Pyromancer said:A recumbent bicycle - one you ride lying back, with the pedals in front
of you, rather than sitting up as on a conventional bike. They're said
to be very good for long-distance riding, and to be much more
comfortable than a conventional bike.
"They" are right, though there's no reason not to use them for short and
medium distances too.
Quoted message said:They also go a lot faster because you get to use your legs more efficiently
Errrr, not really. A 'bent built for speed is faster because it has
markedly superior aerodynamics to an upright, though the really fast
ones have fairings as well as low frontal area created by the riding
position. A 'bent not built for speed may well be a fair bit slower
than an upright: you won't win many races on a BikeE or Flevo OkeJa, for
example.
Quoted message said:though seemingly you have to
watch for knee joint problems from pushing too hard on the pedals -
No more so than any other bike, really. Though you can push off the
seat and don't have an effective limit for the push caused by your own
bodyweight you'd have to be a really sorry masher to get anywhere close
to it.
Quoted message said:learning to "spin" is quite important when riding one.
Indeed. Since you can't stand up you can't get an emergency heave onto
the power transmission by getting out of the saddle. Having said that,
my riding of uprights where I /can/ do that has got a lot better and
easier since I stopped doing so, the change in part because I'd learned
to spin better on the 'bent. Spinning the right gear is good practice
on any bike where you've got the gears, standing is usually a way of
making gear changes difficult and putting a lot of extra wear on your
knees and the transmission, and neither is a Good Thing.
Quoted message said:They tend to be rare, and expensive.
And often ridden by smug evangelists, i.e. me. But I cycle in a comfy
chair, which is something to be smug about, and I think a lot of other
people would like it too...
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
