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Hi, Do you get sore elbows with the Over Seat Steering? Have you tried Under Seat Steering? Thanks

Very late to the party here, but hopefully by now you have switched over to clip-in pedals of some kind, and specifically mountain-bike-style shoes/cleats. Absolutely a must in my opinion after 10+ years of recumbent riding. I use Shimano pedals that have clips on one side and a flat-pedal surface on the other which is especially handy for slow riding, taking off on hills or side sloping roads, and moving short distances. Still ride both Delta-frame road bikes and recumbents, but as time passes I seem to spend more time on the recumbents. And yes, COMFORT is the reason why.

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Pedaling shoe rub: I had the same problem with my SWB (short wheelbase) Bacchetta Giro 20 and even my LWB Gold Rush Replica. My solution to this also worked for riding slowly: I only pedal about 1/3 turn with my feet in the safe position, then ratchet backwards and push again. Repeating the small pushes lets you keep "power on" during the slow, sharp turns or even riding slowly in a straight line. My current bike, a LWB Bacchetta Bella, doesn't have the pedal interference, but it's more awkward to transport. However, it's also more comfortable than a SWB bike. More stable at speed, too. Hope you still have your zero fall-off record going. That brings to mind another advantage of recumbents: less distance to fall to the ground! Usually, I can just put a hand down to steady myself, rather than doing a "Laugh-In" type of stop/fall.

Well 1st thing is you have a ridiculous recumbent! The ONLY really good recumbent bike is the Bike E. Sadly they are out of business. The bike you have sits too high and the seat reclines too far. Also the seat cannot adjust anywhere near what a bike E seat can. I just saw to recumbent trikes on the trail today and they are ridiculous also as they sit way too low and the wheel space between the front wheels takes up too much of the concrete path. There is ONLY one good real recumbent and that is the Bike E.

thanks a lot from Spain

Your handlebars are too close to your body, I have a similar recumbent and hard turns for you would be difficult. I can ride slowly it is just practice. I agree with all your other observations. One thing you didn’t mention is when going downhill your bike will accelerate much quicker than normal bikes, the lack of air resistance is obvious. It is a favourite bike, I believe I could ride further than me on a normal bike. I added an enviola hub to the rear wheel which gives me better control when climbing hills. That is something you will learn in your second month.

That was very helpful, thanks ✌

I recently borrowed a recumbant bike and liked it very much. After some days I did a long and fast trip, almost like I use to do with my racing bike. After that trip my knees hurt badly! (the joints - not any muscles) Is that a general problem due to the physics of recumbant bike riding? Or would it only need more training before the first long trip?

3:09 Positioning your inside foot close to you isn't the only option, you could also position at the top position or even the forward position.

3:42 You could ratchet pedal thru tight corners.

Much enjoyed your 1 month video on the recumbent and your experiences. So how fast is the recumbent bike you are riding compared to your "normal" one? Do you find it more comfortable to cycle? what about hills? kind regards from the UK

Nice no-nonsense recap of riding a recumbent bicycle. Just what I was looking for. Thank you su much, Sir. Do you feel the need to add a flag or something of the sort to it? When I ride in groups and I see someone in a recumbent I feel as if they are not very noticeable by cars.

Extremely helpful video!

OK. But you must get off on the left or the horse will kick you. You been mule kicked ifn ya didn know that.

I just checked the Azub site, I just can't do 4,500.00...damn

i think i would like the handlebars below and under the bike like I've seen on others

where did u find a bike to test ride? I want one but I want to ride one first, I have back issues from years in Army

No shoe clips is dangerous. Pray that your foot never slips off the pedal, painful, serious injuries can result.

You did not say anything about its performances versus an upright bicycle.

Looks dodgy, will go for a recumbant trike for comfort instead

Shoe rub: not a problem on a front wheel drive CruzBike. Definitely 'bent riding requires an iron grip on tight turns. FWD complicates matters b/c of the need to countersteer the pedal strokes, but easier to pull thru sand, grass & gravel.

What is make, model and size of your bike,,txs fj

I've been riding recumbents since 1986. My current bike is a Challenge Furai. It has smaller wheels which makes getting on/off easier than your Azub I think. Hold brakes while getting on/off is good advice. For me the main plus points are comfort, efficiency and safety. Depending on your speed you need 15% to 20% less energy when riding horizontal. Recumbents tend to be heavier, so uphill I am slower than most bikes, overtaking just about any bike on the horizontal and downhill ride. Recumbents tend to be not as agile as upright bikes. Like the comment mentions below, after a couple of weeks you get used to it and I can slow down to a snail speed when getting to a junction and waiting for a traffic light. Because you back is fixed in a seat, you only need one hand on the handlebars, even when going up a steep bank. Try that on a mountain bike! As to the point of safery; I've come off a few times (ice/mud) but you fall from a relatively low height. I've hurt my hand recently. However, falling off twice from my mountain bike on ice, resulted in painful hip on one occasion and a painful shoulder on another. When you hit something frontal (like a car pulling out and saying "oh I didn't see you because you are so low" ... grunt ... means you feet are in front of you as a shock absorber. I feel much saver at high speed on a recumbent. However, in a busy city I would prefer an upright as you can generally see over the top of cars. I hope this adds to your video.

Another trick to learn on a recumbent bike is to learn to lean into turns as you turn the steering...it helps for tighter turns

Some good advice...but some things only happen as you have a bigger wheel up front....

Don't start out with a big dual wheeled bent as your first bent. Yes it is a good bent but it is not a beginner bent. Tight corners are the only times your shoe may touch however two ways of getting past this is 1. shorter cranks as I went from 170 to 153 mm 2. ride with your heel on the pedal. Balance on the bent comes with a fair amount of time. Steering is sensitive and all the pressure you need is the same as gripping the bars as if they were ripe bananas that you don't want to bruise. Recumbents are different and you do not just jump on one and go for a ten minute ride to see how it performs. You need 3 weeks to get comfortable on one . I have a 2016 Bacchetta Giro A20 that was a great bent to start with but I happen to like shorter crank arms as that gives me all the power I need and a faster spin. they are the equivalent of doing a half squat vs the full squat , a half squat has more power going up than going from the ground up. next was the seat as all sorts of people rave about the Euromesh seat and I like a full mesh seat, so that was changed. Several years go by and I finally changed the drive train from 27 speeds to 20 speeds and the front 48 tooth chain ring is gone as when fully loaded touring your higher gears are just not used. I spin / cadence is 85-90 rpm and I rarely spin a high gear unless down a hill or with the wind at my back . My gearing is in small increments for those long hills where you wish you had a lower gear or a gear in between . When you can not stand up to pedal up a hill or have to sit for 4-5 hours at a time riding between campsites it is really important to have a comfortable seat , mine is. To sum up the difference between an upright bike and the Recumbent , it would be ; A diamond frame bike will give me the speed I love and the recumbent will give me the speed I love and comfort far in excess of any saddle that your sit bones occupy.

Parabéns pela bike,gostei Jesus te ama

Exactly what I wanted to know, and it is the most honest and precise feedback. Thanks, and great work 👍

I believe the "agility" issue is more a matter of practice and developing confidence rather than bike design. I have both a traditional road bike that I've ridden 3 years and a RANS Vivo recumbent that I've ridden for 18 years. IMO the RANS is every bit the equal of the road bike in slow speed handling and today I can turn on it every bit as tightly and slowly as I can on the road bike. But I couldn't do that when I only had the RANS for a month!

Now, the really scary part of a liegerad with this style of hadlebars is that in a frontal collision your nuts are going to be sent straight into a metal bar..

Just started the journey, my take always. Starting, the tricky bit. Helps if you turn the wheel slightly towards the foot you are first pedalling on. Ie, push on right pedal makes bike go a bit to left. So counteract with slight right turn. There is a tendency to brace your shoulders and arms when thing start to go astray, worse thing you can do, try to stay relaxed. In fact best to press shoulders into the seat, sort of throw your head back. Hold bars very lightly. Easier if the boom is set a bit shorter to start with. Starting with the rear brake very slightly dragging gives you something to push against when starting. If you have low down close in panniers, you may find it easier with these loaded, it drops the c of g. Lean your head into the turn Finally, for first runs, wear thick gloves and old pants!

A lot of his comments apply only to that particular recumbent. A long wheelbase recumbent like my Rans Stratus XP doesn't exhibit a lot of the problems he describes. Not all recumbents are the same.

Thank You, little points, but important points

He is a Christian. He has that annointed glow

Considering a recumbent bike, this video was super informative. Thank you!

How fast does she go?

20 inch front wheel solves shoe rub

I am wondering what happened to your channel. You were off to a good start (even if it was "Fred Flinstoning" it at the beginning), posted a few videos, and 'poof!' disappeared. I hope you came through traffic and the pandemic well and simply lost interest in your bent or your channel. I, for one, would enjoy an update.

1st 3 seconds were the same as my experience. LOL I had to get on the top of my driveway to get going and it's a short driveway with a curb at the end. LOL

I am currently a owner of 2 recumbents (swb and lwb). The LWB is about the same wheel base length as a small sedan so taking turns with it are very difficult. The SWB is on a high wheel dual 26” wheels so tight turns may require I lift my inside heel up to avoid wheel rub. Both recumbents are very heavy (19kg) unloaded so when touring, added pack weight can push total weight to 50+kg, very hard uphill! Yes they reduce tension on arms, hands, back but one can suffer “recumbent” butt , a numbness from sitting so long! I am definitely slower on my “bents” than an upright even with a fairing installed! That’s because of their weight.

Hey, just wanted to say great video. Wonderful narration and timely illustrations/examples, no fluff. Impressed with you for never falling off! I fell off twice in my first few days of riding.

Thanks for your excellent videos. I had a Phantom Lightning for a few weeks and could not get used to the process of starting and stopping. Very wobbly. Have you mastered the process? Also, I noticed your UT Longhorn tee shirt. Are you in Texas? My wife and I are in Marble Falls. If you are not too distant, would you like to meet for a ride?

Thanks! The tip about handlebar sensitivity hit home especially 👍Noted!!

Honest & informative great man : ) yeah recumbents rules, can't believe it we're still in these times (2022) seeing 19th century invention with hard small seats and awkward body position people still use conventional bikes : O but guess it's a price thing, hopefully recumbents drop in price soon (due to more demand of course)

Excellent notice - very important one because it's a safety threat. I guess expanding the boom does not solve the problem? Anyone knows if this issue is the same with other similiar models such as Bacchetta, where pedals are higher? My own fave is the semi-recumbent style or recumbents with pedals lower behind the front wheel (Rans etc.) and I think the power transmission is more effective.

Superman bar is more stable ....

MAXRider- Are recumbents faster than a regular bike or even a racing road bike? whats the highest speed you've achieved on your recumbent?

Hi James. Thats a fair summary of many of the ins and outs of the recumbents pros and cons thanks. Just to add my 20c worth in addition to your information for anyone who might find it usefull.. I have bachetta giro 24 and 26. Love riding both of them, but what I would add is that after a while all of those things you mentioned about slow speed maneuvering , wobbles, putting feet down, getting off smoothly taking off from stationary smoothly etc etc virtually completely disappear and become non issues. Maneuvering around tight obstacles like those bars at the end of alleyways to force people to slow down etc can be an issues purely because the turning circle is so much longer on a recumbent.. This cant really be helped but it mostly isnt a problem at all unless its really tight. In the worse case scenario you actually have to get off and lift the back around because it physically can not turn tight enough to make it through but its is very rare . Just tight wheelchair ramps that have tight zig zags can be minor issues. Overall its well worth the other benefits that you gain, like no numb hands or butt.. EVER. I can ride 100 km with 0 aches. Thats just brilliant and certainly not the case on a traditional bike. One think I dont remember you mentioniing was that uphill they can be a lot harder if the hill is very steep. mild hills no probs but steep, where you have to go slow and they require a lot more balance and the slower you end up going the harder it is to balance. I find that you just cant stop or else its hard to get going again. thats definitely a weak point if you dont have an electric motor to assist. Another point if youre in busy city traffic is that its not so easy to see behind you because you can only turn your head and not your whole body to look behind you because your back is leaning against the seat's backrest so you dont have as much bodily articulation. This is why many recumbents have mirrors fitted, but generally Its not an issue, especially if you keep the backrest of the seat at more of an upright angle (which I dont, I like it very reclined). Also my bike does not have suspension so i probably sit lower than you do which is why it might be easier to get on an off but despite having no suspension the bumps are nowhere near as bad as you might think Nowhere near as bad as the same bumps when ridden on a normal bike.. I think this is because your back is at a less vertical position in relation to the up and down shock forces being transmitted by road bumps, the slightly flexing suspending action of the seat backrest and the massive size and depth of the seat base, which spreads the impacts more evenly compared to a traditional bike seat. One other hint for learners.. To quickly get used to the difference in riding one of these bikes i found it very helpful to take it to the top of a long but very mild hill, so you can get used to the balance and action of lifting your feet up and putting them on the pedals on take off WITHOUT actually having to pedal too. Its like you can get used to the handing characteristics without actually pedalling or having to also learn the art of the start/stop technique at the same time.. You get going quickly and slow glide down the hill without needing to pedal. Once you get used to that you can practice taking off with the assistance of gravity and not having to pedal, which means you will have less problems due to losing motion if you dont get the start right, which I think most people wont get right straight away.. Once or twice doing this hill practice and thats all you'll need.. Easy to learn and tottally worth it Anyway.. I hope this helps. Good luck to you all..

Shoe rub is also called 'heel strike'.