Originally Posted by Cyclaholic
Thanks for the feedback. I'm devastated at the 'no aerobars' rule only because I really need to get the weight off my wrists at regular intervals and the aerobars are ideal. I have however taken them off now and see what I can do..... there's always the recumbent option I suppose.
As a recumbent rider I am amazed at what some road bike riders suffer through.
When riding my road bike I can do 6-8 hours or so, which is a typical century for me, with no problems. After that the clock is ticking. Taking it to 16 hours, which is a typical double century for me, and my time is up. I have problems from my hips and lower back all the way to my wrists.
I read some ride reports of road bike riders having numb and tingling sensations in their hands and wrists for a long time after the rides, and it sounds like a horror story to me. Risking long term damage just to ride a bike doesn't seem like a good idea to me, but that is just me. Other people have their own priorities, and I respect that.
Your one seating position on a recumbent is good for everything. No need to worry about aerobars, alternate hand positions, or any of that mess.
My recumbent is a Burley Hepcat. It is a good bike, but I am near the performance limit. This past weekend I had the chance to test ride a Bacchetta Corsa on a century out of Malibu, CA. What a speed machine. I could have spent all day on it.