Recumbent - Ouch... is $5000 the entry level for 'bents?

Was shopping for a recumbent here in this part of Texas, and the cheapest one was new was easily $5000 (forgot what brand, but it was a SWB one, with the frame and boom made from CF), plus sales tax. Is this the norm for this type of bike, assuming one is buying something that isn't an X-Mart special? I saw one cheaper that appeared to be really good, the Amigo from TW-Bents (Taiwan company), but there are zero distributors of it in the US.

Is $5000 par of the course?

No.
There are a number of very good bikes in the 800-1500 range. Baccetta (spelled wrong, but then I can't pronounce it either) & Rans & Volae all have solid offerings in that range.

No.
There are a number of very good bikes in the 800-1500 range. Baccetta (spelled wrong, but then I can't pronounce it either) & Rans & Volae all have solid offerings in that range.

Plenty of good bikes in the $800-$1500 range. A whole lot of them when you go up to $2000! I suggest visiting www.bentrideronline.com, it's probably the best resource for info on recumbents on the internet!


I do ship to Texas, you know... ;)

You'll hear that bents are more expensive than DFs, but in reality that's only for the low range, 'starter' bikes. Unlike the DF world, it's hard to find a bike that's much over 5 grand. While that's a heap of money, and more than I pay for bikes, it's pretty much peanuts compared to the $15K and more you can pay for a top-of-the-line, similarly-custom DF. The one you probably saw was the Bacchetta Carbon Aero. That's Bacchetta's flagship bike, not a starter model.

DF or bents, starter bikes do not cost $5000. There are many other very nice recumbents in the $1000 to $2000 range.

I bought a very nice new SUN EZ Sport CX for $950 at the Bike Rack in Granbury, Tx. I am not sure what part of Texas you are in, but Plano Cycling and Fitness carries many bents you could test ride as well if you are in the Dallas area.


http://planocycling.com/itemlist.cfm?pageId=232

You have to realize steel rules in the bent world, so anything exotic
(like aluminum, rare as hens teeth as a frame material) or Ti
or even CF is both rare and somewhat expensive. CF bent frames
are drifting down to the $3500 range but most cost more. One
reason is the tendency to fit expensive groupos on the expensive
frame. Some wheel sets alone in 650 size can add $800 to a
bike cost. Altho CF raw material has gone up in price (partly
pegged to oil costs, partly to the use of CF in millions of golf
clubs, tennis rackets, and fishing poles not to mention a single
aircraft can use Trek's entire annual consumption of CF), the
materials cost relative to the frame cost is trivial and not all that
different compared to Ti or exotic steel frame tube set costs.
Bacchetta charges $1200 more for the CF frame over the Ti
frame but I suspect materials cost for the two frames is within
a 2:1 range, and down in the low hundreds in $. The CF bike
may have some spiffed up components/wheels.
www.carbent.com prices range from $4000 to 5500 depending mostly
on the grouppo and wheels chosen, frame is same for all of these.

The trike I sell has an aluminum frame, it goes for $1500. Pretty much all of the recumbent manufacturers have at least one aluminum bike, and the top-end manufacturers have titanium and carbon fiber models, too. It's not quite as rare as sch makes it out to be.

Aluminum isn't as rare as it used to be; but in the bent world, carbon and Ti still command a premium price.

Was shopping for a recumbent here in this part of Texas, and the cheapest one was new was easily $5000 (forgot what brand, but it was a SWB one, with the frame and boom made from CF), plus sales tax. Is this the norm for this type of bike, assuming one is buying something that isn't an X-Mart special? I saw one cheaper that appeared to be really good, the Amigo from TW-Bents (Taiwan company), but there are zero distributors of it in the US.

Is $5000 par of the course?

Don't listen to these people! There is nothing less than $5000 available in the bent world. I have a lovely slightly used BikeE CT that I will part with for $3500 - just as a favour for a BF member....:D :eek: :D :o

I built my own LWB starting with a frame I ordered online. It's beautiful and cost me around $500 total. You couldn't tell from looking at it that all the parts came off of discarded bikes I found.

Don't listen to these people! There is nothing less than $5000 available in the bent world. I have a lovely slightly used BikeE CT that I will part with for $3500 - just as a favour for a BF member....:D :eek: :D :o
+1!

But I'll sell you MY BikeE (XL frame w/2 seats, the 2nd seat for the little ones) for $2,999.95! :D

:roflmao:


Yes, we're yankin' your chain! :p

eBay usually has BikeE's for 3-5 hundred dollars! :D
3 of my 5 'bents were aquired used, for far less than 1/2 MSRP!

Wow, I own two aluminum bents and had no idea they were rare as hen's teeth. Maybe I better quit trying to ride them into the ground. :D

check out the bacchetta recumbent site. there's a slightly used Cafe for sale for $750 with some gear with it--it's MWB, not short wheel based, but i just added a mountain gear on mine ($14 dollar purchase) and am real happy with it on hills and even gravel. it fits on a standard behind the car rack and is very fast and comfy.
i'm heading to texas hill country next week for an 11 day tour.

www.actionbent.com

2000 Rans Tailwind with a NEW CRANKSET! And new air in the tires! If you order within the next 10 minutes, you can have it for $2888!
Or, you could look at a brand new Rans Rocket on the Ransbikes.com site for $995.

what part of Texas you in?

Yeah, the 'hens teeth' ref should have referred to Ti and CF,
Al was pretty sparse til the past two yrs when it has really
become quite common in the catalogs. The number of CF
bikes being offered is expanding rapidly but when the actual
sales are tallied I suspect you can count on a few hands of
fingers the numbers actually sold. One interesting fact, dated
somewhat, was that when Rotator recalled the Ti Pursuits for
a frame upgrade (monotube increased from 1.75 to 2.125"
diameter) 3yrs after production began the number of bikes involved
was less than a dozen (2002). Other companies, (Bacchetta
particularly) no doubt sell that number of Ti/CF in weeks or a month.
Steel still dominates and sans actual sales figures constitutes
90% of bent sales.