rydabent

In 2005 I finally got smart and bought a RANS Tailwind recumbent, and when I retired in 2008 I upgraded to the Stratus I ride now. In the last couple of weeks 2 of my sons had me do regular maintance on their mountain bikes. When I finished, I took them for a short check ride. Good grief--------I felt I was purched high in the air and about to fall over the handlebars and the front wheel. It actually felt dangerous to ride those things. Has anyone else been off a DF bike for a long time and then got the same feeling when riding one again?

gcottay

Yes, but the feeling of strangeness passes after a few miles. After a few more, there's the pain.

Sayre Kulp 

X 2

When I started riding again last fall (first time in mmmmmmm years), I got a recumbent trike and was enjoying myself thoroughly. I got a Trek upright hybrid and felt like I was going to fly over the handlebars at first. It was weird. I just kept thinking "you used to do this all the time!"

And then the pain came.

Dchiefransom

When I went on a club pizza ride, I realized that I felt like I was on top of a 6' step ladder.

cooker

"Mountain" bikes.

TomT74

I have ridden 'bents for over 11 years now, but recently, most of my miles have been on an upright touring bike. My current bent is now parted out for other projects. I don't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable on the upright and for most of my riding around here, I prefer it. I do a 43 mile RT commute on it every Monday and have no discomfort whatsoever.

>>ECB<<

After looking at the pics from that day, I'd say that feeling was justified.



ECB

dcrowell

I dunno. I love my LHT and my Bacchetta. Both are comfy and stable. I have to admit that the first time I exceeded 40 mph on the LHT I was nervous, feeling like I could easily go over the bars.

Ride both. Variety is good. Enjoy life.

tim24k

I like recumbents, BF, and folding bikes. They all have their place in my life. I just love to ride.

Ciao,
Tim O^o

scrapser

What pain is being referred to here? I ride both DF and recumbent and never feel any pain. Maybe I'm lucky but I'm also 55 so this has me wondering.

BlazingPedals

For the 25 years I rode uprights seriously, they were synonymous with pain. Hand pain, butt pain, shoulder cramps, etc. I think the only reason I didn't have problems as a kid was that I never rode more than 5 miles on my old single-speeds.

I noticed something weird yesterday. As I rode my M5 highracer, my head was lower than the guy riding the Gold Rush.

corkscrew

As a normal upright rider thinking of trying a recumbent, this thread seems silly.

I'm sitting here, wondering if I'll be ok with being that low to the ground! Still want to try one though.

As to the pain comments, its part of why I want to try a recumbent (That and tadpoles look like OMG SO MUCH FUN). However you spend the time to fit an upright properly and you won't have any pain.

TomT74

Bents are fun as h3ll. You will not regret trying one. Just be prepared for the need to acclimate your legs to the different riding position and also to change your climbing style if you now like to stand and mash. On most routes, I'm faster on my bent, but for many uses, i still prefer the DF.

corkscrew

I keep hearing that. Won't experience it myself for another month or two though. Should be interesting because I do enjoy standing and mashing up hills, and sometimes just to get off a bad saddle.

Will be building a tadpole trike sometime in July using some plans from Atomic Zombie. (Friend is doing the welding, I'm the bike mechanic portion). Until then I'm just gathering parts and doing research.

blamp28

My bike time/miles are divided like this: Road upright 55%, Recumbent Tandem 30% and 15% MTB Cross Country. At some point, I may try a single bent but it's not in the cards right now. I have absolutely no trouble going from bike to bike and never get the feeling that I am too high. Comfort is only an issue on road rides longer than two hours on my DF but I manage. The MTB is dual suspension so seat comfort is fine.

Bobsk8

Rode uprights for decades. After riding a bent for a few years, I got on a upright that I was going to give to my grandson, and felt like I was going to kill myself on it. I had the same sensation of how dangerous it felt, and I kept imagining to a head plant over the handlebars... I just can't ride one of them anymore.

froglegz57

Just to add.... be very careful as recumbents are addictive. It starts just like a single hit and before you know it you are mainlining the laidback lifestyle. I now own way too many bikes according to my wife. Variety is the spice of life.. swb, lwb, high racer, lowracer, and trikes.