Recommend me a tourer, please!

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Ashtrayhead

Über Member
Location
Belvedere, Kent.
As a retirement present to myself (in 2 weeks time), I intend to get a new bike for touring and for a change would like to have a go at a recumbent, possibly a trike, but have never ridden one before. With the expected time that I'll have on my hands I want to do some touring around the British Isles and next year I plan to cycle to Greece and do a tour of the Greek Islands.

Can you help and point me in the right direction?
Will it be suitable for hilly terrain? I'm not the best at going up hills on my uprights so will it be easier or harder lying down?
Plus can they tow a trailer?

I'm sure I'll have loads more questions so please bear with me if I sound a bit dim on this subject!

By the way, I'm not sure of my budget yet but I'm willing to fork out for something decent and reliable that will last a few thousand miles!,
 

LeeW

Well-Known Member
The best thing to do will be to ride as many 'bents as you can. For trikes both the Trice T or catrike expedition are often recommended for touring. For two wheels the HP velo streetmachine is a highly regarded tourer.

What kind of touring are you planning, traditional touring with camping gear etc or light touring (AKA credit card touring).

Recumbents, particularly trikes are often heavier than traditional bikes thus are generally slower up hills. With a trike though it does not matter how fast you go up hills as do not have to maintain a minimum speed needed for balance.

I have a fujin SLII which is lightweight (19lbs) but it is only really suitable for c/card touring and is not made for heavy loads.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
It's a big choice. Unlike DFs there is no one design settled on over many years.

Riding two wheel 'bents fully loaded is certainly possible but low speed balance for climbing is an aquired art, don't expect to do it straight away. I may be an exception in that I found after I'd had my AZUB-4 for two years that I had a balance problem but it took me a couple of months to feel secure in bottom gear on a hill. Stopping and particularly restarting on a steep hill is more difficult the higher your bottom bracket is in relation to the seat.

Trikes on the other hand climb more securely, can stop and restart anywhere and can run much lower gears if big hills are your thing.

From a transport point of view a two wheel 'bent is only a little more difficult than a DF to put in a car or on a train. a trike is more problematic. My ICE QNT will break down and fold small enough to go into the back of a Smart car along with a Brompton, BUT it is easier to do as I do and roll it into the back of my Renault Scenic once the rear seats are removed! My Kettwiesel is plain BIG and while it goes into the Scenic if anything easier than the QNT and will stand on its tail given enough headroom it is not easily boken down for transport.

My choice, if I was allowed to ride two wheels again, would be a trike for touring and a bike for shorter day rides. You can gear down to 10" quiet easily on a trike and with that climb almost anything, given time. I use a 14" bottom gear and stop/start on steep hills of say 1 in 5 or steeper, this eventually gets me to the top!
If I was fully loaded for a tour I'd be looking at getting a lower bottom gear! I rode with a 15" bottom gear on my AZUB-4 and I feel a lower gear on two wheels would be unusable due to loss of sufficient speed to maintain balance! While you can easily push a two wheeler up steep hills remember stopping and dismounting may be a problem.

Finally as ever with 'bents. Do try as many types of 'bents as you can. Try D Tek in Ely for secodhand 'bents. Kevin will allow you to try as many as you like.
 

squeaker

Über Member
Location
Steyning
A few thoughts

Ashtrayhead said:
Will it be suitable for hilly terrain? I'm not the best at going up hills on my uprights so will it be easier or harder lying down?
Harder, IME :sad: Bents are heavier, but the recumbent position seems to result in some sustained power limitation (I read 10% somewhere, due to the blood circulation changes) plus it's difficult to recruit other muscle groups (unlike standing up on a DF bike). For example, on my lightly loaded Grasshopper (tourer) I use around 23GI on my local steep hill, whereas I can struggle up on 34GI on my similarly loaded folder. One end's up spinning on a 'bent, rather than 'honking' out of the saddle.

Ashtrayhead said:
Plus can they tow a trailer?
Oh yes: to my mind, a trike + 2- wheeled trailer is a neat way of carrying a lot of kit.

Ashtrayhead said:
By the way, I'm not sure of my budget yet but I'm willing to fork out for something decent and reliable that will last a few thousand miles!,
As others have said, take your time and try and ride as many as possible. D-Tek has a good reputation for S/H range + some new models. Suggest you try a trike like an ICE 'T' to start with, to see how you get on in the recumbent position, but there's a risk that you will never get around to trying 2-wheels ;)
Have fun :smile:
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Bear in mind that a 'bent might not end up being what you want. Some disadvantages might be that you'll get far more attention than some people want or are able to handle, the extra weight and the slight extra difficulty in getting on and off quickly.

For me 'bents are excellent, and everything I love about cycling. The disadvantages don't really impact me, and the advantages work well for my particular usage and my personal likings.
 

arallsopp

Post of The Year 2009 winner
Location
Bromley, Kent
Howdo.

I have an SMGTe (Streetmachine in Aluminium) that I use for a daily commute and the odd London 2 Paris run / week abroad. Compared to a similar priced upright, its certainly not light, but it does carry 4 panniers without a grumble or wobble.

Mine has a 3 speed hub in the rear, which simplifies gear selection considerably (do it when you're parked, rolling forwards, peddling backwards, whatever). If you want to do self supported touring, you could look around for the older steel framed streetmachine. One of those, with a rohloff in the back would get you up pretty much anything, and should be pretty much bulletproof.

In my experience, the lighter the bike, the trickier it is to maintain. Rohloffs weigh plenty, but that's a good thing here. Steel frames are heavier than alu, but you stand more chance of a roadside fix via friendly mechanic with steel.

That said, I will confess to adding a lightweight Furai to my stable. :smile:

I'm not that far from you really, so PM me if you want to meet up and get a quick squizz at the bike. No, I'm not selling. :smile:
 

Andy in Sig

Vice President in Exile
I've got a Rohloff equipped Street Machine and I can't imagine touring on anything else except maybe the Scorpion trike from the same firm (HP Velotechnik). I would definitely recommend having a go on a Street Machine.
 
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Ashtrayhead

Ashtrayhead

Über Member
Location
Belvedere, Kent.
Thanks for all the replies and advice! There's certainly plenty to mull over! And cheers for the pro's and cons. I think if I don't have a go at trying one out now, then I never will, so I'll grab the oportunity while I can!

Catrike, I can't get onto your website from my home computer but was able to at work and I must say your Expedition looks very nice! I'm off this coming weekend so I should think I'll pop down and have a look!
 

carolhague

New Member
Location
Derbyshire
LeeW said:
The best thing to do will be to ride as many 'bents as you can.

I agree very much with this - there's so much more variation in recumbents than there is in upright bikes and it's a really good idea to try as many as you can to get the best idea of which one will suuit your particular needs.


LeeW said:
Recumbents, particularly trikes are often heavier than traditional bikes thus are generally slower up hills. With a trike though it does not matter how fast you go up hills as do not have to maintain a minimum speed needed for balance.

There's also the question of comfort - I find that while I may be a bit slower on my trike that on my upright bike, I can ride it for longer at a time and thus cover more ground - on an upright I could manage about thirty miles maximum before the pain in my hands, wrists and shoulders became too much for me - on the trike I can carry on until I run out of energy ;)

Rob and I have a Greenspeed or two in the garage if you fancy trying one :smile:

Carol
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
Carol has it right there. Comfort is something we 'bent riders begin to take for granted after a while. I often go a whole day out without leaving the seat of my QNT except for a brief 'commune with nature' stop. I have even been known to take a nap while safely parked up off road.
 

arallsopp

Post of The Year 2009 winner
Location
Bromley, Kent
byegad said:
Comfort is something we 'bent riders begin to take for granted after a while. I often go a whole day out without leaving the seat of my QNT. I have even been known to take a nap while safely parked up off road.

True enough. I try not to sleep on the SMGTe (or at least to limit this to nice wide descents) but yes, I'd totally forgotten how comfortable the 'bent is compared to the bikes it replaced.

Yes, it is a little more awkward to get on/off, but there's little reason to bother. Typical ride meets around my way see mixed DFs and 'bents hooking up. You can tell the DF riders apart easily, as they pull up to the start point, then get off and wait until we're about to leave before hopping back onto the saddle. The 'bent riders roll in and stay in the seat.

I think the DFs attribute this to 'bents being a faf to park and dismount. Partly true, but it rarely occurs to me to get off.
 
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