Recumbent E-bikes

[John Bowman]

The most obvious issue to me is not being able to pedal out of the seat which is a huge advantage on long hills.

Standing is a disadvantage on long climbs. You use more energy and cadence is too low, inefficient.

 

[jabberwocky]

Tried an e-recumbent tadpole. My main concern is that your head is right at bumper level. I tried it a few times and felt very vulnerable at intersections. You cannot see over the vehicles, and if you get hit your head will impact a car or truck, and then the ground. Way more favorable odds, vision, and visibility on a standard bike. Also, due to my aggressive riding style I kept flipping the bike.

Lol, as the owner of a recumbent tadpole. They vary in stability; mine (a mid 2000s vintage Catrike Speed) is super low to the ground and pretty hard to tip. But the inside wheel lifting up in hard cornering is part of why they are fun. Its a different experience than riding a bike. You feel the cornering forces. But if you get too overconfident you can definitely flip them.

You are very right on visibility. A flag helps others see you, but you really have to be mindful around parked cars and such. And a mirror is basically a necessity; you can't really shoulder check whats behind you like a standard bike.

I don't ride mine all that much, and when I do its mainly on the quiet town side streets or the local MUP. Its a great MUP cruiser, the one near me is oriented axially to prevailing winds, so you sometimes get wicked headwinds that can make riding the normal bikes pretty miserable. When you're 24" off the ground the wind is almost a non issue.

 

[Chargeride]

Standing is a disadvantage on long climbs. You use more energy and cadence is too low, inefficient.

Well if I google Tour de France hill climb, I get a shed load of riders out of the saddle, I always go out of saddle high gear on a conventional bike.

 

[John Bowman]

Well if I google Tour de France hill climb, I get a shed load of riders out of the saddle, I always go out of saddle high gear on a conventional bike.

You are not a TDF rider. Watch video above, when amateur riders stand to try and keep up with recumbent, they slow down. Standing is great for sprinting or short hills, but after 1 minute forget it.

 

[Chargeride]

Im not sure of the context here, where have they been, how long has he ridden and what level is he.

 

[John Bowman]

Im not sure of the context here, where have they been, how long has he ridden and what level is he.

Solvang Century, mile 85. Around year 2010.

 

[Chargeride]

Im going to have to look into this, theres more to that overtake than better efficiency

 

[John Bowman]

Im going to have to look into this, theres more to that overtake than better efficiency

I have done that ride, after 85 miles on a recumbent I am not tired from a high pressure narrow seat, standing up to relieve pressure, or for climbs, or bumps. The roadies are. At beginning they passed me. After halfway I was passing them. All the standing takes extra energy.

 

[Chargeride]

I use it to relieve lactic build up while keeping moving, on a recumb I would have to stop

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Lol, as the owner of a recumbent tadpole. They vary in stability; mine (a mid 2000s vintage Catrike Speed) is super low to the ground and pretty hard to tip. But the inside wheel lifting up in hard cornering is part of why they are fun. Its a different experience than riding a bike. You feel the cornering forces. But if you get too overconfident you can definitely flip them.

You are very right on visibility. A flag helps others see you, but you really have to be mindful around parked cars and such. And a mirror is basically a necessity; you can't really shoulder check whats behind you like a standard bike.

I don't ride mine all that much, and when I do its mainly on the quiet town side streets or the local MUP. Its a great MUP cruiser, the one near me is oriented axially to prevailing winds, so you sometimes get wicked headwinds that can make riding the normal bikes pretty miserable. When you're 24" off the ground the wind is almost a non issue.

Yes the Catrike Speed has a 2.5-3 inch ground clearance. That would not work on speed bumps and 50% of my terrain. They are good for a casual cruise. I Seriously considered a four wheeler.

You are right about cornering and the perception of speed so low to the ground, they can be fun.

 

[stompandgo]

You are not a TDF rider. Watch video above, when amateur riders stand to try and keep up with recumbent, they slow down. Standing is great for sprinting or short hills, but after 1 minute forget it.

So some riders in a video lead you to a universal conclusion? Do you fully understand the anatomy involved in climbing and why seated and standing each have their important places? Sheesh.

 

[John Bowman]

So some riders in a video lead you to a universal conclusion? Do you fully understand the anatomy involved in climbing and why seated and standing each have their important places? Sheesh.

I ride a recumbent and my experience is same as in video.
Also science:
"CONCLUSION: Uphill cycling while standing results in decreased cycling economy due to physiological and biomechanical variations compared to riding seated.
The implication for elite cyclists looking to conserve effort during a race would be to stay in a seated riding position for as long as possible and only stand for short bouts to alleviate pressure points and possible muscle soreness"

Physiological and Biomechanical Differences Between Seated and Standing Uphill Cycling - PMC

Despite differences in economy, cyclists climb in seated and standing positions. Prompted by gaps in research, we compared VO2 and heart rate (HR) (Study 1), muscle activation (Study 2) and breathing and pedaling entrainment (Study 3). METHODS: ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[stompandgo]

Scientific study has a place but did anyone ask a top level cyclist why they stand while riding?

 

[John Bowman]

Scientific study has a place but did anyone ask a top level cyclist why they stand while riding?

Those guys are freaks of nature.
But here is some advice from Lance's coach.

 

[stompandgo]

f*ck Lance.

 

[kevinmccune]

So some riders in a video lead you to a universal conclusion? Do you fully understand the anatomy involved in climbing and why seated and standing each have their important places? Sheesh.

Its a strange thing,when young standing didn't bother me,now if I cant do it sitting the throttle comes into play.i used to be able to remain seated and ride by guys that were pushing their bikes on the old single speed western flyer( girls bike-never the same afterwards-(just one thing why is there such a thing as a girls bike?,you cant hardly give me a top bar bike these days)

 

[jabberwocky]

Standing may be less efficient in pure energy expenditure, but it lets you apply more absolute power. Even pros in grand tours (which are basically 3 week exercises in energy conservation) are standing when they sprint or attack. There are times to sit and spin and save your energy, and there are times to stand and crank and spend energy for more speed.

Its all very academic on an ebike forum though. The differences are minor and we have motors to help us.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Standing may be less efficient in pure energy expenditure, but it lets you apply more absolute power. Even pros in grand tours (which are basically 3 week exercises in energy conservation) are standing when they sprint or attack. There are times to sit and spin and save your energy, and there are times to stand and crank and spend energy for more speed.

Its all very academic on an ebike forum though. The differences are minor and we have motors to help us.

Agree with this but also on a long climb, say on one of the 3 week tours, the rider finds a cadence that they can maintain to conserve energy over the 10 to 20km climb and not blow up. But the road can ramp up, so to maintain constant speed, riders get out of the saddle, sprinting to compensate for the increased gradient which would have slowed them and upset the carefully maintained cadence. Once the steep section is passed the rider can resume seating and continue still in the correct energy efficient tempo. Same thing when you watch riders navigate hairpins they'll always ride the outside as the camber of the road is shallowest there, less sharp gradient increase. Or at least they can do all this until Pog rides past them, hands in pockets, whistling as he flies up the mountainside...

 

[stompandgo]

True, but climbs in races are rarely at a static pace. It's attack after attack after attack. Conserving energy is important, but if others are attacking, you can't. Losing position before the descent can cost you the race.

 

[Jim1348]

Unfortunately, there are several vehicle barriers on one of my favorite local trails like this:

View attachment 199158

The opening is so narrow that my OEM handlebars wouldn't fit through. It was one of the reasons I replaced them with the Jones H bars shown above.
It is quite apparent that the designers of these barriers are not cyclists.

The photograph above reminds me on biking in the Laughlin NV/Bullhead City AZ area recently.

The first snapshot is the bridge over the Colorado River. It was very narrow.

The second picture is the trail near Davis Dam. It was also very narrow.

The third picture is on the road over the dam. I had to turn my handlebars slightly to the right or left to fit through.