Recumbent versus Audax bike
yannigr
Posts: 32
Hello all,
I have changed job and my commute is now 12 miles (up from 4ish), I had a go last wednesday with my hybrid did not find it unmanageable but thought that I will need something faster if I want to carry on being a cyclist!
I quite fancy the new Thorn audax mk3 (probably the max I would be willing to spend), but also think that may be a recumbent would be better. The first half of my commute is a bit undulating then it is a flat railway path.
Could anybody point me toward a recumbent worth considering for this kind of money?
Or do you think I should stick to an upright bike?
I am after comfort and best speed for minimal sweat!
Yannig
I have changed job and my commute is now 12 miles (up from 4ish), I had a go last wednesday with my hybrid did not find it unmanageable but thought that I will need something faster if I want to carry on being a cyclist!
I quite fancy the new Thorn audax mk3 (probably the max I would be willing to spend), but also think that may be a recumbent would be better. The first half of my commute is a bit undulating then it is a flat railway path.
Could anybody point me toward a recumbent worth considering for this kind of money?
Or do you think I should stick to an upright bike?
I am after comfort and best speed for minimal sweat!
Yannig
0
Comments
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I've upped my commute from 10 miles to 13 miles (return) and I certainly felt the change for weeks! Thinner tyres with no nobbies and drop bars will make a difference to your current hybrid - so some sort of audax bike would be a good idea.
Bents use a different set of muscles than safety bikes, so you would have two issues to struggle with if you adopt this approach. Fundamentally bents are more efficient vehicles (as far as I know) but you have to factor all the other issues that follow from taking the plunge, one of which is cost of your new steed (you'll get a really good safety bike for the cost of a starter bent).
Can you borrow/try someone else's? See if you can have a go on a shop model? Have you asked in special interests (or does that section no longer exist?)0 -
you want to talk to BentMikey, Dark Lord of the recumbent folk
But he's been a bit quiet recently...try PM'ing him
It's just a hill. Get over it.0 -
thank for your help, I think that I will also post this on the special interest group!0
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Hi Yannig,
I'm sure I'm not the expert, but I do quite a bit of commuting on my Challenge Hurricane. There are advantages and disadvantages, same as with any type of bike. They're good at some things, and less good at others.
For my recumbent, it's good at going fast and being very comfortable, but it's not so great for going uphill due to the heavy weight, it's OK but not perfect at filtering with really heavy traffic. That's partly because it's slightly harder to balance than my upright fixed wheel, and partly because my head is far back from my feet. Think of that last being a bit like having to stick the bonnet of your car out past the giveway at a T-junction until you can see into the major road. It's not a problem on my commute from Biggin Hill to the West End, and there are a few videos of my cycling up on youtube, if you search for "lsmike".
I wouldn't say recumbents are a magic pill that will make your commute significantly easier, but just a little bit. You'll also need to do a fair bit of adaptation to learn to ride one and to alter your fitness to become more recumbent specific.
If your only goal is to make your commute easier, I would probably just go with some sort of lightweight upright road bike, depending on the surfaces you ride on. If you want to have fun and don't mind the effort to change, then recumbents are great, but I would recommend you spend some time riding all sorts of different models to find out if you'll get on with them.
Cheers,
Mikey.0 -
