Those who have never used the recumbent bicycle before are unlikely to start. To the rider of the mountain bike or even the cruiser, a recumbent bicycle seems lazy to the extreme; the rider pedals from a reclined position, which allows them to have their weight supported completely by the bicycle, and divert all their attention to the pedaling of the bike. It should, perhaps, come as no surprise that the recumbent bicycle is the fastest when it comes to speed trials; the rider’s entire focus is on the pedals, and absolutely no energy is wasted in supporting oneself. Those who often use these bicycles swear by them, and with good reason; it must be the most comfortable cycle ever to zip down a road way.
However, in an age where cycling is done as much for exercise as for speed or pleasure, the recumbent has the disadvantage of not maximizing the upper body; it is easier to pedal, and to pedal faster, than an upright bike, which means that fewer calories and less fat are burned when operating it. In a time when few people cycle sheerly for pleasure, and fewer still actually use cycles as a means of transportation, this is a significant disadvantage for the bicycle. However, the bicycle has enough proponents–and those proponents are devoted to their sport–to make up for it. Those who use recumbent model often tend to be as disdainful of uprights as riders of uprights are of bicycles.
If a recumbent bicycle could somehow be made more affordable and popularized, and city traffic become more accustomed to sharing the road with cycles of all kinds, there is a good chance that the recumbent bicycle could do more to reduce our dependence on energy than any upright ever could; like a car, they allow the rider to sit comfortably; they can also reach speeds comparable to in-traffic vehicle speeds (30 to 45 miles per hour) with no more effort on the part of the rider than they might expend on their home exercise equipment. But until drivers learn to be more aware of bicycles on the road–something that almost certainly will not happen in the near future in America–then it will never be really safe to use such a low vehicle in traffic situations.