@@chriss2595Please share that reason! To me, recumbents are simply the smarter, faster and more comfortable bicycles. Moreover, they have helped me keep cycling, when my bad back made diamond frames too painfull. I am now faster than I ever was on my diamond frame upright bikes… and no, I don’t ride a streamliner (they’re simply not practical in the real world), but my M5 M-Racer makes short work of my daily 30 commuter miles and keeps me smiling on my weekend rides.
Riders are Steve "Slasher" Slade in the Kingcycle Beano, Russel Bridge in Snoopy and Liam Goodman in the Leaper Not So Low. Top 3 in BHPC points series this year. Not shown was a top speed dash. Slash and Liam hit 48 mph, Russ 47.
2:43 "Not only can you ride it nice and comfortably, but you can also sleep in it." What are you saying, Hank? That this is the ultimate bikepacking rig - no tent required?
I've almost done that. When I had a recumbent trike, one thing I found to be extremely easy was to relax in it. With clipless pedals, you could simply engage the parking brake and just relax. It's already a comfortable position (depending on the bike of course), and if you're in a faired recumbent you're out of inclement weather as well. And if you build it with bikepacking in mind, you'd have your panniers out of the weather as well, and with a bit of contortion you could get everything you need from them without having to leave the canopy.
@@gcnno need for panniers. There’s storage space inside. I wouldn’t pick a streamliner for touring, but I’ve toured several times with a velomobile and can say that it is a ton of fun.
@@gearknobz Thanks for that intelligent input. It is well established that recumbent riders' farts don't stink. Plus there are holes in the front and back for ventilation anyway.
@@gcnI'd totally watch that, I do suspect they might need better brakes, 60mph down the steeper hills wouldn't just be a dream (well nightmare) with those things
The World Record at Battle Mountain with a legal wind on a flat course is 144kph, or 89.5mph. Of course the bikes designed for that speed are 1-trick ponies, but these incredibly fast Streamliners are the middle ground between road bikes and them. Seeing them at speed in person is incredibly addicting.
I would love to see a vid about some of the unfaired, two wheeled, production recumbents that you can buy and ride just like a "regular" bike. The companies to look at are Cruzbike , Metabikes, and Schlitter Bikes. Take a serious look at these nicely finished, modern, and fast bikes. Compare them to the usual superbikes, or even better, bikes that cost in the $5-6k range, like these do.
I absolutely agree! Also, some brands offer tail fairing bags which absolutely do not hinder everyday practicality but give you a little speed boost, like M5 recumbents. Try those as well!
The are two wheeled recumbent bikes, but most people, now ride three wheelers, because they are more stable. But yes, I knew the fully faired recumbent's would win ;)
Imagine a completely unregulated race series (no electric motor and only one rider per vehicle) with a mixed calendar: ovals, tracks and road. This would allow so many different strategies and designs
i know. a real life wacky races, hopefully with dastardly shenanigans from unscrupulous participants who will stop at nothing to win. id watch that! plus the organisers could design various traps and hazards to make it even more fun
The problem with using a motorcycle is you don't get to hear the rumble as Slash inevitably comes up behind and laps you, seemingly without effort. Several times per race.
Saw a fully enclosed recumbent on the Blue Ridge Parkway the other day, I was going 40-45 MPH and it was outrunning me on the slight downhill. Love seeing all the types of bikes
I'm a simple man I seen a gcn recumbent video and I click play. And then I regret that I didn't get my own recumbent out on the road this summer(laziness/rain/moving house) 😅
@@alansmollen Many velomobiles and trikes have an e-assist option, but owners also add aftermarket motors. Those things are already ridiculously fast without a motor, but with one...Jeez!
@@casualguy393 With a legal motor you carry around the extra weight most of the time. I've done rides exceeding 40 kph/25 mph in traffic with a few stops and hills on an unfaired recumbent. Why the hassle? For a disabled person or in very hilly terrain it looks different, though.
@@matteodiluce9387 Nice going Matt. I get up to 40kph from time to time on the flat course I always ride on my V20, but when I get a solid tailwind I spend plenty of time above 50kph on about 200 watts. I wish I were young again and could get 300 watts for a respectable amount of time.
Couldn't help but think of Norfolks Mike Burrows (RIP) and his massive influence on recumbent bike design and development when watching this entertaining video; often saw him flying along on our local roads on his latest design, I even own one of his designed and built road recumbents....
We drive over 70km in one hour with Velomobiles only with muscle Power :) its crazy whats possible with an efficent ride. A Car need over 5000W for this Speed, a modern Velomobile only 250W
YES! More recumbent videos! I was insanely laughing at the amazing efficiency/ effectiveness of these bikes against our wild Hank's enthusiasm! Love this content gcn! Fascinating bikes, great editing and love zany insany Hank! Keep it coming please gcn!
The problem with the moped is by law they are restricted to a max speed 30mph. If the restriction was removed it it could be quite different. I’m a retired copper and remember stopping a Yamaha moped which was before restrictions were brought in and on a radar speed gun it was clocked at 48mph. Fortunately for the rider it was in a 40mph zone so he got a bollocking instead of a ticket in them days we did not book them until 10mph above the speed limit.
Well thats nothing. Here in the good old USA, I had a crooked cop give me a ticket for doing 96 on a 70mph road. In reality, I was only doing 69. Good thing I had a dash cam to prove my innocence. I was still out of pocket because they made me pay court fees anyway.
@@watsisbuttndo829 it's a bit of a flawed test because 50cc isn't that common. 125 is the standard but most delivery bikes and quite a few commuter bikes are Honda vision 110. I owned a Sinnis and they're beyond garbage, even a Honda/Yamaha/Aprilia50cc would be a sensible comparison.
That was a great video! I always enjoy Hank’s bubbly enthusiasm. Just a quick suggestion though. That is not a moped. That is a motor scooter. Mopeds have pedals and a two stroke gasoline engine. Still very entertaining video, and props to the three recumbent racers for dropping Hank and his scooter.
Typically a 50cc scooter can produce about 2100 watts. A decent club level cyclist can do 500 watts for a minute, 400 watts for 10 minutes, 225 watts for an hour. The scooter can maintain level power until the gas tank is emptied. Professional cyclists (like tour de France competitors) can do 400 watts for an hour for the smaller climbers or 500 watts for the larger riders. A Juiced up Lance Armstrong did 510 watts for an hour at 150 lbs. None of these numbers are absolute. Riders vary quite a bit from athlete to athlete and from sprinters to climbers. Olympic level track sprinters have been clocked at over 2100 watts but that lasts for less than half a lap of the track. To answer your question, the 45 year old hobbyists in those home-made recumbents were doing about 225-275 watts for 2 miles while the scooter was pegged at about 2100 watts, so your guess was correct.
@@berthull9333 yeah I also thought about 3bhp for the scooter but I can’t really tell how the position in the recumbent affects your power output. On the other hand is the scooter putting out 2kW at top speed or just for acceleration?
The scooter had a cvt or a varriant of that so power output is pretty constant regardless of speed. Peak power is obtained near redline on most engines so from about 10 mph and higher the scooter is at peak power, and somewhat less than that power below 10 mph.@@jonasvieth
During the HPC World Championships in 2021 in the Netherlands I did about 167 kilometres/104 miles in 3:01 hours at 179 watts in a stock Milan SL Mk IV with fast tires. There were three corners on the track that I couldn't take at full speed. Otherwise it would have been around 180 kms/112 mi. Matthias König who won that year did a 59 kph average at 173 Watts for most of the race, IIRC.
Enjoy that. For next time, how about Citroen Ami vs Velomobile vs Road bike vs unfaired recumbent bike over a 25 mile mixed terrain course? Would the Ami run out of juice?
To be fair, that 50cc moped will be limited to fit in with the restrictions of learner legal riding, hence the L plate. This means it tops out at 30mph, if you are lucky. Now if you replace the heavy plastics with carbon and then start playing with performance mods on the engine, you should be able to push it faster. When I was the age to start riding mopeds, my friends and I were playing with the Yamaha RD50. So get going with the Dremmel and polishing mop Hank. As much as I love riding my bicycles, I love my motorbikes even more. Riding bicycles is great endurance training for riding big bikes, even my own little 650 benefits from the extra fitness cycling brings. Finally, huge respect to your camera operator, riding backwards on pillion cannot feel nice and you would need to have absolute trust in your pilot! So well done to the camera crew too.
And people wonder why I argue for some E Recumbent bikes, for urban transportation? You could use like 120-150 watts and just fly around, sure you'd need probably fiberglass instead and what not but still they are so efficient I can hardly believe it, and I'm a major nerd.
I love how the carbon is so rough and purely functional. Hambini would cry and say it's a dangerous disaster that nobody should ever ride, meanwhile its setting world records.
I think for faired recumbent streamliners to expand out into a market they will need to be one-man mount and start without assist and the rider vision problem must be greatly improved. All of the current visor/screens obstruct and distort views of traffic flow greatly. The current tadpole 3-wheel recumbents are close to this with the open cockpit and pull-down upper body cover with no head fairing except behind head. This is not the fastest config, but it is much cooler with air flow over the head and using a standard road bike helmet. Other important elements are weight reduction for hill climbing and acceleration off a full stop, and high visibility to powered road vehicles.
It’s very compelling to make a high speed path for these. Due to the low profile you can just use directional drilling to cross roads, rivers, rails or entire sections of a city. Around 1.5 meters is the maximum diameter you can drill. Then you just pull in an hdpe culvert. By welding them into a single piece you have zero water leaks so it stays dry inside. This would be far more efficient than a train and for low volumes of riders it would be more convenient. Because there’s zero sound pollution it could also be an elevated path through a city, trains make too much noise for this.
A 125cc scooter would smoke the recumbents, it wouldn’t be anything like close. I’d imagine they’d be lapped tbh, but far out they are quick for pedal power!
I know guys and bikes that would beat the 125cc for a 1 hour time trial. It's been possible for a while now to average over 100 kph on the best recumbent streamliners.
On the last day of 9th grade, a friend on his moped challenged me to a 3/4 mile race against me on my 10 speed AMF bike. I agreed and he immediately took off ahead of me with about a 100 foot head start. I finally passed him close to the end of the ride. I don’t think his moped could go over 20-30 mph, though, and the road was slightly downhill.
Also… the window doesn’t appear to be as aero as it could be, and perhaps airflow should be via a lightweight electric fan picked up from hole the wheels need rather than creating a wind sock at the front? With my 30 seconds “ever” of thinking about it, I’m sure I’ve solved all the issues 😂😂😂😂
@@rudolphpyatt4833It makes a pretty small difference. The fastest streamliner in the world has 6 total gears and I'm pretty sure we used a 9s deore drivetrain
This has to be the ultimate bike for commuting... with a couple of modifications like MTB tires and a suspension for the potholes on the road this bike will protect you from weather elements like rain!
any additional faired recumbent vids should include a nod to Mike Burrows. GCN has made videos featuring his bikes but the enclosed seemed to be a real passion of his. RIP
In germany, the 50 km/h speed limit in towns and cities doesn't apply to cycling, it applies to KFZ only (powered vehicles with accellerator pedals/grips) 😬 If you can go faster, you can go faster - but you have to make sure it's safe for everyone at all times.
@@christianb.1028 Im not German but I am Dutch and we also dont have a speed limit for pedaled vehicles unless its motorized i.e a e-bike which is legally limited to 25 km/h without a license and 45 km/h with license. If it is human powered there are no laws prohibiting you to go faster, you do have to consider traffic and are not allowed to ride wrecklessly.
@@TheOriginalMcJunior I think you misunderstand the former post. I'm 100 % sure that the regular road speed limit applies to bikes as well, and I'm absolutely sure this is the same in the Netherlands. This has nothing to do with bikes having a speed limit because they are bikes.
my monies on the pushbike. as long as the motorbikes engine output it artificially restricted to virtually nothing to give the pushbike an distinct advantage.
so if you want the lowest riding position ever, then try chopper bicycle. where your legs are around the front wheel. and you have normal vertical steering, but with horizontal extension arms like in a chopper bike. yep you are between wheels completely. moped can have up to 20hp power or 20kW, which is 10x than best cyclist power. I think the drive train is way too complex in the recumbent bike. pedal directly a tire gear hub. so what if the wheel hub can tilt left and right. the pedals can stay straight.
So, what is the average watts per CdA over the distances covered for the scooter vs the recumbent? It should be higher for the recumbent given they won but it would be nice to see the comparison!
210 watts on the V20 you see in my profile pic and my videos gets me almost 41kph on flat ground with no wind. Because these Streamliners are much more aero, they probably get about 50kph give or take on 150-160 watts.
There are at least 4 classes of recumbent bikes that are aerodynamically superior to Triathlon/TT bikes. The 1 you see in my profile picture is about the same or slightly more aero with a rider than a rider on a TT bike that hasn't had his position optimized in a wind tunnel. Climbing on my bike is a tad worse because of the weight and about 5% lower output capability, but on the descents and flat sections is where it makes up for that. Additionally, I can stay on my bike all day and feel like I am on a sofa.
i hope whoever put the silicone sealant around the lexan window on the recumbent gets their work featured on next weeks GCN segment of “hack or bodge”!
It would be cool to see a peleton of GCN presenters, and maybe a few pros working together versus a few of these flying eggs, which are so aerodynamic they have to just ride their own ride.
The fastest bike in your country is the Arion 2 at University of Liverpool, but I would encourage you to get in touch with Francois Pervis and the IUT Annecy human powered team. Their bike became the second fastest of all time last September and it's a work of art. The fastest bike in the world is in Toronto ;)
One place that these could be improved is with an ebike motor. That gets you out of any acceleration issues, as you can now add an extra 75+ Nm (55+ ft·lbf) of torque to get off the line.
At the TimeTrial Hamburg-Berlin , 280km, few traffic lights, the fastest Velomobiles achieve 53kph as Average Speed. Doing it below 5:30h in traffic, this is not a race!. But in town a scooter is faster for sure.
I wish velo mobile was cheaper, I got a performer JC70 recumbent but wish could just buy a cover for it to make as aerodynamic and not just front fairing
Was that moped speed-limited? You could see the speedometer went red at 30 mph. Also, maybe it’s a difference between American and British English, but on this side of the pond, a “moped” has actual pedals to get you going, or that’s at least how it used to be. That’s a scooter. What fun! 😁
Do i remember correctly that honest 4-stroke 50cc scooter without adjusted weight in transmission have a max speed of 45-50 km/h? No wonder aero-shaped cycle could do it too.
Following what Hank said, do we see him become a mechanic to upgrade the 50cc motor to 125cc? Changing the piston and cylinder? Have Blake Samson come in to assist! LOL!
Would you like us to make more recumbent videos? 👀
Yes. And please sell more recumbents. Not more cars.
Yes, they're always under represented. For many people they are the best bike, but most people never see them.
@@TheAegisClaw There's a reason for (reasonS).
@@chriss2595there's also a reason 2.5 ton SUV exists. Not a good one, usually.
@@chriss2595Please share that reason! To me, recumbents are simply the smarter, faster and more comfortable bicycles. Moreover, they have helped me keep cycling, when my bad back made diamond frames too painfull. I am now faster than I ever was on my diamond frame upright bikes… and no, I don’t ride a streamliner (they’re simply not practical in the real world), but my M5 M-Racer makes short work of my daily 30 commuter miles and keeps me smiling on my weekend rides.
Riders are Steve "Slasher" Slade in the Kingcycle Beano, Russel Bridge in Snoopy and Liam Goodman in the Leaper Not So Low. Top 3 in BHPC points series this year. Not shown was a top speed dash. Slash and Liam hit 48 mph, Russ 47.
This was the best gcn video ever. More recumbent and velomobiel content, please!
We hear you! We're happy to get back on the recumbent train... always a fun day shooting 🙌
@@gcn I mentioned it in another comment - @mnveloguy lives a bit far away but I'm willing to ride my Bülk from NL to UK if you need more :)
Yes! More recumbents! @@gcn
2:43 "Not only can you ride it nice and comfortably, but you can also sleep in it."
What are you saying, Hank? That this is the ultimate bikepacking rig - no tent required?
Exactly👀 a couple of panniers and it's perfect!
I've almost done that. When I had a recumbent trike, one thing I found to be extremely easy was to relax in it. With clipless pedals, you could simply engage the parking brake and just relax. It's already a comfortable position (depending on the bike of course), and if you're in a faired recumbent you're out of inclement weather as well.
And if you build it with bikepacking in mind, you'd have your panniers out of the weather as well, and with a bit of contortion you could get everything you need from them without having to leave the canopy.
@@gcnno need for panniers. There’s storage space inside. I wouldn’t pick a streamliner for touring, but I’ve toured several times with a velomobile and can say that it is a ton of fun.
@@MrMartinSchouever fart in one?
@@gearknobz Thanks for that intelligent input.
It is well established that recumbent riders' farts don't stink. Plus there are holes in the front and back for ventilation anyway.
This is what bike racing looks like without UCI rules. Really cool in its own way, but an entirely different sport.
Tour de France on recumbents??🤔
@@gcnI'd totally watch that, I do suspect they might need better brakes, 60mph down the steeper hills wouldn't just be a dream (well nightmare) with those things
They stil have to be pedalled so not that different. If you get the chance to watch them racing go for it as its nuts how fast they go.
@@tiagobelo4965 going up the mountains on a two wheel recumbent seems like a nightmare too :D
Now I'm imagining a spectator taking out a peloton of velomobiles and what a nightmare it would be.
When I started watching the video,I said out loud “where is Slash” and then he magically appeared. Good to see you all at again.
Put out more videos you bastard (with love)
Miss your videos, John!
wow it's insane how fast they are when put into perspective like that
Crazy speed! This is only a challenge that Hank could take on 👀
Yes my thoughts too. Easily beating a moped 😮😊
The World Record at Battle Mountain with a legal wind on a flat course is 144kph, or 89.5mph. Of course the bikes designed for that speed are 1-trick ponies, but these incredibly fast Streamliners are the middle ground between road bikes and them. Seeing them at speed in person is incredibly addicting.
I would love to see a vid about some of the unfaired, two wheeled, production recumbents that you can buy and ride just like a "regular" bike. The companies to look at are Cruzbike , Metabikes, and Schlitter Bikes. Take a serious look at these nicely finished, modern, and fast bikes. Compare them to the usual superbikes, or even better, bikes that cost in the $5-6k range, like these do.
We would love to do some more recumbent racing 🙌 We think Hank secretly loves them 😂
@@gcn I'm not surprised 😂😂
I absolutely agree! Also, some brands offer tail fairing bags which absolutely do not hinder everyday practicality but give you a little speed boost, like M5 recumbents. Try those as well!
The are two wheeled recumbent bikes, but most people, now ride three wheelers, because they are more stable. But yes, I knew the fully faired recumbent's would win ;)
I'd love to see some unfaired single track recumbents. May I suggest to invite the world hour record holder, Matthias König.
Imagine a completely unregulated race series (no electric motor and only one rider per vehicle) with a mixed calendar: ovals, tracks and road.
This would allow so many different strategies and designs
Like robot wars in tights
This exists or used to in Human Powered Vehicle Races, lots of different classes...
i know. a real life wacky races, hopefully with dastardly shenanigans from unscrupulous participants who will stop at nothing to win. id watch that! plus the organisers could design various traps and hazards to make it even more fun
It's called HPV races. There are several classes, too bad the UCI basically banned any deviant geometry 90 years ago.
This is the greatest vehicle I have ever seen
Thank you GCN, you're the best. Recumbent bikes deserve much more attention as they are so extraordinary. "Something" completely different.
The problem with using a motorcycle is you don't get to hear the rumble as Slash inevitably comes up behind and laps you, seemingly without effort. Several times per race.
Global recumbent network... For the laid back cyclists.
Ba Dum Shhhh 🥁
Still cycling. Still human powered. Still amazing
These recumbents look so funny, but it's insane how fast they are!
Similar to Hank then... looks a bit funny but oh has he got some speed 💨
Saw a fully enclosed recumbent on the Blue Ridge Parkway the other day, I was going 40-45 MPH and it was outrunning me on the slight downhill. Love seeing all the types of bikes
I'm a simple man I seen a gcn recumbent video and I click play. And then I regret that I didn't get my own recumbent out on the road this summer(laziness/rain/moving house) 😅
Glad we could provide, Will you be getting the recumbent out next year?☀
A recombent with 50cc motor??? Please show one
@@alansmollen Many velomobiles and trikes have an e-assist option, but owners also add aftermarket motors. Those things are already ridiculously fast without a motor, but with one...Jeez!
@@casualguy393 With a legal motor you carry around the extra weight most of the time. I've done rides exceeding 40 kph/25 mph in traffic with a few stops and hills on an unfaired recumbent. Why the hassle?
For a disabled person or in very hilly terrain it looks different, though.
@@matteodiluce9387 Nice going Matt. I get up to 40kph from time to time on the flat course I always ride on my V20, but when I get a solid tailwind I spend plenty of time above 50kph on about 200 watts. I wish I were young again and could get 300 watts for a respectable amount of time.
Couldn't help but think of Norfolks Mike Burrows (RIP) and his massive influence on recumbent bike design and development when watching this entertaining video; often saw him flying along on our local roads on his latest design, I even own one of his designed and built road recumbents....
Didn't realise he had passed away. Used to see him whiz down my road quite often. Now you mention it, I haven't seen him in a while. RIP Mike
We drive over 70km in one hour with Velomobiles only with muscle Power :) its crazy whats possible with an efficent ride. A Car need over 5000W for this Speed, a modern Velomobile only 250W
Combine human power with super erodynamics you got both high speed and and high efficiency. Awesome video!
Way to go Russell. Come back to Battle Mountain next year.
Oooo now there is an idea! Not just but ... imagine this thing descending 😱
the track that played during the race was epic to say the least. I was jamming
YES! More recumbent videos! I was insanely laughing at the amazing efficiency/ effectiveness of these bikes against our wild Hank's enthusiasm! Love this content gcn! Fascinating bikes, great editing and love zany insany Hank! Keep it coming please gcn!
Surely Hank comes to Australia and checks out the trike racing here
losing the bananas really made the difference!
Hank was trying to play real-life Mario Kart by throwing them!🍌
The problem with the moped is by law they are restricted to a max speed 30mph. If the restriction was removed it it could be quite different. I’m a retired copper and remember stopping a Yamaha moped which was before restrictions were brought in and on a radar speed gun it was clocked at 48mph. Fortunately for the rider it was in a 40mph zone so he got a bollocking instead of a ticket in them days we did not book them until 10mph above the speed limit.
Well thats nothing. Here in the good old USA, I had a crooked cop give me a ticket for doing 96 on a 70mph road. In reality, I was only doing 69. Good thing I had a dash cam to prove my innocence. I was still out of pocket because they made me pay court fees anyway.
Ahh, i though it looked pretty weak. No such limitations here in australia. 50cc scoots are usually ok for about 50mph.
@@watsisbuttndo829 it's a bit of a flawed test because 50cc isn't that common. 125 is the standard but most delivery bikes and quite a few commuter bikes are Honda vision 110.
I owned a Sinnis and they're beyond garbage, even a Honda/Yamaha/Aprilia50cc would be a sensible comparison.
Yea Russel!!! What a dream track to race on too!
We used to race there. Great surface but too expensive.
Would love to see what those rucumbants do with electric motors in them
Love this video
Hank creates a new word. "Mahusive"... An elegant way to say massive and huge at the same time.
EXCELLENT!!!! That was great entertainment! I’m very impressed by the 3 race results! Thanks GCN!
That was a great video! I always enjoy Hank’s bubbly enthusiasm. Just a quick suggestion though. That is not a moped. That is a motor scooter. Mopeds have pedals and a two stroke gasoline engine. Still very entertaining video, and props to the three recumbent racers for dropping Hank and his scooter.
It would be fascinating to know what the power numbers were. The moped could well have ten times the power but aero beats it 💪
Typically a 50cc scooter can produce about 2100 watts. A decent club level cyclist can do 500 watts for a minute, 400 watts for 10 minutes, 225 watts for an hour. The scooter can maintain level power until the gas tank is emptied. Professional cyclists (like tour de France competitors) can do 400 watts for an hour for the smaller climbers or 500 watts for the larger riders. A Juiced up Lance Armstrong did 510 watts for an hour at 150 lbs. None of these numbers are absolute. Riders vary quite a bit from athlete to athlete and from sprinters to climbers. Olympic level track sprinters have been clocked at over 2100 watts but that lasts for less than half a lap of the track. To answer your question, the 45 year old hobbyists in those home-made recumbents were doing about 225-275 watts for 2 miles while the scooter was pegged at about 2100 watts, so your guess was correct.
@@berthull9333 yeah I also thought about 3bhp for the scooter but I can’t really tell how the position in the recumbent affects your power output. On the other hand is the scooter putting out 2kW at top speed or just for acceleration?
The scooter had a cvt or a varriant of that so power output is pretty constant regardless of speed. Peak power is obtained near redline on most engines so from about 10 mph and higher the scooter is at peak power, and somewhat less than that power below 10 mph.@@jonasvieth
During the HPC World Championships in 2021 in the Netherlands I did about 167 kilometres/104 miles in 3:01 hours at 179 watts in a stock Milan SL Mk IV with fast tires. There were three corners on the track that I couldn't take at full speed. Otherwise it would have been around 180 kms/112 mi.
Matthias König who won that year did a 59 kph average at 173 Watts for most of the race, IIRC.
@@berthull9333 Check with Hank, but I believe Slash (in the brown, small recumbent) is well into his seventies :)
Enjoy that. For next time, how about Citroen Ami vs Velomobile vs Road bike vs unfaired recumbent bike over a 25 mile mixed terrain course? Would the Ami run out of juice?
To be fair, that 50cc moped will be limited to fit in with the restrictions of learner legal riding, hence the L plate. This means it tops out at 30mph, if you are lucky. Now if you replace the heavy plastics with carbon and then start playing with performance mods on the engine, you should be able to push it faster. When I was the age to start riding mopeds, my friends and I were playing with the Yamaha RD50. So get going with the Dremmel and polishing mop Hank. As much as I love riding my bicycles, I love my motorbikes even more. Riding bicycles is great endurance training for riding big bikes, even my own little 650 benefits from the extra fitness cycling brings. Finally, huge respect to your camera operator, riding backwards on pillion cannot feel nice and you would need to have absolute trust in your pilot! So well done to the camera crew too.
And people wonder why I argue for some E Recumbent bikes, for urban transportation? You could use like 120-150 watts and just fly around, sure you'd need probably fiberglass instead and what not but still they are so efficient I can hardly believe it, and I'm a major nerd.
Thanks JLW and Russ...balmy !
Would like to see Dowsett on a TT bike vs recumbent 🏎️🏎️
TT recumbent 👀 That sounds rapid!
Another excellent fun vid. Well done Hank, well done GCN team. Loved it😂
I love how the carbon is so rough and purely functional. Hambini would cry and say it's a dangerous disaster that nobody should ever ride, meanwhile its setting world records.
Sadly the roughness does worsen the aerodynamics, but it sure as hell seems to still be doing well
Nah hambini would still be complaining that a bottom bracket was 0.00000002 mm out of spec.
@@tiagobelo4965 I thought roughness helped? Isn’t that why a golf ball is covered in dimples?
Some of the roughness on the outside was due to Hank failing to ride it.
@@Thezuule1 Not for this size and speed.
I've often thought a full fairing from a 1970's motor bike would fit on a modern race bicycle, and compare the results.
You and I think alike. Some old school motorcycle fairings are the "right" shape, they are just a tad too heavy.
Thank you so much for this video, I had so much fun watching it.
I think for faired recumbent streamliners to expand out into a market they will need to be one-man mount and start without assist and the rider vision problem must be greatly improved. All of the current visor/screens obstruct and distort views of traffic flow greatly. The current tadpole 3-wheel recumbents are close to this with the open cockpit and pull-down upper body cover with no head fairing except behind head. This is not the fastest config, but it is much cooler with air flow over the head and using a standard road bike helmet. Other important elements are weight reduction for hill climbing and acceleration off a full stop, and high visibility to powered road vehicles.
the recumbent always look bloody fun
i would really like to try one on a track someday
Slash, and Beano, are legends.
As a recumbent rider I enjoyed this video immensely! Recumbents can be so much fun to ride and can extend the riding life of cyclists as they age.
It’s very compelling to make a high speed path for these. Due to the low profile you can just use directional drilling to cross roads, rivers, rails or entire sections of a city. Around 1.5 meters is the maximum diameter you can drill. Then you just pull in an hdpe culvert. By welding them into a single piece you have zero water leaks so it stays dry inside. This would be far more efficient than a train and for low volumes of riders it would be more convenient. Because there’s zero sound pollution it could also be an elevated path through a city, trains make too much noise for this.
That was fun to watch, thanks for making my sunday a bit brighter!
Nice to see the battle flag of the Kingdom of Northumbria in use.
Does Andy Wilkinson still hold the End to End record using one ?.. Story was he was passing guys riding a 10 mile tt on the way down from Scotland .
That is an unbelievable record! Maybe we should get Hank to give it a go?🤔
Didn't know chuck from Better Call Saul could ride a recumbent.
imagine seeing a (almost) levitating dog nose chasing you down
Should have played the theme from Jaws as they overtook Hank.
A 125cc scooter would smoke the recumbents, it wouldn’t be anything like close. I’d imagine they’d be lapped tbh, but far out they are quick for pedal power!
I know guys and bikes that would beat the 125cc for a 1 hour time trial. It's been possible for a while now to average over 100 kph on the best recumbent streamliners.
I caught up to a 3 wheeler recumbent doing 75 kph this summer 😄
Not sure if he had electric assist, seems possible with that kind of speed!
I've done 75 kph a few times in a flat stretch, and there are much stronger guys out there.
My best was 111 kph on a flat road
@@appa609 What vehicle? Do you have any idea how much power would be required for that?
The record in Battle Mountain in a Milan SL was 98 kph.
Jesus, it's like Austin Powers movie where Hank on a moped is trying to get away from Dr. Evil in one giant *ick-bike.
🎉🎉
Forget Hank’s toughest challenges, he’s coasting now!
It's only a week off, What should we make Hank do next?👀
@@gcn Get him to ride one of those velomobiles or recumbents (more).
Global Coasting Network
@@gcn Hank on that recumbent vs Si on TT bike? He’s entitled to time off, it is the off season after all :)
On the last day of 9th grade, a friend on his moped challenged me to a 3/4 mile race against me on my 10 speed AMF bike. I agreed and he immediately took off ahead of me with about a 100 foot head start. I finally passed him close to the end of the ride. I don’t think his moped could go over 20-30 mph, though, and the road was slightly downhill.
All the effort to build it and it uses 105… which we all love as group-set of the people, but surely someone could donate a dura ace?
Also… the window doesn’t appear to be as aero as it could be, and perhaps airflow should be via a lightweight electric fan picked up from hole the wheels need rather than creating a wind sock at the front?
With my 30 seconds “ever” of thinking about it, I’m sure I’ve solved all the issues 😂😂😂😂
I don’t know. It kind of shows that Dura Ace is unnecessary.
@@rudolphpyatt4833It makes a pretty small difference. The fastest streamliner in the world has 6 total gears and I'm pretty sure we used a 9s deore drivetrain
This has to be the ultimate bike for commuting... with a couple of modifications like MTB tires and a suspension for the potholes on the road this bike will protect you from weather elements like rain!
This was a fun video. A 125cc scooter would win. The Suzuki Burgman 400 would leave them in a cloud of dust.
any additional faired recumbent vids should include a nod to Mike Burrows. GCN has made videos featuring his bikes but the enclosed seemed to be a real passion of his. RIP
He's a good guy
😂 Hank pulled bananas from his pocket then got chased by an egg 😂
In germany, the 50 km/h speed limit in towns and cities doesn't apply to cycling, it applies to KFZ only (powered vehicles with accellerator pedals/grips) 😬 If you can go faster, you can go faster - but you have to make sure it's safe for everyone at all times.
This is also true in the UK: ua-cam.com/video/9V5TnSyj_po/v-deo.html
This is, simply put, completely false...
@@christianb.1028 Im not German but I am Dutch and we also dont have a speed limit for pedaled vehicles unless its motorized i.e a e-bike which is legally limited to 25 km/h without a license and 45 km/h with license. If it is human powered there are no laws prohibiting you to go faster, you do have to consider traffic and are not allowed to ride wrecklessly.
@@TheOriginalMcJunior I think you misunderstand the former post. I'm 100 % sure that the regular road speed limit applies to bikes as well, and I'm absolutely sure this is the same in the Netherlands. This has nothing to do with bikes having a speed limit because they are bikes.
GCN crew on long recumbent tour maybe? Each on a different type of recumbent bike, lwb, swb, maybe one on a hi racer?
Member of BHPC where you can see these bikes racing
the acceleration of the low racers impressed me the most. quick.
my monies on the pushbike. as long as the motorbikes engine output it artificially restricted to virtually nothing to give the pushbike an distinct advantage.
so if you want the lowest riding position ever, then try chopper bicycle. where your legs are around the front wheel. and you have normal vertical steering, but with horizontal extension arms like in a chopper bike. yep you are between wheels completely. moped can have up to 20hp power or 20kW, which is 10x than best cyclist power. I think the drive train is way too complex in the recumbent bike. pedal directly a tire gear hub. so what if the wheel hub can tilt left and right. the pedals can stay straight.
So, what is the average watts per CdA over the distances covered for the scooter vs the recumbent? It should be higher for the recumbent given they won but it would be nice to see the comparison!
210 watts on the V20 you see in my profile pic and my videos gets me almost 41kph on flat ground with no wind. Because these Streamliners are much more aero, they probably get about 50kph give or take on 150-160 watts.
Gravel Recumbents rallies lets go!
I'd be more than happy to come to any track in the uk on my er6n if you need a re-match!
I just love when Hank races. He is such an animal! 😎🤩
Oh wow this was incredible to watch!!
Snoopy won by a nose 👃 literally
A recumbent bike, Hank, and GCN Humor is a "can't miss"...
Let them try against my multistrada v4s ,recon they might struggle lol ,awsome bits of kit though and they look very kind to the wedding tackle 😄 😀
loved it! I even smiled watching it. and I love the music in the end. what title of it?
"Let's show how fast these recumbents are with as many slo-mo shots as possible..."
That recumbent is awesome. Couldn’t believe it when it won the longer race. Wow 😮
There are at least 4 classes of recumbent bikes that are aerodynamically superior to Triathlon/TT bikes. The 1 you see in my profile picture is about the same or slightly more aero with a rider than a rider on a TT bike that hasn't had his position optimized in a wind tunnel. Climbing on my bike is a tad worse because of the weight and about 5% lower output capability, but on the descents and flat sections is where it makes up for that. Additionally, I can stay on my bike all day and feel like I am on a sofa.
50cc moped vs. 5 TT bikes
125 moped vs. 5 recumbents
streamliners benefit less from drafting than uprights. But the very best streamliners and pilots could outspeed a normal 125cc moped
Also some good racers in bents vs roadies!
Hank hanking around, love it
Hank, hanking around, throws banans out the saddle not as donkey kong. Love hank, what a showman!
Um that's a very lumpy surface on the recumbent. Why isn't if faired better? It would certainly help speed
i hope whoever put the silicone sealant around the lexan window on the recumbent gets their work featured on next weeks GCN segment of “hack or bodge”!
I hear that. It sure would suck to be beaten by it though eh? ;)
It would be cool to see a peleton of GCN presenters, and maybe a few pros working together versus a few of these flying eggs, which are so aerodynamic they have to just ride their own ride.
What about adding aero bits to the moped?
The fastest bike in your country is the Arion 2 at University of Liverpool, but I would encourage you to get in touch with Francois Pervis and the IUT Annecy human powered team. Their bike became the second fastest of all time last September and it's a work of art.
The fastest bike in the world is in Toronto ;)
What I would like to see is Andrew Feather trying to take on the KOM for Baldwin St
One place that these could be improved is with an ebike motor. That gets you out of any acceleration issues, as you can now add an extra 75+ Nm (55+ ft·lbf) of torque to get off the line.
The moped? These are racing machines. Human Powered Vehicles - so no motors.
Fun video Hank! More importantly...is the recumbent's chain waxed???
At the TimeTrial Hamburg-Berlin , 280km, few traffic lights, the fastest Velomobiles achieve 53kph as Average Speed. Doing it below 5:30h in traffic, this is not a race!. But in town a scooter is faster for sure.
That is one sweet bike.
I wish velo mobile was cheaper, I got a performer JC70 recumbent but wish could just buy a cover for it to make as aerodynamic and not just front fairing
Not even the bananas saving could propel Hank to the win
Now we need a rematch with recumbent, moped and Hank's dad with his choice of motorbike
Having ridden an unfaired recumbent with a bit of trailer (and 30kg of luggage) I could smoke most bikes on the flat... But don't mention the hills!
Impressive! Now we have to drop the prices by mass production.
GCN does it's best Top Gear impression.
GCN has been doing a better Top Gear impression than Top Gear since series 23
Was that moped speed-limited? You could see the speedometer went red at 30 mph. Also, maybe it’s a difference between American and British English, but on this side of the pond, a “moped” has actual pedals to get you going, or that’s at least how it used to be. That’s a scooter. What fun! 😁
yes it is obviously restricted, top speed 30mph, if you are lucky
Do i remember correctly that honest 4-stroke 50cc scooter without adjusted weight in transmission have a max speed of 45-50 km/h? No wonder aero-shaped cycle could do it too.
Following what Hank said, do we see him become a mechanic to upgrade the 50cc motor to 125cc? Changing the piston and cylinder? Have Blake Samson come in to assist! LOL!