Dr. Greg's Bicycle Page
I got serious about cycling in 1970, did some road racing in Southern
California in the early 70's, had an encounter with a 3/4-ton pickup truck
on March 30, 1972 on Hwy 79 10 miles south of Hemet, CA...the results:
- Broken left femur, two months in traction...
- Broken left radius and ulna, plates on both...
- Severe concussion, out of my head for two weeks...
Actually the concussion was a blessing, since I don't remember the crash
(killed my best friend, BTW) and have no fear of riding. Go figure. And
because of the resulting delay in getting back to graduate school I met my
wife-to-be (the lovely Annie!). Just goes to show.
But anyway, in July 1997 I had a pretty bad endo on my dirt bike (see "Dr.
Greg's Motorcycle Page") and my neck got tweaked pretty good. Cycling on an
upright bike, with the requisite neck extension, was painful.
So much for the bad, now for the good news.
Thanks to
Chris May, a ex-student, I turned to recumbents. My
Vision R-42
long-wheelbase (LWB) under-seat steering (USS) bike is shown below. It's got
triple chainwheels, 7-cog freewheel, Sachs 3-speed hub, Magura hydraulic
brakes...great road bike.
For lots of information about recumbents, go to Mark Matarella's great
recumbent page. Actually that's
where I found my bike; bought it used from Larry Lucas in Steamboat Springs,
CO.
Recumbents looks a little strange, but they sure make a lot of sense. After
putting about 700 miles on this one, I'll give you some of
my pros and cons, which
pertain to this particular LWB USS recumbent:
Pros
- Comfort. After a day of riding you are just tired. No sore neck,
no sore bottom (yes, I've ridden double centuries, ouch!), no sore anything.
Just tired.
- View. With an USS recumbent, there is nothing in front to block
your view. You are relaxed, looking out on the landscape instead of staring
down at the road. What a difference. I don't understand people who prefer
ASS (above-seat steering) recumbents. Just MHO.
- Novelty. People notice you. Mostly it's "cool bike"...I even
get "nice bike bro" from the geezers at the liquor store (oops!). The only
downside is when you want to leave and they want to keep talking. Even the
low-riders like you...you're pretty low too.
Cons
- Maneuverability. A LWB recumbent is long. Some people
think that LWB recumbents are no good for commuting, but I disagree. I have
never had a maneuverability issue with mine.
- Visibility. This is debatable. You are lower than on an
upright, but if you know how to ride in traffic you're OK. I have only had
one near-miss and that was partially my fault. However, since you
are lower, you can't see "over" cars as well, either. Takes a little getting
used to.
- Accessory mounting. The Vision has this big frame tube that
makes attaching stuff a little tougher. Just takes more creativity.