How Many Recumbents Have You Actually Seen on the Road?

[Ming the Merciless]

People look at the bike and trike next to each other, and don't think about how much the rider adds to the overall width of a bike. They also tend not to see that the handlebars are just as wide as the track of the paired wheels.

But how many people have said this to you. What sample size are you basing your comments on?

 

[a.twiddler]

Regardless of perceived width, having ridden recumbent bikes and trikes I have observed that other traffic gives you plenty of room. I have no experience of upright trikes but I would imagine that their rarity and "differentness" also causes other vehicle drivers to be wary of them. I've come to accept this phenomenon to the extent that it's a bit of a shock when I get (relatively) close passed on the rare occasions that I ride an upright bicycle.

 

[rydabent]

A large percentage of us that ride trikes find that traffic gives us a wide berth. A lot of drivers think a trike is some sort of handicap device, and dont want their name in the paper as having had hit a handicap person.

 

[rydabent]

One note about recumbents is the fact that a lot of us older riders of bents have switched over to trikes. I would venture to say these days, more trikes are sold than bents.

 

[404 Not Found Anywhere]

I went out on my Fuego for the first time in quite a while. Compared to the DF ride I took last week I was reminded that it’s far faster, my neck doesn’t seize up, and my legs felt satisfyingly worked out. Being a Sunday there were a few cyclists out, on a set of rolling hills I was amazed how fast I caught up with them and how quickly they shrunk in my mirror. I’ve run it with aerobars for a few years now and whilst they are good for control going at low speed and uphill I am prone to the wobbles at speed in a way that I wasn’t with the hamster bars. I might switch them back because it’s a bit disconcerting. And compared to my trikes, starting off is a non-trivial issue and I had a couple of false starts towards the end of the ride when I was probably a bit tired and hypoglycaemic. I nearly sold the bike last year, I’m so glad I didn’t! Faster and further than on my ancient but sporting DF, and that’s not accounting for the stops on the latter to ease my neck out, or the protracted agony afterwards. Vive la vélo couché!

 

[404 Not Found Anywhere]

I went out on my Fuego for the first time in quite a while. Compared to the DF ride I took last week I was reminded that it’s far faster, my neck doesn’t seize up, and my legs felt satisfyingly worked out. Being a Sunday there were a few cyclists out, on a set of rolling hills I was amazed how fast I caught up with them and how quickly they shrunk in my mirror. I’ve run it with aerobars for a few years now and whilst they are good for control going at low speed and uphill I am prone to the wobbles at speed in a way that I wasn’t with the hamster bars. I might switch them back because it’s a bit disconcerting. And compared to my trikes, starting off is a non-trivial issue and I had a couple of false starts towards the end of the ride when I was probably a bit tired and hypoglycaemic. I nearly sold the bike last year, I’m so glad I didn’t! Faster and further than on my ancient but sporting DF, and that’s not accounting for the stops on the latter to ease my neck out, or the protracted agony afterwards. Vive la vélo couché!

PS I didn’t see any other recumbents except me reflected in a shop window!