Originally Posted by Ric
I'm a 54 yr old x roadie and personally and IMO I'd stay away from Recumbentusa as well as Actionbent. There bikes are low end stuff and not of great quality. You get what you pay for. You'll be much happier with the Bacchetta or Rans, something that has a company that will give you support and back there product if needed.
I too would stay away from Recumbent USA but as for the actiobent side, their tadpole is not even close to "Low End". It is not a Greenspeed or Trice, but would easily rival several of the midlevel trikes.
My reason for being cautious with Recumbent USA is that they are a new kid on the block and support is already marred as ifee. I believe that these are not TW Bent frames either. Dealing with Actionbent is a bit better as "the Steve" will make things right if they are not when you recieve your trike. Also, a highly motivated TW Bent rep has also been very active in helping USA and Canadian Actionbent customers. Thing is, you are working with an importer the same way LBS do. That is where the risks lie as there is no buffer between you and the importer. That is also why bikes cost so much more at your LBS. There are a lot of happy Actionbent tadpole trike owners out there.
As an all around trike, Actionbent is an excellent value. I have no regrets in this well designed and reasonably well dressed trike purchase. I haven't even looked at the need for "upgrading" to the next level as I know that would cost me 2X-3X what I have now.
I very much look forward to my first tour on this trike.