Why Ride a Recumbent?
If you already own a recumbent bicycle don't bother reading this. You already know. If you don't own a recumbent you may wonder what these odd looking bicycles are all about.
First, let's dispel some myths.
Myth #1: Recumbents look comfortable so, they must be slow. Recumbents
are comfortable, but they're anything but slow. Some upright bike owners try to make this subject into a controversy. But, there's no arguing with the fact that recumbent bikes own every world record they're allowed to go for. Including the record for fastest human powered two-wheeled vehicle. That record is currently over 80 mph and climbing. Of course not every recumbent will go 80 but, in every category of bike, the recumbent designs are consistently as fast or faster than any other.
Myth #2: Recumbents are low so they're hard to see in traffic. Some recumbents are low. They're used for racing or touring, not commuting in traffic. Recumbents designed as practical transportation put the rider's head only slightly lower than a conventional bike and well above a car driver's line of vision. Recumbents also get noticed because of their unusual design.
Myth #3: Recumbents are harder to pedal, balance, and steer. No, no, and no. If you go down to your local bike dealer and hop on a recumbent it will feel strange and wobbly and seem harder to pedal. This is because your body is adapted to conventional bikes, all of which use the same basic design. A few weeks on a recumbent and all that disappears as your body adapts to the different bike geometry and riding position. If you don't give yourself that few weeks you'll never know.
Myth #4: Recumbents aren't safe. Recumbents designed for practical transportation put the rider in a head level position with both hands and feet forward. This gives the rider the best possible view of the road. With hands and feet forward, the rider is braced against braking forces and minor impacts. Compare this to a conventional bike riding position where the rider's head leads the rest of the body and hard braking can easily throw the rider over the handlebars.
Having the bottom bracket (pedals) in front of the rider means that the seat can be low enough for the rider's legs to reach the ground while seated. This means many spills can be avoided by simply dropping one's feet to the ground. If you've ever crossed a railroad track at a shallow angle you'll appreciate the value of that.
Truth is, the biggest reason most people shy away from recumbents is that they're afraid to look different. That same way of thinking kept the big wheeled "ordinary" bicycles around long after the "safety" bicycle showed it's superiority at the end of the nineteenth century. If you're ready to be different you'll discover a bicycle that's superior in every way to the century old design that we've come to think of as a "bicycle". Recumbents are faster, more comfortable and, we would argue, safer and more practical. If you're not afraid to be different, take a recumbent for a ride.
