Do Recumbents Crash More Than Regular Bikes?

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news


I remember something I read once what Gardner Martin, the designer of the
Tour Easy, said about how to design recumbents. He said he designs them
for
250 pound guys like you because they constitute a large share of the
market
for recumbents. I think that is true. I do see very many heavy folks on
recumbents. This makes a lot of sense because it is very hard for big and
heavy guys to ever get any comfort on an upright.


I'm not surprised to learn this. I came to recumbents because of my search
for the ever more comfortable bicycle. I've done centuries on upright
bikes but the sensation of getting back on the bike after a rest stop was
just awful.

What makes recumbents bad for people my size is how terrible they are on
hills. I recall one hill in CT that I finally walked up after falling off
my bike (Infinity recumbent) 5 times because I couldn't keep up enough
speed.

I have two Infinty recumbents, one being the all square tube. I don't ride
them much anymore but I still think they are the best looking recumbents
ever made. I first saw them in a Bike Nashbar catalog and immediately wanted
one.

This is what led me to trikes. I test rode some trikes on a fairly hilly
test course and found that I could just drop it into low gear and make it
up anything at whatever speed I desired. As you know, I can even stop in
the middle of a hill to rest (I never do though but I've tried it just to
convince myself that it could be done.)

I have walked up many a hill and think nothing of it.

So I sold all my bikes and I now ride trikes exclusively.

Ah but then I discovered rail-trails which are essentially flat. I will
probably pick up a bike again just to take on "rail-trail only" trips.

Rail trails work equally well for both bikes and trikes. But hills are the
pits for recumbents. I just about die of laughter when I hear guys saying
that recumbents are just as good on hills as uprights. Some idiot even told
me once that recumbents were better on hills. You have to work twice as hard
to get up a hill on a recumbent as you do on an upright. This is so
elementary that I refuse to even discuss it anymore with anyone.

BTW it is easy for heavy guys to get comfort on an upright. They just have
to lose weight. Losing weight is the hard part, however.

Forget about losing weight. We Americans, like most of the world's better
off peoples, are destined to be over weight for all eternity. It is what
comes of having too much leisure and too much food. In India, until
recently, only the well to do were heavy. The peons were thin as rails. Who
wants to be a peon.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

Forget about losing weight. We Americans, like most of the world's better
off peoples, are destined to be over weight for all eternity. It is what
comes of having too much leisure and too much food. In India, until
recently, only the well to do were heavy. The peons were thin as rails.
Who wants to be a peon.


Can't do that Ed. I recently found out that I'm diabetic. The cost of not
losing weight is not just working harder on hills and having a less than
perfect appearance. I've already gone from 300 down to 250 but I really
should be under 200. Since I want to be riding for many more years the
weight loss isn't optional at this point.

Those fat Indians probably didn't eat a sugar rich American diet nor were
they interested in being in good shape for cycling.

Jeff

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

I have two Infinty recumbents, one being the all square tube. I don't ride
them much anymore but I still think they are the best looking recumbents
ever made. I first saw them in a Bike Nashbar catalog and immediately
wanted one.

Mine was the square tube one as well. Hands down the most comfortable 2
wheel vehicle I ever rode. The recumbents that I owned after that (Vision
and Trek) were no where near as comfortable. I think it was the long wheel
base because the seat was nothing special. I should never have sold that
bike. Let me know if you ever decide to part with yours.

Jeff

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

Forget about losing weight. We Americans, like most of the world's better
off peoples, are destined to be over weight for all eternity. It is what
comes of having too much leisure and too much food. In India, until
recently, only the well to do were heavy. The peons were thin as rails.
Who wants to be a peon.


Can't do that Ed. I recently found out that I'm diabetic. The cost of not
losing weight is not just working harder on hills and having a less than
perfect appearance. I've already gone from 300 down to 250 but I really
should be under 200. Since I want to be riding for many more years the
weight loss isn't optional at this point.

Diabetes is the major complication that arises from being overweight. 200
would a good goal for you to shoot for. Losing weight is the hardest thing
in the world, especially for older people. Best of luck in your efforts.

Those fat Indians probably didn't eat a sugar rich American diet nor were
they interested in being in good shape for cycling.

Those fat Indians were following a Western style diet. The thin Indians were
following their traditional diets. As the world moves ever more and more to
the Western diet, we will see ever more and more fat people. Our evolution
has not designed us to eat sensibly, but rather to eat plentifully whenever
food is available. It is that way with all animals. It is feast when you
can, starve when you must.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

I have two Infinty recumbents, one being the all square tube. I don't
ride them much anymore but I still think they are the best looking
recumbents ever made. I first saw them in a Bike Nashbar catalog and
immediately wanted one.

Mine was the square tube one as well. Hands down the most comfortable 2
wheel vehicle I ever rode. The recumbents that I owned after that (Vision
and Trek) were no where near as comfortable. I think it was the long wheel
base because the seat was nothing special. I should never have sold that
bike. Let me know if you ever decide to part with yours.

The Infinity was the first recumbent I ever got after having ridden uprights
for 15 years. So of course I thought the Infinity was comfy too in
comparison. However, the Vision was by far and away the most comfortable
recumbent I have ever had. I had my Vision set up LWB, but I first got it
SWB. By and large I do not like the way SWB recumbents handle. I am a LWB
kind of guy.

You are right about the Infinity seat being nothing special. It needs lots
of foam to get comfort, but then all mesh seats need that.

Infinities were always rather rare. I only saw of few of them on my many
group bike tours that I used to do. The guys that had them would really beat
them up. But they were all true cycling fanatics and loved their Infinities.

The Trek was an interesting recumbent but always seemed to be plagued by
problems. I remember when that bike first came out how the recumbent
community was hoping that maybe recumbents would finally become mainstream.
It never happened and I don't believe it ever will. That is not so bad as I
like to think we recumbent cyclists are special. The only downside to it is
that recumbents remain expensive because of the small market for them.

I will probably keep all my recumbents and my other bikes to the bitter end.
When I die my relatives are going to think I was a crazy man to have all
these bicycles cluttering up my house. I try to tell them that I am not
really crazy, just a bit eccentric. Even when I am not riding my bikes, I
like to just sit and look at them. I am known far and wide as the man who
loves bikes.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

Forget about losing weight. We Americans, like most of the world's
better off peoples, are destined to be over weight for all eternity. It
is what comes of having too much leisure and too much food. In India,
until recently, only the well to do were heavy. The peons were thin as
rails. Who wants to be a peon.


Can't do that Ed. I recently found out that I'm diabetic. The cost of not
losing weight is not just working harder on hills and having a less than
perfect appearance. I've already gone from 300 down to 250 but I really
should be under 200. Since I want to be riding for many more years the
weight loss isn't optional at this point.

Diabetes is the major complication that arises from being overweight. 200
would a good goal for you to shoot for. Losing weight is the hardest thing
in the world, especially for older people. Best of luck in your efforts.


I agree with everything that you've said (for once). Just because it is hard
doesn't mean that I shouldn't do it. I have made fighting diabetes one of
the major themes of the rest of my life. You'll learn more about this soon.
Thank you for your good wishes.

Those fat Indians probably didn't eat a sugar rich American diet nor were
they interested in being in good shape for cycling.

Those fat Indians were following a Western style diet. The thin Indians
were following their traditional diets. As the world moves ever more and
more to the Western diet, we will see ever more and more fat people. Our
evolution has not designed us to eat sensibly, but rather to eat
plentifully whenever food is available. It is that way with all animals.
It is feast when you can, starve when you must.


It is true that we are designed to eat when food is plentiful to avoid
starving. Since people in first world countries have ready access to calorie
dense food and labor saving conveniences, it is unlikely that this problem
is going to get better soon. Also since most of us don't suffer the
complications of obesity until after the age of reproduction, evolution is
not likely to have an impact either. Medical technology will probably
eventually allow us to eat like pigs and not have it be a health nightmare
but right now we aren't even close. So I fight an uphill battle. But I'm a
triker. I can deal with hills.

Jeff

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

Forget about losing weight. We Americans, like most of the world's
better off peoples, are destined to be over weight for all eternity. It
is what comes of having too much leisure and too much food. In India,
until recently, only the well to do were heavy. The peons were thin as
rails. Who wants to be a peon.


Can't do that Ed. I recently found out that I'm diabetic. The cost of
not losing weight is not just working harder on hills and having a less
than perfect appearance. I've already gone from 300 down to 250 but I
really should be under 200. Since I want to be riding for many more
years the weight loss isn't optional at this point.

Diabetes is the major complication that arises from being overweight. 200
would a good goal for you to shoot for. Losing weight is the hardest
thing in the world, especially for older people. Best of luck in your
efforts.


I agree with everything that you've said (for once). Just because it is
hard doesn't mean that I shouldn't do it. I have made fighting diabetes
one of the major themes of the rest of my life. You'll learn more about
this soon. Thank you for your good wishes.

Those fat Indians probably didn't eat a sugar rich American diet nor
were they interested in being in good shape for cycling.

Those fat Indians were following a Western style diet. The thin Indians
were following their traditional diets. As the world moves ever more and
more to the Western diet, we will see ever more and more fat people. Our
evolution has not designed us to eat sensibly, but rather to eat
plentifully whenever food is available. It is that way with all animals.
It is feast when you can, starve when you must.


It is true that we are designed to eat when food is plentiful to avoid
starving. Since people in first world countries have ready access to
calorie dense food and labor saving conveniences, it is unlikely that this
problem is going to get better soon. Also since most of us don't suffer
the complications of obesity until after the age of reproduction,
evolution is not likely to have an impact either. Medical technology will
probably eventually allow us to eat like pigs and not have it be a health
nightmare but right now we aren't even close. So I fight an uphill battle.
But I'm a triker. I can deal with hills.

Jeff

I note with pleasure that Jeff Grippe is now posting 100% correctly. It was
hard work but I have finally succeeded in my humble efforts on his behalf.
It will now be a pleasure for all on this group to read his posts and to
know full well what is being said by all parties to the conversation.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

My Posting Style and Eddie influence.

Ed, get over yourself please.

Here is your pridictable knee jerk reaction, however. I hope you enjoyed it.

Jeff

"Mike Rice" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 09:32:06 -0400, "Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote:

I mention it now because in the book there is reference to people who
have been able to get off insulin and maintain a healthy weight by
staying on a low carb regimen. I have met a couple of diabetics who
sere able to discontinue insulin use after adopting the Atkinsl
approach.


Thanks for the advice. I am able to manage my diabetes with diet and
exercise alone.

As a diabetic I must eat carbs but in measured and controlled amounts. An
ultra-low carb diet such as Atkins would not be good for me. Also I have
been taught to count all carbs. Atkins lets you subtract fiber and other
low-impact carbs. My diabetes educator does not allow me to do that. What I
have learned about healthy eating for diabetic is that I should eat carbs
but they must be controlled and their impact on my blood sugar must be
monitored.

Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

Jeff

"Jeff Grippe" jeff@door7 wrote in message
...
My Posting Style and Eddie influence.

Ed, get over yourself please.

Here is your pridictable knee jerk reaction, however. I hope you enjoyed
it.

Jeff

Now Jeff is posting like a jackass again. It may be that he cannot escape
his natural proclivities no matter the instruction from his superiors.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota