I acquired a recumbent last week.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7182667030
Good basic design that's about the size and weight of a mountain bike. I can get it up and down five flights, but it's clumsy.
Preliminary ride reports are inconclusive. The set up very twitchy -- can't relax on it yet and am not comfortable in traffic.
Also, am using a different muscle groups than a roadie so I'm barely up to C/B speeds. Did a short ride up and down the East River bike path and a slow ascent on the Williamsburg Bridge.
If people are interested, I can post more. While I have been jones-ing for a recumbent for a while. I'm NOT yet persuaded that it's a useful tool.
However, the NY Times article has added a whole other dimension to the argument.
Freaky article in the Times #2
why?
one week you're considering the A SIG; next week you're riding a recumbent...
I own four bikes, including a full suspension bike that's perfect for the Urban Adventure rides and Manhattan commuting.
Different tools for different jobs.
I bought a recumbent several years ago, when Trek made them. I think I rode it a total of 75 miles. I still have it, but I've stripped the parts and little wheels for use with a folding bike.
It was a gas to ride on the east side of Central Park, where it's mostly flat or downhill. It was unbelievably slow up Harlem Hill, and this didn't have anything to do with muscle groups, either.
They're all twitchy, especially when starting, but some are worse than others. It was completely nerve-wracking to get the Trek from my apartment (one block away!) TO the park so I could ride it. Think about trying to get one over the north walkway of the GWB with the stairs, towers, and sharp turns. No thanks! Okay, now think about going around the sharp bend on the south walkway - uphill!
The big selling point - the seat - contributed FIVE pounds to the overall weight. Hell, even my Brooks saddles weigh less than than.
Also, it's uncomfortable to sit in one position for long periods of time (think office chair), but it's hard to shift around much in a recumbent seat. So, your back can start to ache even though you're sitting.
Now lest you think I don't like recumbents at all, let me say that I would have one if I lived in southern New Jersey (where I usually go for vacation) because it's flat, and the roads are straight, and the big issue is the wind. I wouldn't ONLY have a recumbent, but I think I'd build a low, long-wheelbase job for speed runs. They're good for that.
You can't turn, but you can go fast:
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2005/results.htm
It would NOT do to ride around Central Park at 70 mph!
