25hz

What they are is "inexpensive" so on the low end of the price scale, agreed. That is the only thing you really know about them for sure. Again, explain in detail how a casual rider (even a racer) gets far more "worth" or "quality" out of a $130 chain vs a $20 chain? Or maybe a $400 crankset vs a $20 crankset? How about rationalizing for me a $150 hub vs a $15 hub in which the ONLY difference is a one grade higher ball bearing (which cost EXACTLY 8 cents more each RETAIL) and a silk screen on the hub body? Fact is, there IS no rationalization for it aside from possibly some kind of elitism or some need to soothe an ego. The only place where massive price increases are actually buying something different is with over manufactured parts (like a drilled titanium chain with punched side plates) or some exotic material other than chrome moly or 6061, or if you want high pressure tires which have to be built stronger which actually justifies the cost increase. BUT, having said that, you can still get some great, durable 95 psi tires for about $10 a tire, and I've got some with 3 years of riding on them and there's still lots of life in them aside from a little side-wall weather-cracking.

Exactly right. They get a reliable bent, for a great price that far more people can afford, and THAT is the only, and most important thing for a new rider. Get something that is affordable, and if it turns out they don't like it, it'll be much easier to recoup the cost of a bent close to $1000 than it is to unload a "used" one (regardless of how pristine it looks) for two or three thousand.

Truly? Where are all the mad TW, AB, USA Recumbent and I Love Bent owners that received poor or non-existant support? I've yet to read of an owner who was completely unhappy with them and left twisting in the wind with no support and no satisfaction. Also, why would someone be happier to pay double or more for a bent especially when they don't want to or really can't afford to? Or, is this just another stab-in-the-dark slam against these bents because you're trying to justify in your own mind (and obviously to others) why you paid so much for yours and trying to make as many people as possible do the same thing?? You claim that the bents are low quality and you infer that the retailers will give poor or no support. Prove it or drop it.

Ahh, and now you have inside information on how they're made? You do know that most of the US bent "manufacturers" (including many in other parts of the world) get their frames welded up by often the same welders, in the same countries, as the ones from TW Bents? You do know that these "USA made" bents are shipped over from big far-east welding shops by the shipping container load, right? What that does is give these "made in the USA" (and other places) bent "manufacturers" a recumbent frame at a fraction of the cost compared to what it would cost to build it over here, AND the shipping container cost is divided over the number of frames in the container and they STILL save a pile of money on the frames. You see, these welders (and make no mistake, the ones used by the bike industry ARE good welders or they aren't used for bike frames) make as much in a week, if they're lucky, than a N.A. welder makes each day. From the look of the beads, they look like nice AL beads to me, and no different than the frames/bents you're so fond of, but I've only been welding AL for about 15 years now. How about YOU? So if you're trash talking these bents you might be slamming the bents underneath your own butt at the same time.

You get EXACTLY everything you get when you wander out and drop three thousand dollars. You get a fun, comfortable and reliable bent without paying triple the cost or more. As for the Diacompe's, point of fact, many parts wholesalers just started selling them AGAIN only a couple years ago. You know why? Because from bike shop feedback many serious bar con owners/users preferred the ritzy Shimano and Campy bar cons in friction mode anyway. Yes, unfortunately for you, the bar end shifter crowd is regressing back to the caves and the industry is helping them because the riders and OEM manufactures can use less expensive alternatives which lower the end cost AND are cheaper to replace when damaged AND they are compatible with ANY gearing system, and any number of speeds out there, unlike the ones you favour. I had Shimanos, and tried a Diacompe set because they were HALF the cost. After nearly 20,000km with my Diacompes, they are the only things I use now (as well as many others now that the Diacompes are accessible) and they work EXACTLY the same as the Shimanos, BUT, I get to keep half the price in my pocket. I know though, according to you, NOBODY uses them anymore yet the Diacompes are sold out from the wholesalers so often, I'm glad I've got accounts with 4 different wholesalers. Your assessment of the shifters is as off the mark as your assessment of these bents.

Again, you have no idea what you're talking about. The wholsalers will stock far more mid and low price range components than the high end because they know and understand something you're oblivious to - and that is that there are far more people who can afford and are using that price level component. You claim Altus, Alivio and Tiagra aren't wanted or used? Go look in a bike shop because on this planet, and on this continent here are magnitudes more bikes AND bents using reasonably priced, affordable parts than what you spend your money on, and there always will be. Also, if the "low quality" parts (so you claim) are so unwanted and unused, why is Shimano still pumping them out by the ton??

As to why the bents are so cheap, that is the simplest part of the economic picture, that you've obviously missed. If you knock $100 (and quite often it can be double or triple that amount) off the cost of the cranks, rings, cassette, derailleurs, headsets, hubs, rims, brakes, etc, the end result is a bent that is actually AFFORDABLE. that is the point of building a bent after all, so that someone can afford to buy it, and the more people that buy them, the happier the builder is and the more it helps them build. I've actually seen two of these trikes, have you? They look pretty much the same as any other commercial trike I've seen and the two owners were were every bit as happy with them as any other trike owner. The crucial things is, that if it wasn't for retailers of the TW Bents, those two people wouldn't have trikes at all. They both said they'd wanted trikes for a while but could afford or justify spending so much on a bike. So with the idea that the bent makers and retailers aretrying to get people on recumbents, the smart thing to do (which is finally starting to happen, albeit slowly) is that builders and retailers are actually trying to put bents out there that can be afforded by the average person. Someone who isn't obsessed with cycling and putting in as many miles a day as they can. Someone who may not ride their bike or bent any more than a couple times a week (or quite often less) instead of at least once a day.

In the end, your comments about the quality of the trike, the frame, how it's made and the "antiquity" of the components tells me you have absolutely no idea or facts to back up anything you've said while attacking these bents, the builder, the retailers and in the end, the owners too. You're exactly the kind of person who seems to validate themself by the amount of money they spend for "stuff" which apparently has to be more expensive than common sense would allow. I want people to be on bents, any bents, and at any cost. If they are happy riding it, then the bent is a 100% success because in the end, it's about RIDING THEM, not how much you spent on them. I don't own one of these trikes, nor do I sell them but I am a fan of them because people can actually afford them, and an affordable bent is a good thing.

Lastly, if you don't figure anything out, at least learn that it's "their", not "there". There.