The suggestion to try a recumbent exercise machine is off-base, I think. Those things are terrible compared to the real thing! Regarding the bike/trike 'war,' I don't see why the OP *needs* a trike, except it would allow slower speeds for someone who is woefully out of shape at first. I've never heard of the BFF Mantis, but the specs don't look bad at all. I wonder what the non-published specs are: seat height, weight capacity, etc. Also, I wonder if the 'normalized' gearing is a bit on the optimistic side.