First "real" ride on the Speedone conversion

[chrisblessing]

I just completed my first road ride on my 20" conversion. I rode a 12 km loop that features some gentle climbs and good pavement. As it's Chinese New Year traffic was light. I'm pleased to say that it was pretty effortless up or down, and starting off was not an issue.

One behaviour I learned from my LWB recumbent that transfers well to this bike is that of rapidly shifting down when approaching a stop or hill. I found myself doing this automatically, avoiding the grief that many have noted here.

I now feel confident enough to do a 25 km loop tomorrow that I like to do on my folding Dahon.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Good start!  Sounds like

Good start! Sounds like you're having fun.

Yes, because you can't stand on a recumbent, it is much more important to not be in too high a gear when starting.

I also own a LWB recumbent. Have you ridden any other SWB recumbents or is your conversion the first? (The only SWB I've ever ridden is my Sofrider).

One (almost) theory I have is that having SWB experience makes riding a Cruzbike harder. I dunno if I really believe that, but i'm putting it out there...

Cheers,
Charles

 

[chrisblessing]

LWB

Hi Charles,

I owned an Actionbent SWB for 4 years while living in Latvia. As it was a pretty inhospitable place for riding I didn't get out on it much. Also, as with my LWB, on which I've logged several thousand KMs, it was underseat steering.

I think the only carry-over from both my LWB and SWB is being accustomed to the position and the rapid down-shifting.

Thanks for the input Charles. Thankfully the learning curve isn't as tall as I feared, but it's still a curve.

Chris

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Chris,
It definitely is a

Hi Chris,

It definitely is a curve and it took me several hundred miles to get very comfortable. Here are a bunch of random thoughts:

* If you feel that things are going badly because of the pedal steer, take your feet off of the pedals and let your arms take over. This feeling will disappear quickly within the first couple hundred miles (if not much sooner).

* Once you are past this phase, I find that foot retention helps control a lot. I use clipless pedals, but straps or clips would help, too.

* Riding with no hands isn't a useful skill in and of itself, but practicing it does help reduce the effects of pedal steer. On a quiet street, start by riding with just one hand on the handlebars and then the other. You can then go to just using a couple fingers on each hand and eventually no hands at all. At first, I highly recommend keeping your hands close to the handle bars, not only because you want to be able to grab it if necessary, but for balance purposes as well.

You've built yourself a very nice bike and you're well on your way. Enjoy!

Charles

 

[chrisblessing]

Thanks again

Hello Charles,

After two relatively short rides (12 km and 16 km) I'm close to going clipless. Frankly, I've had so few instances of having to remove my feet from the pedals that it makes sense. In fact, without clips my feet have lost contact with the pedals when hitting a bump, something I experienced frequently on my LWB until I went clipless.

I'll start practicing "no hands" in short order. I haven't really experienced significant pedal steer, but I do want to reduce the tendency to use the bar so much in managing the bike.

Thanks so much for your advice.

Cheers,

Chris