Comments on: Benting to Work

By: Deb in Texas

Deb in Texas — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:36:17 +0000

In answer to Ted Johnson’s question about bumps, because you are in a natural position of looking ahead and not bent over looking down forcing your head to look up and forward, you can see everything in your path before you get to it, thus allowing you to avoid things such as bumps or potholes before you get to them… no surprises. You would not want to ride over them in the first place because you could do damage to your wheel(s) or tire(s).

I have had mine for only 3 days, my husband has had his for 2 weeks and we go out every single day. They are a joy, extremely comfortable, and he doesn’t come back with “numb-nuts” He’s a prostate cancer survivor and his regular bike was keeping him from healing.

By: James Ford

James Ford — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:30:41 +0000

I bought a Sun supercruser EZ-1 last August and i am hoping to make frequent 13 mile trips this summer. I am seriously considering getting a fairing for the front. I always ride alone and do not know any other bent riders. Their are two types I have found. One is smaller and covers the upper half of the handle bars. The second one covers every thing the small one covers and extends down to over the peddles. As 13 mile riders in Ohio might be cought in summer storms the larger one seems to look dryer. Have you had any experence or know someone who has had experance with one or both that whould share their impressions please?

By: Tony Shelver

Tony Shelver — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:36:28 +0000

It very much depends on the bent as to how bumps affect the ride. I have a SUN Sport AX (the aluminum version of Blues bike) and a tadpole trike (Trice Q).
The Trice has 20″ wheels all round, weight is distributed pretty much evenly.

I also used to have a hardtail MTB, no longer with me as i was not riding it much.

Although the 20″ wheels on the Trice pick up bumps a bit more (I live in northern New Hampshire, where frost heaves and potholes are more than common and road maintenance sucks), the mesh sling seat that is reclined to 30% from horizontal and the elastomer rear suspension (about 2″ of travel) make for a smoother ride than on the SUN.
The downside is that 3 wheel tracks make it more difficult to find a smooth path between the bumps.

Not that the SUN is bad, for me it was a lot more shock absorbent than the department store MTB that was too painful to ride for much distance.
I’d guess the words ‘Cadillac’ and ‘Jeep Wrangler’ would come to mind comparing the two. The Sport is just a lot smoother then the MTB.

I do find that the relatively upright position on the Sport compared to other bents can transmit more shock to your back then on a more reclined bent. As noted by Blues, you can raise your butt a bit off the saddle using a combination of pedal pressure and a but of leverage from the bars.

By: Leo Horishny

Leo Horishny — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:44:12 +0000

Ted, actually the length of the bike absorbs some of that pothole impact, but the primary shock absorption is that fat foam seat cushion that helps minimize any pothole impact!
That said, I do cringe and worry about my rims when I hit potholes dead on, but so far, no bent[sic] rims.
I have a lower end EZ than BluesCat and I love mine. I’m at 149 commutes to work on my bike this year and at 2794 miles, there’s no way I would have wanted to do these many miles on my hardtail mtb. That’s what I started commuting on until I came across this recumbent.

By: BluesCat

BluesCat — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:58:38 +0000

Josh – Hmmm. I’ll have to see if I can find a road under construction, or one with a LOT of potholes, and sit on the curb and record the sounds of bicyclists hitting them.

Hey! Maybe I could create a Christmas carol album a la the Barking Dogs! (I’d need to add some sounds, like the “Argh!” made by gal who loses the groceries out of her front basket when she hits that speed bump.)

Jingle Bells by The Tortured Cyclists

“Oof, oof, oof! Oof, oof, oof!
“Oof, woo, whups, argh, oof!”

By: Josh Lipton

Josh Lipton — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 04:57:32 +0000

The variation in tomes makes me think of a bell choir.

Should we call it a bump choir?

By: BluesCat

BluesCat — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:57:54 +0000

Ted – Actually, if you see the bump coming, and you have the ape-hanger handlebar Over-Seat-Steering (OSS) like [i]Bluetiful[/i] has, you can hoist yourself up slightly out of the seat so the severity of the bump is somewhat mitigated.

It’s those “Surprise!” potholes/bumps that get me on ANY bike, when I don’t have a chance to either stand in the pedals or lift myself up off the seat. On the Giant Yukon MTB with the RockShox and the Brooks saddle I just sorta go “Whups! Hope that didn’t knock a wheel out of true!” On the bent, it’s “Woo! Bouncing like hitting a mogul on a toboggan!” If it’s my 1986 Batavus Course road bike it’s “Oof! Guess I’ll be talking a bit falsetto for the next few days!”

By: Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:19:32 +0000

BluesCat: What I’ve always wondered about recumbents is whether you have to adjust to taking all the bumps on your butt, instead of letting your legs take the shock.

I stand on my pedals a lot, even when I’m on pavement. I see a pothole, I stand up. I hop a curb, I stand up.

I would imagine that you make minor (or even major) alterations to your route if you’re on a recumbent compared to a DF bike.