blamp28

I have been riding Road and MTB for years and recently bought a used Santana tandem. My wife and I are considering going to a Rans Screamer for the Tandem rides. I have read and or heard that you use different muscles or at least the same muscles on a different plane. Do any of you ride both upright and recumbent and how well do your legs make the transition. I use the Road bike and Tandem rides to keep in shape for occasional endurance MTB races and I do enjoy the road bike.

cranky old dude

I commute on a DF Trek 820 and do my recreational riding
on a LWB Recumbent (Sun EZ Rider). I've logged close to
1000 miles on each this year and have absolutely no problems
switching back and forth from bike to bike. I also take occasional
rides on my DF road bikes and again there is no transition issues.

Happy Trails

gnome

I ride both and find that if I don't ride either a DF or bent at least once every three weeks that I'm a bit slower on the one I haven't ridden. It usually isn't a problem as I tend to ride a mixture of my recumbent, my fixie and one of my other bikes on a regular basis.

I've done over 2000km this year on my recumbent and over 1000km on my DF bikes and have found that the only reason I've got slower and less fit is that I haven't been riding enough lately.

hold4d

I ride my specialized crossroads and both recumbents every week. All are fun. The peugeot wasn't fun anymore so I sold it.

kilen

I just picked up a used Rocket a month or so ago and have been using it for commuting to work (20 miles daily) and recreational riding. Today my son and I did a 50 mile ride with lots of steep climbs on the north shore of Lake Superior. The idea was that we were going to switch off between the Rocket and my 94 Klein Fervor (lightweight mountain bike with slicks on it), but I ended up on the Klein most of the way. Right now I'm really feeling it on the inner sides of my hamstrings. Dang! There definitely is a different muscle configuration used between the two, at least for me. I think I'll do a bit more switching off between the two styles, or like a previous post talked about, not going too long between using the other style.

recumelectric

I've been using the recumbent and the Beach Cruiser lately. Recumbent for long rides and Beach Cruiser for 5 miles or less. It used to be exclusively Beach Cruiser; the recumbent is new.

Differences that I've noticed:
1) Cruiser takes longer to get going on, mainly since it's a single-gear.
2) Recumbent seems to be building up leg muscles higher on my thigh, and I'm getting a little bit of butt muscle.
3) Some knee soreness on the recumbent, but not any kind of pain. I've also felt this when I haven't ridden the Cruiser in a while and then started up again.
4) I sweat a lot more on the Cruiser when going at similar speeds.
5) The Cruiser is more manueverable in some situations. That may have to do with the fact that I've got more experience with it. It's like an old friend that I know really well when I ride it.

...I'm really liking both of the bikes. I like having the option of using either.

rhm

My main ride, my commuter bike, is not a DF but a folding bike; I take it on the train with me every day, in addition to riding about 16 miles:

In addition to this I'm now riding a recumbent, like so:
but it is totally different. I'm afraid the recumbent is just for fun; no way I could take it on a rush hour train!

okcr2g

I am probably the wrong one to post on this as I am fairly new to both, but here goes.
I have a Bike E a Landrider and a rans rocket. But mostly have been riding a Cannondale H400 with skins on it. Since I have started riding again a few months ago in the area, 1/4 mile long fairly steep hills for a 4 mile loop the difference is noticeable. There are different muscles that come into play with the recumbent. I imagine that if you are an avid rider it is less of a struggle than for someone just starting out again. So my input is your level of fitness has a lot to do with the level of effort you will have to put into riding the recumbent. Since you can not stand on it up hill is more difficult and not as fast. But down hill is a blast....

scarabeoguy

I ride both a DF ( Bike Friday Air Glide ) and a Recumbent ( Catrike 700 Tadpole Trike ) and I enjoy both of them. They are both different rides and have their advantages and disadvantages and do work different leg muscle groups. Lately I have been finding the Catrike 700 very effecient and fast on level roads.

Rohan

I have been considering purchasing a quality(1000$ + or -) mountain bike, as my Vision recumbent is not built to go on any of the bike trails that surround me(they are all dirt track off road trails). The problem is that I have not found a MTB that sings to me yet like my Vision does. It will probably have to wait till next year, and only if I can find a MTB that actually catches me like my vision does.

GreenGrasshoppr

I own two recumbents, one folding MTB and a rear-suspension 26" front-wheel pennyfarthing.

mostlybent

I have both a DF bike and LWB recumbent, even though my hybrid road bike is a great bike I never ride it anymore. The joy of riding my recumbent bike is something unexplainable, people on the street that see me riding, smile and know I'm in my element of joy.
Recumbents are a great design, I should have bought it 20 years ago, but was too cheap to spend the $2,000 for it. Trail riding is surprisingly easy on a recumbent, the only reason i don't sell my DF bike is so i can lend it to friends.

la2sei

we have a screamer and a burley tandem. the muscles used for 'bent riding are different. Getting in shape for one does not keep you in shape for the other. If you frequently ride both styles, you can be in shape for both. We don't ride fast, so enjoying the ride is more important than peformance. I also have 2 single recumbents as well as a DF road and mountain bike. For me, the DF bikes provide more performance, the 'bents more comfort.

CraigVM62

A hand full of DF bikes and one LWB recumbent. Most of my riding is on paved urban trails. Many require a good number of street intersections and narrow bridge crossings. The recumbent is just not nimble enough for those, especially when congested with other people. Other trails do have miles of nothing but straights and less congested which is where the recombent is a joy to ride. I just need to remember that my particular bent won't stop nearly as quicly as the standard bikes.

Bobsk8

I have ridden a bent for about 10 years. When I get on a DF now, I feel like I am about to fall off and break my neck. I just can't relaxed on a DF anymore.

sanitycheck

I own a LWB recumbent and a mountain bike. I use the 'bent for almost everything -- commuting, touring, everyday transportation -- and keep the mountain bike around for occasional off-road rides with friends, and as a backup commuter.

Often, I'll go weeks or months without riding the mountain bike, and it does take me some time to get used to it again. On off-road trails, it doesn't take long to re-adjust -- the mountain bike feels like the right tool for the job in that case -- but riding roads on an upright bike really feels awkward. And yes, I agree that the two bikes use different sets of muscles, especially on climbs.

None of this is more than a minor inconvenience, though. Both bikes are a lot of fun to ride. I would advise you to go ahead and get that recumbent tandem, and see how things work out from there.

BlazingPedals

I ride my hybrid about 200 miles per year. Mostly in the winter, in small chunks. I wouldn't call it fun; it's strictly for when I don't want to subject my good bikes to abuse. Whether from muscle dis-use or just the bike, it's slow as heck - way slower than any of my bents.