I rode a diamond frame bike for 40 years until I injured by back at work with an L5-S1 disc herniation. Six months later I had a laminectomy where they basically cleaned out the ruptured material and sewed the lamina of the disc back up. Since it was a worker's comp injury and I was considered to have a 5% permanent partial disability I ended up receiving a payment of about $5000. I had commuted to work by bike for years on your basic store DFs but I now decided I was going to shop and search for a good quality bike.

I knew I didn't want a speed bike with its drop handlebars and wedgie seat because I found that to be uncomfortable before I injured my back. Then I stumbled upon recumbents, a type of bike I'm sure I had seen before but had never given any consideration. This searching was during a Wisconsin winter so I knew I had some time before I would be doing any actual riding. I first tried a short wheel based recumbent at a LBS and they took me into a parking lot across the street to try it out--a small parking lot. Needless to say, I was having trouble with it and felt like an idiot which was not helped by the 3 middle school boys who were watching me (go away kids, you bother me!). This was not for me.

But a week later another LBS had their spring bike show at our civic center in a very large room with plenty of area to ride and get going. The recumbent they had was an Easyracer EZ Sport long wheel based bike--I rode it, got the recumbent smile, and loved it so I bought it right then for $800 in 2001 and I've ridden that same bike for 16 years now with no back pain, no butt pain, no wrist pain, and no neck pain. I've never regretted the purchase for a moment, especially this past summer when I had it in the shop for its free yearly tune-up (did I get a deal with that, or what?) and I had to ride a hybrid DF as a back--pain in the butt, shocking wrist pain. My LBS was all backed up and a free tune-up didn't rise to the top of their list and they had my bent for a couple of weeks but after the first week of having to ride that DF (I have no car) I went on Craigslist and bought another EZ Sport, same year as mile but with less use, for $130--a real deal from a guy who lives maybe 7 miles from me and delivered the bike. He's a recumbent collector and I think his wife got on his case to get rid of some that had been sitting around.

Frankly, I cannot for a moment understand why anybody for whom comfort and pain-free riding is important would overlook a type of bike that would provide that based upon the prejudices against recumbents that I so commonly read about in other forums here even to the point where they would claim they don't think recumbents are even bikes (2 wheels, a handlebar, a seat, with a chain to drive the wheel along with different gears sounds like a bike to me).
But I'm happy with mine and will never be riding anything else as long as I can still ride.

Yep, cool story. When I become too impaired or too old to ride a "regular" bike, I'm definitely going to try a recumbent trike!

I don't think that everybody who rides a road bike, a bike with drop handlebars and a tiny seat, is necessarily uncomfortable but experiencing butt, wrist, neck, or back pain is not an uncommon complaint and often seems to be worn like a badge of honor.

I think that anybody who takes the time to go to their LBS, purchase their road bike and have it professionally fitted are also a minority among riders, an elite group that is serious about their cycling. Your average bike rider, even those with road bikes, are not doing rides of 20 to 30 or more mile rides on a frequent basis and are not consumed by how fast they go or how they climb or what kind of clothes they are wearing.

I'm not sure what that means, but it is an anecdotal observation. I don't believe that even the DFers who are the most prejudiced against the notion of recumbents even being bikes would argue that they are more comfortable and a good way to avoid the pain associated with riding a DF. Given my back surgery and situation I would have stopped riding years ago had it not been for finding recumbents. I have also read online of many recumbent riders who have completed century or longer rides, even multiple times, who attest that it was basically a comfortable ride and that only their legs were really tired but they have also described the ride as being "fun". In the world of the serious DF rider there does seem to be the notion of embracing pain and wearing it like a badge of honor, somehow a mark of character. But my motto in life is to avoid pain whenever possible and I certainly experience none as a result of riding my bike.

A point that you make that I wholeheartedly agree with is that we all seem to embrace the notion that others will like what we like, that they would choose to act or react as we would. Even at age 65 I still get surprised when somebody would choose to act differently than I would in some way. Like in the cycling world I can't understand why biker would resent having to yield to a walker or jogger. Today on a MUP there was a little boy on a bike with training wheels with his mom and I had to slow down a lot to get around but as I went by I told him what a good job he was doing and that he would be riding without training wheels soon. I guess I was remembering how it was when I taught my own daughter to ride a bike when she was just 4, which I stupidly feel emotional about recalling it now that she is an adult.

I’ve been riding bikes for transportation and recreation off and on since I was ten years old. As an adult I have bought, ridden then eventually sold a few new bikes. As I biked more the type of bike I liked evolved.
I’ve always liked to fix things up, make them usable again, so am into buying then overhauling lugged steel bikes, typically late ‘70’s to mid 1990’s. I go for Miyata, Nishiki, Centurion and those types. Then a few years ago I bought my first Raleigh Twenty folding bike and I was hooked. They have a cult following and I drank the cool Aid. I have 4 of them.

I bought a new, 650b Surly Straggler with disc brakes and drop bars. I don’t ride it much and it’s pristine.

One day while cruising Craigslist I saw a Burley recumbent for sale at a low enough price that I thought I could buy it and not be out too much money if I didn’t like it. It was in a town some 75 miles away, and around the time of the solar eclipse and living in Oregon, our roads were expected to be a madhouse. That bike sold.
I found a Rans Rocket -circa 2000, for a reasonable price, but by then I was heavily into researching Recumbents, and I thought I could do better. There are 2 recumbent specific bike stores in my area, so I went to one, knowing they sold Bacchetta brand and I liked the look of the monotube. So....I bought a new Giro A20 but with the Recurve seat, which is great for my type of riding.
I had never even sat on any kind of recumbent until my first test rides at the bike shop. There’s a learning curve, and I knew that going in. I’m having the best time ever on it.

I got nothing against recumbents-- they're kinda neat in their odd, unique way. But In +25,000 miles of riding, I've seen a grand total of one of them on the open road-- and it's a crazy tandem trike ridden by this older couple, only in one neighborhood. I've seen some trikes and proper recumbents on the river trails, but even then it's like seeing a unicorn. I think this has everything to do with the fact that I live in one of a series of interconnecting valleys-- it's a climb in every direction, really. It seems that the number of recumbent riders that set out to climb 5,000+ feet in a day comes in at zero.

Given the sheer dominance in numbers of DFs over recumbents, what percentage of DF riders do you reckon have a regular desire to climb at all? So many here at BF are the elite of cyclists inasmuch as they regularly ride their bikes, going on 20 or 30 or more mile rides--climbing or always trying to ride faster and faster--or riding in traffic on busy streets and daring to "take the lane", or serious stump-jumping mountain biking. They often own multiple and expensive bikes with the best equipment and gear they can buy as well as spending money on biking clothes.
The vast majority of those who bike are casual cyclists who have no interest in those things--they just ride their bikes. The measure of the worth of a bike to its owner is the value and joy it brings to them no matter how often or far or seriously they ride--they are all..."cyclists".

I always see a group of 6 - 10 recumbents climbing our local hill on New Years Day. It's only a 4000' climb instead of 5000+, but it is a pretty substantial hill and includes the little 17% kicker at the top.

But, but, but...I thought that bents are not supposed to be able to climb???

I believe you have set the bar for "elite" cyclists a little low.... I also think you tend to view folks whose use of a bike is primarily for transportation as the norm. I don't think this is the case in the US, though there is always hope! Among recreational cyclists, most like to ride some significant distance and climb hills if they exist. That leads to more specific equipment and clothing to enhance their riding enjoyment.

It sure seems like all of them. I climb around 35,000ft per month, and barely make it into the top third during the month's Strava Climbing Challenge. I don't see any point in comparing myself to non-Strava riders. Avoiding as many toes as possible, but 500 miles a year isn't even cycling, IMO. I spend more time per year mowing the lawn, but don't consider it to be one of my hobbies.

Recumbent riders, as a general observation, just don't climb. The biggest recumbent club on Strava has guys that regularly do 300-400 miles per week... and less than 5,000ft of vertical in there. I'm not hating-- I'm actually kinda jealous. Much as it's nice to live between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, it would be nice to have a flat place to ride every now and again. I'm not ready to give up SoCal for Illinois or Florida or the Netherlands, but sometimes 100 miles with 400ft of elevation sounds pretty good.

Good one! I have a friend who lives on the Gulf coast. If he can get 450 feet in a 40 mile ride he's lucky. I can't do 40 miles around here w/o at least 3000 feet, no matter what route I take. We both prefer riding here. As I've said, I think 'bent trikes are cool but one would severely limit my riding choices. Someday....

The thing I don't get is upright folks coming on this forum to point out perceived shortcomings. You don't like it when Rydabent goes to the other forums and does it, why are you doing it here???

I see your L5-S1 and raise you an L5-L6.

Yep, I got an extra disc. A problematic one, at that. Partial discectomy, permanent nerve damage, yada yada. A couple decades and a whole lot of brevets later, I'm still going strong.

Good point.

Payback perhaps?

A good question would be why those who don't like Rydabent's comments in other forums don't simply put him on their ignore list? I haven't read anyone in this thread putting down recumbents because I have that person on my own ignore list. It's so very simple. I wish I had the ignore function available in real life to the point where you could just make them disappear.

I'm sure there are others who don't pay that much attention to the subforums but just click on the 'New Posts' to see if there are recent topics of interest.

I have been riding upright bikes since I was a kid. I am not interested in road biking and I never have been. I personally don't like the hunched down position and prefer to sit as upright as possible. I am more the commuter, grocery getter and errand runner on a bike. For me a bike is primarily a utility vehicle. I like the exercise but I am not doing it because of the exercise only, but because I enjoy being outdoors and just love to cruise around.
My most recent upright commuter is actually a bike I bought new 23 years ago and had it professionally fitted back then. But this was when I was a lot younger and and lot lighter. Now with arthritis in my joints and spine I noticed more pain in my upper back after riding several days.
I just "blindly" purchased two recumbents just to see if they would work better for my back. One is a 16 year old Lighting Phantom and the other one an around 20 year old bikeE. For the past 4 weeks I have been riding both of them at a total of around 300 miles.
And yes they are a lot better for my back. But hard on my knees. lol. Also it is flat here where I live so no uphill climbing. Would I want to do it with recumbent? Probably not because you cannot use your body weight to support the force on your pedals.
So long story short: They work for me for where I live and for what I use the bikes for. But they are for sure not everyone's cup of tea. And I am for sure not trying to convince anyone to move to recumbents.

Most people who ride bikes do just that--just ride their bikes to get to where they need to go or on just casual recreational rides. They don't ride road bike with drop handlebars and see how many miles they can ride in a day or week, or how fast they can go or climb. They don't spend any money on special biking clothing. Most probably didn't spend more than $200 for their bikes.
My guess is that most recumbent riders use their bikes in the same way--to get to where they want to go and casual, recreational rides. Because of their sheer numbers, DF bikes--the kind most people ride are cheap and readily available. I have found DFs that have just been thrown out and with a little work are completely rideable.

One of the ways that I have enjoyed my long wheel based EZ Sport recumbent is taking casual rides on the rails to trails MUPs in my area that go through some scenic and beautiful rural areas.
With my seat back it is a panoramic view with everything in front of me to see with no need to bend my neck like on a DF with drop handlebars or even one with upright handlebars (a way which I've also ridden these trails before). Plus, the LBS at my end of the Elroy-Sparta bike trail (which we call the "Sparta-Elroy" bike trail) rents EZ Sports just like mine. When my daughter was a middle teen we hauled my bike to the trail and then rented one for her there.

The title of this thread is "Why we bought out bikes". "We"--the implication was that other people who bought and ride recumbents would post their stories because otherwise I would have posted "Why I bought my bike". So I consider that I did ask for input. I posted it here in the Recumbent sub-forum so that non-recumbent riders would not get bent (funny, that) out of shape because why would they choose or be interested in reading this forum.
I also did give a lengthy reply to your original response to this thread.

I think you are simply wrong about this, at least in the US. I can't see any reason for "bent riders to be any less enthusiastic than other cyclists or any evidence that they are. Sure there are bottom feeders in cycling, same as anywhere, but not so many on BF.

As a life long tech, I had somewhat noticed bents for a long time. They just seemed to be logical. I got my first bent in 2005 and my DF bikes pretty much never turned a wheel again.

The comfort was going to be a given. However it is also the relaxed view that I like. The almost total relaxation on the trike tho is amazing. No falling over, no scratching and scraping when taking off from a start to get clipped in, and no wobbling around, and no staring at the front wheel. Subtract the butt pain, and the neck pain on really long rides.

I've ridden diamond frame bikes for over 30 years - both road & MTB. It's the one sport/aerobic exercise that's been a constant. I've always been interested in recumbents but didn't get off my dead butt & do something until 3-4 years ago. While I love my diamond frame bikes, I also love going fast. When I realized that I might finally be able to break 50 mph on a local hill with a bent, I took the plunge (I hit 56+ on that hill regularly & over 50 on many other local hills). I'm now on my third bent & as Blazing Pedals described in another thread, time spent on diamond frames just kept dropping (although I do still ride MTBs when I ride dirt or singletrack). While I was (& am) comfortable on a DF, the overall riding experience on a bent is next level in many ways - particularly in comfort & ability to observe my surroundings (as well as speed). Doing a century on a DF left me hurting in all the 'usual' places - wrists, butt, groin, back, neck. That's the norm for everyone, so I always just dealt with it. However, on a bent, all those issues are gone & I spend my time watching & experiencing my surroundings.

I don't feel the need to proselytize about bents to others. If someone is interested, I share my experiences & help them find information. I learned long ago that pushing a rope isn't a functional strategy. Many folks come to to recumbents because of medical issues, but not all. Some of us come because of choice.

The issue of recumbents & climbing is an ongoing discussion among bent riders & obviously something witnessed (& frequently commented on) by DF riders. Most bents are seriously heavy. I'm now riding one that is only a few pounds heavier than mainstream DFs. Compared to DF riders with similar FTPs, I'm not at a disadvantage on the hills with my M5 CHR. In fact, the M5 now lets me ride 1-2 classes up on club rides - where I am slower going up some of the nasty hills but easily keep up/catch up on the flats & downhills.

I'm guessing that you don't know Jason Perez & that you're not familiar with the California Triple Crown Stage Race - 3 days, 600 miles & 45000 feet of climbing?

Here's what Jim Cook, the Organizer of the White Mountain Double wrote (bolding added by me):

Wasted effort, RL. If it doesn't fit their preconceptions, it's a foreign language.

I started in 2001 riding a bent and I'm still riding the same one today--an Easyracer EZ Sport. One thing I bet you have noticed is that there really are no junk built recumbents. The one I've ridden for 16 years has had only routine maintenance with no major breakdowns and only this past summer did I have the chain replaced for the first time. Also this summer I bought another EZ Sport, same year as mine but a different color and with far fewer miles and wear and tire, as a back-up bike and it may become my main bike. I snagged it for only $130 on CL.

Naaah - not really. I just wrote it - 1) responding to the op's original question & 2) responding to someone who was uninformed with his statement. As I stated in my post, I'm not trying to convince anyone to switch to a recumbent. However, if a rider has an open mind & comes to the bent sub-forum, they now have a little more information. I love riding the M5 CHR & only wish I'd got it sooner. The Musashi is still around because I'll never get back the money I spent on upgrades & I find it works great for when I need to ride in urban areas (like NYC). I have nothing against DFs & will likely upgrade my 26" MTB in the near future.