Toe dipping, best bent

[GuyY]

I have a Seiran 24 with 47-507 tires, underseat stearing, and the seat angled up as much as possible. This gives me a relatively safe/steady ride and it feels a good straight line machine, tight curves however.... A recumbent with 20" narrow tires, above seat stearing, and a raked back seat seems to do the opposite (having experienced minor adrenaline rushes with a bike in that combination at London Recumbents). My previous recumbent (that some skallywag nicked from work) had a 26"/20" combination and felt more manoverable at lower speeds than my Seiran, probably due to the 20" front. It was lighter as well and the difference in weight (with some contribution from the tire size differences) seems quite noticeable in terms of acquiring momentum on the road. So go for light and then either safe or twitchy! Well that's my ha'penny's worth.

 

[swscotland bentrider]

I've tried a few 'bent bikes and owned four. All had above seat steering. Two had 'tiller' steering which I eventually rejected in favour of a more conventional set up. My current bike is a Giro 20. Of them all this is the most stable and everyday usable bike. My test is to achieve a state where I use a bike 'unthinkingly' like I do with my Thorn Sherpa. The Giro is not particularly fast but it is comfortable with a springy steel frame that acts like suspension. My trike (an ICE Q26) on the other hand is probably my all round favourite.

 

[NickM]

My test is to achieve a state where I use a bike 'unthinkingly' like I do with my Thorn Sherpa...

That's a good test. My Kingcycle certainly passes it for pleasure cycling, but for commuting I'm still riding an upright. I find that I read traffic better from saddle height, and my neck and shoulders can tolerate about 45 minutes of upright cycling at one go!