Ben <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:While I'm all for lower costs and recommending recumbents to friends,
there is a catch-22. Right now, 'bent riders are a somewhat elite group. Bents are still
sufficiently un-common to be noticed. But if they became cheaper and more ubiquitous, both the
glamour and uniqueness might diminish, making us more vulnerable on the road. Having ridden a 'bent,
I don't want to go back to being yet another up-righter.
Quoted message said:
The future is already here in Minneapolis/St Paul Minnesota. Talking to dealers, and taking mail
order and homebuilts into account, I believe there are 3500 - 4000 recumbents here. Because they get
ridden more than uprights, they represent a small, but significant, minority of the bikes on the
road at any given time. The majority of new 'benters are not enthusiasts, just people for whom
"Comfort Bikes" arent comfortable enough. The average BikeE/EZ-1 rider feels no more kinship to
other 'benters than there is among minivan drivers.
20 years ago a friend said "If you rode this thing with a 3 foot tall, flourescent pink, rubber
duckie on your head, no one would notice the duck". Up until about 5 years ago, I would tell people
not to worry about being lower, "Because if you are in a drivers field of vision, you are the center
of his attention".
No more. Now, unless you are on a tandem or a trike, you are just part of the background. Thanks to
Sun/EZ even that distinction will soon fade away.
The Good News; It's been a while since I had to mail order a tire. Even longer since I had to shave
knobs off a BMX 451 to make a "recumbent tire".
The wife certainly doesn't miss every rest stop turning into a Q&A session.
Some of the new 'benters are becoming enthusiasts. Their BikEZ-1s make biking fun again, so they
start to get fit, start riding with other 'benters, see how much faster "real" 'bents are and soon
upgrade. Or, buy torches and some tubing.
