Cycling UK Forum

StephenW wrote:I'm in Loughborough.

There is also a guy who goes to the same Pilates class as me who sometimes rides a recumbent.

Well that's 2 of us possibly 3 if your pilates pal is interested.
I'm free most afternoons and weekends, when are you free?

canoesailor wrote:

MickH wrote:I live in Leicester and recently bought the Pashley PDQ that Si had in the Classifieds.

I've got it clean and am still struggling to go more than a few yards in a straight line in the garden. I'll get there!

Hi MIck
There only seem to be three members in Leicester, 3tyretrackterry, yourself and me. perhaps we could get together for a ride when the weather is better.

any recumbent riders in Leicester(shire) want to go for a short, sunburn ride?

I went for a ride yesterday and when I reached the cross roads a Lycra Lout on an upwrong was out of his saddle going across them at speed, he smiled at me. I thought, lets see how close I can get to him. I soon caught him up and realised I was travelling a lot faster than him and would have to pass him, he was out of his saddle trying still. I passed him and when we were level I said "breezy isn't it". He tried to answer but I couldn't understand him. I was soon far enough ahead to cut in front and prepare for the left turn at the bottom. I didn't see him again. GPS showed 18.1mph.

MickH wrote:I live in Leicester and recently bought the Pashley PDQ that Si had in the Classifieds.

I've got it clean and am still struggling to go more than a few yards in a straight line in the garden. I'll get there!

Hi MIck
There only seem to be three members in Leicester, 3tyretrackterry, yourself and me. perhaps we could get together for a ride when the weather is better.

3tyretrackterry wrote:leicester with an ICE trike

There only seem to be 3 riders in Leicester, yourself, Mick H and me. perhaps we could all get together for a ride when the weather improves.

You dont have these problems on a Delta.

Stradageek wrote:I

Slow cycling – recumbents will ‘stall’ at very low speeds (less than 0.5mph-ish) and you cannot do ‘track stands’ on the pedals at traffic lights. But if you drop off the pedals, sit upright and coast it becomes an ordinary bike that will balance like any other.

Town cycling – is ok (see notes above on respectful motorists) but being longer than an upright bike it’s a bit like riding a tandem through traffic, somewhat less manoeuvrable.

Laughter – If you are a self-conscious shrinking violet these bikes are not for you. Everyone will notice you, car horns are no longer used in anger but in admiration, but teenage girls often laugh themselves into helpless hysteria.

Cheers guys

Stradageek

If you chose a recumbent or semi trike you have no problems with low speed riding or manoeuvring. My Delta form can turn 360 degrees in its own length and because my weight is low down between the back wheels, tight adverse camber turns are no more a problem than they are for bicycles, motorcycles etc.

The comments I hear most often from schoolboys etc are usually "Cool bike mate" and "Can I have a go?"

I find most motorists give me a wide berth, probably unsure of what it is.

[XAP]Bob wrote:Short skirts on upright bikes aren't a great idea when there are 'bent riders around...

I dont know Bob do you often wear skirts?

StephenW wrote:I do think that the presence of busy motor traffic has a big influence on who cycles, where they cycle, and what kind of bike they ride. If people perceive riding a recumbent in traffic to be too dangerous they won't do it, even if there is no hard evidence for this. (We on this forum think it's fine, but then we are the people who have chosen to do it!).

I'm sure the UCI ban has some sort of effect too.

But even if we got rid of these deterrents (i.e. if we had Dutch-style road design and racing rules changed), and allowed some time to adapt, I don't think anything like the majority of bikes would be recumbents. My reason for saying this is that I think all that most people want to do on a bike is make short trips around town (up to around 4 or 5 miles), and perhaps occasionally go for a gentle potter on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A roadster does this job quite well, whereas in this application a recumbent has some disadvantages:

- things can fall out your pockets
- can't wear certain clothes
- works better with special shoes
-can't carry rucksack (although you could put a basket on)
etc...

But clearly as you start to want to go further (and faster) the advantages of the recumbent increase.

I could imagine that maybe 15% of bikes could be recumbents, if we had Dutch-style infrastructure, different racing rules, and some time to adapt.

Never had things fall out of my pockets, I probably couldn't wear a kilt but I would find that difficulty on a conventional bike as well. I wear anything from walking boots to trainers, nothing special. I can and do hook a rucksack over the back of the seat back. I cannot see the disadvantages, I think most are imagined.

Tangled Metal wrote:Simple question I think. Ignoring the fact you probably have upright bikes too. Assuming you started off on a standard upright bike then switched to riding recumbents, how did you switch?

Did you visit a shop to try a few out first?
Did you just order one online?
Did you try one out that was owned by someone you knew?
Did you see a cheap secondhand one and took the plunge?

Second question, how did you learn to ride one? I'm guessing if you visited a shop to try them out the retailer probably gave you some kind of lesson on riding a recumbent. When I looked at tandems the shop in Yorkshire Dales said they show all new customers how to start, stop and a few pointers on how to ride as a pair. I'm guessing recumbent specialists are like that in their approach.

Because of a back problem I could no longer mount nor ride a conventional bike, so I looked around. I could get onto a Granny trike (step through) but couldn't sit on it for long. So I looked at recumbents, I decided two wheelers wouldn't work with my back, so trikes it was to be. I couldn't find any test trikes around Leicestershire and I have never seen one anywhere in the city or county. So Internet was the next place to look and I found a very reasonably priced Trike on Missioncycles list, it looked good and I couldn't find anything negative about it, so I ordered one.

When the Trike arrived it was carefully handled by their shippers and well wrapped. It was ready to ride apart from fitting the mirrors and adjusting bars and seat for comfort. I was amazed by the ease of handling, manoeuvrability and speed, like everyone else I found uphills a bit of a slog but soon got used to it.

My brother who has been a metal fabricator all his working life and owns his own business looked it over and said it was very well made. He also made me a towball rack to carry it on the back of the car.

I have since fitted a Panda front wheel electric motor with PAS, that cured the hill climb problem.

I've had it three years now and am still as happy as when I got it, although it would be nice to find other bent riders in the area. The only thing I've seen was a disabled trike in Rothley. There must be some!

Tangled Metal wrote:

canoesailor wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:I didn't get that video. Why was a car driver coming the road saying they had a lucky escape all the time. Apart from the cyclist right at the beginning there was just empty road. Where were the recumbents?

It's what they call irony.

You know how bad your jokes are when you have to explain them!

I was joking about not seeing the recumbent cyclists. Just like ppl who have never tried it claim. What type of "humour" is that? Sarcasm or irony?

It had been a long day and I think I was sleep deprived too so the idea amused me even if the actual joke execution was really poor.

Yes you were using irony to create the humour

Tangled Metal wrote:I didn't get that video. Why was a car driver coming the road saying they had a lucky escape all the time. Apart from the cyclist right at the beginning there was just empty road. Where were the recumbents?

It's what they call irony.

reohn2 wrote:

canoesailor wrote:some years ago there was a letter in Motorcycle News from a bike cop, he was going to an emergency with sirens going and light flashing and someone pulled out in front of him. The diver said ... you guessed it "Sorry I didn't see you" he sais he would have booked her, but the emergency had to take priority.

My Question is why is it only people in boxes who cant see us, other bikes can and motorbikes can, this must mean that cars are not safe enough to be on the road.

It could be that some only see a threat to their welbeing and not anything of no threat to their person,therefore not needing their attention.

I think there is a lot of truth in what you say, I remember Jeremy Clarkson saying you could reduce accidents overnight by fixing a sword in the middle of the steering wheel pointing towards the driver.

some years ago there was a letter in Motorcycle News from a bike cop, he was going to an emergency with sirens going and light flashing and someone pulled out in front of him. The diver said ... you guessed it "Sorry I didn't see you" he sais he would have booked her, but the emergency had to take priority.

My Question is why is it only people in boxes who cant see us, other bikes can and motorbikes can, this must mean that cars are not safe enough to be on the road.

I think one of the reasons is that most bent riders in the UK are individuals and rarely come together. one bent rider can easily be missed on todays roads.

Most towns have cycling clubs, but in the UK there dont seem to be any bent clubs, once in a while someone will ask if riders in his area are up for a ride, but he is only one. we need to be more together as a group. Nothing tells people that you exist better than groups meeting in public.

Most of us dont even know if there are other bent riders in our own town. I live in Leicestershire and I have never seen another bent rider, I'm sure there must be some but I have never seen them.

So basically we need to get together and be more friendly, not just write posts to each other. Look at some of the American meets, they get big turnouts of bents.