I am loving this new (USED) ride! The bicycle is an Optima Dragon. A lot of "firsts" for me: 1. Short wheel base recumbent 2. Under-seat steering 3. Clip pedals
I'm getting more confident every day. It doesn't take a lot of effort to get it to go over 20 MPH. It's going to be a great touring bike.
It's a real nice ride. My commute has 2 traffic lights, a few stop signs, and then about 6 miles of rural road, so there aren't a lot of stops. It's great for this.
Today I rode it around town. I enjoyed it, but not as much as on the open road. Stopping and starting, and clipping in can be tedious in stop-and-go traffic.
No complaints about the hills. I haven't even had to gear down very low yet. The test will be taking it into the mountains. But I did so a mountain tour last year on my Bike E recumbent, and it did fine, so I'm not too concerned about this one...
Thats great, I would have thought that it would have takin hills poorly, its pretty amazing how it takes em well. But I guess the geometry of it would make it fairly easy. Do you have a road bike?
No, but I have owned one, and my son does, and I ride his once in a while. I road an old beater mountain bike for years. A very strong rider can always take hills better on a road bike, since he can stand and get the pedal leverage. Road bikes are better for maneuverability in and out of traffic.
I went with this recumbent, because I wanted something that was fast, but also something I could load down for a tour (sleeping bag, tent, etc). The road bike's strength is not carrying a load. The recumbent is also much more comfortable on a tour to me. This seems to be a debateable point though. A lot of people think a road bike is a comfortable touring bike.
I like all kinds of bikes. If tuned properly, they're all amazingly efficient machines.
yeah, thats true, you can tune any bike. I ride a road just for the speed and thrill of it, can't really explain it. I do see a lot of guys like you with a folding, or recumbent. there neat bikes, seem fun to ride