Advice for recumbant bike

Due to age and Prostate surgery I find that I cannot ride a standard bike
comfortably. I want the exercise and a recumbant bike was suggested,
however, I know very little about them. I would appreciate any suggestions
and comments about brands and availability. I currently live in Florida, no
hills and mostly paved roads, although some sand to contend with.
TIA,
Paul

You can start at alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent
Phil Brown

paul wrote:

Due to age and Prostate surgery I find that I cannot ride a standard bike
comfortably. I want the exercise and a recumbant bike was suggested,
however, I know very little about them. I would appreciate any suggestions
and comments about brands and availability. I currently live in Florida, no
hills and mostly paved roads, although some sand to contend with.
TIA,
Paul

Paul,

You would have better results searching for information if you spell it
as "recumbent".

This may not be the best forum to ask questions in, since there are very
few recumbent riders among the regulars, and one of them has a perverse
fascination with a couple of very rare, out of production models from an
out of business manufacturer (I will be polite and not mention names).
There is a Usenet forum dedicated to recumbent bicycles
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent.

My first suggestion is to find a place that rents recumbents by the
week, so you will have a chance to adjust to recumbent balancing and
steering which is quite different [1] than that of a conventional
upright bicycle. Test rides will be much more meaningful once you gain
some familiarity with recumbent riding.

The variety of available recumbent designs is much greater than that of
uprights, despite being approximately 1% or less of the quality bicycle
market in the US. Rather than suggesting a particular model of
recumbent, I suggest that you find a specialist recumbent dealer that
has a good selection of recumbents in stock and the ability to set them
up properly for you on test rides (there are several recumbent shops in
Florida with good reputations).

[1] But no more difficult, in my experience.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

paul wrote in message ...
Due to age and Prostate surgery I find that I cannot ride a standard bike
comfortably. I want the exercise and a recumbant bike was suggested,
however, I know very little about them. I would appreciate any suggestions
and comments about brands and availability. I currently live in Florida, no
hills and mostly paved roads, although some sand to contend with.
TIA,
Paul

I went to a specialist recumbent dealer who insisted I try out his
full range of bikes/trikes etc. I must have ridden over 20! Some are
great fun, many are rubbish, most are impractical. One thing for sure,
if you do go over to the dark-side, it will become a thoroughly
absorbing obsession, and you will become a bore.

I particularly like the Optima Baron and the Challenge Taifun. Beware
that you cannot actually turn the front wheel on many lowracers, they
have little load-carrying ability and motorists tend to either give
you plenty of room or not see you at all!

For speed, comfort, practicality and fun, I recommend a trike!

http://www.windcheetah.co.uk/

LGF

paul wrote in message ...
Due to age and Prostate surgery I find that I cannot ride a standard bike
comfortably. I want the exercise and a recumbant bike was suggested,
however, I know very little about them. I would appreciate any suggestions
and comments about brands and availability. I currently live in Florida, no
hills and mostly paved roads, although some sand to contend with.
TIA,
Paul

Http://www.recumbents.com is a great resource website with a national
(but incomplete) list of dealers, showing several shops that carry
LOTS of 'bents in FL. It's also a great info website in general.

If you don't like reading webpages...you could always buy a copy of a
book I publish, the only one on recumbents, called "The Recumbent
Bicycle"---check it out at http://outyourbackdoor.com (or Amazon). It
also has a dealer list plus all the rest about 'bents.

Tom Sherman already gave a fine answer but I'd like to emphasize a
couple things differently: I think that if you find a shop with a lot
of models and a good testing loop that you could pick a good 'bent for
you in an afternoon. But it is hugely recommended that you do this
testing. And pick a shop with lots of models and agreat loop! These
are the most impt things in 'bent buying. Tom said 'bent handling is
different but not harder. I would agree. Actually, I would say it's
not really different. A bike is a bike. They're more alike than they
are different, at least in the sense that there's no cause for
intimidation. The stability factors are basically the same. You get
on, you ride away...YOU GRIN. Give yourself a whole afternoon to test
these things. It's like going to the circus, a very fun time. Then buy
the bike from the dealer whose bikes you test (the most). An afternoon
of test-riding a dozen 'bents for the first time ever is an experience
worth paying for in itself. It's just great fun! It's also worth a
sizeable drive. 'Bents are becoming so popular now that most high-end
full service shops will carry a line or two. You may find one that
suits you fine nearby. 'Bents are so well-made today that you can't
really go wrong---but you will probably be partial to a certain style.
Still, I suggest trying at least several models to get a feel for the
range of ride qualities. Enjoy! --JP

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 22:57:23 +0000, paul wrote:

Due to age and Prostate surgery I find that I cannot ride a standard bike
comfortably. I want the exercise and a recumbant bike was suggested,
however, I know very little about them. I would appreciate any suggestions
and comments about brands and availability. I currently live in Florida, no
hills and mostly paved roads, although some sand to contend with.
TIA,
Paul

Look closely at the EZ-1 and EZ-sport. Designed by EZ Racers, built by
Sunn in Taiwan (I think), and available or can be ordered by most bike
stores. The cheaper model has straight square tubing, the more
expensive one has round curved cruiser-style tubing, a smaller back
wheel, and is lighter and sits lower to the ground. Both are very
comfortable. Based on a few hours riding them, I'd take either over a
bike-E, Linear or the 1979 Nashbar I had for a few years. Parts are
nothing exciting, but not completely crap either.

David Johnson wrote:

Look closely at the EZ-1 and EZ-sport. Designed by EZ Racers, built by
Sunn in Taiwan (I think), and available or can be ordered by most bike
stores. The cheaper model has straight square tubing, the more
expensive one has round curved cruiser-style tubing, a smaller back
wheel, and is lighter and sits lower to the ground. Both are very
comfortable. Based on a few hours riding them, I'd take either over a
bike-E, Linear or the 1979 Nashbar I had for a few years. Parts are
nothing exciting, but not completely crap either.

A few minor corrections and comments. The EZ-1 and EZ-Sport are built by
Sun in Taiwan, and imported to the US by Sun's parent company, J&B
Importers [1]. They are designed by Gardner Martin of Easy Racers [2].
Any bicycle shop with a J&B account (almost all US shops) can order the
bike for you.

As a point of comparison, the "Nashbar" (probably an Infinity) and
Linear designs are far from the state of the art, and the BikeE design
has its limitations. That being said, the EZ bikes from Sun are well
designed and are a very good value for the money (compared to production
recumbents as a whole).

I am partial to the RANS designs [3], and would recommend considering
the Rocket, Tailwind, and Velocity Squared.

[1] http://www.jbimporters.com/
[2] http://www.easyracers.com/
[3] http://www.ransbikes.com/

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 19:19:25 -0500, Tom Sherman wrote:

A few minor corrections and comments. The EZ-1 and EZ-Sport are built by
Sun in Taiwan, and imported to the US by Sun's parent company, J&B
Importers [1]. They are designed by Gardner Martin of Easy Racers [2].
Any bicycle shop with a J&B account (almost all US shops) can order the
bike for you.

I know I've seen a bike with a 2-N Sunn badge, but I won't swear it's the
EZ.

As a point of comparison, the "Nashbar" (probably an
Infinity) and

From what I found out, Nashbar sold at least 2 recumbents in the late
70's/early 80's. Mine was the first of these designs, built in 1979. I
talked to someone associated with Infinity, and he said that they weren't
related. There are some significant differences--The Nashbar has a fixed
seat, brazed to the frame (and more annoyingly with a fixed seat angle)
and the bottom bracket is clamped on and moves to adjust for different
riders.

Linear designs are far from the state of the art, and the BikeE design
has its limitations. That being said, the EZ bikes from Sun are well
designed and are a very good value for the money (compared to production
recumbents as a whole).

My main point was that even though the EZ's are the cheapest recumbents
that I'm aware of, they are better than several that cost a good bit more.

Jeff- It's like going to the circus BRBR

You can say that twice, twice.

Jeff 'Bents are becoming so popular now that most high-end
full service shops will carry a line or two. BRBR

Really? Where? Name three cities where this is true.

Not here in Boulder, the home of many 'high end shops'.

Jeff- I suggest trying at least several models to get a feel for the
range of ride qualities BRBR

So I guess they aren't 'just a bike' then, with huge differences in seating,
steering, wheels sizes, drivetrain, etc.

If ya 'need' a 'bent, great but a replacement or improvement on a double
triangle upright it is not.
Ya really ought to mention the shortcomings of these as well. Like ablity to
ride and drink, the ability to carry water(no camelbacks), the diffuculty of
seeing behind you w/o a rear view mirror, the lack of some parts, like small
tubes and tires, etc.
Hopefully the dealer will point out these things.
They may work for you but are not a panacea for those nasty things called
'uprights'. I have ridden many, inncluding a 'bent tandem and I wasn't
'grinning'.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

... If ya 'need' a 'bent, great but a replacement or improvement on a double
triangle upright it is not.
Ya really ought to mention the shortcomings of these as well. Like ablity to
ride and drink, the ability to carry water(no camelbacks), the diffuculty of
seeing behind you w/o a rear view mirror, the lack of some parts, like small
tubes and tires, etc....

Well, I have ridden thousands of miles on recumbents, and I have drunk
from water bottles while riding thousands of times. I have also carried
a Camelbak on most of those rides.

Riding in traffic with a mirror on a recumbent is very similar to using
a mirror on a motor vehicle - hundreds of millions of people do it
successfully every day.

The are plenty of high pressure road tires in all the sizes commonly
used by recumbents (and upright folders).

I have no idea where Mr. Chisholm gets some of these false ideas about
recumbents (a subject he obviously knows very little about) other than
creating them out of prejudice.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area