I agree. We really do have an image problem.

The guy who owns the bike shop where I used to work hates recumbents. He says that doesn't hate the bikes, he hates the riders. I think that the constant evangalism gets to him so he avoids recumbent riders and he definitely doesn't want to become one.

Guilty! On a recent tour along the Texas coast, I called my lbs to brag about how great my TE is. That would get tiresome. I'm sure my DF riding buddy got irked at me for constantly teasing him by dropping back and then speeding past, boosted by my slicker aerodynamic profile.
I'll try toning it down a bit. Maybe just send an occasional sympathy card to my DF friends.

Your old butt is now closer to the road surface.
Road temps here and in Big Bend get up way passed 120*F.

There you go!
A little enthusiasm is a good thing. Maybe take on the role of 'bent ambassador, as opposed to evangelist?

My DF freinds and I enjoy riding together. I firmly believe that this is due to the fact that we don't attempt to convert each other to our current style of bike (we all ride several). It's no big deal to ride along side any DF while on my recumbents.

I don't need to explain to them which of my bikes is my favorite as they can guess that by which one I show up on the most often, and I do ride several different DF style and recumbent style bikes. They do know however that any and all of their questions will be answered honestly and matter of factly and I always provide an opportunity for a test ride in case one of them wants to verify the answer for himself.

They're all bikes man!!

Hopefully not in April when another buddy and I will cruise our bents out and about BB, he on a swb, me on the TE. We've got a bet on who'll finish the climb to McDonald Observatory first. Two old farts reliving their childhood, while our wives, ever responsible citizens, hold down the home front.

We toured there in April 2009...The temps reached a Very Hot 105*F.

Riding down to the Rio Grande I had used three bottles in 18 miles.

11:30 AM in Marthon TX 90*F
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...lwell90map.jpg

You picked a hot April 10 Wheels. Avg high is 80, low 44, no rain, and the desert oughta be in full bloom. 'Bout as good as it gets.

Did you visit La Loma del Chivo(Hill of the Goat)in Marathon?

Y'all can ride with me anytime in Phoenix ...if you play my game. I start at 4 am and don't quit until my miles are higher than the temp in Fahrenheit. When I did this last summer, I was at least 80 miles in the hole before I left the driveway!

:) But it dry hot. Couple liters/hour oughta keep you 'bout even.

The battle of the bikes.

Internationally sanctioned bike racing is based on DF's only, and for a good reason. Racing in a tight pack recumbents would be far more prone to crashes, especially if mixed with DF's.

Speed bikers have a higher ego, and that's a good thing; its true in any form of athletics and its true whether the biker rides a DF or recumbent.

With competition skewed towards DF's bike shops are gonna push DF's; win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Younger Speed Bikers are gonna follow the advice of the LBS like sheep, and again that not a bad thing as it keeps the LBS in business along with the really cool OEM development programs. All good stuff.

As riders mature the human body begins to fatigue a bit. Sitting on a pole becomes uncomfortable. Wrists that have to deal with mouse motion during the weak begin to twinge after (and during) a ride. Lower back pain sets in. Mature riders sometimes resist the telltale signs of aging while some decide to try a bent.

Most mature bent riders will never go back to a DF. Not all.

While its true that a comparable bent tends to cost more then an equal DF, the LBS tends to have a lower margin on bents. Gives good reason to why they promote DF's.

Accessories are great example. Most of the lighting kits at the LBS are packaged in boxes that cost nearly as much as the lights themselves. DF-ers don't seem to mind paying $300 for a light set that is equivalent to one sold on Ebay for $60. Most bent riders will opt for the $60 Ebay unit. (Often that $60 Ebay unit is the same one packaged in the fancy box).

Lower margins tend to taint the LBS opinions of bents.

Recently went shopping for a hybrid for my 5'2" wife, and looked at most of the high end stores in Dallas. Pointed out that we needed one sized correctly. Every one of them started out with 17-19" bikes. Apparently the LBS folks don't even understand the physics of sizing a DF to the rider.

We ended up with a 13" which is perfectly sized. The "technical" guy said "that's a child size", so I asked what size child? He said 5'-5'4". Hmm, my wife is 5'2".....to which he replied "oh....yeah."

Now you know why I mentioned the DF riders following like sheep.

LBS that focuses on DF's tend to sell what they want to sell, not what the buyer wants to buy, at least that's been my experience. And few of the LBS's want to sell lower margin products. Can't blame them either.

Draw your own conclusion.

I believe as the Boomer population ages, bents will surge in popularity. I've owned a bent since November, and I keep asking myself why it took me so long to realize that I needed one. Bike riding has now become fun again. My Giro weighs 30 pounds, and it cost less than my DF full carbon bike. If I ever become svelte, maybe I'll purchase an aero 2.0 or some other hottie.

I don't care who rides what, but I do like to remind my peers that they don't have to be miserable at cycling as they get up in years.

Excellent points all. JDenman, you nailed the answer to the question and did it with well considered facts and deductions. Thanks.

One reason I got my highracer was to get up off the pavement further on hot sunny days. It can be noticeably hotter riding a lowracer; although that's a Good Thing on a chilly day.

David Gordon Wilson assured me that recumbents would soon sweep DFs off the road and out of the mainstream market, the way DFs did to ordinaries.



PS - Of course, that was in 1984.

Now let's take it a step further, why not trikes over standard recumbents?
Don't have to unclip at a stop sign
When you get there you are already sitting in your chair
If you hit sand on a corner you don't crash
Uphill start and stop no problem
Offroad no problem
You are at eye level with the dogs that chase you ;)

When I drop in at the local bike mega store, I'll usually see a dad there at the parts counter buying a titanium widget. The kids are invariably playing on the recumbents.

Far and away the best part.

I would take exception to that statement. When chain drive first became practical, everyone was experimenting with bikes of every conceivable variety, and recumbents were right there, too. Once the dust settled around the end of the 19th century, the Safety Bicycle had come out on top; and the 1933 UCI ruling put another nail in the recumbents' coffin. Between that and the 1980s, very little was done to further recumbent design. Safety Bicycles have enjoyed a longer period of active design development; but I would hardly call them "first, by a longshot."

Haven't done it in years, but I used to drink about 2.5 gallons on a 140 mile ride when the temps were around 100-110F (Tucson to Phoenix, usually late summer/early fall). Depending on how big your water bottles are, that sounds about right. But I'm a desert ratt, I love the heat.

My point was that the recumbent the average Joe can go out and buy has only been around for 30 years or so. The laid-back bike is sorta the new kid on the block (as far as the uninformed masses are concerned). Like the shrew running between the dinosaur's feet ;).

Last summer I visited one of the local bike shops in DC (City Bikes). I forget why I was there but in conversation I eventually mentioned I owned a recumbent. The salesperson immediately asked me if I was an engineer which I found perplexing. I asked why he wanted to know and he told me because I didn't have a beard. He said all recumbent riders are either engineers or have a beard. Strange world we live in.

Something that needs to be stirred into the mix tho is lately more and more cross country riders are using recumbents. There is a lot of difference between doing a metric century, and doing one day after day for 3 months.

Will bents take over absolutely not! DF bikes will always have a place in the mountains and on trails. However as someone pointed out with the baby boomer generation retiring the sale of bents, both bikes and trikes will pick up. Bents will probably end up with at least 10 to 15 percent of the market.

I ride a trike and a a MTN Bike. The MTN bike doesn't get much use anymore. The trike gets about 80 miles a week.

There are two wheel people and four wheel people. I'm a four wheel person. When I ride my Mtn Bike, I come to a stop at an intersection...my feet never leave the pedals, my balance is that good. Well for up to 20 seconds or so anyway, no like it was when I was younger.

Well, I'm an engineer. :D