Incredibly informational video! Bought new Rans Stratus here too, and I absolutely loved it. Became handicapped (arthritic and lack of balance). Can only ride recumbent trikes now. Love my 4 Hase trikes. 2WD, with Shimano E-assist. 16" front wheel for lowest step over height. Sit side-saddle and slide onto seat.., swinging only a single leg over frame, even if from a wheelchair. I do prefer under seat, indirect steering (arms more naturally hanging downward). Tadpole planform trikes most popular for sports car handling., and higher-speed turns. Delta planform would better serve those into touring, exercising, sight-seeing, nature & wildlife watching. Excellent video that should be THE standard for watching to realize incredible comfort of recumbents!! Gary AKA: "Jason Stillwater" in recumbent world.
The problems with the "traditional bike" seem to mostly be specific to road bikes. My commuter is a Dutch style comfort bike, and it really is quite comfortable, with an upright posture and little weight on the hands. My casual around town bike is a BikeE semi-recumbent compact long wheel base. I'm looking for more carrying capacity, so I'm looking at long-tail cargo bikes. I know you're exaggerating to sell bikes, but it's good to remember that there are different bikes for different needs, and no one bike does everything. That's why we have so many versions of the common bicycle.
I crossed the US (NW to SE corner) on a Stratus in 1992 and agree wholeheartedy. The one drawback came during protracted climbs -- there's no option to stand up and throw weight on the pedals. You have one set of muscles & have to sit & spin until they cramp, then get off & push.
I’ve owned my Stratus for 13 years now and it is just as comfortable today as it was when first purchased. I can certainly see how newer Rans recumbents with matching wheel sizes have some advantages (only carry one sized tube for repairs for one), it does not look likely that the opportunity to change models will occur. Rans on!
Great video. I initially went from conventional road bike to a long wheel base Sun EZ and loved it but found the turning radius too large and it is very difficult to climb steep grades. Also if stopped on a steep grade getting started again is rough. I then transitioned to recumbent trikes …Catrikes….and there is no turning back. I still have my two wheeler but feel much safer on the trikes, can climb any hill and ride forever. Any recumbent beats the old style Diamond frame style.
I also have a recumbent bike. It’s a tour easy from easy racer. I agree with everything you mentioned in your video. But one bike advantage I see with the stratus over the tour easy is front and rear wheels are the same size. On my tour easy the rear wheel is 27 and front wheel is 20. Wish I had known this when I purchased my recumbent. Great video. Thanks.
Great video, that's a cool looking bike,.a good friend just gave me his old "Bike-E", recumbent bicycle, it's pretty cherry . I'm curious to see how it will work out for General riding and commuting . This will be an interesting adventure for I have been cycling upright bikes for many years(many dollars in type, gear and Bike fits invested) don't ride much these days due to lower back issues, hopefully the recumbents will allow me to ride more,Fingers crossed 😀
I own a recumbent, but I will still defend the old fashioned "safety bicycle". 1. They behave better at slow speed, perfect for busy cities. Handling overall is just downright better, and people do feel more confident riding them. Not to mention hill starts being a challenge for many riders both young and old. 2. You can look ahead, if you're not so old your neck doesn't move, or you've got the bike set up responsibly for your needs. More importantly, you sit higher up so you can see more of what's going on around you, including the scenery. You can also turn your head behind you to check for traffic, a mirror is NOT equivalent to this. 3. Going over the handlebars isn't that common, you would really have to want to make it happen just to prove its possible. 4. The seat might not appear as comfortable, but you can get off it and adjust your position for relief. In this case, you aren't sitting on your glutes ( I suggest a recumbent that supports you on your back instead). Sitting on your glutes (the same muscles you're pedalling with) is really not best practice, especially in regards to chafing etc. 5. It costs how much?!?!?! 6. Does it come as a step-through for those with limited flexibility? No, it doesn't. I do enjoy my recumbent, and they definitely have a useful purpose but there is no way they can ever replace the conventional safety bike, and I have no intentions of even trying to make them do so. Even David Gordon Wilson, the father of the modern recumbent said if they have the same popularity as tandems then that's good enough. If you want a practical everyday bicycle, look at what the Dutch are up to. Ps. I'm only 30, work as a bicycle mechanic, and ride a variety of all things with pedals and two wheels, both on and off road. As much as I hate to admit it, I think the "people's bike" is actually an upright ebike. They're as affordable as a recumbent, much more widely available, and I've seen first hand how much of a demand there is for them.
All great points regarding The Stratus but taking it even further, adding more stability, easier cargo capacity & maintaining all the benefits of a Stratus, have you considered riding either a Delta or Tadpole recumbent trike? No need to put your feet down at traffic lights or stop signs, easier take off from a stopped position, you can even have faster cornering without fear of your front wheel sliding out from under you with some sand on the road.
I own a semi recumbent(same pedal position) . Terrible on inclines, even slight inclines. There is no option to use body weight to improve pedaling power.
I totally disagree. First, a standard road bike is designed for efficiency. Having the peddles in line with your hips gives you more power. Put the peddles out in front and you'll tire in no time. Second, a short wheelbase gives manoverability and the ability to go around corners confidently. Thirdly, the design of a racing/road bike allows you to position yourself in a way that cuts the wind. As for comfort, yes, the seat sometimes hurts and your shoulders ache but you have the ability to change positions as you ride such as holding on to the tops of the handlebars or standing on the peddles. Finally, the only time you'll fly over the top of the handlebars is if some jerk throws a stick into the spokes of your front wheel. Hitting a pot hole or a car will fuck you up no matter what you are riding. I get what you are saying though. I rode and raced many years ago until the neuropathy in my legs prevented me from riding. Recombinant bikes are a different way to ride with their own drawbacks so please don't say the standard bicycle is a flawed design.
Once you get the wind resistance out of the equation, the only issue is climbing and the company Cruzbike solved that problem by using front wheel drive.
You won't be able to deliver as much power on a recumbent, but you can force yourself against the seat and push quite hard for extra torque, instead of just lifting yourself out of the saddle. However, a good recumbent is much more aerodynamic than any upright road/racing/tt bike. You don't need as much power to maintain a faster speed. This would be great, but the only events you can race them is usually with other recumbent riders. Current top speed on record is 89mph, admittedly it's fully faired and not at all practical for anything else.
I disagree with several of his premises, the properly adjusted seat and traditional design allows the bicyclist to distribute the weight between the front and the back. it allows the shoulders, arms and stomach muscles to engage as well as the leg muscles, both front and back with clips or clipless pedals. the forward leaning allows the lungs to expand more easily. I do agree it is tough on the neck, until you get a few days of riding under your belt. I have also put thousands of miles on my bicycles over the years. To each their own. Enjoy whatever you ride.
recumbets are king of the road for long distances, not so for citys and heavy luggage and offroad. Well perhaps you have to watch saukki's channel for thay issue
I'm riding a velomobile myself and know about the benefits you are mentioning. It seems to me however your seat is too far back, your legs too much stretched on the far side of the crank. ... :)
Indeed, have ridden VMs for over 5 years and I also noticed the stretched out legs; you can see how jerky the movement is. These kind of bikes do appeal to me though with that motorbike feel; I haven’t had the opportunity to test one but I’d think it flows round corners :)
I will never go back to the other style bikes ever again I love my ez tour recomberant and can ride many many many miles never can I go back to the old school bikes none of them what so ever it's so awesome how you can get a super good work out and almost no effort on the recomberant and can ride 10 times as far and no butt hurting no back aching I'm taking off for a 100 mile trip take me a day when on my other bikes take 2 and half days
2:42 это только для шоссейных велосипедов, Крузер просто изначально лишен этого. Преимущества этой модели только в лежачей спине , для пожилых квадроцикл доставки армадилло самый-самый.
Well OK, Stratus is great, no doubt . . . but it has its weaknesses. I have an EZ Sport (the steel frame model) and wanted to switch to a Stratus, but problems come up. I can't buy a new Stratus, they're not made anymore. EZ Sport is. The Stratus was expensive; and so is a newer used Stratus; EZ Sport is more affordable. My biggest challenge; the Stratus, especially the longer models, are near 8 feet long and hard to transport. I ride in the country north of my city, and must drive there. I have a Ford Flex, a pretty big SUV with a conventional Hollywood carrier on the back hitch. The EZ Sport fits, but maxes out the safe width of the vehicle; anymore would stick out too far on both sides. Even a standard Stratus is too long, never mind the bigger sizes. Yes, I like Rans, but in a LWB model, it doesn't really work. Perhaps I'll look at the aluminum body EZ Sport . . .
The bicycle still in use today (2024) by most people is an invention from the 19th century! Ergonomical nightmare! Unhealthy for whole body! It's unbelievable people still ride these today, when we have semi-recumbents, recumbents and many custom made mods. It's very easy to get rid of the stone saddle, just take it off and sit on a sturdy good 40kg+ luggage carrier with a good pillow on a flat wooden surface for example! Or just buy a recumbent bike but be careful so you can maintain and service it and it's not too expensive (today the recumbent market is outrageous expensive sadly, should be cheap instead I'm sure lots of people would buy a bike with a comfortable seat and backrest instead if they would exist in the same affordable class!)
In general, comfort bikes still suffer from much of the design flaws. If you bicycle a lot ( I have been commuting to work by bicycle for over 40 years) then a recombent still makes good sense. Are you willing to spend 30, 40 or 50 thousand on a car but unwilling to spend 2 or 3 thousand on a bicycle that can last you a lifetime? I have had my Easy Racer for over 30 years. How many cars have you blown money on in that space of time???
@@robertlemoine4404 40 years wow pretty good. I switched from my roadie to a all aluminum hybrid due because I had back and hand pain from leaning over all the time. I ride for fitness on average 15 miles everyday for over 20 years (weather permitting) on the same used $200 hybrid that still looks brand new riding in comfort and pain free. So yeh, I got my lifetime moneys worth on it. LOL.
@@deltafour1212 You don't have problems because you don't ride enough. 15 miles is nothing for a serious cyclist. You can't claim to have found the solution for pain for everyone when all you do is ride an hour a day. Ride 50, 60 or 100 miles at once then tell us how your "comfort bike" is perfect.
@@amightysailingman Ummmmm.....so why would I want to ride 100 long mind-numbing grinding miles to have the problems? I don't want to be a serious cyclist. I'll leave that to someone else. I do it for the fun and speed of it. You don't need to ride 100 miles or more to have numbness. You can have back pain and hand numbness no matter how miles or what bike you ride. I never said I claimed to have found the solution for pain for everyone. I just said what worked for me.
@@deltafour1212 Boy, you are clueless. If you actually understood this video, you would know that you wouldn't have any back pain or hand numbness "no matter how many miles" if you're on a recumbent. You never claimed to have found the solution? Then why did you come in and immediately dictate that he should just buy a hybrid bike?
