Disillusioned Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 I'm not even halfway through building my recumbent trike, when my best friend gave me his old recumbent BikeE (a recumbent dealer sold him an old unused demo at deep discount). The rear wheel hub needed an overhaul, and I cleaned most of the grime off the chain, so he and I put it back together and adjusted it. It's finicky to ride at first and its seat isn't as comfortable as the fiberglass butt cup on my trike, but I got the hang of it after I rode it a couple of miles. I had him take a pic of me sitting on it, and I look like a barnyard pig on a kid's toy bike... but these recumbents are so comfortable, they don't tire me out like a regular diamond frame bike does. But I'm definitely on my way. Until the trike is ready, I'll ride the BikeE to the beach and back a couple of times a week and eat a lot of apples instead of bread or pasta... eventually I'll come down from 390 to 250 lbs. Hard to believe I weighed 240 in high school.
carhill Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Recumbents are a mixed bag, IMO. Comfortable to ride for long distances and ergonomic, especially for we older folks. Personally, I never got the cardio work out of recumbent that I could out of a diamond frame. Most of my weight loss/BMI loss came from hill work, occasionally in the anaerobic range (I wore a heart monitor), but mostly skating right on the edge. I used my cross bike with treaded tires (not knobbies) for that application. I was about your age when I was doing centuries and, no doubt, some of the club members did them on recumbents, but it was more like a cruise for them. Pleasant and slow rather than intense and fast. If the former is your style, I think a recumbent will work great for you, over time. Perhaps, at your weight, that's a really good idea. Ease into it. FWIW, after initially dropping about 30 lbs (225 to 195) aerobically, I actually *gained* weight while training, back up into the low 200's, as I gained endurance and muscle mass from hill climbing. At the lower weight, I felt 'weak'. No explanation. Good luck and enjoy the bike
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