meh, I don't get into the bent forums much...I'm kinda like the crazy uncle nobody likes, but his zany antics make him kinda lovable, as long as he don't stay for too long. I just pop into the good wedgie vs bent threads now and then to make everyone regret that they didn't put me on ignore...or put a frame pump through my spokes the last time we rode together. ;)

Wow! there are/were 3 bent/upright threads going on. This one, one in the General Discussion and another in the Long Distance. All appear about dead or maybe should be. I kind of think the jealousy factor may be more about some bent riders jealous of DF riders.

I ride a recumbent but do also miss the agressive riding position on an upright. Even if someone calls my bike "cool", when I see my shadow on the road it looks weird to me. Might be some of us bent riders have an ugly duck syndrome and wish we looked like the beautiful swans (DF's).

Age and past back surgery have made riding a DF for a long length of time not real comfortable. I think it might be for some that bents offer an opportunity to ride a lot more comfortable and therefore we get a lot of miles and become pretty fit. I can keep up with riders 30 years younger but not many cat 3's I'm sure. My best TT on HiRacer for a 20k averaged at 24 mpg. My strong suit with a recumbent is long distance as I did my first Ultra on LowRacer at age 62 this summer of 830 miles. http://www.gutcheck212.com/records/

The thing is to keep riding as long as you are breathing. Whatever gives you that thrill or enjoyment. It is fun to ride with DF riders I know on my HiRacer as we all get along. They can get a partial draft off of me when I ride in front of the paceline. It is either upfront on in the back for safety. Tried my LowRacer on a group ride once and one guy said it was like trying to draft off of someone on a BigWheels. Bents don't belong in the world of Road races(where drafting allowed) or Criteriums but shouldn't be excluded from Time Trial events in my opinion. There is jealousy on my part that I don't have a lot of opportunity to competively race.

It would be interesting to see recumbents gain more popularity and see what some of the more athletic riders could do on some of the Performance bents.

When stem cell research has developed a way for people to regrow lost brain tissue and I get my chunk of cerebellum back, I'll have the balance for two wheels again. By that time, I will likely be old enough that the posture of a DF will be uncomfortable. Yes, I'd love to be on only two wheels, but I'm pretty sure I'll stay bent.

Apparently the one in the Long Distance forum is locked. It's never a good sign when the thread starts as a testimonial that the OP's bike is superior and everyone else is ignorant. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. Think of how a few denizens of this forum would react if someone posted notice of a thread in the roadie forum entitled, "bents are for losers."

my experience is that if recumbent riders get any antagonism over their choice of ride, it's because they just got done telling a DF rider that they are doing it wrong. And then there are people like this, who just got done riding his recumbent 750 miles in 88 hours. It was a pleasure to meet him, he was smiling both times I saw him, even though the conditions were rainy and cold and the route was pretty brutal with over 60000 feet of climbing. Second time I saw him he had a DF rider drafting him up a mountain. He was one of 22 finishers out of 48 starters.

hater :p

I wish you people would shut up. I do not want DF riders learning about the advantages of bents. By creating more competition, I win less events. I'd hate to see all my records get broken.