OTOH, my back and shoulders are relaxed and upright, so the view is incredible. Yeah, my EZ Sport is a little slower that DF's, but I really don't care. At 63, it has all the sweaty workout I'm looking for. bk
started out for comfort. and it was cheaper than autocross. i wanted a trike (cuz I was thinking about karting) but decided after many test rides, 2 wheels was faster and narrower for maneuvering the gates on my MUP.
After a couple years I found I was 40lbs lighter and fairly strong. Got to the point where I found I simply had to bury myself on every ride.
Now, I find the time spent at my limit to be pleasant, even desirable and addicting, than the same workout on the DF. Something about how my legs are taxed instead of mostly my lungs.
Overall, I'm stronger faster and even climb better than I do on my DF. I can really feather my fitness limit in a much more controlled manner on the Corsa.
So, now I ride it cuz it's OMG! fun
T
Other than the comfort thing, as a relatively new Tour Easy owner, I'm still in the learning curve. And it's all good. Found out today that I can pedal a 6% grade comfortably @4.5 mph, track a straight line @3.5 mph, and stay upright @2.2 mph. Best of all, I can stop on a 12% climb, rest, and restart with ease. That was a real surprise. Good as a trike. No way I could do that on an upright. Gonna try that on a 16% grade next.
The bicycle is one of the great inventions of mankind. Delights children, challenges young men to feats of daring, and turns old men into boys again
You impressed the heck out of me, that's for sure. Last week as an exercise I put my bent in its very lowest gear, which spins out at about 5 MPH. I found it pretty difficult. Traveling at 2.2 MPH? Chapeau!
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That was under ideal conditions on a 72F day and I was feelin' real good. But, I am surprised and totally impressed with the Tour Easy, especially now on managing steep grades. Had to brag a bit. It ain't all about speed. BTW, the low speed numbers were in mid gear range, barely pedaling. Not sure how spin rate affects balance at ultra low speeds. I'll see about that next time.
The bicycle is one of the great inventions of mankind. Delights children, challenges young men to feats of daring, and turns old men into boys again
No matter what the dictatorial DF racing types would have you believe, recumbents are just plain more logical. IMHO pain is for the stupid!!!
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