Yeah, But They Just Aren't Good On Hills..."

Well, I figured I should add a follow up the “Is that thing fast?” post to be fair and all. “Yeah, but they aren't good on hills.” Often after answering the speed question, a recumbent rider is then barraged with the inevitable climbing question. I will say, however, when most folks see that recumbent grin boasting the awesome speeds you can sustain, the climbing question is often just formatted as a statement.

"Just doesn't climb at all."

"Yeah, but they aren't good on hills"

“Well, those things can’t climb.”

Whaa? I always wonder why it is often put that way. “Can’t climb?” Why state it as fact? It’s beyond me, especially since I have been met with that statement at a rest area on an organized ride - a rest area at the top of a major climb. Can’t climb, eh? Well, I am here talking to you - and I am not dying for a lack of breath - so I must have made the climb just fine. It's simply hilarious to receive this comment when standing at the top of the mountain.

Lets be honest here - the “recumbents can’t climb - nanny nanny boo boo!” line is a last resort argument against recumbents and it’s just not true. Yes, recumbents have some disadvantage on the climbs. For instance, on my recumbents I cannot stand on the pedals, temporarily relieving a chaffed, creamy buttered bum from the torture of the wedgie seat. I can’t repeatedly pump my arms like doing sweaty pushups to throw my upper body weight around fighting for a bit more watts. Though from my reclined position those things are not missed at all anymore.

There are a few techniques a recumbent rider CAN do - like sitting up a bit in a crunch or arching the back, which has a similar effect as standing on the pedals on a DF. But really you can just spin to the top. It’s most comfortable no matter how long you are going to be doing it. On the recumbent platform - climbing is like having an easy chair with the world as your theater. When climbing via a recumbent, you put it into a gear that gets you the right cadence and spin. Just keep spinning. Relax. Enjoy.

Sometimes a spinning climb will be fast and sometimes slow. I have noticed many times while spinning up a mountain at 6 MPH getting passed by other riders who are going in the 8 - 10 MPH range. Many times they are much more winded than I am as they do the stand sit stand sit stand sit cycle. Many times as I continue my steady 6 MPH spin I round a corner and the same guys who passed me are stopped taking a breather or resting their nether regions, and I pass them forging on. Ten minutes later - repeat that process - and on and on it goes until we all reach the top within a relative handful of minutes and are all eating ‘lil cups full of vanilla wafers and bananas together. Rolling up to the top of a climb in the reclined comfort of a ‘bent is an awesome feeling, plain and simple and the difference in most climb speeds is not that great.

So, it is not that recumbents cannot climb. I am not saying that climbing on a recumbent is always a breeze. Far from it. Some of my first sustained climbs on 'bents I feared the grim reaper would leap from the trees and take my ass away. But it was not because the “recumbent can’t climb.” It was because "I had not climbed on a recumbent." The best way to get good at climbing is to do it - no matter the bike - and it takes a while to build the muscle. Nobody tries to tackle a steep hike and then yells “these hiking boots can’t climb!” Insanity.

When you get your recumbent legs you learn to enjoy the spin. The journey of the climb changes your paradigm - it becomes a relaxing experience. Now, some recumbent riders can climb as fast or faster than a typical road bike - it all depends on the riders abilities, their goal, and the bike. Yet even with a slower climb - when you even it out over the course of a long ride - those slower climb speeds are more than balanced out with the blazing downhills and higher than average speeds on the flats and rollers.

Anyone who has been on a larger organized ride knows that one guy - the “tortoise” guy - the one rider who you seem to pass over and over, but is always there in the ride no matter what. You wonder if that rider has even gotten off his bike to drink or pee or eat. He is just everywhere it seems. He is going and going and going and going. He looks happy all the time. Is he even working hard? He might even be wearing “ordinary” clothing. Crazy! Did that guy SAG half the ride? You remember passing that rider before the break at the top - he seemed slow and not very winded - but now you are passing him again? Huh? What? At the beer garden at the end of the ride you spy with your little eye that SAME plain clothes guy - he is already there with a beer in hand and smile on. What the heck? Did he ever need to stop? Are you in the Twilight Zone? Is Rod Serling hosting this ride?

I think not. That guy was probably on a recumbent.

Hey Is That Thing Fast?

“Is that thing fast?”

This is a question that you will get quite often when you are riding a recumbent. Usually the people who are inquiring are smiling youth or inquisitive roadies. The short answer is, “you bet it is.” If you are off the bike, like at a rest stop on an organized ride, you grin widely when asked this question. If you are on the rollers or flats, you grin widely and then upshift to the big ring - and rapidly disappear into the horizon. Awesome. Here is a few picture of my speedo on a slight downslope. 

That is a solid 40.2 MPH at a medium cruise with a 109 cadence. If the terrain has ideal rollers it is possible to maintain the mid 20’s pretty easily over the distance on a recumbent as you can carry incredible amounts of speed over the tops of the climbs. The result is a fast roller coaster cruise in the open air. 

Here is another of my own favorite personal images, on a not-so-steep decline - passing a 35 MPH speed limit sign - at a solid (but a bit blurry) 47 MPH.

Oops, looks like we are speeding there, I think. Oh well, it comes with the territory when on a recumbent. Here is a cut of video I took where the rider in the image above in front of me blows past on the same section of road. Note that I am already going 44 MPH when he dusts me and he is still cranking it up.

F A S T. It is important to note that this footage was taken at speed while holding the camera. Recumbents are not only fast but incredibly stable bikes at speed. I would not feel nearly as comfortable - likely I would feel very uncomfortable - riding a typical road bike one handed in the mid to upper 40 MPH range - never mind taking video or pictures. I don’t ride that way often on my recumbents, but when I want to grab the camera off my lap pack and click a few shots its second nature to do so at about any speed. 

The laid back position of a recumbent cuts through any wind that is attempting to get in your way. Your body is not a sail. Since you are already at maximum aerodynamic position, there is no areo-tuck, aero-bars, or other Twister-esque contortions needed where you cannot see straight to get and stay aero. This means easily sustained high average cruising speed for even occasional riders and very high speeds for stronger riders. 

Downhills are as fast as you want - from tame... to as fast as your gear inches allow... to gravity stricken insanity. Hitting sustained downhill speeds of 50 MPH on a recumbent is the closest thing I would imagine to the feeling of piloting a fighter jet at low altitude. Pure thrill. As a bonus - the entire time you have zero pressure on the arms, hands, fingers, neck, ass, shoulders, crotch, etc. At the bottom of the thrill ride you only want to do it again.

Now, before all the non-’bent riders cry foul and yell “yeah but the hills..!” I concede that point - recumbents are not always as fast on the UP-hills. That’s really OK though, and really it depends on the rider anyway. I know many a recumbent rider who can hang with the fast guys on diamond frames - even on the climbs. The right bike and engine combination is everything and can be a lethal combo on a ‘bent for sure. Also, many recumbent riders pull fast speeds and long distances throughout an entire ride with no benefit of a paceline to take multiple draft breaks. 

Climbing on a recumbent - once you have the right leg muscles in line - can actually be a relaxing zen like experience if the climb is not ridiculous steep.  (for those you have a trike) Just relax, gear properly, spin, and shift your paradigm. Savor those climbs because the reward is coming on the downhills. Also on the flats. Oh, and the rollers too.