Arch said:
Not taken off eh? What exactly do you mean by taken off?
Become popular.
Arch said:
I mean we all know the world has to bend to your logic, so what do recumbents have to do to 'take off'.
They don't have to satisfy me that they've taken off. Some people like them, some people don't. I personally don't, but if you do - go and ride one, it's no skin off my nose.
Arch said:
One owned by every cyclist? One in every household?
One in every city might be a start...
But those two criteria you've listed above can pretty much both be said about upright bikes.
Again, it all boils down to the same old question as with that dodgy "Airnimal" thing - if they were
that good, then why haven't more people got one?
When I say 'good', as in '
that good', I mean 'good' for the human race as a whole in the sense that the bike is 'good' in that it's a global transport phenomenon, not 'good' in the novelty sense that, say, the telescope is 'good' in that it can see stars and planets at night but not much else.
Arch said:
Why not just admit that some people like them and have them - either exclusively or together with uprights...
Yep, I'll admit that...
Arch said:
...a lot of people would like one, but can't afford one, or don't have space for more than just one bike
According to the wikipedia article on them, they only cost 10%-15% more than the equivalently-specced upright bike, so I think that 'can't afford one' is an excuse given by people who don't think they could ride one/can't ride one/are too scared to ride one. 'Don't have space for one' is a similar excuse.
Arch said:
and a lot of people who've never seen one look at them and say "That's cool!".
Yes, exactly. They look at them and think 'that's cool', rather than 'that's how I want to get to work every day.'
Arch said:
You stick to what you like, and stop telling other people what's good and what's bad, especially on subjects you know nothing about.
That's fine - I don't want to come over all like I'm condemning them and that I think all recumbents should be rounded up and burnt at the stake, I don't. But I think these people should know their place - these 'special interest' groups don't seem content with being a novelty and it's when they start trying to come over all mainstream that it gets my goat - it's just a pretence! As far as I'm concerned, recumbents fit in the same category as unicycles and roller skates. They require skill, and yes, they may be fun - but they're never going to be a viable mainstream means of day-to-day transport.
Why are the people who have these weird bikes not content with having something a bit eccentric - why do they have to put on this pretence of being 'the enlightened ones'? It really doesn't help what with the fact that their ego is constantly boosted by all the people who look starry-eyed up at them in awe, saying "ooooooooooh - I wish I had one of those!"
Nope - they're just not stable. Sorry.