Monster versus Carbon Aero - - Quasi-Time Trial

I arrived at my Longboat Key, Florida home on Tuesday, October 2 and decided to do time trials on the same course, under similar weather and traffic conditions with both my Trice Monster and Bacchetta Carbon Aero to compare times over the same distance and make other subjective observations about the differences between a performance-oriented trike and a two-wheel recumbent. The course is a 25 mile stretch of Longboat Key. The Key is about 10 miles long with a bike line on both sides of the only road, Gulf of Mexico Drive, running the entire distance. One full "lap" of LBK is about 20 miles. So, I added five miles to one lap as my TT course. The course is almost perfectly flat, although there is usually a 10-20 mile wind that is directly in my face for half of the ride. On both days the wind was about the same and the temp. was in the low 90s with high humidity. I rode the Monster on Wednesday, October 3 and the Carbon Aero on Thursday, October 4 and posted the results in BikeJournal.com.

I have my Monster set up with a 24 spoke rear aero wheel with a Hugi hub. Since this picture was taken, I have also added Dinotte 600 endurance series head and taillights. I use daytime running lights on Longboat Key because of the traffic, although when I did the 25 mile tt, the traffic flow was light. I didn't use the flag for the tt, fearing that it would produce unwanted drag. Although I call this a time trial, in reality I didn't go all out. I road hard beyond my comfort zone, but there was something left in the tank when I finished on both days. I felt that my level of exertion was about the same on both rides. I finished the Monster time trial in 1:30 (rounded), averaging 16.7 mph. The headwinds slowed me down quite a bit and feel I could have added more speed if I had gone all out on a wind free day.

Then I did exactly the same ride, exerting a perceived effort comparable to the previous day's ride on the Bacchetta Carbon Aero. The Aero is a pleasure to ride and the first thing I noticed was how effortless moving along on the Aero seemed. The Aero is set up with Nimble Crosswinds wheels and I use the same bike computer, a Polar 100 cs as on my Monster. I finished the 25 mile tt on the Aero in 1:21 (rounded), of 18.7 mph.

So, I completed the course under very similar conditions on both bents. The Aero, not surprisingly, was 1.9 mph faster. This pretty much tracks with the conventional wisdom of the speed variation between a two and three wheel recumbent. I know when I add serious climbing to the route the difference is much greater. Back in Atlanta on my 20 mile training loop in Northwest Georgia, I am about 3 miles per hour faster on the Carbon Aero compared to the Monster.

There were some other factors that seem to favor the Carbon Aero. I began to suffer some serious "hot foot" on the trike after about 20 miles of riding, wheras I completed the time trial on the Aero with no foot discomfort. Overall, I felt a bit fresher at the end of the ride on the Aero as compared to the Monster, but that is a very subjective observation. This doesn't take away from the Monster at all. For a trike, it moves along very nicely and over very long distances, where speed is not the primary issue, it might be preferable to the Aero for reasons of comfort and stability.

These are two terrific recumbents and I will continue to ride both, dividing my riding time about equally.