Originally Posted by
edwong3
Speaking of recumbents, I've owned 3 CLWB's with the 16"/20" wheel configuration. Those were a ReBike Leisure (1998), a BikeE CT (2001), and an EZ-1 SC I bought used. All 3 put me in a high enough seating position for traffic. Those were fun.
True that small wheels are not a problem on recumbents with an upright seating position, but IMO being laid back is much more comfortable and aerodynamic and for that the seat needs to be higher.
Originally Posted by
bhkyte
I would sooner Rollerblade at this level of bike. I am a former rollerblade coach. Therefore skates for me would be at least as fast, as safe , and massively more compactable. Have you considered rollerblading?
I've been an inline skater for much longer than I've been a cyclist and also agree that it's a great way to travel with a much better compactness/utility ratio than any folder and certainly a much better way to travel at this price point.
However, as good as it is, skating will never be as efficient as biking with a good quality bike. I average 15mph on my Carryme (including stops and starts) and although I could do similarly on skates it takes far far less effort on the Carryme and the only thing that stops me from going faster is the gearing. Rule of thumb for a practiced individual with quality equipment is that skating is 2x faster than running and cycling is 2x faster than skating and I don't think wheel diameter changes that equation (although lack of quality equipment does and skates are certainly much cheaper than bikes at the same quality level).
Also, although skates are more compact, it's way quicker to fold most folders than don a pair of skates. In fact, of the four human powered vehicles in my arsenal (a pair of detachable Hypnoskates, a Carryme, a 20" Downtube, and a Bacchetta highracer); I use the Hypnos or the Downtube when traveling multimodally and don't want to be bothered with a large package (typically when meeting friends who don't cycle or skate), the Downtube gets locked outside and used for longer distances and the skates for shorter distances; I use the Carryme and Bacchetta typically when traveling exclusively by bike, the Bacchetta for far off destinations on the open road and the Carryme for dense traffic or popping in/out of shops (although the Carryme is also great multimodally, multimodal travel for me usually means I'm trying to accommodate others which is usually easier with the Hypnos or locking up the Downtube) and without hesitation I think each bike is the fastest available for the purpose. The only thing I'm not happy about is locking the Bacchetta, but I guess if most bikes get locked most of the time then I can brave the risk for long rides.
Just my 2c.
