I guess I'm missing something. I can "wheelie" the front wheel of my recumbent up a curb. Stomp the pedal while leaning back and it hops up. Very few people ha

I guess I'm missing something. I can "wheelie" the front wheel of my recumbent up a curb. Stomp the pedal while leaning back and it hops up. Very few people have the stamina to stand on the pedals for more than a short hill. A friend and I rode a recumbent and a regular touring bike from Oregon to San Francisco with camping gear in panniers. We would switch bikes and I don't remember either being particularly worse or better when climbing inland to campsites. When we got to San Francisco we used a bike path map to find and ride all the 25+ % gradient streets and alleys. For a short hill any upright will be faster. Longer hills, equal weight (recumbents are usually heavier) and the answer becomes "meh."