Having ridden a LWB bent since 2005 I can tell you that I can ride an almost perfect straight line at 3 or 4 mph. BTW pickups like mine haul any kind of a bike or trike quite well.

Lol !
Yeah and I can more or less track stand at 0.5 mph while waiting for traffic

how many Tadpoles or LWB bikes can you get on a Camaro , Mustang, or a Toyota Camry ?
, A lot more people own cars than P.U. trucks
P.U. trucks you also need either a strong back or ramps to load a Tadpole or LWB in

For a sit up bike or a drop bar bike all someone needs is a $ 50.00 bike rack that will work on just about any car
and it will haul more than one and they wont strain there back loading a 20 pound bike unlike trying to load a 45 pound recumbent

I dont have anything against Recumbents
I own a Cat Trike Dumont and a LWB Sun EZ Sport

But they are not superior to a regular bike and they are not more advanced/modern !

The number one selling vehicle in the US is a pickup, and I think 2 and 3 might be too.

Im 82 and lift my tadpole trike into the bed with no problem at all.

Im done
its a waste of time trying to rationally discuss this

Cool, ^^^this guy is finally right about something in this thread!

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pick...s-of-2020.html

It's all what's important to you. I am only good down to 3.5-4 mph, but OTOH if I have to stop, I don't have to get off my seat to put a foot (or hand) down.

And on a trike I can do a track stand and never unclip for as long as it takes. That is one reason that if you have several different types of bikes, a trike should be one of them. Starting and stopping while riding around town becomes very easy, since there is no clipping in and out at every stop. No wobbling around on startup that can make drivers nervous, while you are scratching around trying to get clipped in.

You could accomplish the same thing with training wheels. They would be cheaper and lighter than a trike, and you wouldn't be at eye level with wheels of cars.

You can say that, but just watch the larger percentage of DF cyclist. They scratch and wobble a large part of the time on startup.

I guess if he knows one other rider, and both he and that other rider have problems clipping in, that qualifies as a "large percentage."

Nope no problem on my part. I just sit down on my trike, and while sitting still I clip in, the pedals are right in front of me. Unless I stop at a shop to run and errand, I can stay clipped in the whole ride.

BTW a couple of years ago on a ride of silence with a lot of DF riders I became aware of all the scratching around trying to get clipped in, being only a short distance away from their BBs.

I have a tadpole trike and a couple of SWB bents, I miss the maneuverability height and general all purpose use of the DF bikes, because of accidents I cannot afford another crash off one of them. I think I have been on borrowed time on the SWB's, they are fast, and have gotten squirrely a few times at speed, and I stay off them as well. The trike is definitely safer as far as falls, but I don't get them over 12-15 MPH, I can see how you could easily flip one at high speeds, and I would never ride one in town because of the visibility.

I have both a LWB bent and a trike. In town is exactly where I ride the trike. We have 130 miles of hard surface trails in Lincoln. The LWB bent goes out of town.

I've ridden a recumbent trike coast-to-coast on the Southern Tier. I don't regret that as the ride that I chose, but everything comes with tradeoffs.

- Comfort: Sure, my wrists and shoulders had it easy. But I had to hold my neck forward, which was a strain, and the buckles that tensioned the seatback eventually dug into my spine, creating a painful growth (this was specific to my model of trike, and I eventually dealt with it by adding some foam).
- Speed: A trike is slower. Go ahead and fight me on this. If you've got a long day ahead and are chasing the sunset from the word go, even on tour, that makes a difference.
- Navigability: In some places—Arizona and Mississippi especially—there was just no good place to ride because the shoulders are narrow and every road seems to have sleeping policemen. In Arizona, I either had to take the lane or carefully straddle the sleeping policemen with my left front wheel on one side and my rear wheel on the other. This was nerve-wracking, for hours at a time. In other places, I was just taking up more road width where it wasn't really available.
- Cargo capacity: I was touring pretty light, and could get everything into two conventional panniers (although this played hell with downhill handling). If I had wanted to carry more, it would have been a problem.

Well it is rather so. About 3 years ago I participated in a ride of silence, riding my trike. With no talking and being a low rider, I noticed all the scratching around getting clipped in by DF riders. It was simply reality.

Well it is rather so. About 3 years ago I participated in a ride of silence, riding my trike. With no talking and being a low rider, I noticed all the scratching around getting clipped in by DF riders. It was simply reality.

Oh Im quite sure that all DF riders are perfect and clip in at the first try.

See post # 95

That's funny right there
 

Wait-wait-wait.......YOU participated in a ride of silence?

OP should start a thread listing all of the people on BF he alone converted to trikes.
:innocent:

I dont know about on BF, but a lot of people stop me on the trails to ask me about both my bike and trike. I give them the business card of the local bent shop. I do know of at least 2 or 3 that have bought trikes.

After several test rides I can say I don't find recumbent bikes practical... They seem comfortable for the flats where you don't have cars to deal with. When I have cars I want to be able to pivot my head around which isn't nearly as easy when reclining and they seem to require mirrors for any rear visibility. The 2 wheelers were the most maneuverable, but I wouldn't want to ride through the city or tight spaces. I don't see them being easy to bail off of, maybe rolling to the side but wouldn't likely get far enough away to avoid a wreckless car. The selection of tires for most of them seems pretty limited at least on the small front wheels, so good luck finding something puncture resistant for commuting. Ithink all of these reasons explain why I see lots of spandex racers with recumbents on bike trails, but almost no recumbents actually commuting through the city very often.

Strava says I have 15k miles on my current recumbent. The previous one probably had more but I didn't have Strava back then. Longest single day ride was 400 miles, and longest event was over 900 miles.

I also have an upright MTB, rando bike, commuter, and (as of today) a CX bike.

Longest single ride on an upright would be 400k/260 miles, and longest event 600k/370 miles.

For comfort, the 'bent is untouchable. True story: on a 1000k brevet, we stopped for a quick nap. The upright guys lay down on the wet grass, while I stayed clipped in, leaned against the fire station, and had a good snooze - because my 'bent seat was the most comfortable thing around even after a few hundred miles.

For speed on the flats and downhills, solo, the 'bent is also untouchable. No contest.

For climbs, anything above 2% the upright reigns. The steeper the grade, the bigger the difference. I don't know why. Don't care. It just is.

For group riding, upright is the way to go. The 'bent sucks in groups, particularly if there is any terrain. I've ridden two 1000ks with groups, in terrain, and it's a pain. I killed myself to stay with them climbing, rode the brakes descending, and loafed on the flats. The draft behind me is sub-par, and I can't see my front wheel well enough to draft closely.

For fun? Just plain enjoyment of riding a bicycle? Upright. I don't know what the magic is that comes with a lively upright, but there's nothing like it.

I find recumbent evangelizing to be silly, and people who'd rather be shot than ride one to be equally silly. If I had the dollars and space, I'd have a velomobile, FWD 'bent, carbon road bike, fixie, SS, tandem, and a 36" unicycle. It's all good.

I'm gonna flag that last post ^^^ so that any time I feel that perverse desire to get a 'bent -- which admittedly creeps up every few years -- I can re-read downtube42's astute litany and remind myself that no, I don't want to own one.

Maybe just borrow one...

Except his experience is not universal. My bent climbing is only very slightly shy of my upright climbing. Some folks never get the knack of it.

Both platforms are fun.