Climbing & Descending Mt. Umunhum on a Recumbent Trike vs Road Bike: Steepest 5 Miles in California

  Рет қаралды 6,625

Bikes, Trikes & Razors!

Bikes, Trikes & Razors!

Жыл бұрын

Rich and I take the ICE VTX recumbent trikes up and down the steepest five-mile stretch of road in California and compare the trike's performance to a previous climb up Umunhum on our road bikes.
Music: FynestLyk-Noir Et Blanc Vie
Franklin's Flight-DJ Williams
Danger Snow-Dan Henig
Raging Streets-SefChol
Drag Race-Track Tribe

Пікірлер: 75
@markfeldman6509
@markfeldman6509 Жыл бұрын
What an inspiring ride and video. You guys are great. Thanks,for sharing this super content/ride. Best wishes and thanks again.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks very much for watching, Mark! Someone has to do this crazy stuff, so it might as well be us. :)
@wtopp345985
@wtopp345985 5 ай бұрын
That was fun watching and listening to the racy music! Thanks for filming and sharing it.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 5 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@wtopp345985
@wtopp345985 11 ай бұрын
Love the dynamic music as they descend the mountain.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 11 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@jakebuzzman3024
@jakebuzzman3024 Жыл бұрын
Many thanks for the video. Kudos to you 2 for taking that challenge! Made me tired watching you go up, got me excited watching you come down.👍
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching, Jake! Half the fun of doing this stuff is sharing it with folks that might watch the videos later. :)
@stevelausmann6490
@stevelausmann6490 Жыл бұрын
Was looking for repair tips for bar end shifter. Low and behold a video you made shows the spring replacement. Ordered the springs.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Glad we were able to help!
@neilclaypoole7529
@neilclaypoole7529 7 ай бұрын
Best trike video s from you guys
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 7 ай бұрын
Thanks very much for the kind words and for watching, Neil!
@TrikeSquadron
@TrikeSquadron Жыл бұрын
Wow that's a brutal climb. The downhill looks like a blast!
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hey, Glenn! It was all worth it for that downhill, which was much more fun on a trike than it was on a road bike. :)
@LaidBackPedalPusher
@LaidBackPedalPusher Жыл бұрын
Very inspiring. Makes me want to go for a spin. No hills, though. I'm one of those that needs a ride up. Great comparison! I'm also surprised at the results. Well done!
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching, Mary! That would make a nice ride up in a car as well and you get the trike descent. :) I knew a fellow a few years ago that purchased a trike to ONLY go down big hills like this. He didn't want to do anything else with his trike. :)
@denniskowskie6748
@denniskowskie6748 Жыл бұрын
Have you seen the 2023 ICE prototype VTX Speed Trike? What a beautiful thing!! I saw it on YT.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hi Dennis! Yes, that's an amazing looking trike!
@davidwolfs9505
@davidwolfs9505 Жыл бұрын
not going head first also gives more confidence, really earned that shirt that day, awsome climb !
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Absolutely, David! The whole feet first, low center of gravity situation on the trike gives you a lot more confidence when descending. Hopefully, that confidence won’t become overconfidence. :) Yep, Rich picked the right jersey for that ride!
@ianlindridge5378
@ianlindridge5378 Жыл бұрын
Great fun! And fun music for the descent.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching, Ian! That was the most fun I've had on a mountain descent. Made the climb worth it! :)
@dirk143
@dirk143 11 ай бұрын
23:00 play it double speed and loud. Probably what the play in Berghain Berlin.
@evanking920
@evanking920 Жыл бұрын
Great video.I like the fact that you two continue to challenge yourselves .
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks much, Evan! Having to come up with interesting stuff for these videos is giving us additional motivation to actually do some of these “challenging” rides! Can’t complain- It’s always fun! Thanks for watching!
@evanking920
@evanking920 Жыл бұрын
@Bikes, Trikes & Razors! I have mentioned this before, but the Central Coast has some challenging rides if you want to travel. The locals in Cambria ride the Santa Rosa Creek Road up to Rte 46. Rough, but through some interesting farm country. Plus, you can descend into the Paso Robles Wine Country for more varied terrain rides. There are great rides in the Arroyo Grande Edna Valley area as well. My wife and I go up there a lot, a great respite from SoCal. Just a thought...
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
@@evanking920 Thanks for the suggestion, Evan! We've been down there for the Eroica CA rides and have experienced some of the nice climbs in the area (and walked up a few, like Kiler canyon!). :)
@EZSteve
@EZSteve Жыл бұрын
Hi Rich and Joe, Yep, we can definitely see bugs flying by all the way up that mega climb! I thought they may be butterflies at first ... but gnats? Ugh. The great news about this ride is that auto traffic is non-existent, which means the only agony is effort, not worrying about cars, haha. A nutritious meal bar that I now use regularly while triking is called the Protein Puck (did a recent video on my channel about them), which I have found superior to all the former bars I used to eat while on trike adventures. In the past, I used to eat Clif Bars every day, but that is over. I also really enjoy Larabars like you have here too. That view from the summit is spectacular! You can really appreciate how far and steep you had to climb to get there. Looks like they removed the huge antenna from the cube when they decommissioned it. Yes, your camera did a good job of capturing the views. Very impressive for sure! There is nothing easy about climbing these super steep and long grades. I did a video while pedaling up a super steep grade, talking on the way up, and like you two, you could certainly hear the extensive effort in my voice. There’s no disguising the extreme amount of energy funneled into getting oneself up a mountain on a recumbent trike! One thing for me that has made really challenging hill and mountain climbing noticeably easier is a change of pedals I made in July 2022 … I have always been a die-hard clipless rider for many years, and have gone on and on about the many positive virtues of clipless pedals in several of my articles and talks. I was the consummate clipless rider. But now (and it still seems hard for me to say), I will never return to clipless riding on my recumbent trike. I am using a large flat aluminum pedal with traction pins, which supports my entire foot with each pedal stroke, from forefoot to arch to heel. These pedals are longer than typical platform pedals, which is the key. I never would have believed the day and night difference in pedaling up steep grades unless I had actually tried it. Sure, it’s still physically challenging, but it is easier because I am no longer pedaling on my toes, which greatly reduces the amount of force that can be transferred from my lower body musculature into powering the cranks. When I first put them on my trike, I was so used to my minimal Shimano clipless pedals that I thought they looked kind of weird (too big), but my foot comfort and riding power have so dramatically increased that I no longer worry about it. I learned about the Pedaling Innovations “Catalyst” pedals from another rider, who discussed how Nerve Compression Syndrome (NCS), otherwise commonly known as hot-spots, completely disappeared with the full-foot support pedals, and how his feet no longer had any pain or other negative issues. After my talks on the channel, over two dozen other recumbent trikers have switched from clipless to these, and all are reporting the same results I have found. The thing is, at first I was very skeptical. I realize you two have a long heritage of racing road bikes, and that clipless riding is an integral aspect of that legacy and tradition, but I felt compelled to comment on my own transition after many years of clipless when I saw your climb to the top of Mt. Umunhum. The amount of power lost to toe-pedaling due to the instability of the human ankle (regardless of ankle conditioning) is considerable, but something that we have not considered because of the long tradition of clipless pedals with racing bikes. I think that bicycles are different than recumbent trikes because with a bike, we are atop the pedals, but with trikes, we are behind the pedals, which makes ankle instability and lost power much more prominent factors. With the 18 traction pins on each side of each pedal, my feet remain on the pedal just like with clipless, but now I have happy feet! Anyway, I don’t want to sound like a commercial, but just wanted to say how much more fun my triking is now with a simple pedal change. Your video here caused me to remember the countless miles over the years that I have pedaled my trikes up steep grades pedaling on my toes with my PD-M520 clipless, and I’m glad that’s a thing of the past. Thanks for sharing this monumental ride up and down Mt. Umunhum with us … it’s always enjoyable to watch your excellent presentations on your channel. Keep on pedaling, whether on a bike or trike! BTW: Did that radar near the bottom indicate you were going 27 MPH in a 25 zone, haha? I wonder if your descent time would be faster than that red Corvette that I noticed going up as you approached the bottom of the mountain! That would be an interesting comparison! Know anyone with a Vette? steve
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hey, Steve! I’ll have to look into those Protein Pucks! Those granola bars were a crummy reward for climbing that mountain. :) Next time I’m using a musette and hauling a hoagie up there. Interesting about the pedals- I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a recumbent bike rider who had used a special cleat system to also avoid any strain on his ankles by moving his pedal stroke in direct line of his ankle, such that there’s a direct line from the leg bone through the pedal. He swears it’s much better than the ball of his foot applying pressure to the pedal. Imagining it now, I suppose you’d almost be applying pressure with your heel. Seems like your solution with a wider pedal platform would make more sense, but it’s working for him. Car vs trike on that descent- I’m thinking an auto would’ve had a hard time keeping up with us on that downhill. We were doing 30mph for quite a few stretches, and with our excellent aerodynamics and low center of gravity, we were carving through those turns with hardly and braking. I have all our Strava info. Now I just need to find some data on a fast auto descent. And checking Strava, there were road cyclists that descended much faster than we did. How does that old military acronym go? NAFOD- No apparent fear of death. :) Keep on rolling, Steve!
@EZSteve
@EZSteve Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors The Protein Pucks are a definitive YES ... way better all around than what you guys had to celebrate your vertical victory! These pedals I now use are the same width as standard platform pedals, no wider at all. The difference, which is dramatic, is the length. It's the length that allows for full foot support pedaling, and the incredible power boost. These pedals are super lightweight, made by a pro MTB racer in Colorado, so the quality is top notch. NAFOD ... Yep, ya gotta have it, haha, if you want to get the downhill record! steve
@Olyphoto7
@Olyphoto7 Жыл бұрын
Crazy difficult climb! Would you guy be interested in making a video that shows what stuff you carry on rides? How much y to the full load out weight, how much water, etc.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Good idea, Dan! I’ll put that in the “future video” file! Thanks for watching!
@ricardosemino8133
@ricardosemino8133 Жыл бұрын
Saludos Amigo un abrazo desde Perú
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
¡Saludos desde California! ¡Me imagino que tienes algunas montañas bonitas en Perú para escalar!
@JingsWorld
@JingsWorld Жыл бұрын
Would be a great bike ride this time of the year, must be a gruelling climb . Thanks for this video😅😅😅
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks very much for watching, JW! :)
@garyseckel295
@garyseckel295 Жыл бұрын
Very impressive! Surprised that your brakes could survive. 100%, though variable, brake drag downhill? Thinking you already knew from experience (past watched video), the best pads to use. "Trike Hobo" got me to try Protein Pucks. Wish you two would try that brand and evaluate the product with your experience and athletic level. Best twin-cup-of-coffee snack ever to me. Not very many cyclists, of any age, could do what you guys did!
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks very much for watching, Gary! Surprisingly, we didn't really have to drag the brakes all that much. There were lots of straight enough sections such that we could let the trikes run full out a lot of the time. I was kind of shocked by that. We were doing high twenties to 30mph on a lot of the downhill. Can't do that on any of the other local climbs/descents, which made this a lot of fun. I'll look into the Protein Pucks- I need all the help I can get! :)
@stevelausmann6490
@stevelausmann6490 Жыл бұрын
Nice seeing you two passing on the trail today. I would enjoy talking to you about gearing and cadence as it relates to long climbs.I did the Davis double on the bacchetta last Saturday. Finished it with legs that were quite sore.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Holy cow! Great job, Steve! Did you see Mark Boles out there? He was riding the Davis Double also. He was hopeful that you'd show up at one of the vintage rides, but I know that your back isn't too happy on a road bike these days. The ride up Umunhum (this video) was so steep, gearing wasn't an issue- Just throw it into your lowest gear and grind your way up. :) On a recumbent, when climbing, I always find myself spinning way more than I would on a road bike- Even the recumbents that are relatively good climbers, like your Bacchetta, still don't seem to want to be "bullied" up a hill like a road bike, so there's typically lower gearing and way more spinning (rather than mashing) involved. I've puzzled over why this is for many years, and I've seen lots of discussions about it on recumbent forums. I'm convinced it's not just the weight of the bikes. Maybe power loss in the long drive train? Some claim the body doesn't function as well in a reclined position, but I don't buy that. Possibly fewer muscles involved, but with a high-racer like yours, it seems that all the pertinent muscles would be engaged. Who knows... I'm trying to think of a way you might have been able to do the DD without ending up with sore legs, but I think that riding two-hundred miles is pretty much going to ensure finishing with noodle-legs. At least you had a comfortable seat! :)
@stevelausmann6490
@stevelausmann6490 Жыл бұрын
Upon reflection my gearing was too high to enable proper cadence up the hills. I swapped my 11-36 to a 11-42 today. That should help. I started at 3:30 and Mark Boles started at 4:45 with two other friends of mine. The first two rest stops were not open for me so I gained time on them by riding non stop for 90 miles. They finished about 1.5 hours after me. I want to ride the Knoxville double in September.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
@@stevelausmann6490 90 miles non-stop- No wonder your legs hurt! :) Let me know how the lower gearing works out for you, and good luck on the Knoxville double!
@sk8moto
@sk8moto Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors yes, interesting subject on recumbent climbing efficiency. They never had a good rep for climbing when I dabbled with recumbents in the 90's. I been out of the cycling scene for a long time, but I did notice a local rider Jason Perez on the unusual FWD-FWS Cruzbike doing very well in a local double century where I saw him climbing up Sierra rd.
@sk8moto
@sk8moto Жыл бұрын
My backyard! Ride it a lot on my motorcycle. The strava record for "Mt Umunhum DH from Cube to Hicks" is 9m45s! I can probably beat that on my motorcycle, lol. The guy is probably diving into the other lanes though. I don't think a recumbent trike can touch that record, they don't seem to corner as well as a single track vehicle due to those skinny tires folding over. I also think recumbent bikes would out descend recumbent trikes.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
I won't be trying to beat that downhill record anytime soon. If I went flying off one of those corners, they'd never find me. Thanks for watching and don't try to beat that record on your motorcycle! :)
@sk8moto
@sk8moto Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors LOL, smart decision! Yeah, I am getting too old to do dumb things, thinking of trading my motorcycle for an e-mtb. BTW, I use to race recumbents back in college, ASME races in the early 90's and have been to a couple of IHPVA events back then. Good times! And that's why the engineer in me wants to know which machine is the fastest down that hill! ;)
@frankcanongrape5811
@frankcanongrape5811 Жыл бұрын
Do you use foldable sun canopy on the ascent and pack it up going downhill? Very interesting ride guys! Thank you for this video.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hey, Frank! We don’t have those but it certainly would’ve helped on this ride! :)
@Lhaffinatu
@Lhaffinatu Жыл бұрын
Yikes! And you guys do all this without e-assist! Nice ride!
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching, Commander! E-assist would have certainly sped up the climbing portion of this ride! :)
@rossbrumby1957
@rossbrumby1957 Жыл бұрын
Would be a big bonus to have the on screen speedo, altimeter, cadence and gradient information. A few guys have it on their videos, and it adds a lot of interest. What was your top speed coming down, and did you note your average speeds going up compared to down?
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
We hit 30mph a few times on the way down, Ross. Being a steeper road than the other mountain climbs in the area, they didn't use as many switchbacks so we were really able to open it up on some of the straighter sections. I'd have to look up the average speeds, but most of the time climbing we were doing a grind somewhere around 2.5mph, and on the way down, I'd estimate an average speed of 25mph. I'll look into that software!
@markrobinson891
@markrobinson891 Жыл бұрын
I think you can climb a bit more efficiently with the seat back set less reclined. Your torso moves about three inches with each pedal stroke. That would otherwise be forward motion.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
That's true, Mark. These trikes are setup to be aero and not to climb hills. The seats are adjustable so I could've raised mine up a bit.
@evanking920
@evanking920 Жыл бұрын
I haven't seen a post lately. I hope all is well. I have a question on how you would affix a Garmin and a Garmin Radar Light to an Ice VTX.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hey, Evan- We’re fine here. Just busy with business, but we’ll try and get another video out soon. I’ve never tried mounting a Varia radar on the VTX so I’m not sure how you might go about that. I do have a rubber mount that attaches to the VTX headrest so perhaps the Varia would attach to something like that. For just mounting a computer/Garmin, ICE used to sell a little clamp-on arm for mounting such items, and I’m pretty sure that’s what’s on my trike. I’d highly recommend asking this same question over on Bentrider Online trike forum- I’m sure they’ll have lots of mounting ideas and options. Take care, Joe
@darylearls6043
@darylearls6043 10 ай бұрын
What was your average speed going up as well as going down?
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 10 ай бұрын
We were crawling on the way up at around 4 to 5mph and flying down at between 20 to 30mph, depending on how tight the turns were. Much more fun going down. :)
@donaldtank
@donaldtank Жыл бұрын
I see you are using Bicycle Jersey for your trike ride but have found a recumbent jersey on t-shirt with two pockets on sides?
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
Hi and thanks for watching! I use regular bike jerseys because I go back and forth between recumbents and uprights. I've never tried a recumbent specific jersey, but I know they make them.
@markrobinson891
@markrobinson891 Жыл бұрын
My wife is kind (and skilled) enough to sew a mesh fabric pocket in the front near the zipper on all my jerseys. Holds an iPhone so as not to smoosh it.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
@@markrobinson891 Perfect!
@wtopp345985
@wtopp345985 11 ай бұрын
What speeds do they hit when in descent?
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 11 ай бұрын
Hi and thanks for watching! The top speed on the decent was 30mph.
@felicetanka
@felicetanka 5 ай бұрын
I stay on the right. not in the middle of the lane so a rear light is not essential.
@SolarizeYourLife
@SolarizeYourLife 8 ай бұрын
I just don't understand why recumbents only have 34t as the largest gear in the back...🤔
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors 8 ай бұрын
Usually, they use a triple up front with something like a 24 small chain ring, so I guess manufactures feel that'll work for most riders.
@SolarizeYourLife
@SolarizeYourLife 8 ай бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors but like MTBers learned it just senseless, BS lie of how many real speeds you actually have...sure you got three in front, but that is also triple the duplicate speeds...WHY??? You don't have 21 speed it is actually only 9 speeds with 12 repeats... When you can have true 12 straight inline gears... No jumping around, no senseless duplicates ratios... Only one derailer, not two...They sold us a lie for years, a marketing ploy...
@DemiGod..
@DemiGod.. Жыл бұрын
You are saying that you took 30% longer to climb because the trike is 18 pounds heavier? Weighing 162 lbs, if i had gone up that hill, the bicycle(18) + me(162) = 180lbs trike (36) + me (162) = 198lbs 180/198 = 91% So the extra weight should only slow you down by 9%, not 30%, something else is responsible for the other 21% extra time you took. if i recall you are heavier than me , so the weight would make even less difference.
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
There does seem to be an added climbing difficulty with the trikes. Not sure what's causing it.
@DemiGod..
@DemiGod.. Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors What are the gear inches of the trike and bicycle?
@bikestrikesrazors
@bikestrikesrazors Жыл бұрын
@@DemiGod.. Not sure of the numbers, but the trike has a triple on it, so it's got much easier climbing gears compared to the 39-27 my bike had the last time I climbed this mountain.
@garyseckel295
@garyseckel295 Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors No proof here, but I always thought bicycles, tilting from being pedaled, keeps tires most centered on pavement. Not swayable trikes impose more off-center thrust (drag) against the tire treads.
@DemiGod..
@DemiGod.. Жыл бұрын
@@bikestrikesrazors Is that 39/17 chainring? if so , that is low for a road bike, mine has 34-50 which is the lowest for Shimano Ultegra, with 11-34 sprockets and 28 inch wheel I get 28 gear inches My Kona Sutra tourer with Shimano Deore has a tripple 26/36/48 chainring 11-36 sprockets giving 20 gear inches which is 28% lower than the roadbike.
@bonjovi1612
@bonjovi1612 2 ай бұрын
So.. can trikes climb? Answer.. you bet 👍
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