The Really Big Recumbent Thread

[Tim Brink]

OK, so it ain't ever gonna be big, but let's get an idea of who has a recumbent (or recumbents), who rides recumbents, who wants to and who knows a neighbour with one hiding in a garage.

 

Fun, fast, comfortable and a bugger to keep running, some shared wisdom goes a long way in the laid-back realm.

 

I will start.

 

I have one of these:

 

 

And one of these:

 

 

And I would donate a kidney for one of these:

 

 

 

 

 

[Pulse]

Very nice bikes, Tim.

 

I've never owned one, but would definately get one if the opportunity arises...

[Shell Belle]

OK, so it ain't ever gonna be big, but let's get an idea of who has a recumbent (or recumbents), who rides recumbents, who wants to and who knows a neighbour with one hiding in a garage.

 

Fun, fast, comfortable and a bugger to keep running, some shared wisdom goes a long way in the laid-back realm.

 

snip

 

 

So I have a noob question (actually am quite embarrassed to ask this), but:

How do you start moving/pedalling a recumbent without falling off? And what happens when you stop?  

[Ferro]

Also, if i may add:

How fast is fast?

What is the max distance you have done at a single time?

What is the gearing at the back?

How do you find hill climbs on this setup?

[Tim Brink]

So I have a noob question (actually am quite embarrassed to ask this), but:

How do you start moving/pedalling a recumbent without falling off? And what happens when you stop?  

Just like a normal bike - unclip and put a foot down when you stop (or a hand, on the really low one), clip in and pedal off to start. slightly wobblier than a normal bike at first - you can't use gravity to get you going. But quite manageable.

[DJR]

............How fast is fast?............

For the Argus:

Conventional bike record is 2h27 - that is with a whole peloton working together

Recumbent record 2h16 - that is a single guy time trialing the whole way

 

So, for a full fairing recumbent over a conventional bike - a HUGE lot faster. But also impossible to ride in a group and impossible to ride in the wind.

[DJR]

I don't have one, but that N+1 thing keeps on coming up every time I open a fortune cookie  

[Grease_Monkey]

Very cool thread. I am clueless when it comes to these bike but will follow with curiosity.

 

Nice looking bikes Tim!

[Grease_Monkey]

If I may ask... why are they such a bugger to keep running?

[Tim Brink]

Also, if i may add:

How fast is fast?

What is the max distance you have done at a single time?

What is the gearing at the back?

How do you find hill climbs on this setup?

This was testing done by a manufacturer in the Netherlands some years ago, @250w, no wind, fat, smooth road.

 

 

Hills are a bit slower, mainly because you are limited to staying in the same position - no standing or shifting weight. But the experts say that six months of adaptation, and you won't be much slower. Then you get to make hay on the descents.

 

I am running a 56/39 on the front and 11-26 on the back. Quite heavy. But then I can't get lazy. I have a 60-something tooth ring, but the shifting is atrocious, which answers another question further down: little is standard on these things. so you spend your life Heath-Robinsoning to get it working better. 

 

I have done the Cycle Tour a few times on various 'bents, no further, but watch this space. In the old days, Lloyd Wright, Tom Thring, Neil Buckland and others used to give the big pros a hard time in the old 250km road race that finished in Table View. Long, flat roads are a jol.

 

Wimpie's 2:16 at the then Argus was insane. He caught the pros for something like 15 minutes, after just 70km. Speed onto the Blue Route was well in excess of 120km/h.

 

And then there is Battle Mountain in the USA, where they hold an annual speed week. The fastest human-powered speed to date, unaided from a standing start, is 144-odd-km/h, on a dead-flat road.

[Grease_Monkey]

This was testing done by a manufacturer in the Netherlands some years ago, @250w, no wind, fat, smooth road.

 

1150.1.png

 

Hills are a bit slower, mainly because you are limited to staying in the same position - no standing or shifting weight. But the experts say that six months of adaptation, and you won't be much slower. Then you get to make hay on the descents.

 

I am running a 56/39 on the front and 11-26 on the back. Quite heavy. But then I can't get lazy. I have a 60-something tooth ring, but the shifting is atrocious, which answers another question further down: little is standard on these things. so you spend your life Heath-Robinsoning to get it working better.

 

I have done the Cycle Tour a few times on various 'bents, no further, but watch this space. In the old days, Lloyd Wright, Tom Thring, Neil Buckland and others used to give the big pros a hard time in the old 250km road race that finished in Table View. Long, flat roads are a jol.

 

Wimpie's 2:16 at the then Argus was insane. He caught the pros for something like 15 minutes, after just 70km. Speed onto the Blue Route was well in excess of 120km/h.

 

And then there is Battle Mountain in the USA, where they hold an annual speed week. The fastest human-powered speed to date, unaided from a standing start, is 144-odd-km/h, on a dead-flat road.

I thought these bikes were for old people thag can't ride anymore, but judging by this post I was seriously wrong. That sounds insane!!! Fastest I've been on a road bike was 93km/hr at Tour Durban, and I was scared sh*tless! 140km/hr is next level...

[Slowbee]

Jinne Uncle Tim, your garage must be interesting to peek into !

 

So front suspension and you are ready for Munga on one of these ?

[Tim Brink]

Jinne Uncle Tim, your garage must be interesting to peek into !

 

So front suspension and you are ready for Munga on one of these ?

Bugger.

 

I need one of these, too.

 

http://www.icetrikes.co/products/full-fat

[Slowbee]

farmer glen has a new category to add

[cyncerus]

My wife rides a Scorpion FS 26, mainly due to arthritis in her hands. 

 

Very nice bike, super stable and easy to ride. She even manages it quite well on jeep track with a big middel-mannetjie and on wider singletrack.

 

Had some grief with the 3 speed SRAM internal hub but I modded that and its fine now.

 

At some stage I'd like to get her on a 2 wheeler so that we can do more singletrack.

[Slowbee]

any way you can post some pics?

 

would love to see the set up