I'm looking to purchase a recumbent and am considering a kit to reduce expense. Does anyone have recent experience?

I'm not a big fan of trikes but would probably go that route for winter riding. I also prefer USS.

Are you considering buying a pre-selected group of parts and assembling the recumbent yourself or taking plans and using donor bikes to make a recumbent bike or trike? You can find out a lot of information about DIY here: Homebuilders - BentRider Online Forums I too prefer USS steering but that design makes building your own a lot more complicated. You have to make some kind of linkage between the USS bars and the front fork. If done right the way it gives precise steering but it can also be a disaster if done wrong. I have two commercially made USS bikes - Linear LWB and Haluzak Horizon SWB. Both have great handling. That's why few homebuilders go the USS route on two-wheeled recumbents. It is easier on a trike where you can used direct steeringand not need special linkages.

Quite a few people go this way but you risk the possibility of ending up with a disaster too. I have a friend who built his own long wheelbase recumbent using plans and a partial kit from a company no longer in business. The frame cracked at one of the welds the third time he took it out for a ride. Though he fixed the problem, that beautiful bike became a "trophy bike" that has hung in his garage unridden for more than a decade. He bought a Greenspeed trike and a Linear bike later.

I built my first recumbent from a Rans Enduro Sport frameset. I bought the frameset through Hostel Shoppe who had it drop shipped to me directly from Rans in Hays, Kansas.

The frameset included frame, fork, seat, handlebar and riser. I can't remember if the headset was included or not. I didn't want the handlebar that came with the set but it turned out to be cheaper to buy buy another bar than to get them to swap out the kit to what I wanted.

I had a good amount of experience working and building bikes but had never built or even examined very closely a recumbent before. Even so, it took me a while to figure out a few things, like brake cable routing. Overall, I have been well pleased with the overall experience. If you're looking to save money this probably isn't it. I had a good stash of parts like Chris King hubs and XTR derailleurs to draw from but all the little detail things (I have Paul thumb shifter mounts and a few Terricycle parts) can definitely run the cost up. To me, however, it was worth it to build my own bike making all my own component compromises.

I would definitely do it again but, if I did, I'd spend the extra money and start with a Ti-Rex frameset for a little added bling.

Buying a frameset and building it usually costs more in the long run, unless you have most of the drivetrain parts already in stock. The closest I've been to buying a frameset was my NoCom, which I acquired as a broken frame which had been replaced under warranty. But all of my bikes have been disassembled and reassembled multiple times - that's the easy part.

Never tried it myself, but have seen plans at these sites:

Atomic Zombie

Recycled Recumbents

Thank you. All replies were helpful but the BentRider forum is especially helpful.

My thought was to buy a specific kit and not cobble together a bike. Perhaps 30 years ago I bought a HyperCycle kit and enjoyed rolling my own.

Who makes kits anymore like you are referring to? Nobody, as far as I can tell.

Not exactly kits, but you can buy framesets. A frameset typically includes the frame, fork, handlebars, and maybe the seat. Just add wheels and a component group.

I don't think that's what the OP is talking about though. Then again, who knows.

^^^^

OP did kind of do an "ask and run".

Got a Shop?
Brazing skills are useful.

Recycled Recumbents, for those who can't braze themselves?

"A fool learns by experience. A wise man learns through other people's experience." He's been doing that for several years so you get the advantage advantage of his experience. Nice guy too. I'd probably have a bike made from one of his frame and seat sets in my shop right now but Mrs. Grouch (who doesn't think that I need another bike) was with me on the trip where I met him.