Basically right, except for one detail: Heavier recumbent bikes are slower to get up hills, due to being heavier. But that extra weight actually makes them fast

Basically right, except for one detail: Heavier recumbent bikes are slower to get up hills, due to being heavier. But that extra weight actually makes them faster going downhill. Not enough to be faster overall if the power source is still one person pedaling, but still. Source - I was part of a project in college that built a recumbent tandem bike. We built the frame out of large-diameter steel tubing, and it was quite heavy. I followed it on a normal bicycle several times while testing. Even with 2 people pedaling, it was easy to keep up with going up hills. It would tend to get away from me going downhill though.