Why Recumbent Bicycles Aren't Common

Bicycles are mature technology. They've been around since just after the Civil War. The Penny Farthing (giant front wheel, small rear) is one of the more famously extreme designs that requires a particularly brave and reckless athlete to operate, and note I'm not putting "safely" next to the word operate.

Brave, brave men.

Over time, it became painfully obvious that the right answer to a bicycle's design is same sized wheels, front and rear, largely upright or slightly forward leaning posture, handlebars at front, pedals beneath you, with alternating strokes to power a chain. Not a belt or gear or shaft but a chain. The other variations exist. You can buy them if you really want to. They cost about the same, but getting replacement parts 10 years from now might prove a little harder. Chains are popular and enduring for a reason. A shaft drive is probably fun, maybe even a really good choice where there's lots of rust-producing salt on the road, or sand. Or where it rains all the time (Portland) but people insist on bicycling regardless of weather.

Someone is always reinventing the bicycle. It's a better mousetrap kind of appeal. That's because bicycling is so much fun. I love leaning into the turns. It's so primal. I doubt I would enjoy a non-leaning tricycle design. Those exist. There's leading delta and trailing delta, upright and recumbent. But the most popular and enduring design is the one you see everywhere.

There's good reason that bicycles have a manual gear shift rather than a cintrepedal shifter that does it automatically for you. Sometimes you just don't want to be pedaling continuously, which is how those kind work. But you can buy a bicycle with that if that's what you want.

Or you can get a bicycle with only one gear so you never have to worry about it at all. They're called Fixies, as in Fixed Gear. One speed. Allegedly, training on a fixie will make you much stronger when you use multiple gear bikes in races. I can't be arsed. I live around hills. I need my gears.

I like handbrakes. I like coasting and freewheeling. Some people would rather use pedal (coaster) brakes, because they're simple push the pedals slightly backwards, you slow down. No hands. They still sell those for people who want them.

Coaster Brakes. So old school.

You can get a perfectly nice, pretty fixie or 3 speed at the local big box store for a hundred bucks, a basic cruiser complete with brown saddle and fenders and whitewall tires. A good bike for a date with a pretty girl who doesn't have the fitness or inclination to chase you at speed. I saw many of those my last bike trip up the Truckee River to Tahoe City, Lake Tahoe. As date material goes, it wouldn't be an offensive choice. A bike that goes with any tennis/trainer shoe, and costs about the same. Get her the matching Chick version and she'll be all cuddly. Or furious at the presumption. Nobody who says they understand women is trustworthy. Remember that. For a little bit more you can get an 8 speed which looks almost the same but gives you more ability to climb hills, and thus more places to ride.

Very Typical Recumbent Bike.

The picture above is from Linear Recumbent Bikes.
I also saw a few recumbent bicycles at Tahoe. With their handlebars under their ass, the front wheel smaller than the rear, the bike with a flag above the seat catching on overhanging tree limbs and yet lacking the visibility to see or be seen over the hoods of cars pulling on and off the highway, well, you'd think these would be great fun but the riders mostly looked uncomfortable. The trikes look better to me, and they're a lot cheaper too. Can't fall over at a stoplight. I can't see they'd be much fun pedaling up a hill, however. Also: staring past your legs to try and see the glass on the road you're hoping to miss so you won't get a flat... that's gonna be annoying after a while. Remember what I said about the common bike being conventional for a reason? Yeah, visibility and balance are best in the standard upright setup.

When I first saw Recumbent bikes on TV I totally wanted one. I think its because it was a cross between a big boy bike and my big wheel trike I'd killed, like everyone does, flat-spotting a hole through the front wheel by skidding it too hard. Those are great, but they all die the same way. I figure everyone riding a VW trike is actually fantasizing the Big Wheel experience with the money to go 70 mph. I think we'll keep seeing people buy trikes for the Big Wheel experience. Good for them. They aren't as practical as a motorcycle is, but they have their devoted following.

When push comes to shove, a bicycle is either a toy for "WHEE!" factor or transportation. Sometimes those cross over with serious exercise device too. I encourage all my readers to own and ride a bicycle. Even if the gasoline still reaches the local station for the next 5 years, its still a good idea to own and ride a bike, at least once every couple weeks, because its good for you and its fun and there is, after all, "WHEE!" factor. Don't you wanna go "WHEE!"?