Engyo

Primarily shoulder and neck pain on longer rides. Also "Seat" pain and numb hands/wrists.

LWB_guy

In the town where I went to college, a bike shop opened that specializes in recumbent bicycles. So I went there and looked at them and then took test rides on three different recumbent bikes. So much more comfortable than an ordinary bike ! I was hooked.

Bent Ben

Yup, just ask Lance about that one, lol...just kidding

Bent Ben

I made the switch over to bents because of comfort

Northwestrider

Purely for comfort, I do still ride a DF in the form of a mountain bike, but for longer rides its a recumbent for me.

AtlBentRider

Spinal fusion surgery. C5-C7. As much as I love my bent I would still be on an upright had I not had neck issues. If the neck issues were to go away I would probably ride both.

megaman

I switched because of hand numbness that got worse as the year went on. I changed to a trike cause it was/is so darn much fun. After 7 years of nonuse, I decided to sell my hybrid. I aired up the tires and tested it out. OMG! Was that scary! I actually had to balance. I felt like I was 10 feet in the air! I can't ever see going back to any two wheeler.

SortaGrey

Where.. on the internet********** The sewer of "knowledge".............

"NOPE"......... LOL...sez it all.

BlazingPedals

I agree that saddles can exacerbate an existing problem, but I don't think there's any evidence that a properly-fitting and adjusted saddle will cause those problems. Nor can I find any online evidence except for testimonials by doctors who are selling funny saddles to alleviate the 'problem.' Most ED problems are caused primarily by high cholesterol and plaque in the penile artery.

That's not to say I like saddles...

Trsnrtr

I had surgery in 2003 that kept me off of a DF for 13 weeks, but in the interim, the doc approved of riding a recumbent. By the time he gave me the OK to ride an upright again, I was too hooked to go back, that was over 50,000 miles ago.

aenlaasu

I'd been deprived for 5 years from cycling with a bad back that even PT didn't seem to be improving. While wandering around Stockholm one day, a 'bent bike whipped past me. It got the wheels turning and after months of researching and flying to England to try the model I tentatively wanted, I was hooked by the time I did the first loop around the parking lot waiting for my hubby to get settled into his test model. Two months later, I had my brand new Trice delievered.

My back has improved since then, but discovering I can cycle without saddle pain, numb hands, aching wrists and a risking re-aggravating my back has me hooked. With a trike, my husky can't pull me over when he runs with me.

Dchiefransom

My best riding before was on a Lemond Zurich. I would get neck and shoulder pain, and my wrists hurt after rides over a couple of hours. After messing up my knee and being off the bike for a long time, I could not get used to being on a bike saddle at all. Now that I'm on Warfarin, I have problems with veins where I would sit on a bike saddle.

claire

Because:
- I wanted to try something different (even though I'd been seriously into cycling only 4 or 5 years)
- I like long distance above every kind of cycling and I guess recumbents are pretty good for long distance riding
- In France, I find the recumbent crowd much, much nicer than the upright bike crowd: more women, less machism, more fun...
- The Performer HR is a beautiful bike!

shortboat

I ride a [BTour Easyt]made by [Easy Racer]. That pretty much speads for itself.

pmmpete

I switched to recumbents because I find them more comfortable, faster, and less effort.

When riding a diamond frame bike, I frequently developed sore wrists, sore hands, a sore neck, a sore back, and/or a sore butt. I noticed that on group rides, the recumbent riders tended to go faster than the upright riders, and they were ready to go dancing after a long day on their bike. My wife has a Rans Stratus which she uses occasionally. I tried it and liked the recumbent position in general, but didn't like the long wheelbase, as I felt like I was steering a barge. So I got an Optima "Orca," which is a 26" high racer with rear suspension, designed for loaded touring on rough roads. And I'm real happy with it.

alpinist

Comfort and fun.

I don't even remember where I first saw them or got the idea of trying them. I've always had shoulder problems, and knew this would be an issue on longer rides. I just started cycling less than 2 years ago, when I bought a hybrid DF to commute to work. I bought a bent - as Giro 26 - about a year later. I also have a road bike now, that I use in races (mainly duathlons), and I ride the bent and the DFs about 50-50. I ride the hybrid more in winter and rain. The bent I ride in the summer and on long rides.

Comfort and fun.

banerjek

Why switch?

I own two 'bents (2006 Challenge Seiran SL and 2004 Cattrike Road), but I can't see giving up DF's. I love my 'bents and will continue to ride them because of the fun factor, but I've never found either (or any other I've ridden) as comfortable as a racing bike. It is also fun to annoy wannabe Road Nazis -- they really hate getting dropped on climbs by 'bent riders.

Spinninngrinnin

Oh I am sometimes double-minded...finding Recumbents to work much better with my present body (work incident caused need for fused lower back, hip replacement on one side, pending on the other, selective ligament releases which were supposed to save hips and didn't). When I got back on my Fuji Club racer after surgeries, just couldn't ride it with confidence. Dr. said "no" due to lower back loading when using DF design. First move was Rans Vivo, great bike, but BB was too high to work well with those "released" ligaments. Now on a Catrike 700, which is fantastic once moving. Looking at Kettwiesels as the more raised seating is less perhaps difficult for the fused back to "get in" and "get out". Those many miles of DF riding are still etched in my memories, with mostly smiles. Would have gone Recumbent way back when, but had no knowledge of them as they weren't part of the "Bike Craze" during the 70's.

John C. Ratliff

Here's my story on my switch to recumbants:

The reason I bought a Rans Stratus was because I had done a header over the bars on my Trek 1420. I had told myself that if there was another accident attributable to the diamond frame design, I was going recumbant. That was in about 2002, just after a really bad accident I had on my Schwinn LeTour. I have figured out what probably happened on that one, where I was headed from a bike lane into the turn lane on a four lane area with a bike path, signaling a left turn. That's what I remember, looking back for that turn. The next thing I remember is waking up in Legacy Emanuel Hospital some forty minutes later, with a shattered helmet and a CAT scan saying I did not have a brain injury. A doctor told me that, "If you hadn't been wearing that helmet, and had a bad day that day, you would have lived." I decided to look again at recumbants, and had one pretty well picked out. But I had not decided to buy; my wife was a factor, as she did not like recumbent bikes. Well, I was on my Trek, on a bike path transitioning from pavement to a boardwalk over a marshland. The path had a section which had parallel planks, and a gap between the planks. My tire stuck into that crack, and I did the endo over the bars, in slow motion. I was only going less than 10 mph, and thought I'd simply stop, but that did not happen. Ever I went, and was dumped on the boardwalk unceremoniously. I tucked my head just in time to prevent a neck injury. Right after that, I put my downpayment on the Rans Startus; that was over 10,000 miles ago on the Startus.

John

Dr.Deltron

I got my first recumbent because all my friends had them!
(and because I already had several road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, and just wanted something different)
1st bent was/is a '95 Challenge Hurricane I got used for $600.
The rest of the stables include 2 Greenspeeds, a Tour Easy, a BikeE and a Thebis.

I don't care what I ride, as long as it's different!

chucky

Medical journals...you know the stuff internet blimps like you don't read because your too busy LOLing in the "sewer".

gnome

Because it looked different and fun. Of my 22 bikes only 2 are recumbents.

no1mad 

I haven't made the switch...yet. Evaluating things atm.

pablo6276

I got sick of the numb hands and wrists, stiff neck and sore crotch. I kick myself for not making the switch decades ago. Its a blast to ride and pain-free!

cat0020

Having ridden a road bike from coast to coast, twice, I started on recumbent because of riding with my SO, she rides at slow speeds.. too slow for me to ride a regular bike along, hurts my butt too much to be cruising the neighborhool at 8-12 mph... then I tried riding my recumbent with regular road bike group rides.. turned out that I can keep pace with the group rides on my recumbent without any problem... even on the hils.

I still ride my road bike with large groups at good pace with training in mind.. but for general riding that I just want to enjoy the riding company, enjoy the scenery, finish the ride without the regular aches and pains.. I ride my recumbent.