Recumbent Bikes!!!

[mtbiker278]

I'm big on biking places. I rode my bike everywhere all through college, including to parties and a couple times to the bar. I currently have two bikes, one is a all mountain rig with 6 inches of travel all around, and the other is my beater put together from spare parts. I was looking at getting a road bike since it's been unsually rainy and the trails are all muddied up, which can be awesome until the trail police catch you when the trails are closed. Then I started looking into recumbent bikes. These things are still bicycles but you sit in a reclined position and pedal with a couple different muscles compared to a normal bike. I thought they were interesting, but who would want to ride in one of those. Then I say that the world land speed record by a human powered vehicle was a recumbant doing 80mph. Researching this a little more it turns out that these things can be made very aerodynamic with the use of fairings. I just have this image in my head of people traveling down the highway doing 80 on a bike.

Here's some links:
http://www.ihpva.org/FAQ/

http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/FancyBikes.htm

[GasSavers_Bruce]

I'm currently on sabbatical from a car-free lifestyle. I bought a car in July to get over some chronic health problems. I hit 100,000 lifetime miles by bike early last year; my wife and I run a series of ultra-distance cycling events in our spare time.

I have many diamond-frame bikes but no recumbents. We've had many riders participate in our series over the years on recumbents, and they never finish first. The main reason is that recumbents, in spite of their superior aerodynamics, are slower here in the hilly Northeast because they're heavier. Over a series of rollers, the increased weight ultimately is lost to aerodynamic drag because you go down hills faster than you would on a lighter bike, and increased speed means increased aero losses.

However, in other, flatter parts of the country, recumbents rule, at least from what I've heard.

Fully faired recumbents fare badly in the hotter parts of the country because the rider burns up inside the fairing. If you don't have good airflow over the skin, those capillaries near the surface become radiators, and that means blood isn't getting to muscles to do work.

[MetroMPG]

Bruce, have you tried a recumbent? I'm guessing "probably", but if not, I'd highly recommend one, for recreational use anyway.

I tried one for the first time this fall, and it completely rejuvenated the fun of bicycling for me (I probably do more than the average person - which isn't saying much, really - but not as much as you ).

I was just thinking to myself this week that since I returned the bikeE, I've stopped going out just for the heck of it. I miss it. I intend to make a home-brew later this winter, either a tadpole 3-wheeler or something like a BikeE. It'll be HEAVY, and probably not too pretty, but way fun.

First ride on a recumbent bicycle: BikeE

[GasSavers_Bruce]

My wife and I rented recumbents from a local shop a few years back. She rented a BikeE, I rented a Lightning (a racing model). I spent about half an hour in the parking lot adjusting the boom length, then took off with her. Keeping my balance was a frightening experience, and I gave up after a couple of miles when I got a flat (the shop personnel hadn't inflated the tires.)

[jwxr7]

I really want a recumbent, but I guess I should try riding one first. I've been thinking about building one since I'm too cheap to buy one .

[rangerbentman]

Originally Posted by jwxr7

I really want a recumbent, but I guess I should try riding one first. I've been thinking about building one since I'm too cheap to buy one .

After having limited sucess at building my own swb I rented a lwb for a week and found that it was far more stable at speed and more comfortable. The seat on it was 2.5 inchesw thick foam and under that was a stiff substrate. When hitting a bump your bottom goes down to the substrate and you dooooo feel it. However I went out and bought the Lightfoot Ranger lwb and it has a webseat bottom which means that bumps are noticed but not acknowledged. If you think that bents are not visible on the road , you should try riding one in rushhour traffic. Constant beeps, waves, and conversations with drivers at 20-25 mph as I am at car driver height.
Far more comfortable than the Cannondale dual susp. I replaced with the Ranger. Now I am after the Bacchetta Cafe for my wife and myself. It has more speed potential and more areodynamic compared to the lwb Ranger, and it is geared much higher.
It might be a better idea to buy something used and not fix it up, then get to know what you want and buy something worthwhile. Renting bents are a trifle expensive but well worth the problems in buying something new and finding it is not as you expected.

[GasSavers_Bruce]

If you want to build one, this is a good book to have:

http://www.atomiczombie.com/product-bonanza.htm

You can also get it from Amazon. I haven't been able to get my arc welder to work, so I haven't built anything in it yet. I'd love to build the "snow bus".

[jwxr7]

I've seen that guy's site , and I really like the marauder style recumbent. I have a mig welder but should really get an oxy/acet torch and a tubing notcher so I can build like the pros. A mig should do fine for a prototype though .

[MetroMPG]

Yes, that's an awesome site. He builds everything with an old school arc welder too.

EDIT: I'm waiting to see his tadpole trike. Sometime this spring, perhaps according to the news/blog section of their site.

My Christmas present to my brother was "half" a mig welder. Just waiting for the model we want to go on sale. Then I can make more bike stuff. And car stuff.

[jwxr7]

He builds everything with an old school arc welder too

really? Wow, then I shouldn't need a torch set-up. I'll have to try welding some chromoly with the flux core stuff I usually use and see how it goes.