Pictures of your recumbent

[Jdsk]

I was passing what seemed a picturesque spot the other night, so I stopped for a picture. This is my TW-Bents Adventure Plus. At least I think that’s the model. I got it second hand, from someone who also got it second hand. TW-Bents is no longer a going concern, but parts of their website are viewable on the internet archive. I injured my wrist about eighteen months ago (probably the cumulative effect of the years, but the immediate cause of the injury was me trying to pull one of the grips off my upright’s flat handlebars - I was pulling and twisting it and felt a pop), which had me off the bike for quite a while so I started looking for a recumbent so I could ride without any weight on it. This one came up on Facebook marketplace around the start of the year, so I jumped on it. Managed a couple of laps of a short pathway in the park where I met the seller without falling over so I took it.
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Thanks for sharing your experiences, which chimed with many of mine. Great read.

For crank length I'd use the same approach: experiment and evaluate. There is some recent work showing that shorter cranks do not inevitably result in lower power. Although I think that they were done in an upright position rather than feet-first... anyway for this what feels best probably is best.

And on reactions from others... mine are mostly pleasant. That sensation of being noticed more is pretty common. But on the trike where the top bit (apart from the pennant) is much lower I am more concerned about being mistaken for a gap in dense traffic, and position and ride accordingly.

Jonathan

[a.twiddler]

It seems to be the luck of the draw to be able to find a first recumbent that suits you straight away, or without too much modification. With my first one I thought I had some idea, but from my current perspective I didn't have a clue. I had some bicycle knowledge so I could fix things, but my priorities were:- local, cheap, not too far gone mechanically and able to get it into my (fortunately capacious) car.

This mysterious thing was reputed to have a wide range of adjustment, and some known potential weaknesses but otherwise I was flying blind. This was of course the Linear. Perhaps a bizarre choice from a 2025 perspective, being a rather archaic, LWB design when the modern idea of a recumbent is a SWB bike or, increasingly, a trike.

Nevertheless, even after languishing in its previous owner's barn for about ten years, I managed to get it up and running in about 10 days. It was actually in quite good condition despite its faded appearance. After a hairy time learning to ride it with almost simultaneous moments of terror and elation, I came to love the recumbent experience.

All the points that Yim brings up are very relatable, especially the reaction from passers by, particularly teenagers for some reason.

I became a bit evangelistic about recumbents early on, but I came to realise that they are not for everyone after a few posters shared their experiences and didn't continue, or go on to try different ones.

I think recumbent bikes or trikes work for some, but for others their needs are met by upright bikes or what they are used to. They are all so different, there is no such thing as a generic "recumbent" which is why I feel so fortunate to have found one that suits from the start. I've had a few different ones over the years but what suits me is the LWB style bike. It might be that I will try something else in the future and become a convert to trikes or a different type of bike but that's progress so far.

Edited to add some pictures, since that is in the thread title. It's recently attached itself to some reflective tape though the jury's still out as to whether it will stay there atm.