Originally Posted by
Sackaroo
VegasTriker — it is interesting that you mentioned a Trike because I found a retailer in Murphesboro TN that sells recumbant and Trike bikes. I am going to finally have a chance to test ride both the two wheel and the trike.
Key question:
All else being equal - What is the speed differential on flat and on uphill climbs between an upright road bike, a trike and a recumbant bike? For example, if the same rider rode each of these bikes in the same conditions, would the upright be 10 percent faster than the recumbant and 25% faster than the Trike?
This isn't a number that you can really pin down, especially in touring conditions.
A recumbent bike would generally have the same approximate rolling resistance as an upright, and (loaded for touring) the weight difference would be negligible. Assuming you could put out the same power in the recumbent position as the upright (which does take a number of miles to adjust), they would be about the same on the hills, and the bent would theoretically be slightly faster on the flats due to the improved aerodynamics.
A trike would be slightly slower uphill, but in theory, hardly noticeable since the slight extra weight wouldn't be significant on a touring loaded machine. And again, the trike would probably be slightly faster on the flats for the same reason as the 2-wheel bent.