Looking at a recumbent

"travisbutcher" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message...

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

You will get run over at the first intersection you come to,
bents can't be seen by truck drivers.

Which isn't all that bad, you don't really want to be seen
laying out in one of those, now do you?

Get a nice carb road bike and you'll be set:

cyclingnews.comderosaOpen ↗
pics/TheKing SWEET!

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am looking at getting into the world of recumbents.
My primary reason is due to a serious wrist/hand injury i
incurred while riding my upright. I can not ride long
distances with the weight on my wrist. I have a few
questions I would like to pose to some experienced riders
to get a sense if this is a good decision.

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use
it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would
like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic
situtations?

I ride mine almost every work day. Sometimes on 6 lane
streets in rush hour. I have commuted on a LWB RANS Stratus
as well as the Bacchetta Giro and Lightning Voyager SWBs
that I use now. I prefer the Over Seat Steering (OSS) and
the Short Wheel Base (SWB). The SWBs are a little more
nimble. The LWB are slower to get to cruising speed but can
hold that cruising speed with a little less effort than the
SWB. Recumbents are an unusual sight on busy streets, more
so than conventional Diamond Frame (DF) bikes. As such, you
will get more attention and usually a wider berth from other
vehicular traffic.

Recumbents offer the option of a pannier rack under the
seat. This permits a more stable load which can be important
for commuting.

Quoted message said:

2. I am looking at several different brands right know
and would like a few thoughts on Burley and Visions
for a beginner.

Vision is no longer in business, any Vision that you find in
a LBS may be had at a bargain. OTOH, special parts (very
few) and later resale may be a problem.

Both Burley and Vision offer USS and OSS models. It is an
interesting side note that most all the USS manufacturers in
the US have gone out of business.

Personally, I think I have better control of the bike with
OSS.

You might want to give yourself other options for recumbents
suitable for commuting. Both RANS And Bacchetta make fine
bikes very suitable for this purpose.

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

Bugs get in your teeth. Try not to grin as you ride.

Actually, since recumbents allow you to keep your head up
and see traffic, they are probably a little safer than a DF.

Quoted message said:

Sorry for so many questions I just do not want to leap
into a purchase I may regret. Travis Butcher

My Advice: You need to ask more questions and ride more and
different recumbents.

If you are planning to use your recumbent as a primary form
of transportation, you will need to consider how and where
you carry a load. There are very few recumbent specific
racks for panniers. Most conventional racks can be adapted
to many recumbents. But you need to be creative to stabilize
the rack with a load. RANS makes a rear rack that fits their
bikes and Bacchettas too. Burley makes an adapter kit that
IMO is totally unsuitable because it places the load behind
the rear axle.

As I mentioned earlier, Bacchetta makes an underseat rack
(MidShip) that works great for commuting. It only fits their
padded Recurve Seat. RANS and EasyRacers also make an
underseat rack. Arkel has recently introduced a recumbent
specific pannier set that nest nicely behind the seat or
under it. I just got these and also their Utility baskets. I
will be using the Utility baskets tonight on my way home
from work. These are the trips when it is useful to have
rear and underseat racks. I carry my commuting gear in an
Ortlieb Front Roller under the seat and have room for a
weeks worth of groceries on the back.

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager
clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

In article <8il8c.899299$ts4.56218@pd7tw3no>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"travisbutcher" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message...

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

You will get run over at the first intersection you come
to, bents can't be seen by truck drivers.

"...serious wrist/hand injury I incurred while riding
my upright."

I think the original poster has already determined which are
more dangerous.

(And to the original poster, Fabrizio is a well noted
'poser' and can safely be ignored).
--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager
clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by travisbutcher
Hi -
I am looking at getting into the world of recumbents. My primary reason is due to a serious wrist/hand injury i incurred while riding my upright. I can not ride long distances with the weight on my wrist. I have a few questions I would like to pose to some experienced riders to get a sense if this is a good decision.

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic situtations?

2. I am looking at several different brands right know and would like a few thoughts on Burley and Visions for a beginner.

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

Sorry for so many questions I just do not want to leap into a purchase I may regret.

I just made the leap and purchased my first recumbent. I did a lot of research on 'bents in general, and had a pretty good idea what I was interested in. I also didn't want to spend a small fortune on a bike before I knew it would work for me.

I'm fortunate that I live near a bike shop that specializes in recumbents:

Coventry Cycle

I went to the shop a couple of times and test rode several 'bents. They are each very different, and all handle very differently from an upright. If you can ride different models, do so.

I ended up getting a Burley Koosah. It was (relatively) inexpensive at $900. It is supposedly easy to learn on, and the long wheelbase made it comparatively stable, particularly at higher speeds. It really felt like a quality bike when I was on it, and I fell in love with it.

I've been getting used to how it handles, particularly low speed maneuvers, and I have no regrets. This is an awesome bike. My hands don't hurt and go numb, my back and neck don't hurt, and my rear doesn't get sore. I am looking forward to many miles of pain-free riding.

On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 18:47:43 GMT, travisbutcher
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use
it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would
like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic
situtations?

Tolerable. A more upright bike is easier when filtering, but
a good low, fast bike can keep pace with the traffic better
than a wedgie. And a trike is great, no need to unclip. I
use a recumbent for commuting and find it marginally slower
in traffic, but noly marginally.

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

None. They are more visible due to scarcity value, and if
you wipe out you hit the ground [censored] first, which is much
better than head first. I have ridden a SWB low recumbent
with slicks in snow and ice without crashing, and I have had
two wipeouts where the bike went down and I stood up,
receiving not even a slight bruise.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

"travisbutcher" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am looking at getting into the world of recumbents.
My primary reason is due to a serious wrist/hand injury i
incurred while riding my upright. I can not ride long
distances with the weight on my wrist. I have a few
questions I would like to pose to some experienced riders
to get a sense if this is a good decision.

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use
it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would
like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic
situtations?

2. I am looking at several different brands right know
and would like a few thoughts on Burley and Visions
for a beginner.

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

Sorry for so many questions I just do not want to leap
into a purchase I may regret. Travis Butcher

Either Burley or Vision should be a good beginner bike, I
started out with a Vision R50 with suspension and it worked
very well for the 2300 miles I put on it.

As far as safety concerns a recumbent isn't as stable as a
standard bike in my opinion and the ability to look behind
you is compromised by the design so invest heavily in
mirrors. You will have a slight learning curve with them but
once you get past that you won't want to ever ride on a
standard bike again

"Fabrizio Mazzoleni" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:8il8c.899299$ts4.56218@pd7tw3no...

Quoted message said:

"travisbutcher" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message...

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

You will get run over at the first intersection you come
to, bents can't be seen by truck drivers.

Which isn't all that bad, you don't really want to be seen
laying out in one of those, now do you?

Get a nice carb road bike and you'll be set:

cyclingnews.comderosaOpen ↗
d=pics/TheKing SWEET!

Over 5,000 miles and never a problem troll

"Cletus Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am looking at getting into the world of
recumbents. My primary reason is due to a serious
wrist/hand injury i incurred while riding my upright. I
can not ride long distances with the weight on my wrist.
I have a few questions I would like to pose to some
experienced riders to get a sense if this is a good
decision.

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I
use it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I
would like to know if recumbents easy to ride in
traffic situtations?

I ride mine almost every work day. Sometimes on 6 lane
streets in rush

hour. I have commuted on a

Quoted message said:

LWB RANS Stratus as well as the Bacchetta Giro and
Lightning Voyager SWBs

that I use now. I prefer

Quoted message said:

the Over Seat Steering (OSS) and the Short Wheel Base
(SWB). The SWBs are

a little more nimble. The

Quoted message said:

LWB are slower to get to cruising speed but can hold that
cruising speed

with a little less effort

Quoted message said:

than the SWB.

Not that I doubt you but why is the LWB slower to get to
cruising speed and require less effort once there? I've not
found this to be true either way in my experience but my
experience isn't as much as yours with the LWB's

Quoted message said:

Recumbents are an unusual sight on busy streets, more so
than conventional

Diamond Frame (DF)

Quoted message said:

bikes. As such, you will get more attention and usually a
wider berth from

other vehicular traffic.

This is VERY true, especially when riding a Baron 🙂

On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:46:59 -0600, Cletus Lee <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

(And to the original poster, Fabrizio is a well noted
'poser' and can safely be ignored).

And a Hoser poser at that.

--
This post contains police language. Viewer nudity is advised.

travisbutcher <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use
it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would
like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic
situtations?

Several of us commute on them. I'm thinking, however, that
the Sun EZ Sport seating position would be really hard to
beat for in-town stuff. It's a little higher and more
upright than most.

Quoted message said:

2. I am looking at several different brands right know
and would like a few thoughts on Burley and Visions
for a beginner.

I've heard of people commuting on Hepcats, and others, but I
haven't, so can't comment. I kind of like low feet for in
town, but if I had fewer stops I might not. A long or
medium/long wheelbase (EZ1/EZ Sport, Rans Tailwind, et al)
also adapt well to fairings, which are really nice when the
temps get below 30. Fairing attachments get pretty expensive
for most SWB's. USS is great, but requires some hardware to
mount lights etc.

Again, I don't own one, but an EZ Sport seems like a really
promising commuting bike. It takes fenders easily, a rack &
seatbag OK, isn't too expensive, sits up well, seems well
enough built, etc. The Burley Koosah/Jett Creek seem
promising too.

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

Same as with anything else not built by AM General. Pretend
you're invisible. I'm on a Stratus and find I'm at eye level
with Subies and above that with Civics. Naturally, the
minutes right after sunrise are bad to be on bikes,
regardless of type.

Quoted message said:

1. My bike is my primary form of transportation and I use
it for commuting (about 10 miles each way). I would
like to know if recumbents easy to ride in traffic
situtations?

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

My bike is also my primary form of transportation. Half a
year ago, I added a recumbent (LWB Tour Easy) to my set of
bikes. Here are my perceptions comparing this bike with my
diamond frame bikes:

a) my recumbent is less stable on ice, though if it does
slip, the impact of a fall is also less.
b) visibility is very similar, just slightly lower on
the recumbent
c) a helmet mirror is more important, since more difficult
to turn my head back to see traffic behind

Overall, not a huge difference, but some small
differences at least.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

Fabrizio Mazzoleni said:

"travisbutcher" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message...

Quoted message said:

3. What are safety concerns with a recumbent?

You will get run over at the first intersection you come
to, bents can't be seen by truck drivers.

Which isn't all that bad, you don't really want to be seen
laying out in one of those, now do you?

Get a nice carb road bike and you'll be set:

Were that the case, I should not have been riding them for
twenty-one years, but then we can always rely on "Fabrizio"
t ocome up with a statement which is Clearly Bollocks, can't
we, boys and girls? Back in your box, laddie.

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

"Zippy the Pinhead" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message

Quoted message said:

And a Hoser poser at that.

I believe that my recent top ten placing in the Etollie de
Besseges and the Laigueglia allow me the right to ask you to
take back your last statement. Thanks.

.

Mike Vermeulen said:

...
a) my recumbent is less stable on ice, though if it does
slip, the impact of a fall is also less....

Typically, most of the impact from falling on a recumbent
will occur to the hip or buttocks, and possibly the elbow,
as opposed to falling from an upright where shoulder and
head impacts are more frequent.

Hip and elbow pads could well be the most effective way to
reduce injuries in recumbent falls.

--
Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

Fabrizio Mazzoleni said:

I believe that my recent top ten placing in the Etollie de
Besseges and the Laigueglia allow me the right to ask you
to take back your last statement. Thanks.

I, on the other hand, believe that the fact that the top ten
of the Etoile de Besseges reads like this:

1. Laurent Brochard
2. Sylvain Calzati
3. Joseba Zubeldia
4. Staf Scheirlinckx
5. Pierrick Fedrigo
6. Pieter Mertens
7. David Etxebarria
8. Jerome Pineau
9. Thor Hushovd
10. Stuart O'Grady

and that of the Trofeo Laigueglia like this:

11. Filippo Pozzato
12. Lorenzo Bernucci
13. Romans Vainsteins
14. Serhiy Honchar
15. Luca Paolini
16. Marcus Zberg
17. Daniele Pietropolli
18. Paolo Bossoni
19. Massimiliano Gentili
20. Massimo Giunti

to be indicative of the fact that "Fabrizio" is a
pathological liar who has never been closer to Italy than
his local Pizza Hut. If you're going to try to fool some of
the people some of the time, sonny, you should at least try
to tell /convincing/ porkies.

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

In article <xEo8c.84351$1p.1234903@attbi_s54>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Not that I doubt you but why is the LWB slower to get to
cruising speed and require less effort once there? I've
not found this to be true either way in my experience but
my experience isn't as much as yours with the LWB's

I liken LWBS to 18-wheelers and SWBs to fast Sports Cars.
Both can exceed the speed limit and commonly cruise the
interstates between 75 and 80. It takes a while to get get
that big rig up to speed, but once it gets there, it can
cruise all day long. The sports car OTOH is doing 80 before
it leaves the entrance ramp. You've got to keep pumping in
fuel if you want it to keep going fast.

I find the same with my Stratus when I had it, slow to
accelerate yet I could easily cruise 18-20 mph until I met a
hill. Now with both my SWBs, I'm first away from the light
and have to keep up the fast pedaling if I want to maintain
18-20 mph.

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager
clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Legs Thanks for the straight facts Speedy

Dave Larrington said:

Fabrizio Mazzoleni said:

I believe that my recent top ten placing in the Etollie
de Besseges and the Laigueglia allow me the right to ask
you to take back your last statement. Thanks.

I, on the other hand, believe that the fact that the top
ten of the Etoile de Besseges reads like this:

1. Laurent Brochard
2. Sylvain Calzati
3. Joseba Zubeldia
4. Staf Scheirlinckx
5. Pierrick Fedrigo
6. Pieter Mertens
7. David Etxebarria
8. Jerome Pineau
9. Thor Hushovd
10. Stuart O'Grady

and that of the Trofeo Laigueglia like this:

1. Filippo Pozzato
2. Lorenzo Bernucci
3. Romans Vainsteins
4. Serhiy Honchar
5. Luca Paolini
6. Marcus Zberg
7. Daniele Pietropolli
8. Paolo Bossoni
9. Massimiliano Gentili
10. Massimo Giunti

to be indicative of the fact that "Fabrizio" is a
pathological liar who has never been closer to Italy than
his local Pizza Hut. If you're going to try to fool some
of the people some of the time, sonny, you should at least
try to tell /convincing/ porkies.

--

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Quoted message said:

Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

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"Dave Larrington" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message ...

Quoted message said:

to be indicative of the fact that "Fabrizio" is a
pathological liar who has never been closer to Italy than
his local Pizza Hut. If you're going to try to fool some
of the people some of the time, sonny, you should at least
try to tell /convincing/ porkies.

Say what you will. But you can't take away my 961 UCI
points.

Why do you people over there have to slander anyone like
Fabrizio who make it to the top of their sport? Is it
because you grew up in that nasty tabloid newspaper
environment?

Fabrizio Mazzoleni said:

Why do you people over there have to slander anyone like
Fabrizio who make it to the top of their sport?

Fabs:

You're beginning to refer to yourself in the third
person. Get help.

(Bob Dole always referred to Bob Dole in the third person.
And lookit what happened to him...)