What do you all think about these slightly strange things?

Recently I have become quite interested in them, and the thing below is very tempting indeed:



I am interested mostly due to the speed aspects of them, it seems that they are naturally a much faster vehicle due to the aerodynamics although they aint quite so good up the hills apparantly.

I quite like some of the trikes, too - practical and very fast!

The only thing I dont like is some of them are RIDICULOUSLY expensive - the one pictured there in the best trimmings comes in around Ã,£1500 which isnt bad at all, as far as some of these things go, although its still expensive, really.  :shock:  but it seems common for these things to fetch Ã,£3000 / Ã,£4000 prices :shock:

They are strictly for bearded college professors that still wear lycra covered helmets from 87.

I prefer ass hatchets.

They do have a strange image, thats for sure - I am not sure I would welcome it, tbh.

The riders (who call themselves pilots) call the bikes bents and its all a little strange.





buuuuut,.......... they are sooooooooooooo fast which makes me all too tempted!

I suppose this is why they are at rip-off prices - they appeal to a niche of the old bearded types, and the "want to go as fast as possible" types - the bearded chaps build their own out of old washing machines and hairdryers, whereas me, completely lacking an engineering degree will fork out, within reason  

One of my dads mates had one.  He sold it after a while, said it was good fun but insanely dangerous; youre nicely out of the line-of-sight of drivers and hence theyre completely lethal apparently.

I dont generally cycle nearby busy roads

tend to keep to quiet B-roads and the like, as I dont commute or do anything like that

I think ill do some more research on them before making any decisions

Quote from: snellgroveWhat do you all think about these slightly strange things?

Recently I have become quite interested in them, and the thing below is very tempting indeed:

(Image removed from quote.)

I am interested mostly due to the speed aspects of them, it seems that they are naturally a much faster vehicle due to the aerodynamics although they aint quite so good up the hills apparantly.

I quite like some of the trikes, too - practical and very fast!

The only thing I dont like is some of them are RIDICULOUSLY expensive - the one pictured there in the best trimmings comes in around Ã,£1500 which isnt bad at all, as far as some of these things go, although its still expensive, really.  :shock:  but it seems common for these things to fetch Ã,£3000 / Ã,£4000 prices :shock:

a fair few people in manchester use them, they look strangely comfortable, but you do look like a todger on one...

dont fit on trains, they dont fit in bike racks they look odd so will be targets for theft and vandalism.

Crap up hills because you cant just stand and mash the pedals, your stuck laying down.

They look cool, but ultimately completely crap unless your living in holland lol.

excellent up hills apparantly, apart from the increased weight

one of the first things I looked at, as where I live is extremely hilly.

You can push into the chair and really push those pedals around

apparantly the overall strategy for hill climbing is to spin, and spin fast though as you can do your knees a mischief by pushing so damn hard.

Thing is on a normal bike you can only push as much as you weigh - otherwise you go upwards.  This bike, you can push and theres a chair behind you.

I dont mind about trains...  or bike-racks so much. Theft and all that, yes.. definately one to insure. need to insure my Scott as I am always conscious of that shiny carbon fibre & decals being an absolute magnet to thieves!

reputedly not so hot on city streets though. and not good if you have joint problems like I do.

Quote from: snellgroveexcellent up hills apparantly, apart from the increased weight

one of the first things I looked at, as where I live is extremely hilly.

You can push into the chair and really push those pedals around

apparantly the overall strategy for hill climbing is to spin, and spin fast though as you can do your knees a mischief by pushing so damn hard.

Thing is on a normal bike you can only push as much as you weigh - otherwise you go upwards.  This bike, you can push and theres a chair behind you.

I dont mind about trains...  or bike-racks so much. Theft and all that, yes.. definately one to insure. need to insure my Scott as I am always conscious of that shiny carbon fibre & decals being an absolute magnet to thieves!

Except up hill you will be working AGAINST gravity as opposed to WITH gravity. Each push of the pedal will be pushing you into your seat yes sure, but you will only be pushing with the strength of the muscles in your legs, as opposed to leg muscles + weight.

Spinning sure... but you can spin with more force on an upright.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adExcept up hill you will be working AGAINST gravity as opposed to WITH gravity. Each push of the pedal will be pushing you into your seat yes sure, but you will only be pushing with the strength of the muscles in your legs, as opposed to leg muscles + weight.

Spinning sure... but you can spin with more force on an upright.

Not quite right, your weight is all that is doing any work in that situation on a normal bike, your muscles are just lifting your body and you may not be able to use your full capability. With one of these you are pressing between two fixed points and can thus apply more energy to the pedal.

Not really considering that its not two fixed points.

Its not even 1 fixed point on an upright.

What snellgrove is saying is that you can use your muscles to power up the hills.... im not disputing this.

What I am disputing is that upright bikes allow you to fully harness gravity to your advantage. Instead of relying purely on muscle power to get you up that hill, I can rely on my weight as you correctly say to power up that hill, combined with my strength.

Strength doesnt matter as the same amount of force will be applied via the muscles in any situation upright vs recumbent... why? because the pedals move. Your maximum force applied via muscles = the maximum resistive force of the pedals.

And your also forgetting that just holding the handlebars prevent the lifting of your body past a certain point. It is after all why you pull on the bars as your climbing a hefty hill.

Except on an upright its as follows:

Weight + Muscular Force = Maximum resistive force of pedal.

On a recumbent:

Muscular Force = Maximum resistive force of pedal.

So you have a harder time of it when climbing hills. Its physically an impossibility for a recumbant to be more "efficient" at climbing hills. FC9K im sure will kinda understand my gibberings!

With that type of logic, youre just the kind of geek that usually ride the dang things. :mrgreen:

/me rides away on my manly Pedersen.


:mutley:

I see what you are saying there, M3ta.

I suppose the best thing is to have legs that can supply a whole heap of force

Theyd have to be developed into tree-trunks to beat gravity*mass of body + leg-force for a normal diamond-frame bike.

I suppose one benefit is that they have more gears. My racer only has 18 and on the 10-mile loop there is this real killer of a hill, a genuine switch to 1st gear and still struggle away and need a rest at the top (or if you dont, keep going and not change to 2nd, you cant bear it for a few mins) kinda job. quite a few times Ive done that ride fast and had aching lungs / throat the next day or so due to the stress I put on them going up that one

Theres also another killer hill (but its only about half as long, but same steepness) at the end of pretty much every loop I do really gets the legs burning

So in these instances, I could drop down a few cogs  and be more efficient - and probably go at the same speed up them

I might be wrong though, who knows.

The shop that sells the bike pictured in the 1st post is a couple of hours away  nearest shop that sells bents in general is about 1.5 hours away and they are all Ã,£3k+

the shop that sells the Optima as pictured though, offer big test-rides (you pay Ã,£40+ for a half days test ride which is refunded if you buy one of the bikes.) so I might give that a go, to get a really good feel of one I get the impression it is FLAT up there though

clicky

QuoteThe Zen of recumbent riding...................... relax and spin.

If you would like to discover what it would be like to ride a recumbent bike or trike we offer expert tuition and hire. Our shop is only a few minutes from the Forest Way, a 12 mile traffic free section on Route 21 of the National Cycle Route. This old railway line meandering through the Medway Valley is ideal for those experiencing riding a recumbent for the first time. If you have time to spare we also have routes taking you through the lanes of this beautiful part of Sussex.

Most people can manage to ride a recumbent after a few minutes practice. However, the technique of riding a recumbent is different to conventional bikes so personal tuition will reduce the learning curve and make the experience more enjoyable. Those considering buying will benefit from the opportunity to try several different recumbents and if they decide to buy within 60 days we will refund the course fee.  

yeh not knocking you for wanting one mate they look cool!!! I want one too lol but I dont agree with them being better for hills lol.

Route 21? I use Route 4 and Route 8 to get to work and back