Giving up!

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swscotland bentrider
Posts: 299
Joined: 3 Aug 2008, 4:38pm

Giving up!

Post by swscotland bentrider »

Due to a persistant knee injury I am giving up cycling recumbent bikes. It is being aggravated by the launch and I've had too many failures at junctions etc to continue. Three months ago I stopped using them and my knee has slowly improved. Funnily enough I can use a conventional bike as long as I am careful. Ive put the first of them (My Nazca Fuego) in the for sale section. I'll submit the Gaucho next. P.m. me if interested. I used my bikes to tour and both are equipped to carry a load.
The Gaucho is a very versatile platform. It can take both 28 and 26 wheels. Install light wheels and a carbon fork and it becomes a great long distance audax bike. (Basically a Gaucho 28 HR with discs)
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: Giving up!

Post by UpWrong »

Sorry to hear about your knee problem. Is it still a problem on a recumbent trike? You should be able to use the other leg for getting going. Another possibility might be a LWB.
Neil1
Posts: 4
Joined: 11 Sep 2019, 1:30pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by Neil1 »

Wish you well in your next adventure, try a e assist trike it may help you to keep on cycling
swscotland bentrider
Posts: 299
Joined: 3 Aug 2008, 4:38pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by swscotland bentrider »

Yes Upwrong, you are right about a trike. Once I've sold my current stuff I may look at a trike. Had one before and liked it.
Lodge
Posts: 142
Joined: 28 Feb 2016, 8:59pm
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands

Re: Giving up!

Post by Lodge »

I also transitioned from a recumbent bike (Bacchetta Giro) to a trike (ICE Sprint). However that was not due to knee pain but a rather nasty accident going too fast round a corner when the front wheel let go. No bones broken, fortunately, just a large area of skin on my thigh. I was very lucky there was no traffic coming the other way. It did cause a significant loss of confidence though.

That said I’ve now done more on the trike (>11000 km) than the Bacchetta (6000 km) and really enjoy it. I feel safer on the trike, even in traffic. The weirdness factor means I get more consideration from drivers with very few close passes than when riding my upright bike.
hercule
Posts: 1156
Joined: 5 Feb 2011, 5:18pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by hercule »

I have had a similar experience when my Fuego’s front wheel washed out at speed on a corner. Lost quite a bit of skin and was left with a large, painful lump on my glutes that persisted for a couple of months before it vanished. It took me quite a while to get my confidence back to riding it and over the last year or so it has been relatively neglected. On the flip side my VTX is as fast as the Fuego on the flat, I can climb any hill (I avoid several hilly roads on my Fuego) and I don’t seize up with anxiety on gravelly bends. Which means that it is faster overall...
nobrakes
Posts: 77
Joined: 9 Jan 2020, 10:17am

Re: Giving up!

Post by nobrakes »

Sorry to hear of your issues. I’d be tempted to hang on to the Fuego just because it’s such a brilliant all round bike, and may be more sought after in the future now that they are no longer made. If it had been a large size I might have been tempted to get another one ‘Just in case’.

Good luck with the sales and your future cycling platform whatever it may be. If it’s pedal powered and it brings out a smile it’s all good :D
swscotland bentrider
Posts: 299
Joined: 3 Aug 2008, 4:38pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by swscotland bentrider »

Thanks everyone. Nobrakes, giving up the Fuego is the hardest bit. I'm very reluctant to sell. :(
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Tigerbiten
Posts: 2503
Joined: 29 Jun 2009, 6:49am

Re: Giving up!

Post by Tigerbiten »

I'm wondering if wearing long trousers on the bent is aggravating your knee damage.
I does on mine.
On an upright all the forces pull the fabric down the leg, so very little force pulls the kneecap back against the rest of the joint.
On a bent, where the knee is the highest point, the fabric is both pulled up the thigh and down the shin.
This result in more force pulling the kneecap down against the rest of he joint.
More force = more wear = more pain.
This is the reason I'll cycle in shorts 90% of the time, I can cycle a lot further with less pain.
If I do wear lycra longs then I'll pull the bottoms up to make almost plus fours.
I can pull the ankle part up so it's trapped by the swell of my calf just below my knee.
This makes a baggy loop just below my knee.
If I pull them up a little after I've got on then they're not as tight over the knee.
Less tight = less force = less pain.
Wearing the like this is more painful than shorts but less painful than wearing them normally.
Just an idea which works for me.

Luck ....... :D
swscotland bentrider
Posts: 299
Joined: 3 Aug 2008, 4:38pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by swscotland bentrider »

What seemed to give me problems was the acute knee angle used to launch the bike. I even went down to 165mm cranks to try and reduce this angle. This was a particular problem when setting off uphill or crossing busy junctions. On a DF my leg is straighter at launch and it seems to be less aggravating.

As for clothing I never wear trousers but running 'longs' or three quarter length (over the knee) lycra.
Jdsk
Posts: 24635
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by Jdsk »

What's "DF", please?

Thanks

Jonathan
UpWrong
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Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: Giving up!

Post by UpWrong »

swscotland bentrider wrote:What seemed to give me problems was the acute knee angle used to launch the bike. I even went down to 165mm cranks to try and reduce this angle. This was a particular problem when setting off uphill or crossing busy junctions. On a DF my leg is straighter at launch and it seems to be less aggravating.

As for clothing I never wear trousers but running 'longs' or three quarter length (over the knee) lycra.

I run 150mm cranks on SWBs. It does make a difference ☺️
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: Giving up!

Post by UpWrong »

Jdsk wrote:What's "DF", please?

Thanks

Jonathan

Diamond frame.
Jdsk
Posts: 24635
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Giving up!

Post by Jdsk »

Thanks

Jonathan
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simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Giving up!

Post by simonineaston »

diamond frame - aka "the amusing, if cheap, anachronism foisted upon the unsupecting cycling community by the unimaginative UCI & their vested interest cronies"... :roll:
Imagine cars, stuck at 1904.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
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