Blazingpedals,
I know it's not like a road recumbent and would be boring...but it should give some type of an idea if, Mark could even ride a recumbent with his back issues. I KNOW WHAT HE'S LIVING WITH, so at least for me that would give some idea if I could ride one with my legs/body in the recumbent position. I didn't mean to buy one, just try it out at a gym, a display at a store, etc. to get some idea how it would be compared to a DF bike. Remember he said he has no access to a recumbent, so I figured that would be better than nothing and it's the only reason I suggested it. Then if he felt he'd be ok on one, then take the long road trip in search of the right one for him.
On the other hand, I've never had any experiences with a stationary exercise recumbent, only a DF one. A couple of you here have, so I guess my thinking was way off and it wouldn't even give any idea what one would be like. On the DF one it feels just like a road bike to me and I can't ride it without pain just as if I were on a DF road bike.
Bob