Its a Monday morning and I’m in a strange mood. Does anybody on here ride a recumbent? What are they like? Hard to ride, comfy, efficient? I’d never really looked at one up close and never had the chance to ride one. I’ve been having weird urges to buy a road bike recently as I currently ride my mtb everywhere but I’m almost tempted to have a play in the shed with my welder … something like this I was thinking:

https://sites.google.com/site/recycledrecumbents/home

wider wheel base than normal bikes makes them more dangerous imo, on a normal bike you can swerve quickly and ride up pavements to avoid cars, other cyclists and pot holes in the road, not so easy on recumbents. Also, you’re a lot lower down than everything else on the road so your point of view is drastically different & worse(?). Would be great for smooth cycle tracks but would be apprehensive about cycling on the road.

sorry didn’t click your link, I see they are two wheeled ones you’re considering building so not so bad.

If it weren’t for the traffic they’d be great: lower CoG so more stable, less air resistance so faster, better & more efficient pedalling position.
That’s why they aren’t allowied in cycle competitions, they’d blow anything else off the road.

But in traffic their low profile is a liability, you’re more likely to get hit. They’re also longer wheelbase, so less manoeuvreable.

Yeah was thinking 2 wheels and not super low, something a bit more upright and comfy, more tourer than racer. I used to use a xc bike with road tyres for road rides but I find I can’t really do long day rides as I’ve yet to find a saddle comfy enough.

don’t really know anything about recumbents, but saw this recently – a recumbent ‘ride’ up Cadir Idris

Getting ready for Cadair Idris

Posted by Challenge Your Boundaries on Thursday, November 8, 2012

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I don’t think there’s any evidence that low-profile = more chance of being hit. Even ignoring the fact that recumbent riders usually have bright flags, the sight of a recumbent is so unusual that drivers really take notice.

I’d love to try one some day. I’ve only had a go in a racing cycle kart ages ago. Great fun, if exhausting because you just want to go flat out.

Always been real impressed by these. They look great and fly on the city paths.

I have built a flevo racer in the past never quite been confident enough to take it onto the road but still bonkers fun full plans download of the website free fairly easy build. And entertaining to ride

Am I bad person because I yell freak at every recumbent rider I see.

Those Cruzbikes look awesome, quite like this diy one:

I’m sure Ben will be along soon with some proper advice, but a few observations.

First, as with many things, I’d be wary of comments from people who have never tried one.

I spent a few years with a recumbent (bike then trike) as my only bike. In fact, Ben sold me my first one. They have various advantages and disadvantages, but honestly safety was never a factor. You can’t see over cars as well, that’s true, but you can’t see over cars in a sports car either, but that doesn’t make them unsafe.

As with any type of bike there are lots of flavours. Some better in one area, some better in others. With bikes of any sort it’s always a compromise.

In general I’d say that downhill and on the flat they are huge fun. Some can also make great tourers. I did a leisurely (three week) bimble from John O’Groats down to Lands End and it was great for just mooching along admiring the view. I also hit 50 mph going down a hill in Cornwall, which was fun.

What put me off in the end was the inability to stand on the climbs. It’s not that they can’t climb (as is often claimed). If you take the time to develop the muscles and technique you can get them uphill pretty quickly. But it is always a case of sit down and spin, which I found a bit tedious after a while.

Still think everybody should try one at some point though.

Cheers,

Andy

What Mark A up there said about them being unusual, and therefore drivers take a second look is spot in in my experience, (actual experience not theoretical). Standard bikes are just part of the scenery.

They are really fast on the flat and downhill, but bloody awful uphill. There’s not really any chance of recovery if they start to slide. Sold it a few years ago due to lack of use.

A mate is truly hooked & rides in BHP Championship & makes/modifies fairings etc. He gets uo to some indecent speeds on his, especially in terms of averages. He gets pulled by the law & asked where the engine is! Cars strangely give him more room than if he were on a bike. He rides a 3 wheeler fully faired.
I’ve riden both 2 & 3 wheeled ones & they take some getting used to, but the.speed is there from the start. The.2 wheeled ones take some.learning to get started and stopped, & if hou stop unexpectedly & in the.wrong gear it is very very hard to get going again.
Oh & everyone will look @ you like your a F R E A K !

Okay, safety – cos that’s the thing everyone always asks about. In my experience – riding for over 15 years all over the UK – they’re safer. Being unusual car drivers give you more space, and sleepy car drivers don’t ignore you in morning traffic. I’ve never had a SMIDSY on a recumbent. You’re also more eye-level with car drivers so you can look them in the eye and make sure they’ve seen you, rather than them eyeballing your knees. And if you do hit something, you hit it feet-first not head-first.

The only recumbents I wouldn’t use in heavy traffic are low racers – if you’re below car bonnet level, junctions can be tricky. Cars seeing you is never a problem – drivers can spot kerbs and potholes and much lower things – but below bonnet level your visibility isn’t so good.

It does take a while for your muscles to adapt – to start with you’ll be faster downhill (once you learn to let go of the brakes) but slower on the flat and uphill. Once your muscles adapt, then it varies – some recumbents are slower uphill because they’re full-sus touring bikes, some are very, very quick. Standing on the pedals isn’t free energy – all you’re doing is using your body weight to push against, and pulling with your arms and down through your back – bio mechanically that’s not brilliant. On a recumbent you push directly on the pedals, with your back braced against the seat, so you can get more power to the pedals.

Oh, and dunno about singletrack-unfriendly – Sanny has been going on for years about doing an article on offroad recumbents! A full-sus trike with fat tyres is silly fun off road. You can’t do three-wheel drifts or power slides on a bike 😉

I am tempted. Sorely! Don’t see the upright 2 wheelers as much fun but a tadpole. Now theres fun. My main worry about road use is dozy drivers overtakinging and not seeing you in gap between 2 cars. Just like you can’t see a car betwen 2 transits. I bet they would be great fun on the gravel here in the FoD.

I want one of these

http://www.icetrikes.co/explore-our-trikes/vortex

Just looks so well made, as a piece of engineering it’s fab.

I too have been gettin the urge to try one out and came across this on E bay at a fraction of the cost of similar models so not quite sure if its the real deal e bay trike

Whilst it is tempting to build a low 3 wheeler I think I’m going to go for a ‘Tour Easy’ style one. Should be an easier starting point into the world of recumbents and I’ve got most of the bits I need lying around to bodge something together.

fastest hpv so far is over 80mph pretty immpresive to see. have a look on you tube. rode a windcheetah for years great fun,safer than a bike in traffic, a lot higher than a white line and you see them!

I too have been gettin the urge to try one out and came across this on E bay at a fraction of the cost of similar models so not quite sure if its the real deal e bay trike

I saw this mountain bike at ASDA, it’s a fraction of the cost of similar ones from the likes of Specialized and the like 😉

I rode one for a few months when getting over a neck injury, an optima stinger, I liked it in a novel kind of a way. Soon as I was over the injury I stopped riding it, better suited to dutch cycle paths than essex lanes.