Safe Speed Forums

whats the feeling on recumbents?

storage, money & marraige aside i've always fancied one, particularly the trike style.

is it really a good idea to be scooting round the roads on something wider than a normal bike but about 1/2 to 1/3 the height?

Yep, I'd love to get a 'bent too, been lusting after one for a while. I've spoken to a couple of people about the safety aspect and they're of the opinion that (as always) it's more to do with position on the road than anything else.

To be honest I wasn't 100% convinced by this, but the majority of 'bents I've seen have a little flag which sticks up above the actual vehicle itself, so I would imagine that would help the vertical visibility. 'Bents are quite unusual too, so I think a lot of road-users do pay more attention to them, and hence the users get more room (apparently getting stared at takes some getting used to).

If you get a trike then that'll give you more width too, tends to make overtaking vehicles consider the overtaking action more thoroughly before attempting it.