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Ok flat ground or a descent a recumbent may be faster (my experience is that most recumbents can’t keep 22-25mph on flat ground) but it won’t be faster climbing

Ok flat ground or a descent a recumbent may be faster (my experience is that most recumbents can’t keep 22-25mph on flat ground) but it won’t be faster climbing hills and they have a longer wheelbase and are quite a bit less maneuverable. On hill climbs the weight is the most obvious factor but I’d be surprised if you can generate the same amount of power in the supine position as you could in the standing position. Since most bicycle racing is dominated by climbing hills, I don’t think anyone would ride a recumbent even if it was legal.

pas 8y ago
Why? Is there some physiological factor? Blood flowing too much to the head? Allegedly the hydrostatic pressure is lower, breathing is easier due to lack of bending on a recumbent bike, so it should help endurance, as long as the bikes are the same weight.
jdietrich 8y ago
A modern short wheel base recumbent has a similar wheelbase to a conventional 700c road bike. The hill climbing issue is still the subject of some debate; your peak torque is undoubtedly lower (because you can't put your full weight on the pedals) but there's no obvious biomechanical reason for lower power. Any advantage an upright bike might have in the mountains is completely neutralised by the tremendous aerodynamic advantage of a recumbent. A good lowracer recumbent with a tailbox has about half the drag of a normal racing bike. Worse still, an upright rider gets almost no benefit from drafting a recumbent rider. If the UCI legalised recumbents, a team using upright bikes wouldn't even finish the first stage of a grand tour within the time cut-off. Any team using recumbents could disappear off the front of the peloton and would be impossible to catch. In a time trial, there's simply no contest - the recumbent riders could demolish the upright riders without breaking a sweat. To neutralise that advantage, races would need to be organised exclusively in the high mountains with no appreciable amount of flat roads.
- usrusr 8y ago
  Try making a bunny hop over a pothole on a recumbent. Upright bikes are far more versatile, just imagine recumbent cyclocross.

pas 8y ago

Why? Is there some physiological factor? Blood flowing too much to the head? Allegedly the hydrostatic pressure is lower, breathing is easier due to lack of bending on a recumbent bike, so it should help endurance, as long as the bikes are the same weight.

jdietrich 8y ago

A modern short wheel base recumbent has a similar wheelbase to a conventional 700c road bike. The hill climbing issue is still the subject of some debate; your peak torque is undoubtedly lower (because you can't put your full weight on the pedals) but there's no obvious biomechanical reason for lower power. Any advantage an upright bike might have in the mountains is completely neutralised by the tremendous aerodynamic advantage of a recumbent. A good lowracer recumbent with a tailbox has about half the drag of a normal racing bike. Worse still, an upright rider gets almost no benefit from drafting a recumbent rider. If the UCI legalised recumbents, a team using upright bikes wouldn't even finish the first stage of a grand tour within the time cut-off. Any team using recumbents could disappear off the front of the peloton and would be impossible to catch. In a time trial, there's simply no contest - the recumbent riders could demolish the upright riders without breaking a sweat. To neutralise that advantage, races would need to be organised exclusively in the high mountains with no appreciable amount of flat roads.

usrusr 8y ago
Try making a bunny hop over a pothole on a recumbent. Upright bikes are far more versatile, just imagine recumbent cyclocross.