DaveLeeNC

@Camilo said ... "I'm lucky in that my shoulder issues (even pre-surgery) hurt while riding, and once I tweaked the fit on my road bikes, riding was actually one of the only active things I could do when my back was really bad (much better now)."

You have had your share of physical issues and your back comments are interesting. When I was having serious back issues, I referred to my almost daily rides as "instant spinal epidurals". Those rides were incredibly therapeutic but the effect only lasted an hour or so.

dave

cyclezen

Most everything else aside, I don't think I'd like to do a 11,000 ft climbing on a recumbent... that's just me.

I do have 2 Redshift Shock Stop stems - on 2 gravel bikes. They are AWESOME !!! I use the softest elastomers, still great control (feel no real difference to a regular stem), but reduces the small, frequent shocks considerably... BEST Bike stuff purchase in many years...
Your Older Bianchi almost certainly has a Higher frame stack than the Emonda - so the rest depends on the stem setup.
A higher stack can allow more Bend in the elbow to get the same torso bend... depends on your riding style.
I use either gel bar pads as underlay beneath some std modern bar tape with some cush - another incremental 'shock absorption.
28 or 30 mm tires allow a much lower inflation pressure, which offers some real road shock reduction.
If you've been riding for a while, most of us come from extremely high tire pressures used. Drop the pressure a bit at a time until you perceive some real handling issues, OR you worry about 'snake-bite' flatting... I was accustomed to riding at 100+ psi many years ago. Then I went to 95, now, on older narrow rim wheels, I'll ride at 85 - makes a difference. Wide rim wheels, I ride 25mm tires at 80 psi or less.
A good elbow bend, with elbows tuck towards the body as much as possible - works great.
All this combined, is giving me a much more comfortable ride, with no hit to my performance - other than my own issues... LOL!
Ride On
Yuri

Camilo

I just edited the post you quoted to add the word Don't , as in my shoulders don't hurt while riding.

Same here - the bike riding not only was pain free when I was having my back issues, but were indeed therapeutic, making me feel better for a while. One thing I did to tweak the fit was I extended my stems 10mm, stretched me out and helped keep my back flat-ish instead of curved.

Instant epidural, interesting comment. I had a series of epidurals. When I resorted to the epidurals, I literally could not walk 500 yards without relieving the pain in my back and the painful sciatica going down my hip, thigh and calf. I had to get in the "90-90" position 2-3 times per day for 15-20 minutes to relieve pain. I can't point to any instant relief from the epidurals, but after about a year and a half, 3 or 4 epidurals, lots of PT, nightly treatment with my portable Tens gadget, and "mindfulness" (figuring out triggers, early signs and modifications to avoid exacerbating triggers), I feel my back issues are nearly 100% solved and has been so for 3 or 4 years. The lesson is: multi faceted therapy was key for me, and just don't be passive about pain and loss of function. Get on it.

Indeed. Those things are not climbers at all! I live in hills and had to modify my recumbent with a 48-38-24 triple. Even then, it was tough for me to get up the steep pitches. The trike is good though, you don't fall over when you're going about 1 mph! Some of it had to do with the different muscles used with a recumbent, certainly the weight of the trike (mine was decent, but no light weight) but I never felt I got the power out of my measly muscles that I could on an upright bike.

easyupbug 

I am with GhostRider on this. Now 73 and many many experiments over the years with frames, components, gel bars/gloves, etc. for dealing with rheumatoid and the last few years with evil osteo my recumbents keep me moving. On really bad days I have a rear suspension recumbent trike which gets me out on the road. I can possibly see the front and rear suspension in my future but am resisting due to weight, complexity and they are not cheap.