recumbent riding

I just got my first recumbent (can't ride a regular bike anymore due to neck damage). I hadn't been able to ride at all for over a year. The bike is a long wheelbase Sun EZ1SC-Lite. What a trip! It was like learning how to ride a bike all over again!

I took me about an hour to get the hang of it. Then I rode 10 miles on the recumbent yesterday. I had a great time, but I was really, really slow. About 1/2 of my former pre-neck damage speed. I don't know how much of this is due to not riding at all (I was using a wheelchair some for a while because even walking became difficult) for so long, or how much is due to the different riding position, or how much is due to the heavier weight of the bike (not to mention that I gained 20 lbs myself while I wasn't riding :) ). I really enjoyed being out on the road again!!!!! I will keep riding even if I can't ride with others due to my slowness, but I would sure like to get just a few mph faster.

Does anyone have any insight on how long it takes to get up to reasonable speed on a recumbent? Any tips on how to get faster/climb faster? I will take it out again tomorrow.

You will get faster, but be prepared to put the miles in. Riding a recumbent is almost like learning to ride a bike all over again, and you'll use somewhat different muscles, differently. Some recumbent riders find that they eventually become nearly as fast as on an upright, but that's very individual and depends entirely on the individual and the particular recumbent model (i.e., SWB are faster than LWB for the most part and also lighter).

My particular experience was with a Tour Easy LWB recumbent last year. I am small (105 lbs), and this was a big, heavy bike (38 lbs with all the gear, fairing, etc.) even in the size small frame. I live in a area of rolling hills, and I was definitely slow on this bike on hills. I could scream down them and hold my own on the flats, but the climbs killed me. I rode the bike for about 5 months, including my longest ride of 50 miles, before giving up and getting an upright (Terry Isis, 21 lbs before adding gear). First ride out, I was 2 mph faster. Now, about 9 months after getting the upright, I'm about 4 mph faster than I was on the recumbent.

I probably didn't give it a fair shake or enough time. I was just getting back into cycling after about 5 years, so my legs were not very strong, and I wasn't in good shape aerobically when I started with the recumbent. I have read that you really need to give a recumbent about a year to become fast on it. I wasn't patient enough. I was unable to do club rides because of the "yo-yo effect" (slowest person up every hill, but fast downhill), and that was what I most wanted to do, so I allowed the situation to frustrate me.

So, YMMV of course, and I certainly don't mean to discourage you, but you might find that you'll never be a super fast rider on your recumbent. On the other hand, you're riding, you'll still have fun, get fit, and there are things in life more important than speed, so keep on riding! Good luck!

Emily

I have finally made it into the double-digits for speed. I've learned that the particular model recumbent that I have is several miles per hour slower than the top models of the same brand. Of course the top models cost 4 to 6 times as much! If I can work up to 100K with a couple thousand feet of climbing on my present recumbent I'll probably spring for one of the high-end models.

My 8 conventional bikes sit here unrideable. I know I could probably do 5mph faster for the same effort, but at least I am riding again!

I have gained one more mph in speed, but I'm still too slow to go riding with anyone else. I'm now up to 110 miles, which isn't bad for not having ridden or exercised at all for a full year. I'll just keep plugging away and hope I can get a little bit faster. Does anyone have experience with the high-end long wheelbase recumbents?

They look cool! Have never ridden one though. Google brought up a few sites where you might get some info though. This one has a message board.

Veronica

http://www.bentrideronline.com/