greg

Shoes can be very comfortable if you get a shoe that fits. I for instance take a shoe the is quite wide, an EE. Most shoe problems are caused by average shoe stores that go more for style than fit. I have been buying my shoes out of a Mason shoe catalog for years. They have shoe sizes that fit the very narrow to the very wide. The right size shoe makes all the difference in the world for comfort.

Unless you are talking about some kind of crazy magic streamliner, the same guy is not going 10 mph faster on a recumbent than he would on a road bike. Throw in some hills, and his average speed might even be slower.

Well, like I mentioned earlier, I have zero experience with recumbents. All I know is the first time I saw one, the dude passed me like I was going backwards & looked relaxed enough to have a pina colad in his hand. It's that speed while comfy equation that I find alluring. I can get some pretty impressive speeds on my bike, but I'm certainly nothing close to relaxed when I'm pulling it off. And no matter how comfy I get in an aero stance, it's nothing close to any natural seating position.

I was just poking fun at your logic that the plethora of saddle styles available was somehow evidence that comfortable saddles weren't available. Replace 'shoe' with 'saddle' in your above paragraph and you might reconsider some of your earlier statements.

if you get an opportunity to try the 'lounge chair' ride, let opportunity show you the feeling, comfort, relaxing possibilities...while still going your normal route.

Why bring it up?

Recumbent rider speed varies widely just like DF rider speed. On group rides, some recumbents are moving fast, others are poking along. Trikes always seem to be poking along, I'm not sure why as they are not inherently slow.

We have a SWB recumbent with a fairly upright seat back. It is not unlike many recumbents I see out there. I don't find it cruises any faster than a DF roadbike with a reasonably performant setup (bars below the saddle, rider on hoods or drops). But you are basically in a lounge chair, mmmm.

OTOH, recumbents with fairings and socks are to be feared. At least I do.

I don't ride the recumbent much because my ability to balance it is poor, because it isn't too compatible in group rides of DF bikes, because my climbing is challenged enough as it is, and because all my rides involve threading through traffic and intersections at the start and end. But it is a pretty cool machine. Someday I'll mount a fairing and sock and do STP with a jumbo Jamba Juice held ostentatiously to my lips.

The FWD MBB design used by Cruzbikes are allegedly good for climbing due to the shorter drive-train and confined power triangle. Many reviewers on the internet seem to agree with this anyway.

I ride a Cruzbike conversion and find that my climbing power is not compromised compared to what I used to ride. However I used to ride a dorky 20" folding bike, and I have never owned or tried another recumbent to compare the Cruzbike with either.

Alas Cruzbikes are not cheap. If you don't mind DIY, you could try going through the conversion kit route to mitigate that cost.

Thanks for the info... I looked them up. Their Sofrider is $1200... not bad for a recumbent.

Their conversion kits are $400, but they only have a limited number of them left. I have both a Sofrider and a conversion and I like them both.

You can get a bent built to just your size for 6 to 800 dollars from recycled recumbents and he also has a bunch of manufactured recumbents there for sale. And he ships. Here is the tab for that. And as far as stability it takes a little time to get that down good I been riding them for a year and I can set at a stop sign with my feet on the pedals not moving for about 20 seconds. And still improving on it. And I can ride 3 mph and keep my balance and that is hard as well. To get your recumbent legs useally takes a couple weeks to a couple months depends on how much you ride https://sites.google.com/site/recycl...e/the-showroom but to everybody and theyre own I guess .

I can answer both of those for you pretty easy trikes are a lot better climbers and yes very stable at slow speed as there are three wheels so no issue there and yes speed is slower than normal bents but a awesome trade off.
and issue #2 see this https://sites.google.com/site/recycl...e/the-showroom price is cheap and ships cheaply he builds to your height and everything .check him out this is what you can do keep your road bike and also keep you a bent in the stable . I keep my mountain bike in my stable so I can ride both..

When Safety Bike riders use the term, "climbing well," what they're trying to define is whether or not their friends will drop them to death on every positive grade. By that criteria, trikes DO NOT climb well.

I'd say that this thread is fulfilling its intended purpose!

You are rite blaze I did not get his meaning thanks for clarify I guess I don't get that roadie mumbo jumbo half the time heck I don't even know what a mup is . On my bike I charge most hills if small enough and if kinda long I go to my 22 tooth on front and my 28 in back and I can climb most hill at 4 to 5 mph but I live in flat land so I don't have that issue.

You should see if you can find a rider or shop near you that will let you try one out. I'm dying to get a trike added to my stable, but I want to go all out and get a velo for winter riding.

Just riding some trikes around the parking lot at Angle Lake Cyclery left me grinning ear to ear, and I already own a SWB bent.

Correct. I own low racers, trikes and a high end DF which I rode over 300 miles last week including a 107 mile day on Thursday.

Love your bents; love your uprights; keep it to yourself.

I had no idea recumbents could be found for so little money... Some of the suggestions you guys have offered are fully 1/2 the cheapest ones I've ever seen.

Thank you all!

And then there is the Schlitter Encore. Nicely spec'd at $2500, for full carbon frame, and SRAM Rival.

No real comfort difference here. I have had bents for 20 years now and still ride both. I prefer the bent for low traffic, country road cruising, and the df for fitness and city riding/commuting. I used to have comfort issues with the df until I discovered Selle An-atomica saddles. I can sit on that one for many hours and forget it is there. The bent has its own comfort issues mainly from the lack of being able to change position while riding. I love being able to attack steep hills while standing.

Should DF riders be allowed to marry?

Only if one of them rides a "girl's" bike.

Check out the classifieds here:

CLASSIFIEDS - BentRider Online Forums

Used is always cheaper than new. Recycled Recumbents is inexpensive because what you get is a Tour-Easy clone made from cut-up remnants of upright bikes. They're functional, and a good choice if you're on a budget; but up close they are obviously homebuilts and not as polished as a name brand. They're also going to be heavier. Andrew never knows if his next donor bikes will be hi-ten, chromo, or something more exotic.

his bikes are good though I really love riding them and he does have some manufactured bikes there for sale like a rans rocket a rans v2 linear a easy one and some bike E's. What can you expect he is a home builder .