Why a recumbent?

poweredbysweat said:

There are a number of riders in the area who use recumbents. I commute daily to work (8 miles one way) with an upright mountain bike. I've got about 50,000 miles on the bike, and I'm thinking of something new. What are the advantages to a recumbent? I don't really have any physical problems with my upright, other than the typical sore leg muscles.

Are recumbents more expensive? Do they travel as fast? I only average about 13-15 MPH on my beater.

The biggest advantage to a recumbent is COMFORT. Long rides on a DF tend to cause sore rear, wrists, back and neck. Legs will get tired on either one. Also, visibility is actually much better on a bent as normal riding position is head up. On a DF, your body position tends to aim your head down (not as big a deal for MB riders).

Bents are typically more expensive, due to being made in smaller quantities. As to speed, it depends greatly on the style and quality of the recumbent. The low racers and high racers can be extremely fast. Considering that you are currently riding a mountain bike you consider a beater, unless you do a lot of hill climbing, most decent recumbents would likely be faster (once you built up the different muscles that bents use).

There are some good lightweight bents (around 20 lbs), and they do well on hills, but many of them weigh around 30 lbs. and are slow hill climbers.

There are some really good discussion threads about the different styles bents and their respective abilities on www.bentrideronline.com . They also have a lot of online review articles of various bents. Check them out. 🙂

just a suggestion
why limit yourself to one bike?
sometimes i want to get bent and sometimes i do not.

MoBentRdr said:

The biggest advantage to a recumbent is COMFORT. Long rides on a DF tend to cause sore rear, wrists, back and neck. Legs will get tired on either one. Also, visibility is actually much better on a bent as normal riding position is head up. On a DF, your body position tends to aim your head down (not as big a deal for MB riders).

Bents are typically more expensive, due to being made in smaller quantities. As to speed, it depends greatly on the style and quality of the recumbent. The low racers and high racers can be extremely fast. Considering that you are currently riding a mountain bike you consider a beater, unless you do a lot of hill climbing, most decent recumbents would likely be faster (once you built up the different muscles that bents use).

There are some good lightweight bents (around 20 lbs), and they do well on hills, but many of them weigh around 30 lbs. and are slow hill climbers.

There are some really good discussion threads about the different styles bents and their respective abilities on www.bentrideronline.com . They also have a lot of online review articles of various bents. Check them out. 🙂

Wow! Information overload. Some nice looking equipment though. I noticed that some have 2 wheels and some are trikes. Is it hard to balance on 2 wheels? Looks like some real price variability, but I guess you have the same thing in uprights. Low end seemed to be about $1500. That's bout how much my tax refund will be. Hmmm, time to talk to the wife. Thanks for all the info.

aa9t8 said:

just a suggestion
why limit yourself to one bike?
sometimes i want to get bent and sometimes i do not.

Is it feasible to go back and forth? With the different muscle groups, is this a problem? I also play tennis, so I already have some of this going on...

poweredbysweat said:

Is it feasible to go back and forth? With the different muscle groups, is this a problem? I also play tennis, so I already have some of this going on...

Going back and forth is quite feasible. You will just build more of your muscles. It will require more riding to have all the muscles at a high level. No problem 😄 .

My first recumbent is a Haluzak Horizon, a short wheel base with under seat stearing. Talk about a radical difference. I've seen some get it immediately on their first try. It took me 2 or 3 (natural athlete I'm not).

I recently added a trike to my stable. It's a blast. Some people like them for commuting due to their stability. They are VERY low (seats 6 - 12 inches off the ground). I cannot see over the motor hood or trunk of a car when on my trike. I would prefer something higher (20 - 24 inches) for commuting in auto traffic.

You might want to check out www.actionbent.com for some better prices. Carefully read the posts about them on Bentridersonline (BROL) before buying. Some people have had problems with them, although AB seems to have resolved their problems.

Also, BROL has a For Sale section. You might find a good deal there. Test ride as many different bikes and types as you can before deciding!!!!

Happy riding.

the bent bike isolates my leg muscles more.
and i think is better cardio.
at least i sure do sweat more.
that may be cause i ride d.f. daily (helps me manage my arthritis).

Since you are in Colorado, try going to see Kelvin at Angletech angletechcycles.comangletechcycles.comOpen ↗ and tell him Charlie from Seguin, TX sent you. He has a large stable most of the time, and some good deals on used bikes too. Shop around, and ride lots of them.

As to your question on are they hard to learn to ride, it took me a block with the guy lightly holding me up. My GF, on the other hand, just started pedaling and outran me. When she was about 30 feet away, she yelled that I could let go now...

One tip - when you first start riding a bent, have the seat mostly upright, seems to be easier to balance that way. Soon you will be more comfortable in a more laid back position.

Have fun with this. There are many bents out there, and they all have a different feel. Bent shopping is fun!

I've clocked myself doing over 50 km/hr on my 'bent. Very comfortable for long and short rides, no back strain, no sore butt. I based mine on a design called the Street Fox.

I built mine using scrap parts and bikes I found at my local landfill site. it looks like this one: atomiczombie.comstreetfox small.jpgOpen ↗

The exercise benefits are great. With a comfortable recumbent, you can bike for miles and still get an amazing workout. I've seen some new ones sell in the thousands of dollars, but you can actually build one for a couple hundred dollars yourself if you can find someone with a welder if you don't have one.

poweredbysweat said:

There are a number of riders in the area who use recumbents. I commute daily to work (8 miles one way) with an upright mountain bike. I've got about 50,000 miles on the bike, and I'm thinking of something new. What are the advantages to a recumbent? I don't really have any physical problems with my upright, other than the typical sore leg muscles.

Are recumbents more expensive? Do they travel as fast? I only average about 13-15 MPH on my beater.