I'm writing this Blog because I own a P-38 but also because there's some lack of knowledge and confusion about recumbents in general. When you understand why the P-38 performs the way it does, then you're in a better position to evaluate all recumbents.
Recumbents make up a very small percentage of the bicycle market. This means that they are expensive compared to what the recumbent aficionados call DFs, or Diamond Frames. DFs are 'normal' bikes like the bikes ridden in the Tour de France. We often refer to recumbents as 'bents and DFs as wedgies.
Recumbents are still promoted as being faster than DFs. The truth is that the fastest recumbent designs, ridden by fit riders acclimatised to their bike will be faster than an equally fit DF rider. The less palatable truth is that many recumbent designs are at best equal and in some cases slower than DFs.
Where does the P-38 fit on the speed scale of unfaired recumbents? It is my opinion, backed up by riding and testing other designs, including DFs, that on a scale of one to ten, where one is the slowest bent and ten the fastest, the P-38 would rate a minimum of seven and a maximum of eight.
But how can anyone measure the speed of a recumbent when the strength of riders varies so much and we live in a world that's not flat?
That's what this Blog is about. It's one mans opinion obtained at high dollar cost and in future posts, I'll expand on my experience.
Meanwhile, for all things recumbent, visit Bentrider Online. It's a treasure trove of facts, opinions and links. If you have a question about recumbents or bicycles, it will be answered there.
http://www.bentrideronline.com
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