Introduction to Recumbents

[Jacigh]

Good morning and Welcome to "bent riders", a section for those in an up and comming group who ride in the "incline".
This version of HPV offers a solution to the aching hands, wrists, necks, and rear ends! It is a fact that if you try riding a recumbent; especially a trike, you will want one for your own.
Whether you start out simple or go for the high end, these babies are my new life.
I couldn't ride an upright any more due to hand and wrist issues. I can't walk very far due to feet issues. I tried a recumbent trike as a last resort and am now riding 60 miles a week with commuting to work instead of driving.
Life is sweet again.
:-)

[lauraelmore1033]

Hey! Where did this come from?! I don't think there are many "bent" riders here, but it's a start. I bought a recumbent this time last year, after I herniated a disc in my low back (just after having registered for STP and RSVP) and I was desperate to keep up with the training. I'd hoped to ride STP on the recumbent, but discovered it was harder to build up those recumbent legs than I'd planned. I think it's going to happen this year, though.
I hope more recumbent riders chime in here!

[kmehrzad]

Bent rider here. I've owned and sold a variety in the past but two wks ago I bought a used Trident TWIG and am enjoying the ride from a bent angle again. Here's a photo of my Wasabi green TWIG.

[lauraelmore1033]

Very elegant looking bike. Looks like you don't get so much of that SWB feet-higher-than-your-head feeling on hills(which totally freaks me out).
As you can see, this thread is hoppin'.

[kmehrzad]

Very elegant looking bike. Looks like you don't get so much of that SWB feet-higher-than-your-head feeling on hills(which totally freaks me out).
As you can see, this thread is hoppin'.

LOL, yeah it's really a popular thread. Thanks for the compliment on the bike. It isn't that feet-above-your-head type of set up so I can quickly and easily put down when need be. I've owned a Bacchetta Giro in the past which I believe was higher. I feel that the TWIG and I are 'one' with regard to ride set up so am very comfortable on it. Since I've taken this photo of the bike, I've tweaked it even more, pulling the handlebars back a bit and just some fine tuning here and there.

I've ordered a Click Stand for my bike and am anxious to give it a try.

[smilingcat]

Very nice bike. Are you planning to put any sort of front fairing? Just asking because lot do. And is it easier climbing compared to other recumbent?

Besides the regular bikes I own, I have a recumbent trike. It's a dog!! heavy and slow.

[kmehrzad]

Thank you, Smilingcat. I was thinking about a fairing the other day as the wind was blowing against me on my ride. Really need to see where a fairing might attach to the bike and if a Bacchetta Giro fairing would work on the Trident. I've owned a Tour Easy before and had a nice, large fairing for that bent.
I live in Charleston, SC and we have no hills as compared to VA, where I used to live. I'd like to take the TWIG with me on a visit to VA sometime and see how she handles the hills. I imagine she'd do well.
A trike is one bent I've never owned, had friends with trikes but never myself. My love for bents began with a Bike E, then I moved on to a Tour Easy but the handlebar set up caused my hands to numb on long rides. I think after one ride some of my fingers felt numb for days. Sold that bike then got a Ryan Vanguard for a song, she was a classic. Then I bought a Linear LWB, again for a song. I really enjoyed the underseat steering set up, it was such a comfortable position. I then purchased a used Bacchetta Giro and enjoyed that for a time. Sold it to buy a Brompton folding bike, which I've since sold. In January 2016, I was just checking Craigslist for recumbents in my area and someone had the TWIG for sale; decided to look into it and came home with a folding recumbent.

Kathy

Very nice bike. Are you planning to put any sort of front fairing? Just asking because lot do. And is it easier climbing compared to other recumbent?

Besides the regular bikes I own, I have a recumbent trike. It's a dog!! heavy and slow.

[emily_in_nc]

Kathy,

Do you ever have problems with "recumbent butt"? Years ago, I had a Tour Easy (with a fairing!) and really enjoyed it, but I got wicked recumbent butt (really a fatigued feeling that is hard to define) on longer rides. It was also heavy (38 lbs, I believe!) and tough on hills for a small gal, so I ultimately traded it in and went back to an upright. Sometimes I do think of giving a recumbent a try again, though; they sure are fun, especially on the flats!

[kmehrzad]

Kathy,

Do you ever have problems with "recumbent butt"? Years ago, I had a Tour Easy (with a fairing!) and really enjoyed it, but I got wicked recumbent butt (really a fatigued feeling that is hard to define) on longer rides. It was also heavy (38 lbs, I believe!) and tough on hills for a small gal, so I ultimately traded it in and went back to an upright. Sometimes I do think of giving a recumbent a try again, though; they sure are fun, especially on the flats!

Emily,

I believe the Tour Easy did give me recumbent butt as well as numb hands/fingers. It's all in the positioning of the handlebars and seat, really. I don't like to be too reclined on my bents yet when you're too upright that's when you have the pressure on the butt. Gotta find the fine line that works best for you. I really LOVED the underseat steering position where my hands were relaxed by my side. On my current bent, the TWIG's steering tube pulls back to a rather comfortable position so that I'm not reaching, however, I haven't tried riding long distances with this bike yet. I need to find a nice, paved trail where I feel safe riding. The feeling of safe riding isn't what I've experienced on Charleston, SC roads or I just haven't found them yet.

Find a nice bike shop that specializes in bents them give them a try. I like Bikes at Vienna in Vienna, VA; Tim, the owner, knows his stuff and they have so many options to try.

Where are you living now? I remember years ago you were in NC then you moved to Costa Rica(?), I think?

Kathy

[emily_in_nc]

Emily,

I believe the Tour Easy did give me recumbent butt as well as numb hands/fingers. It's all in the positioning of the handlebars and seat, really. I don't like to be too reclined on my bents yet when you're too upright that's when you have the pressure on the butt. Gotta find the fine line that works best for you. I really LOVED the underseat steering position where my hands were relaxed by my side. On my current bent, the TWIG's steering tube pulls back to a rather comfortable position so that I'm not reaching, however, I haven't tried riding long distances with this bike yet. I need to find a nice, paved trail where I feel safe riding. The feeling of safe riding isn't what I've experienced on Charleston, SC roads or I just haven't found them yet.

Find a nice bike shop that specializes in bents them give them a try. I like Bikes at Vienna in Vienna, VA; Tim, the owner, knows his stuff and they have so many options to try.

Where are you living now? I remember years ago you were in NC then you moved to Costa Rica(?), I think?

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

We are in Florida at the moment but are living full-time in an RV now, so we have no fixed home base but are following warm weather. :-) We did live in NC, my home state, for many years, moved to Belize, moved back, traveled all over the US, spent a year in Mexico, and have just moved back to the US as of January. We get around.

A 'bent is not currently in the plan for financial reasons (we just bought the RV and lots of stuff to outfit it). I have three bikes I love and am really just musing since sometimes I think I'd like to try a 'bent again. But it probably won't be until we settle down somewhere for a longer time. Right now we are limited in how many bikes we can carry along.

We bought our Tour Easies and a Ryan recumbent tandem we owned years ago, in Mt. Airy, MD (Larry Black). Great selection of "alternative" bikes and good place to test ride!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Perhaps one day I will join you in bent riding again!

[kmehrzad]

Hi Kathy,

We are in Florida at the moment but are living full-time in an RV now, so we have no fixed home base but are following warm weather. :-) We did live in NC, my home state, for many years, moved to Belize, moved back, traveled all over the US, spent a year in Mexico, and have just moved back to the US as of January. We get around.

A 'bent is not currently in the plan for financial reasons (we just bought the RV and lots of stuff to outfit it). I have three bikes I love and am really just musing since sometimes I think I'd like to try a 'bent again. But it probably won't be until we settle down somewhere for a longer time. Right now we are limited in how many bikes we can carry along.

We bought our Tour Easies and a Ryan recumbent tandem we owned years ago, in Mt. Airy, MD (Larry Black). Great selection of "alternative" bikes and good place to test ride!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Perhaps one day I will join you in bent riding again!

Emily,

You're living the good life, so it seems. I'd love to travel around in an RV and when my DH retires, I hope that'll be on our bucket list. I almost made it to FL a couple wks ago to meet up with my photography forum for a photo shoot in the Everglades, however, I caught a cold right before the trip and decided to postpone the trip for when I felt better. I love the Everglades for birding, gator watching and photography in general. Also like to ride the Shark Valley Trail and take pics along the way. If you get down to the glades do consider riding that trail, it's amazing. http://bikeflorida.net/sharkvalley_everglades_trail.htm

Do you own folding bikes for the convenience of transport? I have three folders at the moment (2 Dahons and one Citizen) and used to own a Bike Friday New World Tourist and a Brompton, both which have been sold. My go-to bikes are the Dahons since they're well made, in my opinion, lightweight and very affordable.

I'm familiar with Mt. Airy Bikes, having lived in MD and No VA. In fact I took one of Larry's Tour Easy's out for a test ride along the country roads of Mt. Airy before buying my TE. I'd also done a group ride or two that Larry hosted in Washington, DC -- the Moonlight Monument Ride. It was a fun time as we rode along DC streets on a weeknight, so the streets were fairly quiet, going from monument to monument.

Kathy

[emily_in_nc]

You're living the good life, so it seems. I'd love to travel around in an RV and when my DH retires, I hope that'll be on our bucket list. I almost made it to FL a couple wks ago to meet up with my photography forum for a photo shoot in the Everglades, however, I caught a cold right before the tripand decided to postpone the trip for when I felt better. I love the Everglades for birding, gator watching and photography in general. Also like to ride the Shark Valley Trail and take pics along the way. If you get down to the glades do consider riding that trail, it's amazing. http://bikeflorida.net/sharkvalley_everglades_trail.htm

That sounds nice (well, except for the gators!) We aren't planning on heading south, though. We are parked in a campground in Winter Garden, west of Orlando, and will eventually be heading north from here in a general path towards my mother's home in western NC, to pick up our other bikes and more of our stuff (tools, etc.) that we need in the RV. We will not head that way until it warms up, though; it's been cold for us here! There are great bike trails here: the West Orange Trail and the Lake trail in Lake County (we're very close to the county line so can go in either direction). Lake County even has hills, which was a surprise. Both trails are just gorgeous, well-maintained, wide, and not crowded during the week.

Yes, we are living the good life (OUR good life, wouldn't work for everyone). We get restless if we settle down anywhere for too long, so this works for us for now. We are amazed how many other folks are living nomadically these days, not only in RVs. During our year of travel in the US, we rented condos and homes through VRBO and Airbnb, but that was a bit more difficult as we had to find pet friendly accommodations for our dog AND within our budget, which limited our selection and places we could go quite a bit. Now we have more options.

Do you own folding bikes for the convenience of transport? I have three folders at the moment (2 Dahons and one Citizen) and used to own a Bike Friday New World Tourist and a Brompton, both which have been sold. My go-to bikes are the Dahons since they're well made, in my opinion, lightweight and very affordable.

You have a lot of bikes! We originally bought the Bike Fridays in 2004 to do a self-supported tour in upstate NY, and yes, we wanted them for ease of transport. Since then we've mostly used them as our utility bikes, to haul groceries, etc. And we took them to Mexico and back in their suitcases on the plane. Love them for that! But that was actually the first time we'd flown with them. Before we'd folded them into their soft-sided bag and carried them in our various cars.

I'm familiar with Mt. Airy Bikes, having lived in MD and No VA. In fact I took one of Larry's Tour Easy's out for a test ride along the country roads of Mt. Airy before buying my TE. I'd also done a group ride or two that Larry hosted in Washington, DC -- the Moonlight Monument Ride. It was a fun time as we rode along DC streets on a weeknight, so the streets were fairly quiet, going from monument to monument.

That sounds like a blast!

[kmehrzad]

Actually the gators weren't so bad, they stayed where they were yet it was amazing to see them up close and personal. Ah, so you're in Winter Garden, it's lovely there as well. Really, I don't think you could go wrong with staying anywhere in FL.

So you'll be going back north eventually to pick up some of your things? Good idea to wait til the weather warms up. Nice that you weren't there when they had their recent ice storm. I was following the temps in south FL and at the time I was supposed to go in January the temps weren't looking all that great. I'm considering mid March now and the temperature should be somewhat warmer by then. Glad that you're enjoying the bike trails there in Central FL.

I oftentimes ride my bike through the local park's campground, James Island County Park, and view the various camper/RV set ups. I've gotten some good ideas for hopefully when time comes my DH and I can rent an RV and do some touring. I like using VRBO and AirBnB as well and have always had good experiences with both. My daughter uses Airbnb on her trips to Europe and has also had good experiences. Yes, with an RV you can almost pick up and go from place to place and stay as long as you like ... having a little more flexibility with your house on wheels.

My husband says I own TOO Many bikes, but I continue reminding him that each one has their own purpose.

Yes, riding the Moonlight rides through DC or just along the W&OD trail, which I used to live off of in VA, is a lot of fun. I'd never go alone but with a group, and we always had a good time.

Enjoy the warmer temps of FL, Emily, and safe travels ahead.

Kathy