Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with all
the pros and cons of recumbents.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep hill,
and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact, there is
nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't involve at
least one hill.

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

"Andre Jute" wrote...

Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Your difficulties in finding a bike porperly suited for you
are taking you very far... :-)

I don't have any personal experience on recumbents, but
these guys have used them on the Alps and claim that
nothing can be better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoU_JmCL_k4
the whole video is definitely worth wathcing!

[...]
Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

bye
Gennaro, who's also been considering recumbents and
pondering about bike lights lately...

On Nov 25, 7:42*am, "Gennaro" wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote...
Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Your difficulties in finding a bike porperly suited for you
are taking you very far... :-)

I don't have any personal experience on recumbents, but
these guys have used them on the Alps and claim that
nothing can be better:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoU_JmCL_k4
the whole video is definitely worth wathcing!

[...]

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

bye
Gennaro, who's also been considering recumbents and
pondering about bike lights lately...

I have tried the fuly reclined type shown in the video, and while I
believe the position is better for maximal exertion required for
climbing, I found it to be a strain on the neck to keep my head tilted
to see forward.
I prefer the more upright position that my recumbent affords. I am
able to climb quite steep inclines, even pulling a loaded Bob trailer.
http://i15.tinypic.com/867vqps.jpg
Of course, climbing is accomplished with raw power, essentially doing
leg presses with the back braced against the seat back. The drawback
of this more upright position is that the torso is less open, and
breathing is a bit more difficult. The more excess weight one carries
about the mid section, the more pronounced this effect.
Speaking strictly for myself though, I can power up hills faster and
easier on my 'bent than on any of my uprights.
Dan Burkhart

On Nov 25, 5:19*am, Andre Jute wrote:
Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with all
the pros and cons of recumbents.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep hill,
and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact, there is
nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't involve at
least one hill.

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

This couldn't be any less factual or much more anecdotal, but since my
experience with 'bents has been so limited, it's what I've got.

Example 1: Growing up, I lived near a famous retired NHL player and
coach. He had a ‘bent. A buddy of mine did his landscaping and he
let us borrow his canoe and launch from his back yard, so I talked to
him on occasion. He told me how much he loved the bike and how fast
it was. He also told me that he was careful to plan routes to avoid
hills, as going uphill with it was a bear.

Example 2: Earlier this year I was riding home, on a slight incline,
when a bent rider pulled out from a side street about ½ mile to 1 mile
ahead of me going the same direction. I was curious to see the bike,
so I poured a little mustard on it and got myself moving. The hill
got a bit steeper going over an overpass, and he was moving very, very
slowly. I don’t think he even knew I was behind him closing the gap.
No visible mirror, and he certainly didn’t turn around. I had closed
the gap considerably when he got to the top of the overpass, and he
may as well have grown a motor on that decline. I was in my top gear,
in the drops, spinning my legs and he was pulling away from me like I
was out of gas. I ran into a friend walking her dog about a mile down
the road, and asked if she’d seen him. She said he “flew by”, and he
was far enough ahead of me she was surprised I knew he was on the road
at all.

On Nov 25, 5:55 am, " wrote:
On Nov 25, 5:19 am, Andre Jute wrote:

Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with all
the pros and cons of recumbents.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep hill,
and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact, there is
nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't involve at
least one hill.

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

This couldn't be any less factual or much more anecdotal, but since my
experience with 'bents has been so limited, it's what I've got.

Example 1: Growing up, I lived near a famous retired NHL player and
coach. He had a ‘bent. A buddy of mine did his landscaping and he
let us borrow his canoe and launch from his back yard, so I talked to
him on occasion. He told me how much he loved the bike and how fast
it was. He also told me that he was careful to plan routes to avoid
hills, as going uphill with it was a bear.


Sorry, I just have to ask: How does the NHL factor into any of this?
The canoe? Backyard?

On Nov 25, 2:19 am, Andre Jute wrote:
Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?


Obviously there is no precise value.

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with all
the pros and cons of recumbents.


Obviously all the pros and cons would not be covered.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep hill,
and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact, there is
nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't involve at
least one hill.


Why don't you just test ride one or more of them? Maybe you should
get a cow that can walk up the hill bringing milk to where you are.

On Nov 25, 11:08*am, Dan O wrote:
On Nov 25, 5:55 am, " wrote:





On Nov 25, 5:19 am, Andre Jute wrote:

Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with all
the pros and cons of recumbents.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep hill,
and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact, there is
nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't involve at
least one hill.

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

This couldn't be any less factual or much more anecdotal, but since my
experience with 'bents has been so limited, it's what I've got.

Example 1: *Growing up, I lived near a famous retired NHL player and
coach. *He had a ‘bent. *A buddy of mine did his landscaping and he
let us borrow his canoe and launch from his back yard, so I talked to
him on occasion. *He told me how much he loved the bike and how fast
it was. *He also told me that he was careful to plan routes to avoid
hills, as going uphill with it was a bear.

Sorry, I just have to ask: *How does the NHL factor into any of this?
The canoe? *Backyard?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Damn, that's my second interaction with the cops in under 24 hours.
Last night it was the environmental cops, now it's the usenet patrol.

It's a basis to attest for the guys physical condition. Most star NHL
players are in pretty good shape, and tend to stay that way. I think
a recently retired NHL star player & coach saying it's a bear to ride
uphill carries a bit more weight than some random overweight desk-
jockey saying it's difficult. A guy who made his entire living in the
NHL tells me something is physically demanding, it's going to carry a
bit more weight with me than your average joe at the bar telling me
the same.

The canoe/backyard was chatter, a basic intro to how I knew and spoke
with this guy. It was also 1 entire sentence. Do you really have
nothing better to do than question if 1 sentence was necessary to
convey a point? Weak.

Hi,

wrote:
[...]

In general I would agree - the little experience I have with 'bents is a
one-hour-test ride on a trike. My impression going up a hill was "I want
a lower gear" - going up is slow, but no problem at all (provided you
have a low enough gear).

So, I'd say, they are slow on uphill, but (especially on trikes) this is
no problem ;-)

With my upright, I do have problems while going uphill with a load - my
lowest gear is still much too high so I have to sprint a bit and then
wait for regeneration, sprint.... 'Bents cannot be worse ;-) With a
trike, get a *low* gear and enjoy ;-)

Ciao...

An old post of mine on BentRiderOnline. Might be of some help:

Regards,
Chris


The debate continues - all of it anecdotal. I've yet to see any posted
race times uphill of bents vs. DFs head to head. i wouldn't say bents
can't climb but I would say that they can't climb as fast. My own
personal test: I ride bents, road bikes, and MTBs and rotate around
quite a bit. Living on the Colorado Front Range, I've done some
massive climbing on Bents including the Mt. Evans Hill Climb Race
(highest paved road in CONUS - 7,000 to 14,000 feet - all up). General
observation - I'm much faster on a DF (and it's not the weight). Last
Spring I decided to do a little test. For 3 weeks I alternately rode
up Lookout Mtn (4 miles all 6-9% grade up) on a recumbent and on my
road bike. I then timed myself all out on each bike. Results: Road
bike 24:45, Recumbent 31:10. This seems pretty consistent with most
other rides I've done. Just one data point but that's been my
experience.

wrote:
On Nov 25, 11:08 am, Dan O wrote:
On Nov 25, 5:55 am, " wrote:





On Nov 25, 5:19 am, Andre Jute wrote:

Precisely how bad is a recumbent at climbing hills?

Let's not have a flame war here but a considered discussion, with
all the pros and cons of recumbents.

I highlight the hillclimbing question because I live on a steep
hill, and my favourite rides are all on hilly lanes; in fact,
there is nowhere I go, not even for a liter of milk that doesn't
involve at least one hill.

Andre Jute
An open mind on the loose is a dangerous device

This couldn't be any less factual or much more anecdotal, but since
my experience with 'bents has been so limited, it's what I've got.

Example 1: Growing up, I lived near a famous retired NHL player and
coach. He had a ‘bent. A buddy of mine did his landscaping and he
let us borrow his canoe and launch from his back yard, so I talked
to him on occasion. He told me how much he loved the bike and how
fast it was. He also told me that he was careful to plan routes to
avoid hills, as going uphill with it was a bear.

Sorry, I just have to ask: How does the NHL factor into any of this?
The canoe? Backyard?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Damn, that's my second interaction with the cops in under 24 hours.
Last night it was the environmental cops, now it's the usenet patrol.

LOL

It's a basis to attest for the guys physical condition. Most star NHL
players are in pretty good shape, and tend to stay that way. I think
a recently retired NHL star player & coach saying it's a bear to ride
uphill carries a bit more weight than some random overweight desk-
jockey saying it's difficult. A guy who made his entire living in the
NHL tells me something is physically demanding, it's going to carry a
bit more weight with me than your average joe at the bar telling me
the same.

Dick-o's a little slow. He can't connect an activity like professional
(hockey) ice-skating to having strong legs and general athleticism. You
show saintly patience explaining this to him.

The canoe/backyard was chatter, a basic intro to how I knew and spoke
with this guy. It was also 1 entire sentence. Do you really have
nothing better to do than question if 1 sentence was necessary to
convey a point? Weak.

Dick-o seldom contributes content. He's got petty, anonymous sniping down
to an art form, however.

HTH!

BS (buggily called)