Originally Posted by
sriley4290
I looked on the forums, but didn't find a thread on this. I am sure I missed one or multiple somewhere. I do apologize if I did, I am still looking.
I have been riding my df road bike for over years now, just getting back into it after 20 yrs. while I love my road bike, I am curious as to the performance of a recumbent(mainly trike) compared to a decent road bike. through normal ride on the road in my location I avg about 14-16mph with hills and flats. do recumbent bikes/trikes perform as well as regular road bikes? any advice, or information you can give would be greatly appreciated...
I started riding recumbent about 4 years ago now with a Sun EZ-1. They are not the best for speed but sure beat a DF for long distances. I have ridden the Katy Trail with my cousins a couple of times now. The first time was on my '07 Raleigh Grand Prix, the second on the EZ-1. The EZ-1 wins hands down for comfort. No recovery period for it, plus we noticed that with recumbents you can ride a longer distance before you wear out.
Last year I purchased a Sun EZ Sport. It is a longer bike but about the same in weight. The down side to 'bents is that you cannot stand on the pedals when going uphill. You have to downshift and go at a slower pace when going uphill. This year I decided to add an e-assist to the Sport. It may sound like overkill, but I'm looking at Father Time too. With the assist it becomes a nice commuter bike. You can find some photos of it in various stages out on Dropbox. Here is the link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4rs7sgkq2...uKkdUINVa?dl=0
I found the best location for the battery on the lower bar of the frame. The rack in back made the wiring too tight so it was moved and the controller box mounted under the seat.
i just took it out for a longer test ride Friday. Speed was at 18-20, 23 depending on the terrain and wind. Wind speed was hitting 20-25+. I would not have tried it on a DF!