Originally Posted by
Wheels4
i love riding my upright bikes. but, i'm considering a recumbent b/c of lower back pain... and i've never even considered one before now. so, i don't know anything about them besides what i've learned in the limited research i've done. figured i would push the easy button and ask here...
You may want to figure out first what is causing the lower back pain. If its a leg length imbalance you may still have some with the bent if you don't correct for it by say shimming a cleat.
1. how do you decide between a 2 wheel and a 'trike'? just personal preference? personally like the LOOK of the trikes.. but, being so new... i don't know any better.
A couple of pluses of a trike - you can climb hills really slowly without falling over. On my 2 wheel I find going under 6 kph the bike gets too twitchy, and obviously you can't stand to climb slow like you could with a DF. If you live somewhere that's snowy the extra balance in the winter roads may also be a plus. However they are also generally lower to the ground too.
2. with a two wheel... seems like it would be hard to actually start pedaling... is it easier than it appears? i know... i need to actually test ride one.
No its tricky at first, it took me some time to get the hang of just balancing on one. But once you learn its like the same as having learned to ride your regular bike. I tested out a bunch of models and found ones with low pedals easier to get started with, but I ended up buying a high racer
3. for those of you that have the trikes... do you ride on the road just like anyone with a regular road bike would? or do you ride at designated areas, like parks? i mean... they seem really wide.
I don't have a trike, but a comment on bents in general because you are lower I would not want to ride squeezed in a lane with a car. If the lane is wide enough to share or there's a bike lane, great, if not, take the lane.
4. during my research... i've seen several models that look like the boom is fixed, and i don't see 'size' options... do the seats move or is sizing not that important like it is on an upright bike?
Seats move. Most bikes still have two sizes or if they don't there may be a broad range but still a range. You obviously need the correct distance from seat to pedals.
5. is there that much of a difference between the suspension models and non-suspended? i'm thinking the suspended models would be great for my back... but, then again... i think the recumbent itself would great for my back.
Long wheel base bents generally are a more comfortable ride. Some SWB rides can be harsh so you either want suspension or nice fat tires if comfort is a big concern.
6. other than having an SUV to transport.. how do you carrry recumbents(trikes)? I have an FJ cruiser... but, i don't think a trike would fit inside.
Trikes are tricky to transport. My SWB bent can go on most trunk bike racks. A LWB bent you may need a specialized roof rig.
7. are there any recumbent tandems that are less than 2000.00? geeze... (trying to get wife into cycling) she thinks i should get two of the below b/c it's cheaper... and she would actually ride it.
Recumbent tandems aren't cheap, if you buy one buy one used because that way if the wife doesn't like it you can likely resell it for what you paid for it. Two bikes or trikes may be better.
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Test ride as many as you can and if there is a recumbent riders group near you find them! They can also be a good source of test rides at a meetup.