Cycling UK Forum

Don't forget tadpole trike and delta trike (single wheel at back and single wheel at front respectively). Plus velomobiles.

Then if you do get one you could pop along to a BHPC race day and get sucked into recumbents and racing. Totally informal and friendly racing scene. So many different recumbents and standards of riders that you are basically racing to better your own times or at most racing one other rider on a similar machine at a similar level to you.

go4it wrote:Ok, I am 'not lost, just misplaced' abbreviations:LWB, CLWB, SWB, USS, ASS, help ok I get LWB (legs will bend) but after that ?????
Some brilliant helpful advice for which I am thankful

Recumbents are varied in a way that DF bikes just aren't.

squeaker
Thanks for that appreciated
Seen a youtube of evolve....looked great for storing and travel, but you guys would know their capabilities on road????

squeaker wrote:Roughly:
LWB = long wheel base (front wheel ahead of pedals)
CLWB = compact long wheel base (pedals above and to rear of front wheel axle)
SWB = short wheel base (pedals above and in front of wheel)
USS = under seat steering
ASS = above seat steering (can be hamster or superman or.... )

Names: ICE & HPVelotechnik have both been going for a long while, also Hase, Catrike, Nazca, Azub, Bachetta etc.. Definitely do the secondhand route, but with something from a reputable builder (eg as above!). IME folding trikes are easier than bikes to get into a car, but YMMV

Bentrider Online is best allround resource, IMO, but does contain Americans

Don't forget MBB = moving bottom bracket (a la Cruzbike)

go4it wrote:Ok, I am 'not lost, just misplaced' abbreviations:LWB, CLWB, SWB, USS, ASS, help ok I get LWB (legs will bend) but after that ?????

Which is why some research is in order.

A good place to start is the back issues of Encycleopedia which are available on ISSUU. https://issuu.com/encycleopedia/docs/en ... ete_lr_opt
Also as mentioned above Bentrideronline forum and their reviews are a great resource. Not forgetting Bicycleman who covers a lot of stuff. http://www.bicycleman.com/about-recumbent-bikes/

Once you have had your fill and have an idea of what recumbents interest you then google is your friend and you can always ask more specific questions on the forums.

Trike are easy.
Delta vs tadpole, direct vs indirect steering and height of seat are the only main variables
As long as you can easily get on/off one then the learning curve is more about the maximum speed you can go around a corner.
Then it's just learning to spin up hills and road position.
It took me less than 30 seconds the first time I tried one at ICE before I decided "I want one of these" .......

Bikes are more tricky as there is a much greater range of styles.
As mentioned earlier a good rule of thumb is "the more reclined/lower you are, the more difficult they are to balance".
You may find one that feels easy or you may find one that you never get on well with.
Hence "Try before you buy".
But one advantage is that second hand bents tend to hold their value.
Hence you can buy one for a year or so, keep it well maintained and resell it for a similar price.

Luck .......

A little off topic but.....

What does "YMMV" Mean?

It gets complicated with so many abbreviations
I ride a standard bike, AKA an UpWrong

So is a recumbent a downwrong or downright?

YMMV = your mileage may vary = roughly that you might think differently.

Tangled Metal wrote:So is a recumbent a downwrong or downright?

YMMV = your mileage may vary = roughly that you might think differently.

Dunno yet
YVMV
Your view my view?
Other abbreviations are available

Tangled Metal wrote:So is a recumbent a downwrong or downright?

YMMV = your mileage may vary = roughly that you might think differently.

Downright close to perfect

[XAP]Bob wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:So is a recumbent a downwrong or downright?

YMMV = your mileage may vary = roughly that you might think differently.

Downright close to perfect

+1 to that [XAP]Bob.

Thanks "Tangled Metal"