Anybody else with a recumbent bike?

Muahahaha wrote:

Is there such thing as a bike as low as a recumbent but with the opposite body position, i.e. head first and your chest close to the ground with the cranks near to the rear wheel? Have always thought that such a riding position would be very aerodynamic. Would probably be uncomfortable to ride chest down for breathing but reckon it would be pretty fast.

The only one that springs to mind is:



From: this article about Graeme Obree

Can't see that being greatly comfortable for more than a couple of km trip!

Would much prefer one of these- Comfortable, protected from weather, very fast, on rolling hills rides like a rollercoaster, great for covering long distances.

magicbastarder wrote: »

would it not be a beast to handle in crosswinds?

2 wheeled ones would be, but most road-based velomobiles are trikes underneath. That said, even being 3 wheelers, I understand high crosswinds can still make them a bit twitchy, especially at the high speeds they are capable of.

There is one model called the Quattrovelo which is fairly unique in that it has 4 wheels, and is supposedly super stable on cornering, high winds etc

Duckjob wrote: »

Would much prefer one of these...on rolling hills rides like a rollercoaster

Ridiculously slow going up, terrifying going down?

Apparently the typical weight of those things is 35kg!

mr spuckler wrote: »

a good point and well made! I'd forgotten about the combination of standard recumbent and hand bike.

continuing my tangent then, I also saw a hand bike on the Mullingar to Athlone greenway on Saturday, didn't look like Mark Rohan from what I could see but I'd have thought there wasn't too many of them around.

I was only thinking a few weeks ago that it is surprising we don't see more people with paralysis below the waist out on hand bikes. Like I mean the public realm in Ireland is very badly set up for people in wheelchairs, they have problems getting on buses, trains, navigating footpaths, etc. Many are virtual prisoners in their own homes. But with the advent of greenways I would have thought we would see a good few out on hand bikes as it is a segregated route with decent surfaces plus it allows them to get decent exercise which is important when wheelchair bound. But I've only ever seen one, the lad on the Clontart to Sutton route.

Is it that canal greenways are still not accessible for them? I've yet to cycle the the Mullingar-Athlone route but how would it be for a hand bike user? Are there gates in the way? How about the hills leading up to canal bridges, would some be too steep for a novice user?

Duckjob wrote: »

Many people quote the "ridiculously slow going up" idea, but what many people miss is the fact that you can harness momentum in a velomobile in a way that simply doesn't happen with an upright bike...In rolling hills scenarios, its often quite easy in a VM to build up to 60-70kph before a steep hill, use the momentum to get you up and still crest the top of the hill at 40kph, where, on a regular bike any momentum would be long gone before you are even a quarter of the way up.

120kg of mass going at 20m/s has 24000J kinetic energy, which will get you up the first 20m of a climb, and then you're on your own.

So yes, on a rolling road it might be fine, but anything that could properly be called a hill is going to be hard work.

Might be fun if I lived in Kildare.

El Tarangu wrote: »

I have yet to travel on one of the greenways, but I imagine that they have stiles or bollards to prevent cars using them, which could pose difficulties for someone with mobility issues riding a recumbent(?)

the Mullingar to Athlone one has what I think are referred to as staggered gates? and for each they've added extra tarmac at the side to allow you to make a wide swing at them, presumably to facilitate trailers in the main? therefore as long as width isn't an issue (and it shouldn't be) then they'd be able to get through ok.