I’m currently saving up to buy one after getting the bug from reading some back issues of Velo Vision magazine.
One of the main draws for me is the comfort factor as I’ve been getting recurring lower back pain after any kind of serious riding on a uni and it’s been putting me off from doing much riding as my expanding tummy can testify.
I also think it’d be safer for commuting around Brighton than my N36" which I currently use as drivers in Brighton are pretty crackers.
But why three wheels? That would be almost guaranteed to be heavier and less efficient than a recumbent bike. My wife has one and I used to have one. Fun to ride, and you at least still get to lean side to side…
I had a blast riding my friends BikeE recumbent, during my recover of my ACL surgery. I would reccomend a two wheel 'bent, less weight and not as wide. much easier to ride in the bike lanes. most of the 'bent trikes end up riding with one wheel in the vehicle travel lane, scary.
Years ago (around 1990- 2) I had a friend who made recumbent trikes and bikes and was heavily involved in the whole HPV thing.
I found the experience of riding a recumbent trike most disconcerting and could find no advantages other than the novelty factor. In traffic, I think they can be dangerous.
Of course, things have moved on and maybe some of the professionally made ones may have ironed out some of the steering and stability issues. However, I still think the riding position is less ergonomic for anything but straight line powering along. I wouldn’t enjoy spinning a low gear in that position.
I tried a KMX trike at The Cycle Show a couple of years ago, it was great for messing about on the test track, but I’m not sure how practical it would be on the road.
I’d be very reluctant to use it to commute to work and I commute regularly on the Coker. The problem is you’re very low down and difficult to see. It would be great on the open road with good visibility, great fun and feels really quick.
Go for it, they’re great fun!
My father has one that can be folded over for easy transportation in just about any car. It’s made by “Greenspeed”, an australian company.
I tried it out a couple of times now, so I can tell you about some advantages/disadvantages coming to mind:
+it is comfortable, no saddle soreness etc
+you can get high speeds
+you can go uphill slowly without falling over (on trikes)
+you can chill anywhere you go
-it’s expensive
-it’s heavy
-you can’t just go anywhere, gravel, mud, narrow stuff is a pain in the ass
-you have a big turning circle
I met up with a juggling club where one of the guys there had made a recumbent bicycle. It was real discouraging for me since I rolled in on a my Nimbus 36, and I was not able to ride his bike. It must take a little getting use to that bit of having to raise your feet above your lying position, to the pedals and start rolling, all before you fall over. Add to that your arms are behind your back steering meanwhile. Who’d want to ride such an unusual cycle.
One difficulty with a recumbent bike is getting going again if you stop on an uphill. Especially on the style of recumbent that has the pedals up higher than the seat height. You get half a pedal turn to get going, have to quickly try to get your other foot up there and pedaling before you fall over.
Haha, yes I once borrowed my Dad’s friends’ recumbent for a Nevada tour and I had this problem at first.
Sort of disconcerting when your feet are clipped in so high. I found, though, that if you fall at a low speed while trying to get going from a stand still, you are often able to just throw your hand down for support instead of falling right over clipped in.
Recumbents are really not the most fun things to ride uphill anyway. I found spinning quickly in low gear saved energy over pushing in a high one.
I was on a Rans V2 (v squared) and I can safely say that riding bent is my second favorite form of alternative cycling.
