# I'm Just Going To Say It



## oily666

Recumbents are a superior distance / endurance platform.

RaceSmith, Inc. - Bike Sebring 12 Hours

RaceSmith, Inc. - Bike Sebring 24 Hours


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## L.Lagopus

Maybe so, but I am still just not going there.


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## mpre53

L.Lagopus said:


> Maybe so, but I am still just not going there.


Yup, they're a great platform for endurance riding around a race track in pancake-flat Florida. :thumbsup:


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## robwh9

I own a high-end recumbent, a Rans Force 5, which I've ridden maybe twice in 4 years. It's a terrible climber, and I love hilly or mountainous rides.


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## Fireform

I hate those things. I have a endurance race coming up


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## brianmcg

This is what I think of whenever I see a recumbent:

View attachment 275938


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## oily666

You left out the 33 MPH wind.


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## oily666

Only the second 12 hours is on the track......not that the local area is all that hilly.


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## oily666

So, you never ride on flat terrain or descents, only uphill when there's no wind. Got it!:thumbsup:


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## mikerp

The following comes to mind:
It's about the journey, not the destination.


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## oily666

robwh9 said:


> I own a high-end recumbent, a Rans Force 5, which I've ridden maybe twice in 4 years. It's a terrible climber, and I love hilly or mountainous rides.


Actually, a 5 is a good recumbent for climbs, on par with Bacchetta 650 and 700 models. The climbing issue is probably related to only riding it twice in two years.


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## dualpivot

oily666 said:


> Actually, a 5 is a good recumbent for climbs, on par with Bacchetta 650 and 700 models. The climbing issue is probably related to only riding it twice in two years.


Twice in two years means no muscle adaptation to the riding position and no chance to learn uphill riding techniques. The Force 5 had the triangulated frame, it's a good climber with a rider who knows what they're doing.


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## Newnan3

brianmcg said:


> This is what I think of whenever I see a recumbent:
> 
> View attachment 275938


Lolz....thats pretty low!


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## oily666

brianmcg said:


> This is what I think of whenever I see a recumbent:
> 
> View attachment 275938


Really. I saw a 51 year old woman cover 410 miles in 23:47 starting with a 4:43 century (both are non-drafting times). Her best is 479ish


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## aclinjury

When I hit 50, I'll probably get me a recumbent. I must say they do look comfy. However, my worst fear is not being seen on the road, and the slow flicking ability of the thing.


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## oily666

aclinjury said:


> When I hit 50, I'll probably get me a recumbent. I must say they do look comfy. However, my worst fear is not being seen on the road, and the slow flicking ability of the thing.


I ride an upright and a recumbent. You're really not that much lower on a bent. Plus, I run a high output tail strobe on both, day or night. On a 60 mile ride with flat or rolling terrain the bent allows me to stay with riders that, otherwise, would work me pretty hard, especially in the wind. It's great having both though.


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## rodar y rodar

I`m not much if any slower climbing on my SWB than with my other bikes. Not much if any faster on it going down or into the wind, either. If the danged thing were as comfortable as my Schwinn, I`d probably ride it more often.


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## aclinjury

oily666 said:


> I ride an upright and a recumbent. You're really not that much lower on a bent. Plus, I run a high output tail strobe on both, day or night. On a 60 mile ride with flat or rolling terrain the bent allows me to stay with riders that, otherwise, would work me pretty hard, especially in the wind. It's great having both though.


yes but on a regular road bike, when I'm riding in traffic congested area, I have the option to sit pretty much straight up (as straight as my arms will allow) and make myself more visible to cars.

One time on a trail, I was close to running into a recumbent as both of us were coming around a corner that was partially covered with bushes. I didn't hit him, but it was one of those "oops sorry didn't see you coming there".


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## speed metal

Does anyone really care?


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## stravanator

speed metal said:


> Does anyone really care?


Nope.


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## oily666

speed metal said:


> Does anyone really care?


I get a kick out of these fragile egos. It's not a moral issue. Really...trust me.


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## VinPaysDoc

I have no idea how anyone would be able to descend in mountainous terrain on a bent compared to a standard road bike. Perhaps it's possible, but, I've never had one pass me on a descent. Come to think of it, I've never had one pass me at all....


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## JCavilia

oily666 said:


> I get a kick out of these fragile egos. It's not a moral issue. Really...trust me.


Right. It's just another kind of bike. I'm glad to see anybody riding any bike. I know folks who used to ride conventional road bikes but can't because of back injuries. Recumbents allow them to keep riding. That's a good thing.

I always think of Sheldon Brown, who died (can it be?) five years ago, after suffering worsening weakness and balance from MS for a couple of years. In the last year of his life, the only riding he could do was on a recumbent trike on a bike path, at 6-7 mph. Judging from his journals, he found great joy in it.


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## oily666

VinPaysDoc said:


> I have no idea how anyone would be able to descend in mountainous terrain on a bent compared to a standard road bike. Perhaps it's possible, but, I've never had one pass me on a descent.


Many of life's fortunes and misfortunes are simply a matter of timing. It will happen to you too. Last May, on a club ride we descended from a high ridge into a river basin on a twisting road Two SWB bents shelled everyone else. Their computers showed max speeds ranging from 8-11 MPH faster than uprights. I know what you're saying though. It's hard to imagine leaning a bent in a turn, but experienced riders can do it same as anyone.


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## kjdhawkhill

I've been passed by a recumbent... while I was running an 18 miler for marathon training. Don't see them very often.


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## SystemShock

Nothing against 'bents... they have plenty of advantages. If you dig 'em, ride one.

For myself, they just have the wrong 'feel', that's all. Kinda like how Superman doesn't fly feet-first.


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## Undecided

Imagine how far she could go in a car.


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## Oldermileeater

I am in full agreement of the statement "ride what you like/enjoy". I also agree in the aerodynamic advantages of being low. I have never been on a recumbent, though I am curious to try one out. One thing that scares the heck out of me is the thought of some of the 50 MPH and 60 MPH descents I have done on my road bike being done (or attempted) on a recumbent. Especially with some of the curves I have had to negotiate. If it can be done on a recumbent, as with an upright, you need riding experience for the more intense riding.


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## oily666

Oldermileeater said:


> I am in full agreement of the statement "ride what you like/enjoy". I also agree in the aerodynamic advantages of being low. I have never been on a recumbent, though I am curious to try one out. One thing that scares the heck out of me is the thought of some of the 50 MPH and 60 MPH descents I have done on my road bike being done (or attempted) on a recumbent. Especially with some of the curves I have had to negotiate. If it can be done on a recumbent, as with an upright, you need riding experience for the more intense riding.


I know what you're saying though. It's hard to imagine leaning a bent in a turn, but experienced riders can do it same as anyone. The wheel base difference between a race level upright and a short wheel base bent is about 23cm. It only takes a few rides doing "tiller steering" on a bent to realize they can be steered from the hip also. A 50 MPH descent on a bike like the Bacchetta Corsa is much more relaxed than on a upright.


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## Dave Cutter

As a child I once heard my father and a friend of his talking about seeing people riding penny farthing [high wheel] bicycles. 

Even though I am old guy... that would have people still loving and riding the outdated penny farthing bikes decades after safety bicycles had become the standard. A fact I have NOT read in history books... only in oral accounts. But it would seem verifiable as such great numbers of these high wheel bikes survived the scrap drives of World War 2. 

It would seem the mass production and falling price of the safety bicycle drove it to children's toy status. At about the same time as the automobile became affordable/desirable. It took nearly half a century for cycling to regain real adult American popularity.

If history is useful to predict future change... it might be the electric or hydrogen car... or the restrictive cost of gasoline cars that converts society to recumbent bicycles. 

It will be the racing events that determine what "style" of bicycle is proper. But even if/when the recumbent becomes the new normal. Old men and women will still love and ride their safety's.


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## oily666

Dave Cutter said:


> As a child I once heard my father and a friend of his talking about seeing people riding penny farthing [high wheel] bicycles.
> 
> Even though I am old guy... that would have people still loving and riding the outdated penny farthing bikes decades after safety bicycles had become the standard. A fact I have NOT read in history books... only in oral accounts. But it would seem verifiable as such great numbers of these high wheel bikes survived the scrap drives of World War 2.
> 
> It would seem the mass production and falling price of the safety bicycle drove it to children's toy status. At about the same time as the automobile became affordable/desirable. It took nearly half a century for cycling to regain real adult American popularity.
> 
> If history is useful to predict future change... it might be the electric or hydrogen car... or the restrictive cost of gasoline cars that converts society to recumbent bicycles.
> 
> It will be the racing events that determine what "style" of bicycle is proper. But even if/when the recumbent becomes the new normal. Old men and women will still love and ride their safety's.


I guess we'll have to wait and see, but not a long as one may think.......maybe later this year. There's speculation that the RAAM individual classification will be won on a recumbent. RAAM: 1,000 miles longer than the TDF with 50% more climbing, no team to draft and it's over in 1/2 the time.


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## speed metal

"I'm just going to say it." A Honda Accord gets better gas milage than a Corvette.


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## DocRogers

There's someone over on the ADVrider motorcycle forum who has a signature that reads, "It's not what you ride, it's that you ride that counts." Pretty sure it's aimed at the Harley vs. sportbike vs. cruiser vs. touring bike tribes, but it applies here as well. 

I don't care what you ride, if you're turning the pedals, you're one of us.


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## SystemShock

DocRogers said:


> There's someone over on the ADVrider motorcycle forum who has a signature that reads, "It's not what you ride, it's that you ride that counts." Pretty sure it's aimed at the Harley vs. sportbike vs. cruiser vs. touring bike tribes, but it applies here as well.
> 
> I don't care what you ride, if you're turning the pedals, you're one of us.


Well said.


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## Oldermileeater

oily666 said:


> I know what you're saying though. It's hard to imagine leaning a bent in a turn, but experienced riders can do it same as anyone. The wheel base difference between a race level upright and a short wheel base bent is about 23cm. It only takes a few rides doing "tiller steering" on a bent to realize they can be steered from the hip also. A 50 MPH descent on a bike like the Bacchetta Corsa is much more relaxed than on a upright.


No doubt in my mind experienced riders can lean a bent in a turn. I do admit to a lot of ignorance where bents are concerned because (as I said) I have never been on one. But it does seem to me just by looking at riders on bents that it probably takes considerable experience to do some of the things riders on uprights do.

Being a physics and aerodynamics geek, there is no doubt in my mind about the advantages of being low where aerodynamic drag is concerned. I am curious to try one out, but with all the miles and years behind me on uprights, I doubt I'll ever stop riding them.

I guess it's a question of what one is used to, and what feels natural. I do know riding bents is very different than uprights, and requires different conditioning.



Dave Cutter said:


> As a child I once heard my father and a friend of his talking about seeing people riding penny farthing [high wheel] bicycles.
> 
> 
> It will be the racing events that determine what "style" of bicycle is proper. But even if/when the recumbent becomes the new normal. Old men and women will still love and ride their safety's.


I had to respond to this because I have (and do) ride Penny Farthings. My friend has a couple a century old, and I often ride them just to turn heads (it DOES get attention sitting on top of that huge wheel). They are NOT easy to ride, and they do take practice mounting and dis-mounting. But since I have been riding them for quite a while, I like riding them just to see the reactions from people.

I don't really see recumbents becoming more a 'norm' than uprights / safties. But then I really could not say.



oily666 said:


> I guess we'll have to wait and see, but not a long as one may think.......maybe later this year. There's speculation that the RAAM individual classification will be won on a recumbent. RAAM: 1,000 miles longer than the TDF with 50% more climbing, no team to draft and it's over in 1/2 the time.


Like I said, I am in full agreement of the aerodynamic advantages of bents. Therefore, ALL races should either use the same type of bicycle, or riders of bents should be in their own seperate category.



DocRogers said:


> There's someone over on the ADVrider motorcycle forum who has a signature that reads, "It's not what you ride, it's that you ride that counts." Pretty sure it's aimed at the Harley vs. sportbike vs. cruiser vs. touring bike tribes, but it applies here as well.
> 
> I don't care what you ride, if you're turning the pedals, you're one of us.


I agree. This is well said, and I feel the same way. I am glad there are cyclists out there who would consider me a rider. While I more than qualify with my miles, most riders would not be caught dead on my machine. Very outdated road bike simply screaming for much needed work. Kind of reminds me of a 20 year old beat up Dodge I used to drive. I do have nice wheels on the bike (the front one alone is worth far more than the entire rest of the bike could ever be), but everything else is original retro (original steel 27 inch wheels are in storage). But I do enjoy every stroke of the pedal cranks, and since having to part with my Super Six, I don't miss that as much as I thought I would.

The last thing I will say about bents is I can not imagine riding long duration rides with them, though I know people do. Again, this goes to conditioning. But it's just hard for me to imagine not being able to change my position the way I can (and do) on my road bike. I am a long distance rider - sometimes riding more than 24 hours without sleep. I can't imagine ME being on a bent that long without being able to change body position.

I still want to try one out someday.


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## oily666

oily666 said:


> I guess we'll have to wait and see, but not a long as one may think.......maybe later this year. There's speculation that the RAAM individual classification will be won on a recumbent.


And I was right!


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## rodar y rodar

Yeah, whatever. Did you fail to notice Strasser`s all time solo record while you were scrounging in the data files for that tidbit?


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## oily666

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, whatever. Did you fail to notice Strasser`s all time solo record while you were scrounging in the data files for that tidbit?


No scrounging. I rode with Maria Parker a week ago, which is to say she lapped me three (or four?) times in 12 hours. Will be curious to see what Strasser will be doing RAAM on in 20 years.........if he's doing RAAM at all.


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## velodog

Recumbents are to bikes as Mimes are to clowns...


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## Opus51569

How do you bent riders do it? I've tried it using a stationary recumbent machine at the gym before. About 10 minutes or so and my knees are killing me... Not k0d3...


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## tturner

they have their place.. RAAM may be the perfect example.

but they are lousy mountain bikes. 
Vital MTB | Mountain Biking Videos

I can think of many bikes I would add to my stable before considering a bent.. but to each their own..


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## oily666

they have their place.. RAAM may be the perfect example.

but they are lousy mountain bikes. 
Vital MTB | Mountain Biking VideosQUOTE]

That's the funniest use of a bike I've ever seen and it ties into what I call "bent complex". I know a guy who rides a recumbent and is very fast. However, he always has to chase down and pass people on upright bikes, especially TT bikes. It's embarrassing.


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## oily666

velodog said:


> Recumbents are to bikes as Mimes are to clowns...
> 
> Another fragile ego.


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## gus68

[QUOTEFor myself, they just have the wrong 'feel', that's all. Kinda like how Superman doesn't fly feet-first.[/QUOTE]

This +1


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