My cycling education was incomplete - I had never ridden a recumbent. Then I saw a used one advertised in the club newsletter, and I couldn't resist. So... if you;re interested in impressions of neo-recumbency, read on.
First, the ride itself: If you were trying out a new, and strange, bicycle you would stay close to home and go on a reasonable 10 mile jaunt, right? So I drove three hours (or, more accurately, a long-suffering Chip did) to check out a century route for the club's Chincoteague weekend. Dumb? I prefer to think of it as confidence.
The terrain: Is flat. Not just flat, it's FLAT. This area (the Maryland Delmarva peninsula) is where I found a total altitude gain of 100 ft on a 110 mile ride last year - and that included two highway overpasses which looked about 40 feet each. So... there were no major climbs on the route. Most of the ride was on very rural, lightly trafficked roads with surfaces ranging from smooth to gravel.
The bicycle: Is an Infinity. Long wheelbase, underseat handlebars. Rear wheel is 27", front is 20". Fits the description of "15 year old Suntour components" quite nicely. It looks like it has already had a long & interesting life, but it was cheap. The crank is a double, which was not a problem on this ride, but I suspect would become an issue in hills. This is not intended to be a racing machine.
So, what did I think of it?
You use different muscles riding a recumbent. After ninety miles I had significant difficulty walking. Luckily, this century turned out to be a few bricks short of a load, so ninety miles was also the end of the ride. Frankly, I spent the last third of the day wishing that I had a diamond frame bicycle, but it's hard to blame the bike for my own stupidity in starting off with such a long ride.
You don't change position, at least I couldn't. Your body becomes a dead weight rather than an active component. I think that the seat on my Infinity may need modifying because pressing down on the front of the seat when the pedal is at full extension becomes very uncomfortable after a while, and there wasn't much I could do to change position. I would urge new recumbent riders to get a helmet mirror before going far; I could find no other way of seeing what's behind.
Riding in town is strange, but I think that I could get used to it. Because all the balancing is done by the steering, and none by your body, it feels very unstable at low speed. If you don't think that balancing just with steering is unusual, try riding a recumbent hands-off... you'll be investigating the ditch PDQ. I was able to ride it with my eyes closed, though (kids, don't try this at home!).
Speaking of which, the view is different. You get a different perspective on the world when your gluteus maximus is that close to the ground: Vegetation, road surface, other people's cranksets, dogs... dogs? Yep, even a medium sized dog is face to face with you. I didn't need to try it out, but suspect that in case of need you could punch a dog on the nose. Conversation with your riding companions involves looking up to them in a very real way.
Speed. I have been told that recumbents are at their best on flat ground, but am sure that I would have been faster on a diamond frame. Even slight inclines (the only kind in that part of the world) were very noticeable. Headwinds seemed to have very little effect. I didn't even realize that there was one until Chip asked me if I could feel it. I think the problem is with the fixed riding position and I could not seem to get the trick of sprinting. Although willing to be convinced otherwise, I'm convinced that I rode that ride significantly less fast than I would have done on a diamond frame, and would need a compelling reason to venture into the hills with a recumbent.
Visibility: The thing looks weird enough that drivers actually see you, rather than the usual "see and ignore" routine. I don't know if it provokes friendly reactions, but suspect that it does (every third driver in that part of the world waves at you even if you wear neon lycra - very civilized). Kids in town love it.
Handling: Don't ride it off road. If you try to ride hands-off, you will very quickly be (briefly) riding off road. At higher speed, it feels wonderful and stable. At low speed it feels twitchy. Tight maneuvers are interesting until you learn the trick of leaning more than you think you should and balancing the lean with power, then it gets to be fun.
Comfort: Apart from not being able to walk, I felt fine. No aches in the neck (although I don't get those from any bike), no numb hands (don't get those, either). Generally, I would say it was pretty comfortable. I did find that the coating of road dirt on my face was thicker than usual, but it was closer to the road, so that's reasonable. Something I hadn't foreseen was sunburn in places that are normally in shadow when I ride.
Don't try to carry anything in your jersey pocket!
Wheeling the thing around is a bloody nuisance! You have to stoop down & grab hold of the handlebar. I'm still not sure why every recumbent seems to have a kickstand, but it was at least marginally useful.
Conclusion: After one ride, I am not at all sure that this is the perfect bicycle. It's certainly interesting, and I will do more rides on it, but it's not the bike I would choose for a cross-country tour. I was foolish to start with such a long ride (long? how can only a double digit mileage be a long ride?), and that probably affected my conclusions negatively. Based on my experience so far, this is not something I would choose as my only bicycle, but I don't feel like selling it, either.