donn said:But the problem is that honestly, in my experience, they aren't noticeably faster; depending on the terrain, they may be slower. HPV speed records, sure, with somewhat extreme vehicles; those things couldn't realistically participate in a road race whether banned or not. The ordinary run of the mill recumbent bicycle has the primary advantage that it's like riding a lawn chair on wheels, which is comfortable and fun.
Well my experience is different than yours but it may come down to a difference in our bodies and maybe even our bikes.
I have about 2000 miles in the last year under my belt of riding two different semi recumbent bikes without a motor in a fairly hilly area.
I am in my late 30's, weigh 200lbs, have 3 bone deformities, a undiagnosed minor heart condition, and both of my semi recumbents run heavy "puncture proof" tires on the rear. So i have multiple disadvantages.
Compared to lycras on skinny tired bikes, i have been passed while riding up a hill quite a few times but have never been passed on a flat or downhill. There was one time that a guy almost kept up with me on a flat.. he looked like he may be all of 140lbs, wearing full lycra, in a full tuck, and was rolling on tires that were as wide as a penny ( a little more than half an inch wide ). I did pass him at something like 0.5mph faster than he was going.
My 5 minute top speed on the smaller recumbent ( bikeE ) is 24.1mph and on a roadbike i formerly owned, it was 21.2 mph.
donn said:Now put a motor on them and they are significantly more efficient, as an order of magnitude more power makes wind resistance a much larger factor.
That's exactly why electrified semi/full recumbents shold be more common place. The battery per mile requirements can get cut between 30-75% at the higher speeds we travel. I am frankly surprised there are not more bents on here.