Thanks for your replies, I've been offline for a while now. Let's see...
First of all
>PaPa, Doesn't the chain routing on that bike make for some hellacious drag?
The answer is not really. It certainly has more drag than an upright would have but my bike uses a single drive side rollerblade wheel as an idler so the drag is minimal. I also use chain tubes to keeps my chain clean and to keep my leg hair from getting caught (not very pleasant). This adds a little more drag to the chain line but I think the benefits far outweigh the drag. My friend, who designed this bike, and I used to go "chase roadies" and I've yet to find anyone who can keep up on flats and downhills. As with any recumbent I tend to lose some ground on the uphills but I can always make it up.
For those interested my bike can be seen here (mine's red):
http://mbeadon.webhop.org/Recumbent/Recumbent.html
next:
PaPa - chromoly $250 titanium $700 - now you've got my attention! Do you have a wesite or some pictures of frames that you've built? Also where are you located?
last:
PaPa - re: your comments about aluminium - point taken, I said unskilled after all.
