Pyromancer said:A recumbent bicycle - one you ride lying back, with the
pedals in front of you, rather than sitting up as on a
conventional bike. They're said to be very good for long-
distance riding, and to be much more comfortable than a
conventional bike.
"They" are right, though there's no reason not to use them
for short and medium distances too.
Quoted message said:They also go a lot faster because you get to use your
legs more efficiently
Errrr, not really. A 'bent built for speed is faster because
it has markedly superior aerodynamics to an upright, though
the really fast ones have fairings as well as low frontal
area created by the riding position. A 'bent not built for
speed may well be a fair bit slower than an upright: you
won't win many races on a BikeE or Flevo OkeJa, for example.
Quoted message said:though seemingly you have to watch for knee joint problems
from pushing too hard on the pedals -
No more so than any other bike, really. Though you can push
off the seat and don't have an effective limit for the push
caused by your own bodyweight you'd have to be a really
sorry masher to get anywhere close to it.
Quoted message said:learning to "spin" is quite important when riding one.
Indeed. Since you can't stand up you can't get an emergency
heave onto the power transmission by getting out of the
saddle. Having said that, my riding of uprights where I
/can/ do that has got a lot better and easier since I
stopped doing so, the change in part because I'd learned to
spin better on the 'bent. Spinning the right gear is good
practice on any bike where you've got the gears, standing is
usually a way of making gear changes difficult and putting a
lot of extra wear on your knees and the transmission, and
neither is a Good Thing.
Quoted message said:They tend to be rare, and expensive.
And often ridden by smug evangelists, i.e. me. But I cycle
in a comfy chair, which is something to be smug about, and I
think a lot of other people would like it too...
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗
