yostumpy wrote:Yes its a GTE, no load yet, only just got it!! 42km today. out of interest , unloaded, on a GT/GTE, what is a good avg speed in kmh, in varied terrain, so I know what to aspire to. First ride was pants, second ride, 17.7 kmh, 3rd ride 18.3 kmh, I'm thinking around 22 kmh? faster ? slower?
I was slow in mine. I never got very fast. Mind you I had slowed down in my upright too. IME I could keep up with myself on an upright but i in reality my SMGT is a slower bike than my upright. Both are not fast bikes at least in part because of the motor!!
I agree the huge advantage of the SMGT is it's loaded characteristics. I had 110 litres of capacity when I toured in mine. That load was probably what I toured with when I towed a trailer on my upright with two panniers and top of rack fully loaded too. The big difference is I set off on my upright and trailer thinking it was unmanageable because of a major wobble. I got the hang of it and our holiday wasn't ruined. The SMGT however didn't feel any different from unloaded when moving at a stable speed. By stable speed I mean I felt the setting off and slow speeds uphill was wobbly until a certain speed was reached. Not always reached uphill and I did have to push quite a few times. Possibly I could have continued but I had to push because of my partner and son were already pushing their bikes.
It's amazing what a touring recumbent can manage. If I ever went on a truly long tour (we only did two week tours) I would not want to use an upright. For me a touring recumbent is the best option for heavy loads. I'd like to try towing a trailer with mine too.