Advice sought on getting a recumbent

[knotbury]

This is Colin rather than Fiona....
I too have a Windcheetah of ancient vintage (#32). The trike is normally made to fit but they each have around 3" of adjustment by moving the seat fore and aft. I dropped lucky in buying second(++!) hand but the trike fits me well. I tried out a Windcheetah at the factory (then in Altrincham) before committing myself and I found AVD to be very accommodating and informative.
Good Luck!

 

[CopperBrompton]

So the chain stays cleaner and lasts longer (partly also due to the longer length - wear per link is reduced pro rata with increased length) than on bikes.

Very true. I just had my TRICE Q serviced, and mentioned that the chain had stretched as middle to big ring took only two clicks instead of three. Went to pick it up, and he'd removed just one link ... after 3340 miles!

 

[Fiona N]

Fiona
You mention the near perfect fit of the Windcheetah - would you mind saying which model you have and how tall you are? I'm considering a trike & the Windcheetah is on the list as a maybe, so I'm interested....
I think I met you last year in Wilf's cafe in Staveley - I was on my black trek 7.9 (upright) (trying hard to resist spending a fortune in Wheelbase) and you were just back on uprights again ... I remember you talking about flying down Shap on the recumbent ~ from memory you weren't much taller than me (5'6?).
Sorry to hijack the post!

Hi Misty
I bought the Windcheetah before there was a separation of models so it's probably closest to the Clubsport (in fact, looks very much like the yellow model used on the website) but with Ultegra gears. I'm 5'6" as you suppose which meant that the standard length model was cut down for me. This has the rather amazing result that fast (non-slide) cornering is better with panniers on as the extra weight moves the centre of gravity closer to the back wheel increasing grip.
After my session at Cyclefit in London with the Speedmachine - where they identified the position/fit issue - I looked afresh at the Windcheetah and realised that the geometry is subtly different to the Speedmachine and it's less likely to have problems with short riders. Not sure whether this was accident or design on Mike Burrows part - but I'm impressed.

 

[Alf]

Loss of speed with trike may not be big issue if steady pace greater than on my DF bikes at present. I do like going up hills/mountains and a matter of principle have never stopped or walked up - a stubbornessness from earlier times on racing bikes so will not be happy with a recumbent which made me do either. Trike for hills might be better and just plod up with high cadence which done when cycle touring abroad so not an issue.

I think you really need to try it out on some hills before you decide on this. My two (2-wheeled) recumbents both definitely prevent me going up hills as fast as on an upright. And, I think you also need to develop spinning more than you do on an upright. I used to be quite happy on a low gear of 42x23 even on long rides with short sections of 20% on an upright racer. I would probably have been happier with a slightly lower gear but in those days of 7-speed freewheels that would have meant spacing the gears more than I was happy with. Now, even with quite a light recumbent (10Kg or so) I need a 28 x 25 for a hilly ride, (and that's with slightly smaller - 571 - wheels). And, where I used to find I would catch people on hills, I now struggle to keep up on the recumbent. My conclusion is that you can't quite get the maximum hill-climbing power as you can on an upright. It may be that you can use the back muscles or the gluts more on an upright.

So whether you are slower or quicker on a recumbent probably depends on the ride: if it's hilly you will be slower; if it's flat you will be quicker. I would love to test this out with a power meter and prove myself wrong but they are all a bit too expensive as yet.

Alf