A couple of people asked me what a bent is after I mentioned it in my chili post. Sometimes I forget not everyone is a bicycle enthusiast.
Bent is short for recumbent bicycle. It’s a bicycle that you ride in a more reclined position and the pedals are out in front of you instead of directly below you. They’re a very comfortable bicycle and have a seat that’s actually designed to fit your butt instead of giving you a wedgie. LOL
Back in the 30s bents were banned from bicycle racing because they have an “unfair” speed advantage over a standard diamond frame bicycle. To this day they still race in their own class and are not allowed to race against the road bikes. All of the bicycle speed records have been set on bents.
I can do a little better than 30 mph on my bent and it’s considered a slow one compared to the more expensive models.
Here’s mine. To give you an idea of scale, the bike is six feet long.
Looks very comfy! I’ve always been curious though, which is easier to peddle, a road/mountain bike, or, recumbent? It [I]seems [/I]like a road/mountain bike would be easier on the legs because of the positioning of the body, but, is that so?
I have an awesome retro lookin’ bike: it’s an Electra and it’s called The Betty. The seat is relatively comfy, but, my butt is still a bit too big for it…lol…I need to get out riding again, I miss it terribly…Haven’t had much of a chance to with the kids though
My DH and I own 6 bikes, including a tandem – but sadly, no recumbents. I’ve always wanted to at least try one out because they look so comfortable and fun to ride.
I really love my bike (it’s a Trek hybrid) and our tandem (Fuji) but still hope that one of these days I’ll get a chance to ride a bent.
A recumbent is actually easier in the sense that it’s a more natural position and uses the larger leg muscles. This allows for a more efficient power transfer.
The one downside is that due to being able to apply more force to the pedals you can potentially injure the knees. Bent riders are far more conscious about using a little higher cadence and not trying to power into the pedals as hard as they can.
Balance is also a lot better as you’re seated in a natural position. If you do lose it, it’s a lot less distance to fall LOL
That kind of depends on how you ride, but in general over the same distance walking burns more calories than cycling, cycling just gets you there faster.
Now I’m presuming that you are a bit taller than my 5’0". Do you feel more vulnerable when you ride your bike on the roads? Are there more or fewer accidents involving bents? My FIL owns one and loves it, but he lives in a small town where lots of people walk and bike. I’d feel vulnerable down low on the ground in my town. We have very few bike lanes, not that anyone pays attention to them anyway. I’m seriously thinking of getting a new bike as most of the places that I need to go are within a 6 mile drive from my house. Just wondering if they are safer as far as visibility. Or maybe people run you over more because they are so curious as to what you are actually riding?
Well, there are always the drivers who either don’t pay attention or simply don’t respect a cyclist’s rights to use the roadway, but for the most part bents tend to be more visible simply because people don’t see a lot of them and they do look so much different. That tends to draw their attention a bit more.
If the lower profile makes you uncomfortable you can always mount an orange flag on a tall pole. They make them specifically for bents and they’re easy to mount.
I also run a flashing headlight and tail light, even during the day, which also serves to attract attention. Can’t be too safe ya know.
Last Summer I was riding downtown and had some old fart who doesn’t respect cyclist’s rights pass so close to me that I had to lean a little to keep his mirror from hitting me. Luckily there was a cop behind him and he immediately pulled him over and signaled for me to stop as well.
The cop wanted me to see him chew the guy out and write him a ticket for it. :cheering: He passed me in a no passing zone.
The cop told me the ticket would cost the old fart $250.
Bicycles are legal vehicles. We are expected to obey all the traffic laws, and auto drivers are required to treat us as a legal vehicle and drive accordingly.
This is really interesting to me - I’ve been looking for a way to cycle that wouldn’t hurt me for ages. I damaged my coccyx about 10 years ago, and since then haven’t been able to sit on any kind of bicycle seat because of the direct pressure (even ultra-padded ones). I’ve asked bike shops about options, but they didn’t really know much, so I gave up. I am also limited by the fibromyalgia, but I imagine walking is worse for my hips than this would be, so this could be a form of exercise I’m capable of! Woo!
I don’t think I’d be comfortable on our roads, cars don’t seem to respect each other, let alone cyclists, so I’d stick to the cycle paths in the local parks. It would be great, though - since often I’m too sore to walk all the way through, something like this may open up some places for me.
My busted hip was why I opted for a bent in the first place. The seat is far more comfy and natural than a standard bike seat. Find a bent dealer in your area and test ride a couple. They come in many different design styles such as long wheel base, compact long wheel base (like mine), and short wheel base with many permutations within each category.
You can do some googling to find dealers in your area. I’m lucky in that we have one of the best dealers in the country located right here. People drive past several others to go to his shop.
Do Bents come in three wheelers? We see a man ride a three wheeler that looks somewhat like yours. He has it all decked out with a top to keep the sun off, a basket to carry his things and a sign on the back that says, “No Riders. Only Redheads!” We see him at a restaurant we frequent. I thought cars were to pass cycles with at least 3 feet distance.
That is really cool! I’ve always wanted to try one, just to see what it’s like. How is it on hills? I live in a very hilly area, and would be curious to know how it compares to a regular (‘diamond frame’ you called it? never heard that either!) bike.
It drives me crazy when people don’t respect bikers! It’s nice that you got instant justice!
Btw, I love your nickname for it-Amish Harley Too funny!
Bents tend to be heavier than diamond frames so if you do a lot of hill riding I’d go with a model made from a lighter material. Mine has a steel frame and so weighs a little over 40 lbs, not the best for a lot of hills. They do make them out of lighter materials. A nice short wheel base aluminum model would be just fine for the hills as it would weigh about the same as an average diamond frame bike.
[FONT=“Comic Sans MS”]Wow that is cool that would be nice for someone who has never learned to ride a bike(that would be me lol I had no desire to when I was a kid lol)[/FONT]
