Climbing Challenge: ICE VTX Recumbent Trike vs Lightning M5 U2 Lowracer vs Reynolds T-Bone Midracer

Another in our highly unscientific series comparing the climbing abilities of different types of bikes and trikes.

[@chrisoattsjr]

*Yes! Lots of fun.*

[@another3997]

There are two real solutions to the problem of getting up hills on any given cycle. Firstly, suitable gearing. Secondly, practice. By practice, I mean improving your leg stamina and strength, not just finessing your technique to reduce wobble. Recumbents depend solely on leg power, with back and shoulder muscles playing very little part in power generation. Yes, you can lighten the bike, but there's a physical (and financial) limit to weight reduction. There comes a point where even the lightest bike won't make up for gearing, strength and stamina. 😉

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Exactly correct, Sir!

[@markthomasson5077]

Just bought a Speedmachine GT, my first recumbent. Cycled back home over three days with camping kit. Made it up a 13% grade….very wobbly! It does have a double up front, plus a Schlumf Mountain Drive, so as low geared as you like.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Nice bike, Mark! Yep, they can be a handful when climbing at low speeds but it gets better with practice!

[@budwyzer77]

1:55- 2:30 classic Tim Brummer! I just got a refurbished R-84 and DEAR GOD can it climb!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Hi Dave! Yes, that design is known as a great climber and add the lightweight frame and you should be zipping up those hills!

[@geraldshields9035]

It's not just the bike, it's the person.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

You are absolutely correct!

[@RedVote]

Thanks! That's great, I've compared my other bikes on climbs also, with my Challenge Fujin SL II; which seem to use different muscles compared to my Elliptigo and MTN bike.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks for watching, Red!

[@another3997]

Great video. I'm definitely a little envious. I have a 2005 ICE Q (NT), which is a basically a general purpose trike. It's great, but that VTX looks absolutely fantastic. I really need to try one out. I just sold my recumbent bike, an old 7 speed BikeE, but I would like to get a more reclined, short wheelbase bike... one with plenty of gears. Take care and have fun. 😉

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks much! I have an ICE Q-26 from about the same time period. I went to a local shop to take a look at a VTX and it looked so much like the Q-26 I didn’t see how there could be much of a performance difference. Then a used VTX came up for sale locally at a great price so I picked it up to see what the difference really was. Whatever modifications they made to the VTX to boost performance really did work, and I was surprised that it really is a much faster trike than the Q. Shocked me! :)

[@jonabub]

More of such greatnes please!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks very much! :)

[@SFCRambo60]

You can say whatever you want but you will never get me out of my Catrike Dumont. I am 71 years old, I have wasted lots of money on damn seats and a very expensive bike. You people who rides bicycles need to take a mirror and look between your legs and see the bruising you get, I am on blood thinners, I am a diabetic, I have a small amount of balance issues, I have 2 pins and 6 screws in my lower back, right ankle is fused and pinned, have neck issues, sick and tried of always seeing the trail, bike path or street, wrist have been operated on (both), I want to enjoy my ride and see the beautiful nature and not the road, path or whatever I am riding on. My Dumont is so comfortable that I don't want to get out of the seat. The wrist rest are perfect, shifting gears is so easy and nice. Don't have to put your feet down to maintain your balance. You load your trike without worrying about you bike falling over. People complain that a trike is so big, WRONG, mine folds up and rolls also storage is easy, but I bought a roller set so I can ride my trike in the winter in the house.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

The Dumont is a great trike, SFC! Glad you found a way to get out, get exercise AND be comfortable while you're doing it! Keep it up!

[@SFCRambo60]

@@bikestrikesrazors but people who ride bikes need to check themselves because bruising can cause blood clots.

[@user-zu4nl7bm9e]

What is the rear wheel size of t-bone and midracer? 26 inch or 700c?

[@bikestrikesrazors]

The T-Bone has a 700 on the back. The U2 has a 24. :)

[@albertbooth154]

I would also like to hear your feelings are real different types of petals like for instance stripped in petals hopeless petals what do you like pros and cons

[@bikestrikesrazors]

I'll have to do a video on that, Albert! I personally prefer clip in SPD type pedals- that way I just clip in and don't have to worry about it again until the end of the ride. :)

[@5lowburner]

Interesting video, thanks! There’s an issue with the sound track (digital skipping sound)

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks, Slowburner! Good ear on the skipping sound! I've figured out what was causing that sound, so it won't be showing up in future videos. :)

[@michaelfasher]

Should try a Cruzbike V20 Vendetta.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Someday I’ll get my hands on a Cruzbike and give it a try!

[@markrobinson891]

Climbing on any of the bents I’ve owned over the years means just one thing; leave early.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Ha! Same for me! :)

[@benbrown8258]

Are there any American makers of two wheeled under seat steering recumbent bicycles left? I very much like my ancient two wheeled under-seat steering recumbent but it's not up to touring.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Yes! It looks like Longbikes is still building/selling their version of the original Ryan Vanguard here: www.longbikes.com/2/Faq/WhyRecumbent.html I have a Haluzak Horizon that's a great riding, under-seat steering bike. You may be able to find one of them in good shape on the used market.

[@FACE-PROFILERZ]

You may also check a used ATP Vision R40 USS convertible to SWB/LWB. I used to own one of those in 1996.

[@BROWNBRONCO1]

Bachetta makes bikes in North Hollywood

[@jmilton5842]

I don't think that this was a valid comparison; even the trike had a triple front chainring set up. I've climbed several tough climbs in the Denver, CO area with my Rans F5 Enduro, set up with triple chainrings, and I'm no racer. The Lightning was set up specifically for time trials with what appears to be a single chainring.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Yep, I'd have to agree. The Lightning would certainly do better with a triple up front!

[@MusiCaninesTheMusicalDogs]

I'm always with the trikes! They really are women magnets!

[@bikestrikesrazors]

LOL! That's true- they're magnets for almost anyone walking by. That's one of the benefits or drawbacks of a trike- you can't stop anywhere without starting up a "what's that?" or "Is that comfortable" or "Is that better on your back than a road bike?" conversation. :)

[@pmag3200]

" u2"..thats a nice bike...any plans of putting a electric rear wheel on any of them?

[@bikestrikesrazors]

I haven't yet. I was looking at the Copenhagen wheel, but I think they stopped supporting it.

[@iDarkfigure]

I suggest you try pulling back on the Bars while pushing your feet into the pedals and gear down to granny if you can... Keep your cadence high as you possibly can to keep from wobbling as you ascend. (spinning) Monitor the pace of your breathing to avoid holding your breath intermittently when it feels like your struggling: 4 seconds in 4 second out. you should see an improvement with more of a warm up before your time trial. Good Luck

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

[@another3997]

Whilst pulling the bars on an upright bike is fine, the problem with pulling them on recumbents is that it makes you wobble more, and just they aren't designed to be pulled with any great force. The angles, length and construction usually mean you're applying a lot of force to a long lever, fixed at the steering tube. Lower gearing and practice are the only real options.

[@palmvictory]

I promise you, with more practice climbing on those bikes, you’ll do better vs the trike. I came from northern Texas, where there is plenty of oxygen to lower oxygen Denver area. Here, hills are everywhere and I regularly tackle an 11% hill with a Performer low racer, one of their high racers (650 wheels) and a Catrike 700. After three years of this I am much improved in my hill climbing on all vehicles, though I much prefer the trike and * much better in my body’s use of oxygen.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks for the information and thanks for watching! I really should get more climbing in with the two-wheeled recumbents. I do climb a lot these days with the trike,

[@jamesbarron7512]

I found the same thing riding my single speed bike, stop talking myself out of climbing . Just shut up and crank fixes most things

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Yep. :)

[@taufikabidin412]

Probably should have a LWB there like RANS or linear

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Next time! I do have an Easy Racers Tour Easy here!

[@wendywhite2642]

I'm at 6 minutes 40 out of 10 minutes 48 and I've seen all three bikes run but you did not explain why the trike could make it up to 10% and the other two could not.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Hi Wendy. It was a combination of things. With the trike, you don't have to balance and when the two wheelers got slow enough, I couldn't stay up on them. So, I had to go at a faster speed to stay upright, which took a lot more effort than the trike did.

[@zazugee]

impressive the trike isnt too far behind a roadbike, so much for recumbents can't climb, it doesn't apply to tricycles but to 2 wheelers ones maybe, but then again, many commuters bikes can't climb either

[@bikestrikesrazors]

I was impressed too. I think it really all comes down to weight. I suspect a 19 pound trike or two wheeled recumbent would likely climb just as well as a road bike. The trick would be building a trike or two wheeled recumbent that only weighed 19 pounds. :)

[@budwyzer77]

@@bikestrikesrazors The lightest Lightning R-84 is only 18ish pounds but it's super expensive. My R-84 is 24 lbs and it still climbs extremely well.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

@@budwyzer77 24 pounds is pretty light for a recumbent! That closed body design on the R-84 is much better for climbing then the more laidback style of the U2.

[@abfutrell]

The T-Bone would perform a lot better if the BB wasn't so high. You're essentially pushing yourself downhill with that angle.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

It would be interesting to try this with three similar bikes with different bottom bracket heights, Andrew.

[@abfutrell]

@@bikestrikesrazors I imagine the seat angle/position matters too. Further forward and upright should get your weight further forward on the front wheel. I switched to 165mm cranks on my road hybrid. I moved my saddle up and back to compensate. When I hit 10+% grades, I noticed I felt 50 lbs heavier and I was considerably slower. The further back your weight is, the heavier you become on a steep incline.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

@@abfutrell Interesting!

[@DemiGod..]

Well after seeing this ,will definatey not get a recumbent bicycle as have tio climb 15% hills every day which are easy, seated on the 20lb endurance and 30 lb tourer. If they can barely get up a 10% hill, they certainly won't get up a 15% with a bad road surface.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

If you have to make a 15% climb on a daily basis, I wouldn't recommend a low racer type recumbent.

[@DemiGod..]

@@bikestrikesrazors Intend to get a recumbent trike though, with 3 chainrings like my tourer.

[@GeorgeHomerHarley]

It would be a better test if you were experienced 😜

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Yeah, but nowhere near as much fun. :)

[@themotorcycleguy5980]

Pay all that money for these type of bikes that cant even get up a hill lol

[@bikestrikesrazors]

The interesting thing about different models of recumbents is that they all have their strong (and weak) points. The low and midracers that don't climb all that well are greased lightning on the flats. Not much can touch them for outright speed.

[@taiwan1895]

I suspect alcohol was involved in the failed attempts.

[@budwyzer77]

Low racer recumbents are extremely difficult to balance at low speeds. Plus the M5/Lightning didn't have a triple front chainring so he couldn't downshift as much as he needed.

[@boatman222345]

If you add the qualifier "as set up with this particular rider, on this particular day" this evaluation has some merit but not much. Sorry to be so critical as I don't doubt that the maker of this video had the best of intentions but to extrapolate from this data and reach any sort of definitive conclusion regarding the merits of a particular model or style of cycle would be unwise. For one thing there is almost no mention of the gearing of each unit. Did some of them suffer an advantage or disadvantage as a result of the gearing? Another problem is the simple fact that after each successive ride up such a steep roadway there would be a noticeable drop in the rider's hill climbing ability as he grew ever more tired. Recumbents of all makes and models have a reputation for being poor hill climbers and in many cases it's true. That said I live in a mountainous region of Maine where the longest flat section of roadway is measured in feet not miles. When I first began riding my short wheelbase RANS Rocket up these hills I was afraid I would soon become the local orthopedic surgeons star patient. But that was because the Rocket was built in the flatlands of Kansas and featured gearing so high that Lance Armstrong would have found made hill climbing difficult. So I changed the gearing to a Shimano 105 touring triple and swapped out the 7 speed 11/28 rear cassette for a 9 speed 11/34. Nice try but still no banana. My next thought was to upgrade to a mountain bike triple crankset but everyone warned me this would be impossible because of frame angle limitations on setting up a Deore front derailleur with the small chainrings. This proved to be the case and I was forced to make modification to the derailleur mounting system. When finished this modified gearing allowed me to climb hills easily that had been impossible before. My point here is that while recumbents are not generally great climbers given the correct gearing they are nowhere near as bad as generally imagined.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Good points, Boatman! Yeah, our videos are more for entertainment purposes and less about scientific validity. You are definitely correct- recumbents can be, with the right gearing, be much better climbers that they get credit for being.

[@markfeldman6509]

I have two Catrikes....a Trail and a 559 and a LWB Sun ez sport recumbent. I will take the trikes anytime. The two wheeler is faster on the flats, impossible to ride steep grades on and unstable as hell. I love using it for speed on flat trails but otherwise no thanks. I can smoothly and safely climb any grade on 30 gear Catrike...and at a very good pace.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Nice trikes you have there!

[@markfeldman6509]

Bikes, Trikes & Razors! ...yup ... have to love those toys! I test rode some Cruzbikes and similar two wheelers which were super fast but I knew I would get hurt on them as they are so unstable and can’t climb any grades on them. God forbid you stop on a hill for anything and have to get going. Clipping in on them is life threatening. I will stick to the trikes. Next toy is a high end carbon frame super fast 700 wheel trike.

[@FACE-PROFILERZ]

@@markfeldman6509 it might be your next toy trike is Cantus of Performer Cycles who made all carbon trike as well as mid racer SWB Muses.

[@markfeldman6509]

@@FACE-PROFILERZ great minds think alike. My next one is definitely going to be a lightweight carbon frame 700 wheel racer stripped to bare minimum essentials to maximize speed. Heading home from Florida to New England in 1 days an doing my research.my biggest fear is availability as the bike /trike market has a real shortfall in product to deliver. I will update as I go along.

[@FACE-PROFILERZ]

@@markfeldman6509 I heard Cantus has positive feedback in Japan. Think of trading in my brand new R-84, I never own a trike so far except FreedomRydee LC-1 handcycle.

[@thomasstinson1696]

This video was agonizing, especially the music and failed attempts to climb a 10% grade.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Thanks very much for watching, Thomas!

[@kayallen7603]

stop with the "heroic" music, please. Such arrogance.

[@bikestrikesrazors]

Hi Kay, I thought is sounded more like music you'd hear on a TV sports program, but they can be pretty arrogant also! :)

[@markthomasson5077]

I often hate the music, I rather like it here. He modulâtes it well

[@markthomasson5077]

Actually I change my mind. It sounds good when introducing the bikes, but distracting on the runs.