Why Would Anyone Want To Ride A Recumbent Bike?
March 25, 2008 by Darren Alff
The following guest post was submitted by recumbent rider, Susan Reed.
Why would anyone want to ride a recumbent bike, you ask? Borrowing from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, let me count the ways:
1. They’re fun to ride.
2. They’re really cool.
3. They’re oh so aerodynamic compared to uprights or diamond frames, (that’s how recumbent riders refer to the bikes that the rest of the world rides).
4. They’re totally made for touring; super comfortable; better view—no need to bend your neck at harsh 45-60 angles; and super easy to haul your gear. (Check out the pannier mounts and panniers in the collage below. Volae Century ES Touring bike.)
5. There’s NO PAIN, anywhere—no saddle sores, no carpal tunnel, no numb fingers, no numb genitals, no sore lower back, no shoulder spasms, no neck pain, and certainly no Shermer’s neck. There’s no pain anywhere, even after riding a 200, 300, 400, 600, or 1,200K miles.
6. Recumbents make it possible to ride for as long as you have time. Over the last 5 years I’ve ridden 10-14,00 miles each year with daily rides ranging from 30-150 miles all while working nearly full time. Racking up those kinds of miles would be tough year after year on an upright given all the stress on various body parts.
7. Not everyone has a recumbent bike and many others have never seen a recumbent before, so they’re great conversation starters (sort of like walking your dog in the city can be a great way to meet people you don’t know). Once given the invitation to talk to a stranger, you have the opportunity to encourage an un-biked person to try riding.
8. Finally, recumbents lend themselves nicely to those of you who have engineering genes and who like to build things.
Yes, but can they climb?
Indeed they can, but chances are pretty good that even the strongest bent rider will be out ridden by a strong upright rider on a hill greater than 6%. But, just wait till the downhill and the flats. The upright roadie will disappear in the bent’s rearview mirror, for certain. On the recumbent you can’t get out of the saddle to transfer the full force of your body weight into the pedals and you can’t use your upper body for leverage assist. Remember though that recumbents typically will have more liberal gearing than uprights.
Adding a recumbent to your stable?
I would hazard that most people get their first recumbent for one of two reasons. Some are bike aficionados who collect cool bikes - the same way that others collect cool guitars, cool cars, cool golf clubs, or other cool stuff. But most, and I’m one of those, find their way to recumbency because of illness or injury. They could no longer do the upright ride and they were unwilling to surrender their love of seeing the world on two-wheels.
I had been a decent marathon runner (3:45’s), squeezing training in from 9:00 p.m. to midnight when our kids were in pre-school and grade school. I also cycled (an upright), but that was mainly a commuting thing I did along with training with our oldest son who rode twice in the USCF Junior National Championships.
Then in 1990 my back gave out and I spent the next eleven years in acute and chronic pain, having multiple back surgeries and challenging rehabs, all while perched on the cusp of disability. In 2001 I told my physical therapist I wanted to try riding a recumbent bike. To this day I don’t know where that idea came from. I don’t remember ever seeing one and I certainly didn’t know anyone who had one. At that point my physical therapy goal was simply to roll over in bed. Needless to say, I was sorely (pun intended) out of shape. But my physical therapist was great. She said, “You get the bike and we’ll figure out how to get you riding.”
Within a month I had my first recumbent - a short wheel base, Vision R40 equipped with a 26” rear and a 20” front… with under seat steering.
Because of my rehabilitation issues, it took me a while to be able to ride my new bike efficiently and for long distances. But in 2002 I did the 500 mile AIDS Ride from Minneapolis to Chicago, and that was just the beginning. In 2003 I took my Vision from Chicago to Seattle to do the Seattle To Portland (STP) double century in one day.
Back home from STP I began shopping in earnest for a bike that was made to be transported, to go places and see things.
I met local legend, Tyger Johnson, at TOMRV, a local two-day ride (Tour of the Mississippi River Valley). He was riding his fully faired Lightning F-40 and the rest is history.
I sold my Vision to buy my Lighting P-38 and started racking up the miles, the destinations, and lots and lots of pure joy.
This is me someplace in Arizona on the transcon with PAC Tour riding the Lightning, sporting a 700c rear and 20” (406) front wheel. I did put a new cluster on the back, 11-34, and new chain rings up front—52-39-26—to help me scale the mountains with greater ease. The bike and I did great—lots of comments along the way, like “Hey, I thought recumbents aren’t supposed to be able to climb!” It’s all about the engine, I’d say, grinning Cheshire-like.
And the bike packs up in an airline compatible suitcase—no overage charges what so ever—just be careful to not put a lot of weighty things in the corners of the suitcase.
Last year I decided to ride solo to our family vacation in the south west corner of New York State from my home in Chicago. I put a trunk rack on the back of my Lightning P-38 and loaded some minimal gear and off I went—5 days, 500+ miles. I was smitten. By day two I was planning four solo tours for 2008—a 500 mile Arizona Tour; a 1,000 mile Tour from home to Georgia; a 300 mile Tour from Seattle to Eugene, OR; and a 1000+ mile Tour from home to Stoddard, New Hampshire. But, I would need a different bike. The Lightning is a SWB (short wheel base) and has a very narrow turning radius, plus it is impossible to put wider tires on it. The widest tire that can go on a medium Lightning frame with a front 406 wheel (there are 16” front wheel options for the Lightning) are 28s - both front and rear.
Much shopping and many conversations later… and the winner was: The Hostel Shoppe’s take-apart Volae Century ES. Its wheel base is 3 inches longer than my Lightning; it can be taken apart and packed in a traditional bike crate box; it has disc brakes, climbs well, is much more nimble than the Lightning and has a wider turning radius. And, because of its longer wheel base it can easily handle panniers off the rear rack or off the Terracycle pannier mounts under the seat.
The touring features include the following (some of which may not “shine” in this photo):
Rotor Cranks
Front fender
Disk brakes
Kick stand
Old Man Mountain trunk rack
TerraCycle Pannier Mounts
3” longer wheel base
On my solo tours this season I’ll be running a Continental ultra gatorskin 26 x 1 1/8 on the rear and a Continental SportContact 20 x 1 1/8 up front. I’ll carry a pair of Schwalbe Stelvio folding tires in my panniers, just in case.
While the Volae doesn’t pack down as small as the Lightning, and there is an oversize airline charge, it is much easier to disassemble and reassemble.
Here are some other links that you might enjoy to whet your appetite to join the ranks of the low riders:
http://bentrideronline.com
One of the definitive website for all things bent.
http://www.recumbents.com/home.asp
Another definitive website for all bent riders.
http://www.recumbentblog.com
A wealth of recumbent information.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekefr3xH3y8
I don’t know how this guy does it, but if you figure it out, let me know.
http://www.cyclegenius.com/history.php
For you history buffs, here’s our history, recumbent style.
http://longdistancebents.blogspot.com
If you think recumbents can’t go the distance, check this one out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r39evoZUZU
And if you thought they weren’t fast…
http://www.bicycletouring101.com/TouringOnRecumbent.htm
Recumbent touring
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