Rick@OCRR

Hi All,

I've been having Carpal Tunnel and back pains from riding my upright (diamond frame) bikes , so I it was recommended to me by someone in the 50+ Forum (I'm 65) that a recumbent might solve all my problems!



I work for Hollywood Racks and the owner bought this recumbent from J & B (Sun brand) when we were designing our recumbent racks several years ago.

https://www.hollywoodracks.com/bike-racks/hitch-racks/sportrider-hitch-rack-R.htm


Since then it has set in the back of the warehouse collecting dust. Lots of dust! Took me the better part of an hour to wipe it down.

Maybe ridden a couple of laps around the warehouse before, used for photos of the recumbent rack on our website, then abandoned. Until yesterday.

I'm sure this was the longest ride its ever been on. Longest recumbent ride for me too! This is an "entry level" recumbent, just a notch or two above a Wal-Mart bike, or what the cynics call a BSO for Bicycle Shaped Object.

If I end up buying a recumbent it will be lots better on all fronts than this one. But, for free, no problem using this one for a test case ride. And after the ride I was (very much) a different kind of sore.

Different muscle groups in my legs, for sure. Felt lots of little twinges in my legs after the ride. No SPD pedals, so I had to concentrate on keeping my feet on the pedals, and esp. the right place on the pedals. That was tough once fatigue set in!
Starting out from a stop was tough too and esp. so if heading uphill a bit at the same time. Push off with one foot, then stab in the air with the other foot as the other pedal came around and pray for some kind of contact!

First part of the ride was a trip to the bike shop for spare tubes and a Schrader valve pump. Bike uses a 16" front and a 20" rear; that's one of the reasons it looks so funny. Bike shop guy (Frank) calls everyone "Boss" just like Andre the Giant did when filming Princess Bride. Big guy too, so it was kind of funny. He sells Hollywood Racks so we had a good talk about that too.

When I was heading down to Seal Beach I saw my wife Jackie riding with her friends Lynn, Rosanne and Kirstin, heading back home! Kind of fun, if just for a moment. They'd never seen me on a recumbent.

About half way home I started feeling really tired; had trouble keeping my feet on the pedals, really a struggle to make it home. But I did. And I didn't crash, though I did have some awkward start-offs from stops, esp. near the end of the ride.

Here is the ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/498206334


I have been off the bike for a week, but even so, I'm not usually this knackered from this short of a relatively flat ride. Headwind to the beach, tailwind back, as per usual practice.

Bike is too big (long) to commute on and too slow for Tues. night club rides. My usual average speed for the ride I did today is 15 mph or close to that om my fixed gear road bike whereas today it was 12.2 so for sure not fast enough for OCRR rides yet.

Next step is to fit some dual side SPD's and try them out, i.e. see if I can twist-click out with my feet out in front of me instead of down below.

I will say the seat is comfortable and the riding position is not too bad once I get going. Some muscle adaptation will be required too and that will just take time.

May try short rides after work to get my speed and endurance up.

My hope, however, is to just use this recumbent until my shoulder, back, Carpal Tunnel, etc. is all cleared up and I'm back to normal and riding my normal bikes.

I hope I'm not old enough yet to be forced to ride a recumbent for the rest of my life.

Although, big picture, it sure beats not riding at all. Plus, I'm sure it would be faster, better and altogether more fun on a top quality recumbent.

So . . . there you have it; my first recumbent ride report!

Please, experienced recumbent riders, advise with any suggestions as well as obvious (to you but not to me) things I did wrong or should at least have done differently. Most of the ride was on MUP's, Coyote Creek and San Gabriel River Trails for Los Angeles locals (except the bike shop bit which was normal roads with motor traffic).

Rick / OCRR

PS: Should add that I am an experienced diamond frame bike rider; over 12,000 cycling miles in 2015 and I've been riding consistently since '68. I ride road, mountain and fixed gear but this was my first ride of any distance on a recumbent.

Recumbomatic

Glad that your first ride went well! One thing that experienced bent riders do is shift into an easier gear right before every stop. It makes starting back up so much easier.

Tony Marley

Glad you enjoyed the first ride.

SPD pedals make a huge difference on recumbents because you don't have to worry about your feet falling off the pedals.

It does take several weeks or month to develop/train the muscles in your legs and butt that you use on 'bents.

Better quality recumbents will obviously give you a better ride, should you decide to continue riding 'bents.

I still ride upright bikes, in addition to recumbents, but one advantage I recognize with 'bents is that when you are on a long hill or mountain climb, you are looking up/out at the trees and sky instead of looking down at the road 2 meters in front of your front wheel. It is an attitude booster....

BlazingPedals

I think you did very well on a 'first' ride, especially considering that bike is definitely NOT made for speed. You're right about different muscles, too. Anytime you change positions, that happens. It even happens to me when I switch between my own various recumbents, which are fairly close to each other WRT riding position.

rydabent

"forced to ride a recumbent"? I am not forced at all. I ride my LWB bent and my trike by choice. After getting my first bent, a RANS Tailwind, my road bike and mountain bike really never turned a wheel again.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks Tony, The next step will be fitting of SPD mountain bike (dual sided) pedals. I will set them at an easy release until I get used to using them on the recumbent.

Regarding long hill and mountain climbs (and once I get totally used to the SPD's) I will head up to GMR which starts with a 7.6 mile climb before the first descent.
I really enjoy long mountain climbs so I'm anxious to see how they are while riding a recumbent.

Rick / OCRR

downtube42

About pedals. I've heard bad stories about feet slipping off pedals on recumbents. Google "recumbent leg suck". Or just get those SPDs and don't worry any further. FWIW, when riding with friends on DFs, I usually clip in the quickest at a stop light etc. I think this is because the pedal hangs at the perfect angle for me.

rando_couche

"Forced"? I ride my bents because I LIKE 'EM! But they're not "sit down comfort bikes" like that Sun bike. Both are high performance, highly reclined road bikes. One's a "stick bike" highracer, the other's a 20" wheeled, fwd lowracer. Seatbacks are about 20 degrees from horizontal and on the lowracer (Zox 20 Z-frame), my butt is less than a foot off the ground. On a fast twisty downhill it's like riding a luge. Overall, my average speeds are 10+% faster on the 'bents than on my Eddy Merckx df. I live in a hilly area and seek out challenging climbs, so these aren't "flatlander" bikes either.

You owe it to yourself to try out a good fast 'bent. It's a whole nother world!

SP
OC, OR

BlazingPedals

Climbing will be... different. It takes a special recumbent to match the stiffness and weight of a run-of-the-mill road bike. You really can't charge up the mountain, you just have to sit and spin.

Rick@OCRR

Yes BlazingPedals,

I know that this is not a "special recumbent" but rather a "sit down comfort bike" (as rando_couche says) and I expect "sit and spin" will be exactly right. Most of my climbs are in the 5-6% range with occasional jumps up to 7-8%. I would think those would be do-able even if not as fast as my DF bikes.

Hey, if I can't ride it I'll get off and walk, but yes, I'm sure SPD pedals will help . . . Tombay issues or not.

What would you all suggest as a next step up recumbent (one I will have to buy)?

Rick / OCRR

BlazingPedals

If the object is to stay with your buddies, at least most of the time, then a Corsa would be a good choice.

PS - Bentup Cycles in N. Hollywood would be my go-to for a few test rides.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks for the link BlazingPedals, The Corsa looks excellent and reasonably priced too. I like that it takes 700C wheels so many of my wheels would probably fit. I'm not real close to North Hollywood (in Whittier) but I could drive up there some Saturday.

There used to be a recumbent shop a lot closer (Anaheim?) but not sure if they're still in business. Will hone my recumbent skills a bit more on the Sun before stepping up a notch! Fitted the SPD pedals today and managed a short ride after work. Much improved! Also slid the seat back a bit so I get better leg extension.

Taking small steps but learning as I go along. Thanks to all the recumbent forum riders/writers for you help!

Rick / OCRR

BlazingPedals

People Movers used to be down in the Orange area a decade ago. It's long gone.

Rick@OCRR

Yes, that's the one I was remembering. Sorry they're gone!

Rick / OCRR

JanMM

Uphill starts with the bike in a gear just a bit too high can be a challenge for a newcomer on a 'bent! (And for seasoned recumbenteers, too.)
Hope you didn't try to get 'out of the saddle' at any point on your ride.
Good luck on your quest for a suitable bike.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks JanMM, I found that 4th gear gives the proper amount of pressure vs. speed for a level ground start whereas 3rd was the ticket for a slightly uphill start. Still a challenge to my level of coordination to make the start all smooth and linear (as opposed to wobbly and multi-directional) but I'm working on it and can see some (slight!) improvement.

No, didn't try to get out of the saddle but found that crouching down a bit and pressing against the back of the seat with a firm shove produced a similar effect. Like standing on a diamond frame bike, however, I couldn't sustain that effort for long.

Still feeling very much like a new recumbenteer!

Rick / OCRR

BlazingPedals

A mutually-exclusive technique used by many, including me, is 'bridging' where you lift your butt to make a gap. It's strictly short-term, but it lets you recruit more back and glute muscles.

james_v

'bridging' So that's what it's called. Started doing that when I needed more power but didn't know that it was a thing.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks BlazingPedals, I didn't know it was a thing either. Seems like it could be parallel to standing on a DF bike, i.e. short burst of power. Will work on it and see if I can get better at it!

Rick / OCRR

Robert C

On the other hand, I cant even count the number of times I have fallen over on my recumbent because of the SPD pedals. I use the; but I hesitate to recommend them.

I do recommend them for use on a trike, that is where recumbent leg suck can be a serious problem, and there is little risk of falling over on a trike

Rick@OCRR

I installed the SPD's and haven't fallen because of them (yet) but since installing them I notice that I have "knee flop" for want of a better term. I use float on my SPD's on my regular DF bikes but maybe on a recumbent I should ride them with zero float?

My right knee kind of flops over the top tube on every pedal stroke as my left knee flops out to my left and sometimes hits my arm. Or else I don't have the seat far enough back or maybe I'll just uncoordinated.

Rick / OCRR

BlazingPedals

It's possible that you've always had the flop, and it's equally possible that it's being accentuated by the new position. I see lots of upright riders with mis-tracking knees, and they seem to be totally unaware of it. And in the recumbent position, gravity doesn't do the job for you. Work on it, you may be able to strengthen the muscles needed to keep your knees in a nice straight line between hips and pedals. I'd go with float, at least until you can determine if the knees *will* track straight - and if they do you'll still need to figure out the right cleat angle.

Rick@OCRR

Good answer BlazingPedals, You are probably correct in noting that it's a problem I've had but never noticed before. Will work on getting my muscles to behave now that gravity is no longer on their side! Will stick with float for the time being.

Looking at used Bacchetta recumbents on ebay lately too. May make that journey to that Hollywood recumbent shop soon too.

Rick / OCRR

Rick@OCRR

My longest recumbent ride to date was yesterday, Sat. Mar. 5th. We rode from home up to Huntington (botanical) Gardens for almost 55 miles.
Here it is on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/509609123

We rode in a good lot of traffic and some very busy streets so that was a first, recumbent wise, for me. I rode with my wife Jackie and friends Lynn and Rosanne. Here is a photo Lynn took while we were stopped at a traffic light, along with individual shots:
Photo copied off of Lynn's facebook page, that's why there's four shots in one.

Due to the cheap cassette on the Sun recumbent (which won't fit a standard lock ring tool, which is why I haven't removed it) I can't engage 7th and 8th gear and consequently had to pedal high-cadence just to keep up with these ladies. Spacing is too close on the two smallest cogs so the chain skips and won't engage. Yes, I need a better recumbent!

Rick / OCRR[SUB][SUP]
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BlazingPedals

Well, it isn't designed for speed. At a guess, high gear is around 80 inches? Regardless, all the gears should work. One thing I'd try is to drop the return side of the chain. It'll flop a little, but there's nothing for it to hit anyway so it shouldn't hurt anything and it'll run more freely that way.