4 ms·
Road and track races are all about closely packed pelotons going around tight turns very fast. Recumbents have very poor cornering compared to standard bicycles
by cultus 6y ago
Road and track races are all about closely packed pelotons going around tight turns very fast. Recumbents have very poor cornering compared to standard bicycles, and would not be safe. The performance advantage of most recumbents is often overstated as well, because the rider is in a reclining position at maybe a 30-40 degree angle.
A rider on a standard racing bike can get their backs horizontal in the drops.
- kod 6y agoYou have any actual data to back up those claims? Recumbents own the unfaired bicycle speed records.
- NuclearFishin 6y agoRespectfully, I think you're both right. Certainly recumbent bikes are aerodynamically efficient, but it's worth considering that in a bike race one also needs to ride uphill, and the instability of a recumbent at slow speeds would be a disadvantage here. I haven't checked, but I suspect most hill climb records would be held by traditional bike frames.
- SeanLuke 6y agoI don't think recumbents (at least high-racers) are necessarily unstable at slow speeds. My understanding was that the fundamental problem with recumbents in racing is that, going uphill, aerodynamics matters less. What really matters is applying torque efficiently. And humans are designed to apply torque vertically: we're good at it. So while on the straightaways and downhill recumbents cannot be beaten, they are poor at climbing. What's frustrating is that we'll never get to see serious comparisons of the two, or of interesting combinations of them, in real races because UCI banned recumbents for the worst of reasons a hundred years ago.