Originally Posted by John C. Ratliff
I have avoided several right hooks on my Rans Stratus, as I can see the driver much more easily than on an upright bicycle. Situational awareness on a recumbant is easier, as we are not looking to the ground, but around. Mirrors work better too for over-the-seat steering.
Yes, the LWB recumbant can stop very quickly, as we don't need to worry about going over the handlebars.
John
The assertion that riders of diamond-frame bicycles, or, I suppose, riders of diamond-frame bicycles equipped with drop bars, ride by looking down at the road is ludicrous. One more of the utterly foolish assertions that are so frequently made on this VC section of Bike Forums. This statement is associated with the assertion that a cyclist on a recumbent can more easily see the driver of a motor vehicle to his left than can a cyclist on a diamond-frame bicycle. I would suggest that the head of the cyclist on the diamond frame is more nearly on the level to look into the side window and across the motor vehicle than is the head of the cyclist on the recumbent, who, I suggest, is likely to be below the window level and hence less able to see across the motor vehicle to observe its driver. Anybody with actual measurements?