Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

I didn't like the lack of maneuverability. Being able to throw one's weight
around to navigate traffic is important for a commuter bike in deadlocked
traffic.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

"oilfreeandhappy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/


Yes I have and it sucked. Your position is to static, dangerous in (heavy)
urban traffic, uphill is a PIA...and you look like a dork ;-)

Lou

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

In article , Lou Holtman
) wrote:

"oilfreeandhappy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/


Yes I have and it sucked. Your position is to static, dangerous in (heavy)
urban traffic, uphill is a PIA...and you look like a dork ;-)

That would explain the number of times I've been killed in sixteen years
of commuting in central London.

Er, hang on...

--
Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
I am Wan, for I am pursued by the Army of Plums.

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
oilfreeandhappy wrote:

I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/


I didn't like the lack of maneuverability. Being able to throw one's weight
around to navigate traffic is important for a commuter bike in deadlocked
traffic.

I think that largely depend on the model, I've ridden swb that are
almost as nimble as diamond frames. Now if you get into the lwb, some of
them can be tricky in traffic, but the rider can learn the limitions of
the bike and do fine.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

Lou Holtman wrote:
"oilfreeandhappy" wrote in message
oups.com...

I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/



Yes I have and it sucked. Your position is to static, dangerous in (heavy)
urban traffic, uphill is a PIA...and you look like a dork ;-)

Lou



The opinion about looking like a dork is just that an opinion, many
non-bikees' look at all cyclist as dorks. Climbing isn't that bad, urban
traffic can be learned.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

I just bought one not too long ago, and I don't think I will buy another
diamond frame again.

Ken
--
A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin
edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs
become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal.
And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling,"
Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

Homepage: http://www.bikesandmoreonline.com/

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

I have ridden 'bents and did not particularly like any of them. They
didn't do anything that my upright didn't do. Solved no problem,
answered no question I had. They did add things to the mix I didn't
like. Tough to see from(particularly behind), tough to be seen on(low),
unique tires, poor climber, tough to ride one handed, no ability to
keep anything in a jersey pocket and actually get at it, heavy,
complicated.

I am sure this will launch a huge thread from those who are religious
about them, I'm out after this post. I think they are great for
somebody that has a physical reason that makes an upright unusable, but
for the rest of riders, an answer to a not asked question.

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?

Me. Wobbly. No sale. --D-y

Has anybody else tried a recumbent?
 

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I test rode a recumbent the other day, and I loved it. I'm hoping to
make it my next toy. Is there anybody out there who has test-ridden
one of these, and actually not liked it?
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

I tried a Lightning P-38 a few years ago. I am glad the shop had a
bike path/wide sidewalk near it. That thing was very twitchy. No
striaght line riding for me in that 3 mile test ride. Maybe after a
few hundred or thousand miles on non car bike paths I could ride it
straight enough to ride it in traffic. Long time for training though.
And of course there is the fact recumbents cost about twice what an
equivalent diamond frame bike costs. The marketers know recumbent
riders will pay anything, and they make sure to get everything out of
their wallets they can.

I'll agree with Mr. Chisholm, recumbents are wonderful for people who
have a physical reason for not riding diamond frame bikes. For people
who have no physical reason preventing them from riding a diamond
frame, why ride a recumbent? Why pay double the money for an
equivalent recumbent bike?