Allister

This is the first time I've delved into the recumbent forum here, so I apologise if this question has been asked before.

I'm considering a recumbent for my next bike. It'll be used primarily for commuting through fairly thick traffic, so I'm thinking of something two wheeled and with a reasonably high position - something like a Challenge Mistral or Sieran. The trouble is, my wife Mary seems to think that I'll be killed the instant I set tread to tarmac. I'm well aware of the 'freak' factor that bents stand out and drivers give more room, unfortunately, since I've never ridden one, she's not inclined to believe me.

So I'm asking: Convince her for me.

bnet1

Same town, same streets, same traffic. On my DF I've been repeatedly crowded, cut off, honked at when queing up at intersections, sworn at, flipped off. On my recumbent I've pretty consistently been given room, not honked at when queing up at intersections, and have had people roll down their windows and provide positive comments. On the recumbent I was cut off once while qued up wating for a light change. This old broad crosses over a double yellow into an opposing lane then turns back into my lane placing her vehicle at a 45 degree angle to me. She almost hit my front wheel in the process and effectively cuts me off. I was stopped when this was happening, as she was trying to jump the que. I rode her bumper all the way through town grinning in her rear view mirror. This was the only time I've been actually cut off when on the 'bent. Once I'm in the country I always see people working in their yards wave to me. Never happened on the DF. I do have a flag on the 'bent that is set to eyeball height of the typical SUV driver. Good luck. I think once you go 'bent you will probably not look back but instead wonder why you didn't do it earlier!

BlazingPedals

I can back up bnet1's experience. A 'standard' SWB, as opposed to a lowracer, would be a good choice for heavy traffic. It'll put you eye to eye with most car drivers, which is high enough to be seen by all who are looking. Due to the 'alien factor,' normal drivers will tend to give you a bit more room, and the brain-dead ones will sometimes be miraculously revived by your unusual appearance. So you can expect to have less problems when riding a recumbent, not more.

Just don't expect to do any curb-hopping to get around tie-ups.

norton

1....Change the subtext of your BF name from "Devilmaycare Cycling Fool" to "Serge ******* Vehicular Cyclist".....

2.....Join me in forming a new group......"Hen-pecked Husbands Rights to Recumbency....at Home & Away".....




I too lust for a recumbent.....sort of a late-life crisis......My current fixation is the Challenge Mistral SL....or perhaps a Reynolds Weld Labs T-Bone.....(Don't mention the T-Bone to your wife!)....


Later this week, I'm planning to drive 350 miles to the Bicycle Man in western New York to test-ride a Challenge, Reynolds or whatever other sinuous beauty he may have on hand....


My wife doesn't object to a recumbent on grounds I might be killed in traffic.....In fact, I sometimes wonder.....
No.....She objects for financial reasons...."You already have an expensive bicycle.....You don't need another....I can think of lots of good, practical, boring things I can do with that money.....Mr. Toad...."


Only on BikeForums, would I learn that I have a doppelganger on the other side of the earth.....

Paul L.

I second the wife doesn't like the cost. I have a pretty good argument though since commuting saves me around $2000 dollars a year in gas anyway, especially with gas averaging over $2.00 a gallon now. I am looking at a high racer so I am visible and can still go fast to save time (Commute is 25 mi one way so speed is essential), I am lucky in that I have 2 recumbent shops within an hour and a half. The closer one is smaller but the farther one supposedly has a huge inventory so I am heading down there at the end of the month to test ride a strada and a force 5.

norton

Alas.....I'm retired....So the commuting savings no longer has much impact.....

My wife's idea of outdoor exercise is yardwork & gardening....."Where do you need to go?......We have enough for you to do.....right here...."



Exactly.....

BlazingPedals

LOL - Tell her that instead of biking you want to take up fishing. You'll need a new boat with trailer, and big vehicle to tow it, gear, licenses, drive long distances to actually go fishing, etc... Or pick some other sport requiring expensive equipment.

All winter long I see people who live in Detroit doing this with their snowmobiles. Monster SUV hauling 4 snowmobiles to their cabin 300 miles north (where there's snow) every weekend. Compared to that, buying a $5000 recumbent and riding locally is dirt cheap.

It's easy for me to get the 'OK' on recumbent spending, I just have to squeeze the money out of the budget after the wife's horses eat most of it.

norton

....$5000!!.....I've been steeling myself to the $3800 a Mistral SL goes for.....Maybe a riding mower with a nice cushy seat......I could get into some sort of mower racing league.....My wife would think I was going out to do yardwork......mutter..mutter...

BlazingPedals

Heh heh! I only threw that out so you'd have lots of wiggle room. I could have quoted $700, but then you'd be stuck riding a Sun EZSport! As it is, you're 'saving' $1200 by getting a cheaper bent.

norton

Bless you!.....Just the kind of thinking I need....

Allister

Thanks guys. I think I've got her convinced about the safety aspects. I think she was assuming I would get a trike or something.

But yeah, the money will be a big hurdle. We've got to paint the house this year, and we're probably going to build a deck too. Maybe next year I can swing it, or the one after. :sigh:

There's no recumbent shops in the whole state as far as I know, which sucks, so test riding various models will be a problem. I may end up just plumping for a Flying Furniture Tour, which'll be about as much as I can justify. It's ugly, but seems practical, and is 'locally' made. It does come with a tailbox and rolltop bags as standard though. Anyone recommend one of these?

BlazingPedals

I don't know anything about them, but from the pic I'd say the frame looks a little bit flexy. If you or a friend are handy with a brazing torch, you can make a reasonable bent out of an old upright frame and a few parts. I have a pic of my homebuilt in the 'homebuilt highracer' thread. Mine's made out of *really* old dept store bikes, but you could just as easily make one out of good stuff.

bnet1

BlazingPedals, I sypathize with you on the horses and the budget. Convince the Mrs. to switch to minis. They don't eat as much and are just as much fun. Nothing quite like riding up the driveway being "escorted" by a herd of the small horses. Ony bad thing is when "mine" come nosing in my pockets for treats. They can sure get pushy!

Allister, keep us informed of your 'bent search.

Allister

Looks good.

I considered that option a few years ago, but never got around to it. I've still got a few reasonably good Giant MTB frames stashed under the house though, so if I ever meet anyone with a brazing setup, maybe I'll do that until I can get a 'real' one.

Does that boom flex much under power?

BlazingPedals

Not with my power output anyway! I forget the size tubing we used, but it is somewhere around 1.5 inches. I say "we" because I found a friend to do the welding. The boom was the only place that got 'new' steel instead of old used frame pieces. It's an adjustable boom, BTW.

erik forsgren

I totally agree and I would only add that I regret that I didn't know of Mochet's excellent velocar in the late fifties when I was a child. I f so I would probably never had ridden an upright at all.

Spuds McDoogle

Cars are not the problem with recumbents. Add a flag, reflective tape and lights to a recumbent and drivers in cars will see you.

One of the big problems for recumbent riders are the dangerous "wannabe racer" recumbent riders that pretend to race at century and recreational tour rides. People like that blow thru stop signs and traffic lights. They create a hazard for cyclist with their immature antics.

Buy a recumbent and enjoy the ride. If you see someone on a recumbent endangering the lives of other cyclist on the road or bike trail call the local authorities and report it. The dangerous "racer wannabe" cyclists do not belong on the roads with their childish antics. The sooner they have their recumbents taken away with a fine or jail time the better off it will be for all cyclist who share the roads.

Spuds