'bent Legs

[Blade]

Several people here have said that when you first start off riding recumbents you need quite a few miles riding until you get your 'bent legs.

I've put in around 100 miles on my recumbent so far and can just about ride in a straight line and go round corners without hitting the kerbs.

As I've felt more confident, I've started giving a lot more effort to go faster. In fact, I'm afraid some of my rides seem to be done at training pace which is something that I never thought that I'd be doing on the recumbent.

However....I'm starting to get some pains in my hips, which I've never had before. Not muscle pain, but an ache where my thigh bones meet my pelvis.

Is this normal for recumbent riders ? Or is it just me getting  my 'bent legs run in?

Is there some positional change needed? Or do I just need to ease off a bit?

Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.

[Sigurd Mudtracker]

Some of the aches and pains are due to acclimatisation to a new kind of excercise and eventually go away.  Some are due to needing to fine-tune your pedal-seat distance and seat angle.  And some just don't go away.  I suffered from severe "recumbutt" on both my trikes, to the point that I was in agony after a few miles (I could almost predict how far I'd gone by the onset of the pain), but oddly never have had it on my two-wheeled bent which has a far more upright seat - the problem was completely eliminated by 1" thick foam pad on the seat base.  However, if I take the pad away the pain is back just as quick.

100 miles is still very early days, once you have got a bit more competent at handling the bike (a massive advantage of trikes!) you can fine-tune your position and that might help eliminate the problem.  A more laid back seat position might also work.

I have to admit before I stumbled on the foam pads I couldn't understand what the "comfort" factor of 'bents was all about, and was seriously thinking of getting rid of my first trike.  A few years and a few thousand miles later, I'm definitely more comfortable on longer rides.

[Kim]

I'm at about 750 miles total on mine so far, and I'm just averaging a faster speed over a 43km loop of rolling hills compared to on an upright.  A lot of this is down to superior descending (the bike has much better stability and braking than an upright, so the reduced fear factor is a much greater advantage than the improvement in aerodynamics), though.  I'm still much slower at climbing on the 'bent (not helped by it being a fairly hefty beast).

If you're still having control issues, I strongly recommend taking it to a park or industrial estate after-hours or something similar where you don't have to worry about traffic and putting some time into practising low-speed manoeuvres.  Tight turns, weaving between obstacles, following a line or seam in the tarmac as slowly as you can without wobbling.  The same while riding one-handed.  Stopping sharply at a given spot, then setting off again quickly.  That sort of thing.  You only get to use these skills once or twice per ride when you're in traffic, so a couple of hours concentrating on them specifically can really make a massive difference.

I got hip pain for a while in my left leg only.  I'm not entirely sure what caused it - it could have been an injury unrelated to the bike that just got better with time - but I suspect it was related to keeping that foot clipped in while stretching to keep the bike balanced with the other, or straining while pushing away with an over-extended leg (I always start with my left foot, because my right knee is dodgy).  I've since shortened the boom and given up on remaining in the reclined position while stopped at junctions (I'm just too short to do it reliably) - either of which may have helped.  It's also likely that my left leg is slightly shorter than my right (they've not been measured since my early teens, when the difference was 'negligible'), which might have had something to do with it.

Playing with position is a good thing.  I find I ankle more on the 'bent than on an upright, which makes overextension harder to judge.  Seat angle appears to be voodoo, and depending on the bike may influence leg extension to a greater or lesser extent.  I also find that my position in the seat isn't consistent, varying with tiredness and the type of riding I'm doing (cruising vs climbing vs mucking about in traffic).  Easing off a bit and spinning a lower gear is probably a good idea in general, at least until you're happy with the ergonomics.

[tom_e]

I'd second the recommendation to keep playing with position.  Hip pain could mean boom is too far out.  I found it more natural to adapt in a more upright seat and recline it more later, but this also interacts with the leg length.  Some people say a slightly different cleat angle or further back position is needed (again affecting boom length too).

A bit like you, I think 100 miles was about when I started to push harder as it felt natural and I still had decent fitness from the upright.  I was wrong; it was premature and actually took >1000 miles before joints and muscles were decently fitted.  But I might have been slow at that.  Traditional advice is ease off, spin particularly.

It took me a while to get confidence at junctions starting and stopping in quick succession.  I had a tendency to look at the bike or feet in order to coordinate launch and landing.  That wasn't helpful - had to learn to do it while looking elsewhere.

[Blade]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice, much appreciated.

I've spent a couple of hours this week practising setting off and steering at slow speeds. I've improved somewhat, and can set off without wobbling too much most of the time. Still have the odd 'all over the place' set off now and then though.

I might see about increasing the number of gears on the bike, currently only seven. Lowest gear is 44x25 and I haven't walked up any hills yet  I do however pick my routes to avoid very steep hills and uphill starts.

No clipless pedals or toeclips yet. Much too risky at the moment.

Seat is currently as vertical as it will go and seems comfortable enough....no 'recumbutt'.

I live on the very edge of the Midland connurbation, only half a mile from open countryside and am not intending on doing any town,heavy traffic  or main road riding at all if I can avoid it.

I have several conventional bikes which will get plenty of use for events and long distance rides. But I find that at the moment the recumbent is so much fun, that I keep going out for short rides of an hour or so, just to see if I'm improving.

[Pedaldog.]

Having done little riding of upwrongs or recumbents this last year I am having a lot of "Bedding in" niggles when I do ride. The upper thighs, balls of my feet and lower hips are giving me pain on the recumbents. The only riding I have done in recent months has been on the CXannondale Hooligan with a very "Racey" riding position so the recumbent legs are starting from scratch again now.  What bike are you riding? O.S.S or U.S.S can make a difference. I prefer above seat steering on the bikes I am going to use in crowded or busy areas and Under seat on trikes or Bikes for a long journey or touring. Even things like mesh or hardshell seat can make a difference. I think, as other say, play about with all the different rider adjustables you can and hopefully you'll hit Jackpot.

[Blade]

Just about finished now.

Finished bike on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Should any of you be aware of the story of how Sigurd Mudtracker cut the frame in half to send it to me and my subsequent rejoining of the frame.

Then the naming of the bike as Banana Split should seem quite apt.

[Sigurd Mudtracker]

For some reason I hadn't connected your YACF name with the frame I sent you!

Good to see that the "Banana Split" has been assembled and is on the road. It looks good in yellow - and lower and more purposeful than my red one (which has a taller head tube and therefore higher top tube).

 At 100 miles I think you've covered as much as I have on my Frankenbent in a lot longer time...  I particularly had a problem with the low speed steering and starting off from junctions etc.  I've since modified the handlebar arrangement which has made a big difference.  Still happier on a trike, though.

Your comments on the bike's riding qualities would be of great interest to me.  I'm not sure if I just haven't put enough miles in on mine to be confident riding it.  Does the way you have reattached the two frame halves mean it is separable for transport?

[Blade]

The frame can still be separated. All the cut tubes have solid aluminium inserts in them (60mm long IIRC). The inserts are held in place with 8mm silver steel pins which are tapped 4mm on each end. Small curved aluminium washers are compressed onto the tubes with 4mm caphead screws. To separate the frame you just need to remove the two pins at the front of the joints and work the frame apart. Rear gear and brake cables might need to be disconnected as well.

As to the riding qualities. I have never ridden any other recumbent bike, so I don't have a benchmark to compare with. But I've now done around 130 miles  on it.

With a wheelbase of 6' it can't turn on a sixpence but I'm getting used to taking corners wide.

I can only ride one handed for a few seconds at the moment before I start veering off.

The ride seems quite comfortable, with very few bumps felt from uneven road surfaces.

The steering at slow speed seems quite twitchy, but the faster the bike goes, the more precise it gets.

Setting off uphill is still very difficult and often results in several attempts involving lots of overcorrection of the steering.

But...once the bike's moving on the flat or downhill it seems to go quite quickly for the effort that I put into it.

All in all, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself on it

[Fiona N]

No one seems to have mentioned the physiological source of your discomfort which is most probably your hip flexors. The extension of the legs forwards rather than downwards (as on uprights) means that the hip flexors have to work a lot harder with recumbent riding. This is one of the main adjustments your body has to make and can give problems as most people's hip flexors are already short and tight due to lots of sitting and not enough stretching. A programme of stretching the hip flexors and quads (e.g. using kneeling lunges etc.) usually sorts the problem out in no time

[Jon P]

Judging from your avatar your hip flexors are in fine fettle, Fiona - though I know that already from your previous accounts of getting over Dent on your SM!