I live in South Florida and do all my training on A1A. On the weekends there are lots of people riding recumbent bikes. I had a guy riding one trying to race me or something on Saturday (and no, sadly, I couldn’t really drop the hammer on him). I’m just curious what motivates somebody to ride one of those things. It seems like you loose so much power because you can’t really engage your core muscles.
back issues, comfort… I used to have a recumbent exercise bike in my living room. i referred to it as a “lazy boy”, because i would sit on it infront of my tv when my back was sore (where my injury site is at).
I guess I didn’t think of the injury issue.
they are more comfortable and faster as long as it isn’t uphill
the question is why don’t we ALL ride them
lol
I live in South Florida and do all my training on A1A. On the weekends there are lots of people riding recumbent bikes. I had a guy riding one trying to race me or something on Saturday (and no, sadly, I couldn’t really drop the hammer on him). I’m just curious what motivates somebody to ride one of those things. It seems like you loose so much power because you can’t really engage your core muscles.
My back got messed in a car accident, so i ride and race Softrides to help with it.
I know on the exercise recumbent my back had the seat to rest against, and all i had to do was keep the legs cranking. I did learn the computer resets at 99:59:59 back to 0:00:00
Yet another xenophobic thread on ST. What a shock.
Hey, they do something different than how I do it, let’s ridicule them!!!
FYI, a recumbent keeps some people riding a bike who otherwise would have to give up the sport due to injury or comfort. And some people just like the idea that they go fast as hell.
What makes them faster? Less wind resistance?
Is a recumbent the same as the bikes with 3 wheels that are very low to the ground? A guy rides one during our time trials and smokes the rest of the field. No balancing to worry about and you can’t fall off. I would worry about being run over but otherwise it looks cool and goes like stink.
What makes them faster? Less wind resistance?
yes, the is the main reason. depends on the design of course.
there is a weight penalty and some drivetrain efficiency loss but when its flattish they are usually faster.
Umm… maybe we’re reading different threads, but I don’t see a lot of mocking… I think the OP genuinely didn’t know what the benefit was to a recumbent and was curious. Obviously, if there are a ton of people riding them then there is a major draw, but it’s not necessarily intuitive, you know? Frankly, until I talked with someone that had one, I didn’t understand either. I didn’t mock them, I just didn’t realize it was more comfortable.
Turns out, in addition to what everyone else has said, they’re kind of absurdly fun to ride, it’s like street luging everywhere you go.
Umm… maybe we’re reading different threads, but I don’t see a lot of mocking… I think the OP genuinely didn’t know what the benefit was to a recumbent and was curious. Obviously, if there are a ton of people riding them then there is a major draw, but it’s not necessarily intuitive, you know? Frankly, until I talked with someone that had one, I didn’t understand either. I didn’t mock them, I just didn’t realize it was more comfortable.
Turns out, in addition to what everyone else has said, they’re kind of absurdly fun to ride, it’s like street luging everywhere you go.
I believe it was the OP’s use of the word “weirdos” to describe the people who ride recumbents that raised the ire.
Nothing wrong with the OP asking the question if he was honestly curious. But also no reason for name-calling.
It seems like you loose so much power because you can’t really engage your core muscles.
Errr, no. The world human powered speed record is generally set by people riding in this position.
Recumbents are basically superior bicycles in almost every way. More comfort, better aerodynamics, safer handling, etc. In theory. In practice they have never been allowed at regular races (cycling or triathlon), many variants of them have disadvantages for use in dense traffic, and as a result the market for them is small. There are also claims that you can never well as well on a recumbent because you cannot “honk”. Its not totally clear that this is true, but it is clear that if you haven’t grown up riding in this position, then you almost certainly cannot climb well on them.
I own a semi-recumbent tandem (counterpoint opus iv; front recumbent stoker, captain sits in the rear in “normal” position), and riding up front is just a joy (particularly since you don’t have to do anything except pedal).
Andy, you need to try it.
And you sound exactly like the ignoramus’s in cars that hate us cyclists.
Andy, you need to try it.
And you sound exactly like the ignoramus’s in cars that hate us cyclists.
I didn’t do a good job of explaining the whole situation while riding on Saturday. I should not have used the word wierdos, but it stems from the fact the man riding the recumbent biker was a wierdo, but it had nothing to do with what he was riding. Basically, he raced me for 26 miles and everytime we passed, didn’t even acknowlegde me. I tried saying hello and smiling, but he just focused straight ahead like I wasn’t even there. He then joined a large group ride for a few miles and when I passed him again, he finally said something along the lines of “home stretch, we’re almost there”, assuming I was only out for a 26 mile bike ride with my three full water bottles. He just seemed super intense, in his own world and well, a wierdo.
And I’m all for trying new cycling styles. Heck, I just got a unicycle and am going to try and learn during my “off-season”.
they are in fact, often weirdos
but in a good way I think
not we like aren’t
.
Roger that.
When you get proficient on the unicycle try going off-road! I’ve heard of a few people doing it. Sounds pretty hardcore to me.
I used to share your disdain. I was recently toying with trying to build up the fastest bike possible without rule constraints. I wouldn’t be racing it just to take out on a rural road and see how fast I can go. The HPVs setting the records all seem to be recumbents. I wonder how hard it is to build up some kind of fairing for one.
some guys just use stretchy fabric as a quick/easy way to fair the whole thing.
I used to share your disdain. I was recently toying with trying to build up the fastest bike possible without rule constraints. I wouldn’t be racing it just to take out on a rural road and see how fast I can go. The HPVs setting the records all seem to be recumbents. I wonder how hard it is to build up some kind of fairing for one.
weirdasses do ride them. theyre always giving you that pedi-smile and they cant steer worth poop.
It seems like you loose so much power because you can’t really engage your core muscles.
Errr, no. The world human powered speed record is generally set by people riding in this position.
You’ll have a hard time finding power numbers for riders in those record attempts. Top speed is a function of both power and drag and we know the drag is lower (though how much lower is also hard to know) so it’s not clear what happens to top end power.
I’ve just spent some time asking on recumbent forums how they measure aerodynamic and rolling drag. I wasn’t asking what that drag was, I was just asking how they do it. In general, they don’t and several people got angry that I asked. The consensus was that measuring was either impossible or impractical or useless.
BTW, I wasn’t criticizing that point of view – I was surprised by it.