Recumbent Trike

[kimbottles]

FWIW most hour records were set at about 104 rpm. Gentlemen who set WHR must know something about optimum cadence.

[Soñadora]

one more shakedown ride before I start commuting on a regular basis.

BV, you were right! I focused a bit more on how I was distributing pressure. I was not pedaling hard enough with my left leg. Eventually, I figured out how to balance and no more oscillations.

The high gear on the crank is a big one. I can maintain good speed with little effort on flat terrain. Luckily, 99% of my ride to work and back will be flat terrain

[Soñadora]

had a great ride to and from work yesterday. Today I chickened out. Forecast is for hail.

[BeauV]

had a great ride to and from work yesterday. Today I chickened out. Forecast is for hail.

I've taken to mountain biking with my ski goggles on (an older pair). It keeps the mud, rocks, twigs, and HAIL (not in N. Calif) out of my eyes. They don't weigh much, stow easily and come with all sorts of swappable lenses of different shades so you can see the traffic more clearly.

[Cherie320]

Time to order the mud & snow tires, with the studs. Pat

[JoeP]

Ski goggles are a great piece of kit to have, especially if you are getting a lot of spray, rain, or snow when sailing. I would keep a pair in my bag during winter sailing.

[Orestes Munn]

I'm thinking of installing one of whatever this sleaze ball is using:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75_iU3vq83Q[/youtube]

[Soñadora]

bought a rack and panniers for trikey. This replaced me dragging a burly full of my daily kit (laptop, change of clothes, whiskey). This added 20lb to the bike but now I wasn't dragging a trailer.

There's one hill that's particularly fun to come down. However, at the bottom of the hill is a sharp dogleg to the right. In the past, I would take it at speed and lean into it. The trike would slide a little, but not much.

Today, coming down at top speed, at that turn I leaned into it. Only this time there was no sliding.

I've wiped out many times on bicycles. Wiping out on a trike is quite an experience. As I rounded that turn, the starboard wheel came off the ground about a foot and the whole thing threatened to tip over. It was a strange, quiet sensation. In an instant I recovered...over recovered and the port wheel came up. As I recovered from that, I was now pointed towards the woods and moving about 20mph. I wondered if Michael Shumacher had as much time to see the trees coming at him. I rolled onto my side with the trike into the trees and mud. Didn't hurt anything other than my pride. I'm sure it would have looked spectacular from the sidelines.

[JoeP]

You need a Go-Pro for next time.

[SloopJonB]

I wondered if Michael Shumacher had as much time to see the trees coming at him

Probably. It doesn't happen going off a bicycle, at least not for me, but when you go off motorcycles at higher speed a strange thing happens. I imagine it is shock setting in but once you realize you are going down your mind goes into some sort of hyperdrive that slows time way down. I distinctly remember dropping a dirt bike at about 45 MPH and sliding about twenty feet before I stopped (hit a bank). From the point I knew I was going down to the point I stopped couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 seconds but it seemed like at least 30 seconds to me - I had lots of time to think about how to orient myself to ensure I landed on my butt before I hit the ground, how to maintain my position to avoid tumbling after I hit the ground and so forth. It's a very strange experience - that was 40 years ago and I still remember distinctly how distorted time became.

[Tucky]

I can still see little drops of gas coming out of the cap on the blue tank of my Honda 750 one by one, very slowly . . . . . . because the bike is sliding on its side out into I94 near Ann Arbor when I got into the grease on an entrance ramp. Time goes slowly.

Instructors will tell you to keep looking where you want to go, not where you don't want to go- it helps.

[Soñadora]

yeah well, I'm like an old man going around that turn now.

well...an OLDER man

[floating dutchman]

Randomly came across this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q2T5Q8G5VE[/youtube]

Looks like fun for anyone.

[Soñadora]

Almost a year on with my ride. As I rode in this morning I reflected on the experience. Here's my take:

• The comfort of this ride cannot be understated. It is the most comfortable, human powered vehicle I've ever used
  
  • No more sore wrists
  • No more sore shoulders
  • No more sore butt
• The ride is mostly smooth with some exceptions. As a result, I'm considering a suspension version from the same builder
  
  • Expansion joints can be quite jarring to the back and have a noticeable impact on momentum
  • Cold weather riding is a 'frozen butt' experience - your butt is mere inches from the frozen ground
• Performance is mostly good
  
  • Gradual inclines, level, and especially downhill is as good or better than a bike
  • Uphill is a killer. No way you'll be able to match a bike. Bikes have the advantage of using the rider's weight
  • Most of my ride is level so it's not a problem. In fact, I often get passed by guys with matching shirts and bikes only to have them slow down just after they pass me.