Windcheetah and a few questions about recumbents in general.

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I have been offered a windcheetah for about £1350. I am going to try it out this week and see how I get on with it. I have often thought about getting a recumbent, but have wondered about the visibility to other vehicles on the road. I would be using it for commuting through Manchester, so what are your experiences? Is it so different to other vehicles on the road that they sit up and take more notice of you? Or do you need a flag for people to see you?
I know I will not have the ability to filter through traffic like I can on a bicycle, but I am willing to accept that. Once you have a recembent do you still ride a bicycle? Or do you just want to ride the recumbent all the time? £1350 is a lot of money to me if it is just going to be a toy I may grow bored of in 6 months time, but I can justify it if I will be a useful addition to my bike collection.
 

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Traffic is no problem in general - you look so unusual they tend to be cautious anyway, and if you adopt a strong secondary you'll find 99% of cars will change lanes to overtake. A flag is a good idea for when you are directly alongside traffic on multi-lane roads, and in car-parks, etc, where you have reversing vehicles.
 

zoxed

Über Member
Not sure if you realise it, but the Windcheetah has a very limited range of leg length adjustment, so make sure that it does fit you correctly before buying it ! Also as these are a well known and popular trike I can imagine that you would not have too much trouble selling the trike for a similar price to what you paid for it.
I have commuted for over 10 years on my Kett without a flag and do not feel it is a problem. As you note you will not be able to filter so much, but I choose my regular route to be along more open roads, even though it is further it works out quicker !
 
THe Windcheetah is an excellent machine, but......

As above it lacks the ability to adjust the boom to the individual rider, and also the joystick steering iid not as intuitive as the handlebars (direct or indirect) that other models have

Apart from that a week will answer all your other questions. Visibility is not an issue, with the same precautions as you would take with an ordinary bike such as lights, road positioning etc

As for filtering, it is surprisingly little different. The bike is only a little wider than your shoulders, as is the case on a normal bike.

To be honest I filter the same way as if it is too narrow for the trikes then it would be too narrow for an upright

Finally given the unique characteristics of this machine, if you do not get on, do not write off recumbents as a whole

I have ridden recumbents for some 25 years, and have tried most formats, my present stable is a Hurricane low racer, a Street Machine Tourer, Catrike Expedition touring trike, folding HPVelotechnik Gekko, and now a Kettwiesel

None is perfect, each has its own characteristics and quirks, but they are all fun in their own unique way.... you will find one that suits your needs and taste
 
OP
OP
Pumpkin the robot
Thank you for the replies.
I am on quite goos ternms with the guy selling it, so I may ask if I can borrow it for a week and see how I get on with it. If I do like it I can always alter my route to avoid Manchester town centre, it may add a little to the length, but I am not too bothered about that if it is a safer ride.
 
I love that grin

There is a lot of genuine interest, and if I judge it worthwhile and safe, I have let people try the trikes in controlled conditions.

At least twice this has converted into new trike riders

However it is always fun when they leave their partner or kids as a "deposit" and you point out that when they return that they will have a silly grin.... and their amusement when it happens
 

Ganymede

Veteran
Location
Rural Kent
Re "do you still ride a bike" - I do. I have a semi-bent, not a trike, and although I love it (especially because it gives my shoulders and neck a rest) it is quite heavy so I cannot take it if I know I have to haul it up the steps of a railway bridge or similar (round here there are still several stations without lifts or road access to both sides of the track, and I have shoulder problems). It is also slower for me, so for example if I'm popping up the road to get the paper I will hop on the hybrid, but if I want a long ride for fun I will use the 'bent.

I am thinking of getting a trike or a lighter 'bent (mine is an older-model HP Velotecnik Spirit which is pretty heavy). I think you get quite a lot of attention from drivers and passers-by on a 'bent, so visibility is not really a problem and you get people giving you plenty of room when they pass. Someone on here said once they thought it might partly be because drivers think you might be disabled, even if you're not!
 
Classic definition of n+1

I still have a Brompton which sits by the door for shop runs when getting one of teh recumbents out would take more time than the trip to the shops on the folder
 
Someone on here said once they thought it might partly be because drivers think you might be disabled, even if you're not!


A few years ago there was a disabled sports competition in Portsmouth and several of the Schools used it as a learning exprience for the kids

I was cycling from work and on the Ferry with the Trice when I was stopped by two kids who were telling me about how they were doing a project on disabled sports and asking me questions.

They were so polite and respectful that I didn't have the heart to tell them I wasn't disabled, so had a conversation about how disabled sports raised self esteem, made a valuable contribution to the public image of the disabled and was a positive thing

They were delighted, as that was an angle the teacher had not come up with


A few weeks later I met them again and they had got top marks for their insight!
 

Ganymede

Veteran
Location
Rural Kent
A few years ago there was a disabled sports competition in Portsmouth and several of the Schools used it as a learning exprience for the kids

I was cycling from work and on the Ferry with the Trice when I was stopped by two kids who were telling me about how they were doing a project on disabled sports and asking me questions.

They were so polite and respectful that I didn't have the heart to tell them I wasn't disabled, so had a conversation about how disabled sports raised self esteem, made a valuable contribution to the public image of the disabled and was a positive thing

They were delighted, as that was an angle the teacher had not come up with


A few weeks later I met them again and they had got top marks for their insight!
That's hilarious and also very sweet.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Rode through Manchester City Centre on my way home, after buying the Brox I now have. The amount of room given was way more than the previous week on two wheels.
People were actually moving into the other lane for me.

Leeds, Bradford with similar results, trafficwise.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
Martin, the Windcheetah is a fine trike, but compared to most of the rest if the market has it's own features. The joystick steering has been mentioned and don't worry it'll become easy once you've adapted. The narrow track compared to my trikes means that you'll need to lean into corners rather more than I do. My QNT is wider than the Windcheetah and I have to get my weight right over the inside wheel at speed. All trikes need this and the only difference is that with the Windcheetah you need to do it at a lower speed. Again, once learned, this will become intuitive.
 
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