I'm glad you're happy with your recumbent. I've never had comfort issues on my diamond frame race bike, but perhaps that will come as I age. My only hands-on recumbent experience is on a trike that I built with a group of peers for ASME's Human Powered Vehicle Competition. Our particular entry was not a stellar…

My 2012 Impreza (non-wrx) has the same thing. You'd never know they were there unless you look for them, but they're easy as pie to get to.

I had a 2002 Passat that had a manual lever to change seat height. My 2012 Impreza has the same thing. You're correct about tilt, though.

Not quite sure what you're trying to say here. I don't use a knee defender. If I did, the people in front of me wouldn't be able to recline. But wait, they can't recline anyway, because my knees are in the way. So in that sense, a knee defender would prevent my knees from getting bruised without causing any…

I'm just shy of six feet, but I have long legs as well, so I have the same issue. The person in front of me isn't going to be able to recline during the flight, unless they manage to push the seat back hard enough to break my legs. I also choose to not recline my seat, unless the seat behind me is vacant. It's not…

I'm tall-ish, but by no means unusually so. A fraction of an inch under 6 feet. I have yet to sit in a coach seat on a plane without having my knees in the back of the seat in front of me, even when it's fully upright. That means that the person in front of me can't recline. I'm not trying to be a dick about it,…

Fair enough. I'll be the first to admit that I can be passive aggressive, which is why I let my knees block people from reclining rather than speaking to them.

I give them the ass. That way I don't have to look at them as I pass by.

I've seen endless, rage-filled debates on whether that product is okay or not. It does seem rather dickish to me. But then again, my legs are long enough that the person in front of me can't typically recline their seat at all without hitting my knees. If I used the knee defender, they wouldn't be any worse off,…

That sounds like the worst thing ever.

Something something reclining. Tall people like me hate it when the people in front of us try to recline, crushing our knees. People who like to nap on long flights hate it when tall people like me are behind them, rendering them unable to recline.

Recumbents are comfy, but they're awful for going up hills. If the skinny seat is hurting you, swing by your local bike shop and have them help you find something that you'll be more comfortable on. Stock bike seats are usually pretty shitty. If you can find one that matches your bone structure well, they're not…

I think the pricing is about right. I worked at a bike shop from 2008-2012. We had some road bikes and mountain bikes in the $500-$1000 range, but they were pretty crappy. (ie, entry level). We'd usually recommend the something in the $1000+ range if people could afford it.

Another option: Get a job, and get your employer to pay for you to go to school? My employer pays for 60-90% of the cost of classes, depending on the grades I get, assuming that the classes are something that will help me become a more valuable employee.

I'm on the standard repayment plan, but in reality, I've just been throwing as much money as I can at those student loans. Typically somewhere between 2-4x the standard amount per month, around 1/3 of my income after taxes. I'm paying 6.8% on that shit, so I'd like to get it out of my life as soon as possible.

Meh, I have a somewhat bigger and heavier economy car, a 2012 Impreza hatch. It makes 148 hp. It's certainly not a fast car, but it's more than enough to get around safely, as long as the car isn't loaded heavily.

My understanding is that in that case, it's still the rear-ender's fault. You should be leaving enough space in front of you to be able to stop if the person in front of you does something unexpected. Someone could stop in front of you to avoid an animal/child/other obstacle at any time, anyway. I could be…

Re. Winter flight between different climates: A couple years ago, I flew from New York to Cairo in January. Boarded the plane wearing four layers, because it was cold out and I needed to save space in my carry-on. Got off 13 hours later and it was 70 degrees out. I was uncomfortable.

Worth noting that the driver of the car in the photo was probably not at fault in their accident, as they were rear ended.

Initial reaction: Kinda cool and unique, doesn't seem like an unreasonable price.