Originally Posted by
BlazingPedals
In my experience, if someone gets a recumbent solely for speed, they will usually be disappointed at first and not follow through long enough to see the benefit. They quit, go back to uprights, and tell everyone that bents are really slow.
The real question is if YOU will be faster. The best answer I can give is that riding a lowracer is like having a paceline of 3 of you pulling you everywhere. If you're all riding at 15 mph, that won't help much. But if you're pulling you at 23 mph, it will.
Totally agreed with this. While some riders will be faster on certain terrain on a 'bent, that shouldn't be the primary motivator. The aero advantage doesn't really kick in until you start getting into higher speeds, and not so many people have the legs to do that. The real reason to do it is it's fun.
If you wanted to compare a touring bike with dropdown bars vs a LWB recumbent set up for touring, the 'bent will be faster except when you're going uphill. The LWB and touring bike will be faster than the trike in practically all conditions. That doesn't make the trike a bad ride -- they're tons of fun and the seating position gives you a panoramic view. Moreover, when you're only a few inches over the ground, it makes it seem like you're going faster and the connection with the road and everything around. Trikes are fun at any speed, even very low ones.
A 'bent suitable for touring will give you a panoramic view, a few mph more than the trike, and probably a couple more than the touring bike in anything not involving climbs. However, 'bents limit which muscles you use much more than the touring bike which allows you to stand, sit, or shift forward and back. The LWB recumbent has a huge turning radius and is not nimble at all -- the handling is totally different But definitely a great way to go for long days. My hot rod is a highracer which I love and is pictured below. Faster than anything you're considering and good on climbs, but I wouldn't recommend it for touring as both your legs and neck really need to be conditioned for long days.
The drop bar touring bike is not as fun in many ways as either the trike or the LWB 'bent, but is the most versatile of the three. It's a solid choice, even if it is boring. Based on the vibe I've been picking up off you, I'd recommend at least taking a LWB for a test ride.
