Originally Posted by
Lee Martini
...Questions.
1) I see some acronyms on these forums and I don't know what they mean. Can you tell me please.
2) This is a big question. What should I consider when choosing between a two wheeled recumbent and a three wheeled recumbent? I kind of am leaning towards a racing style close to the ground three wheeled.
3) I like to go fast on my upright road bicycle. On every ride I go over 30mph sometimes 40mph and 50 mph. Is it as safe to go as fast on a recumbent?
4) If I were to spend the money I would maybe be in the range of spending $1000 to $1500. Can you get a quality new recumbent for this price? If so recomend me some brands and makes. Their are not any dealers in Reno, NV but their are in Sacramento which is only two hours away.
5) Here in Reno, NV their is no way to avoid hills. Can a recumbent climb anything if you are in the right shape? Last year I got about 1300 miles on my road bicycle over 5 months. I am in good shape. When climbing hills I actually spend 95% of my time seated and don't prefer to stand.
6) I was looking at the Sun Bicycle EZ Tad. What do you think of these recumbents?
1) ...you'd have to say which acronyms.
2) ...the low-down three wheelers look fast, but are generally held to be slower than two-wheelers. A third set of wheel bearings and the rolling resistance of a third tire drags them down every time. Ironically, the main advantage of a trike seems to be casual
moderate-pace riding, because you don't need to worry about balancing.
3) ...on a two-wheeler, yes 50 mph will be easy to handle. Most tadpole trikes (the ones with two front wheels) have VERY short-leverage steering controls, and I've heard more than a couple people say their trikes get twitchy at higher speeds. I've not owned or rode a trike yet myself like that, so I don't know first-hand.
4) ...Sun and Cycle Genius are two lower-priced brands that sell through dealer-only. Actionbent is also lower-priced and sells online/main-order only.
5) ...a recumbent will go anywhere you pedal it, but balancing at very low speeds is somewhat more difficult than on an upright bike. There's also some opinion that the recumbents that climb the worst are the ones with the highest pedal-to-seat distances, but these are the bikes that are the most reclined, and so the most aerodynamic. So if you believe this, the bikes that are fastest on the flat sections are the worst up hills.
6) ...the new Sun recumbent line is due to hit stores in May. I think they're keeping the earlier models, but only Sun knows for sure at this point. An article showing the new bikes is here:
http://www.bentrideronline.com/index...d=388&blogId=1
General comment/opinion:
...The main value of recumbents is that they are more comfortable over long rides, not that they are faster than a normal bike would be. Some recumbents are faster, but most are roughly the same or slower (for the same amount of effort).
...If you want a faster recumbent, you need to get one that puts the rider in a very reclined position.
...Alternately, you can use a front fairing and bodysock on many bikes and get a pretty big aerodynamic gain. Many people say that this is not the
absolute fastest ride you can have, but overall it is the most versatile.
This page shows a Tour Easy towards the bottom, with a front fairing (the plastic bubble) and a bodysock (the US-flag theme fabric covering).
~