Originally Posted by
robnol
Ive been reading posts about how recumbent are slower on the hills by all the upright riders out there... its true they can be slower on the hills but the uprights refuse to admit how much more aero they are .....I've passed many a paceline on my recumbent.... it seems upright riders can't achieve any real speed or distance solo because of the grossly un aero riding position they ride in.. uprights are better on the hills but recumbent are better on the rest of the road
"Plus you have the comfort and the view. I have both a recumbent and a trike. Any more I almost always ride the trike while in town. No unclipping when you stop, and no wobbling around trying to clip in when you ride off. The fact is a trike has to be the most relaxing way to cycle there is.
I find it amazing how many people are still wed to the 1890 DF bike design. It of course is good for single tracking and mountain biking."
I rode Professor David Wilson's recumbent in 1976, my first year of racing. I knew immediately that with light parts and sewups, that was a fast bike! (and had that confirmed a few times over the next couple of years as I would ride with him as he commuted home from work and I headed out for a training session. I may some day go recumbent. But I am going to wait as long as possible because:
I love the dance. Out of the saddle, rocking the bike, being completely one with the bike while nothing is still or quiet. I love hills. Steep hills, long hills, somewhat less steep hills where that dance on a fix gear is just as sweet. I have a long list of favorite rides with real hills. In my crazy days, I used to ride my fix gear through Oakland, CA and up to Juaquim Miller to Skyline Blvd, turn around and return to the island of Alameda. (No sitting going up that climb. And everybody could go faster down.) All my bikes are set up with handlebars and brake levers to be most comfortable in the dance, not the many more miles I do on the flats.
I'll put up with a lot of shortcomings for the "dance".
And I have raced. I've ridden in the close quarters, rubbed elbows, chatted with and followed wheels in the great sport of racing. Yes, it can be done on recumbents, but I don't think you could have the tight bunching, as much contact and the camaraderie that comes with it on the longer bikes. Safer, yes, but a real something would be lost.
Ben