Quote:
Originally Posted by Wandatime
A recumbent bike on a main road? Whether it is legal or not -- nutz!
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Nutz(sic)...not at all!
I ride recumbents all the time. As a matter of fact I just finished a ride this morning with the Sumter Landing Bike Club. I was the only recumbent in the group. I ride a trike with bright lighting and a 6 foot flag. I ride very defensively and have been doing so for the past 6 years. I have never so much as had a close call. The only time I feel I am at a disadvantage, compared to an upright bike, is in the roundabouts. I use particular caution when riding in these. I have had well meaning drivers, on rare occasion, yell at me to get off the road, or even the cart paths (which I, also, ride), and that they can't see me, even as they are looking straight at me. My belief is that it is not so much a matter of not being seen, but the other drivers just not wanting me, in particular, or any other cyclists in their way, for that matter.
As far as safety goes, compared to an upright bike, my trike is far safer. I never wobble, I don't need to balance, and I stop at stop signs, in part, because I don't need to put my feet down when I stop. Also, if I were to run into something, I would be thrown feet first, rather than head first, as on an upright, and I have a lower height to fall from. Also, if I hit a slippery patch on the road, I never fall, even if a wheel loses traction, while an upright will likely wipe out.
The greatest threat to cyclists safety, in my opinion, is unsafe riding by cyclists themselves, regardless of the type of bike they ride.