Mars

Devoted several pages to recumbents. However, they sure didn't do us any favors. They made us seem like a bunch of goofballs, in my opinion. The pictures of recumbent riders were quite the contrast to those that you see of people riding their roadies. The roadie riders are always buff, in the latest cycling fashions, and looking fast and cool. In the bent article, the pictures were of middle aged folks in plaid shirts and rubber duck squeaky horns on the handelbars. I realize that a lot of middle aged people ride bents, and that's fine to have pics of them. But where was the picture of a high or low racer with an athletic person riding it?

The article had some nice things to say about bents, but also talked about bent "conspiracy theories" and "FOGs".

World Tour

Posing roadies are annoying IMO. Give me a bent any day. AT least we won't have numb crotches, maybe our women will be grateful for that hehehe.

blknwhtfoto

Woah Woah Woah there Mars, first what specifically is wrong with a rubber ducky horn?! I actually don't have one, but the toy plane+air horn have the same effect. LOL, just(kinda) joking. I am in no way middleaged or athletic(20 yrs old) and a recovering semi-fat person. But, I am glad that they're at least putting them in their damn magazine. I am getting a bit faster on my bent now, and I was chasing some fellow on his fancy roadbike today and caught-surpassed him. I feel good about that. lol.

twahl

In the magazine world you have to write the article to the audience, and I think this one was right on target. Bicycling tends to cater to roadies in a big way. The article was written from a roadie perspective, and from that perspective it put (I thought) a very positive light on recumbents. I enjoyed it and I think my wife, the bent pilot in the house, enjoyed it as well, although she said the author was a wuss.

linux_author

- dunno about this... if one gauges readership by Bicycling's advertising, the magazine would seem to appeal to automobile-driving 40-somethings suffering from sexual dysfunction...

:-)

blknwhtfoto

Hahahaha, thats funny linux. I think you're right, cause who else can afford a new pair of Sidi shoes and a fully carbon bike?

Olebiker

To paraphrase Robert Burns:
"Oh what power the gift could give us
To see ourselves as others see us"

megaman

I think us bent riders have a tendency to be more laid back about our attitude and wear. Roadies need to look buff cause that's the only thing they've got going for them Let them have the style, I'll take the comfort any day.

Gus Riley

Heck I read it and enjoyed it. It convinced me that I need to give 'bents a try.

mobilemail

Years ago I enjoyed Bicycling, but I think it has been refocused toward the cappucino jockeys who ride their bikes during focus group outings on their lunch breaks. Don't get me wrong, I like cappucino, and wouldn't mind cycling on my lunch break. But I miss articles about people who tour in faraway places, and the ones who become role models just because they have made cycling a successful part of their own lives, without having to trade in their job or family to do so. And I miss the somewhat unsung heroes we used to read about, Like Lon Haldemon and the Great American Bicycle Race (now full-blown RAAM). If anyone knows of a bicycling magazine that is more focused toward these kinds of articles, let me know.

djwid

I read the article yesterday. The day before that a co-worker was talking about 'bents and trikes and I was looking for material to research them. I was suprised by the coincidence that bicycling actually had an article on 'bents at all. I read the article in Borders. It wasn't enough for me to buy the magizine.

OTOH, I am very interested in 'bents and trikes now. I will have one before the end of the year.
-Djwid

nedgoudy

I can hear that! I just got back from a
30 miler myself and passed a 30-40
something couple both of whom were
on road bikes and decked out in their
penis pinching gear and little brightly
colored hats. I actually felt sorry for
em. Apparently they thought they
had to wear the duds to join the club
or something. Me, I was in a pair of
denim shorts, worn out tennis shoes
and a T-shirt and an old Dodger's
baseball cap.

I also blew by a couple of Cross Bikes
and a mountain biker today and I ain't
fast I tell ya... But, as a former fat boy
I am glad to be trim and fit and healthy
enough to ride as far as I want on a nice
day.

And no, I don't have any ducky horn
on my recumbent. But I might get an
Aoooogah horn for my Rhoades Car when
I take deliver the first week in August.

That, or more likely an AIR HORN to
let the donkey's know when they are
getting on my nerves.

55 and still alive, and riding stronger
than ever! And I ain't no athelete.

Mars

You know, I have nothing against people with funny toy horns on their bikes, or plaid shirts, or knee socks, or conspiracy theories. But their must have been hundreds of people at that recumbent rally and they chose pictures that reinforced a certain pre-conception of what it means to be a recumbent owner/rider. And that is these bikes are uncool and the people who ride them are uncool as well.

If you go to any large group of cyclists - at a charity ride for example, you will see plenty of people who do not dress or act in typical cool cyclist mode. And that is fine, of course, but you wouldn't see all the BICYCLING photos focusing of them. Instead, they would be looking for athletic, good looking people to promote the cycling lifestyle and make biking appear hip and healthy. Their editorial choices, both textual and visual, show an attitude, IMHO, that is patently condenscending and hostile to our type of bicycle.

iowarose

Well, I'm a DF rider, but while I did see some DF bias in the article, on the whole I thought it was a very positive portrayal of recumbent riders. There was a lot of emphasis on how much 'bent riders were enjoying themselves.

And any cyclist who has done any sort of riding beyond racing will have seen plenty of DF riders with rubber-ducky horns on their handlebars, etc. I ride with people who use cycles of every sort. And one of the fastest, fittest riders where I live rides a recumbent trike.

ken cummings

You could join the UMCA and get their magazine. Lot of new things going on this year. Or just subscribe.

Grampy™

I ride 'em just to piss off guys like Olebiker......

tom porter

I finally got to the local library to read the article, I haven't thought of buying this repetitive diatribe mag in many many years. I have been attending the Stevens Point rally since its inception and was a bit surprised when I talked to someone sat AM that they were going to write an article about recumbents. They used to cover the IHPVA championships in the early 80's, they even had a photo of Eric Heiden riding a tandem with hand and foot power as the stoker. This must have been the days of the open mided regime at this mag as they have had almost nothing to say since then. I was not surprised that the article turned out the way it did, I think at least they could have shown a photo of the NoCom that was there to balance out there nerdathon that the rest of article was. I am not amused or surprised. How do you tell a fast recumbent rider? They don't have beards.

Olebiker

Olebiker loves 'bents and would own one if he had the disposable income. I love riding with 'bent riders. What I don't love is the "us vs. them" attitude of 'bent riders.

markw

I think that stems from being banned from races by sanctioning bodies. I've got a friend who does crits on a Bacchetta recumbent, he was a Cat 2 before a back injury sidelined him. After a couple years he decided to try bents. He's now on a CF Aero, and his crit reports are halarious. He's the crazy guy on the recumbent that goes off the front and usually stays there. If that was a USCF event he wouldn't be able to ride. So quite a few recumbent guys go for TT's and such where they allow us. For example, I'll be in Iowa later this month, there's a 5k TT and road race event happening when I'm there. I'm welcome to do the TT, but not the road race. I mix it up in pacelines all the time on the bent, and most DF guys don't have issues with highracers. It all goes back to the 1933 ban. UCI is known for banning technology, and USCF follows suit. They don't just ban recumbents, but they also ban stuff like Trek Y-Foils, and Obre's bikes, they also ban bikes that are too light. If they stuck to 2 wheels, human powered, you'd see bents on the flat stages of the TdF, and silly light climbing DF's in the mountains. Recumbents wouldn't be so darn expensive either since there'd be larger numbers.

MaxBender

What do you expect from a magazine that tells you to "Toss that training plan..." and drop $3,000+ as the easiest way to go a little faster?

FarHorizon

Anybody that thinks that "Bicycling" magazine is neutral about anything is grossly naive. The magazine revealed its true colors when it did an article about illegal immigrants who ride junk bicycles and said that we all have a "responsibility" toward that cycling community.

Bicycling is a mouthpiece for the editorial stance of Rodale Press - period. Rodale doesn't care one way or the other about recumbent bikes or their riders, and that is what I got from their article. Rodale's target audience is wealthy, lazy, liberal, and very focused on giving the appearance of being socially and environmentally aware and active.

Don't take this as blunt criticism, heck - I match a few of those tags myself, but I'm definitely not Bicycling's target audience (despite the fact that I currently have a subscription). Vote with your pocketbook - Don't like Bicycling? - Don't subscribe.

imabeliever1

Hate to souund lame, but I've checked the news stand at a couple of places and they didn't have a copy of Bicycling. What is the issue month with the recumbent article.

Thanks

Dr.Deltron

Maybe you could "dispose" of the DF and put that "income" towards a 'bent. I bought my first 'bent, a Challenge Hurricane used for $600. Last year I got a used Greenspeed GTX from the LBS bulletin board for $2,000.
Before that I scored a Tour Easy with fairing for $800.

As for any "us v. them", I just smile. I wave at all cyclists that pass by and am amused by the spandex covered carbon riding roadies that won't even acknowlege my salutation. S**t, my trike new would cost more than their DF's by at least a grand or two! (unless they got their bike used too) So I still smile & wave, knowing they think I am one "THOSE" riders. Maybe their proctologist can tell them what I already know.

OK, I admit I still ride my DF bikes. But only when I don't want to talk to everybody!

Olebiker

Oh, you're riding a trike.... My friend had to sell his Harley and get a Gold Wing trike when his vertigo got so bad that he dropped his Ultra Classic on his leg and broke it.

Shoot, Doc, other roadies don't wave or talk to me either, but I don't take it personally. I just figure that they have good sense or good taste.

Do you really have trouble with your hind end when riding a DF bike? I've just never experienced that. At least not since I quit trying to use a leather saddle.

Dr.Deltron

Only on rides of an hour or more, and NOT on my Colnago. Ernesto has an Ideale leather saddle. It DID hurt for the first 6-8 months. Now it fits like a glove. Granted, NOW is some 25 years later. Love that saddle. Also helps in any case to Vaseline the chamois. Initially grooooss, butt effective! (and of course, DON'T wear underwear with cycling shorts! especially with a leather saddle!!!)

Still not convinced about the joys of a trike? Come by anytime and test ride one, single or tandem.

And next time another cyclist waves at you, show your good taste/sense and DON'T wave back!
It'll keep me amused!!! See ya out there!