this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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They're more expensive, but recumbents do already solve this problem.
Would still like to try an alternative to saddles on regular bikes though.
I'm itching to try them but I suspect that lying down would come with it's own set of problems.
It doesn't, at least not ergonomically. Recumbents are as comfortable as they look. I once did 80km on one, having not got on a bike for months, and felt not the slightest aches or discomfort at the end. A complete revelation.
The issues with recumbents are elsewhere: low visibility for motor traffic, difficulty of balance at very low speeds. There's also a small risk of knee inflammation if you inadvertently pedal too hard, since the force you can put into pedalling is not limited to body weight like on an upright bike.
With recumbent two-wheelers, there's a small bit of awkwardness maintaining balance as you go from a stop to a start. Other than that, the only real issue is that you can't stand up when you're riding up hills. All you can do is drop the gear and keep pedaling.
Personally I think it's well worth the issues they solve, trikes especially. They're much more comfortable. The trikes are much more resilient to bursts of wind, and the stability makes them much better for winter riding.
I'm curious what you mean by this. I ride (a regular bike) outdoors year round, and other than the clothing and the sense of "Why am I doing this?", there's not really much different. But I'm not riding in snow or other weather, so maybe that's what you are referring to.
Snow, ice, and high winds are mainly what I'm referring to. A big enough gust from the wrong angle can pretty easily throw you off a bike, or send it veering in the wrong direction briefly at least (not to mention the struggle against headwinds).
Snow is one problem, but ice is the worst. I've used everything from studded tires to fat tire bikes, and they all have the same problem: two-wheeled vehicles want to fall down. A recumbent trike on the other hand is much closer to the ground, and stays upright by default. It virtually solves all of the aforementioned problems, while also being much more comfortable to sit on.