What model recumbent bike is fastes and suitable for commuting?

[Peter Clinch]

Vytautas wrote:

> Probably now I will look hardly to test a recumbent to see how I feel.

Note that recumbents differ far more than upright bikes in the way they
feel. I would personally be very reluctant to buy a recumbent I hadn't
tried out first: aside from anything else the seats are different on
different bikes and people are more or less comfortable on different
seat designs. My partner has a Nazca Fiero and I have the HPVel
Streetmachine, both have different seat designs, we both prefer the one
we use to the other. Neither of us found the much more adjustable
BodyLink seat to be as comfortable as the ones we use, even though it is
more comfortable "on paper". You only know these things by trying in
person.

I'd be inclined to see if you can get to somewhere with a good range of
recumbents to try (the Netherlands would seem to be the obvious start,
especially if you can get a cheap flight on a budget airline) and have a
go on everything you can find. You'll soon have a much better idea of
what performance you can expect than any amount of reading will give.

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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[mort]

For very crowded city streets, the Gold Rush is not as agile as an
upright. I ride through a city regularly, and I modified my riding
style - now I act more like a car, taking a lane when necessary,
stopping at stoplights and actually obeying traffic signals. In most
cases my bike speed is the same as the prevailing car traffic, which
makes this possible. In Philadelphia, riders are reasonably friendly
and the traffic isn't all that crazy. If you count on being able to
snake through very narrow spaces and jump curbs in order to get through
traffic, then the Gold Rush (and probably any recumbent) won't work
well. Regarding your previous question: It's very unusual for me to be
passed by an upright. The only riders who can do it are active racers,
when they catch me on a hill. I can bump my speed up to 42-48 kph quite
easily on the flats, which is usually enough to show who's boss.
Regarding the cost of the Gold Rush - I think there's another current
thread on this newsgroup addressing that issue. It is a classic bike,
very well designed and made, with a high resale value in the United
States. As I said, you may not be able to get one in Europe. Peter's
advice to go to the Netherlands and try some is very good - it is
essential to ride before you buy. And don't be to alarmed by your
first ride - you might find that you need to relearn riding a bike, as
your body position will be completely different. One other thought on
city riding: if you have active bike theives where you plan to park,
you will need to think about storing and locking the bike as well. The
Gold Rush is not a good design in this respect - it's so large that
it's hard to take it up to an office or apartment.

Mort