In this article, two people who have never ridden recumbents before, tried a BikeE and were amazed at the comfort and fun of riding 'bent!
FITNESS INVESTIGATES THE RECUMBENT BICYCLE (Fitness Magazine, AP 1999)
by Barbara Hustedt Crook
Living in a beach town that has about as many bikes as
people, I'd seen those clownish bikes you pedal with your legs straight
out - the kind that any hard-core cyclist wouldn't be caught dead riding.
Still, they looked curiously fun. One day I drove by a shop with a sign
that read, 'Have you test-ridden a recumbent yet?" and decided to stop
and inquire.
"More and more people are discovering recumbents," Jack Malysa, the owner of Freehold Bicycles in Freehold, New Jersey, told me. "They put less strain on your back and joints, so they're perfect for anyone who has problems on a regular bike," he said. "Or anyone who just wants a fun ride." While an estimated 15,000 recumbents were sold in 1998, that number should double this year, and keep growing. Bents may even become a serious mainstream bike alternative as fitness enthusiasts-including many knee- and back-weary baby boomers - look for bikes that are more comfortable. More comfort and more fun sounded good to me, so I asked if I could borrow one for an extended test, and he agreed. When I broached my, um, aesthetic concerns, he laughed: "You'll forget them. You'll see. You'll have this funny little smile on your face."
As he wheeled my 21-speed loaner into the parking lot, Malysa mentioned that recumbents have been banned from conventional racing-they're too fast. That grabbed my attention. Distracted by visions of leaving other bikers in my dust, I only half-listened to the rest of what he was saying and found myself, on my first attempt at takeoff, listing precariously to the left.
"Just relax your shoulders," Malysa prompted. And sure enough, I was soon happily circling the blacktop. What did I care that the turning radius was wide because of those spread-apart wheels? I kind of liked the racy sensation of leaning into curves. Not to mention the feeling that my glutes were really being worked. Still, I wondered, would I feel impossibly dorky riding this weird-looking bike?
THIS BIKE IS HOT!
Forget dorky! From the reactions elicited by BikeE, I might have been driving a Lamborghini. Men swiveled their heads and whistled. Kids called, "Cool!" Plus, I was passing other cyclists. Soon I was smiling that silly smile. Many who saw me riding - friends, neighbors, even strangers- angled to take my bent for a spin.
Certainly, I was the exception when it came to taking off. No one else who hopped on had a problem. A few wished the handlebars were lower. Because you pedal in a recumbent position, the taller you are, the higher the handlebars have to be to allow your knees to clear; for anyone over six-foot-one, a model with an extended-length frame is recommended. And two people mentioned minor problems with the wide turns. For the most part, though, there were only raves. A man with carpal tunnel said it was the first hike that hadn't turned his wrists to mush ("Like taking a spin on my BarcaLounger"), while the owner of a mountain bike confided that after BikeE, hers felt like pedaling a rock.
THE RIDE UPHILL IS TOUGHER
Among fans, the consensus is that recumbents are great for long distances because they're so comfortable to ride. I'd really enjoyed a 16-mile spin along the ocean one day, but had yet to test BikeE on hills, where critics claim bents are a drag, since, for starters, you can't stand up. So I headed for a scenic state park that's a 14-mile round trip over hilly terrain. Even with a stiff west wind, I did pretty well. Who needs to stand on an upgrade when you have a backrest to give you such thrust?
I wondered how my creaky-jointed spouse would fare on a longish haul. I lured him off the couch with the promise of a smooth, pain-free and fun ride.
"This isn't bad," he said, cresting the highest hill while I strained to keep up with him on my traditional 10-speed. Meanwhile, I was missing the attention I'd gotten on "Superbike", as Hubby had taken to calling her. And later, my tired legs missed the power they'd had in the recumbent position. Besides, my neck hurt, something I'd never experienced before. Was it hypochondriacal pain? As for him: no joint complaints at all! A first.
As we wheeled into the garage, my spouse commented on the attractive design of the Raleigh cruiser I'd bought him last year in a vain effort to inspire more exertion on his part.
"So she's still your favorite," I said, hoping to snag back BikeE for myself. "I like looking at her," he said. "I like riding Superbike."
I really wanted to know why the BikeE's ride was so smooth. Clearly, I needed to talk to some experts.
WHY IT HURTS LESS
What's the skinny on BikeE's seductive ride?
"The special cantilevered fork on the load-bearing rear wheel acts as a shock absorber," explained Dave Uliman, BikeE's vice president of new product development. "Plus, the seat cushion is padded." Ullman added that traditional bike seats have been shown to increase the chances of impotence in males who cycle a lot. Comfort-wise, they're not so hot for women, either. (Ouch. Not for nothing was I saddle sore after riding my 10-speed.)
With a recumbent, that's not an issue, since the pressure is all on your butt. Speaking of which, Uliman says his has shaped up considerably in the 20 years he's been riding recumbents. His claim is consistent with the findings of biomechanist Danny Too of the State University of New York, who says that while bents work the same muscle groups as other bikes, the focus is different: Bents do less for your quads, more for your hamstrings and glutes.
As for your other body parts, the advantage of the recumbent position is that you bear less weight on your wrists, knees, shoulders and (aha!) neck.
Regarding the back, though, Gerald Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise and sports science at Oregon State University, has reservations: "You tend to flex your spine while reaching to steer, just as you would in a car," he said. "And flexing isn't great for the vertebrae." Still, Smith concedes that some bum backs just feel better on a bent (Dave Ullman's and Jack Malysa's, to name two; both originally switched bikes because of injured discs). Smith also mentioned a safety bonus: "In a crash, you run into obstacles feet-first."
What about the speed factor that's so dear to my heart? "No question they're more aerodynamic," commented Too. "And the design gives you measurably more leg power:" It's only on steep hills, he says, that they get their comeuppance, since you're not just working against gravity but against the weight of your body. The flip side? Recumbents are more efficient on the downslope.
There are reasons a person could fall in love. In fact, since bents allow you to pedal longer without getting tired, Too declares them hands down winner for beginning exercisers. Maybe the recumbent costs a bit more (they range from $650 to $1,995) than a conventional road bike, but Superbike did get my sofa spud up and out, and you can't put a price tag on that.
