Opinions please
 

Due to bursitis in my hip, and leg weakness caused by a spinal stenosis I am no longer able to ride a bicycle. I would like to try a recumbent trike. The only trike I can almost afford is the Sunseeker Eco-Tad. Less than any used trikes I see online. I have a penchant for buying the least expensive option and being disappointed with my purchase. The closest dealer with one in stock is 2-1/2 hours away, so no hope of test ride.
Is the Eco-Tad a reasonable option, or should I opt for an upright trike which I can get for a tenth of the price of the Eco Tad?
I really miss riding.
Thanks for your input.

At 75 my osteoarthritis shows up in my hands, wrists and back often and I switch to a enjoyable recumbent for relief. What little I know about spinal stenosis you might like a recumbent to get less nerve compression in your back with the much more horizontal position.

The Eco-Tad is a pretty decent entry point into recumbents. It won’t be fancy, but it should actually let you ride comfortably instead of fighting the bike. The ultra cheap option is more likely to end up gathering dust than getting used.

Consider also Trident Trikes. My first trike was the Trident Spike, bought without having tried a recumbent. I'm an old lady and I was easily able to finish assembly on my own. It was a decent trike, comfortable. Rode it for more than year before some idiot in an SUV smacked into it. I wasn't hurt and got a nice HPVelotechnik Gekko out of the incident, lol. But it was a very decent first trike, with the addition of the Big Apple tire option. If you don't need it to fold (something I thought would be useful but never used), then the Tomcat is a good option at the same price as the sunseeker I believe. https://tridenttrikes.com/jouta-delta/products/tomcat/

... and Performer. I have no direct experience with the EcoTad, but from prior experience it seems like Sun builds their frames from cast iron, lead, and depleted uranium. How else could they make their products so heavy?

Have you considered attending the Smokey Mountain Recumbent Rally? It's a bit of a drive from W. Kentucky (SE of Knoxville); but it'd be a great chance to test ride lots of trikes. The year I went, it was something like 99 trikes and two recumbent bikes. And I think one kid on a mountain bike.

I got a recumbent in the mid-1990s due to hand pain on a road bike. The bent with underseat steering solved that, and rode well in flatland, but I needed to go back to an upright bike once I relocated to hills, perhaps the lower gearing available now would have solved. My 'bent was not a trike, but a LWB Linear two-wheeler, and the riding position was upright with only a bit of recline in seat and legs forward. Very similar layout to Avatar 2000, and Ryan/Longbikes Vanguard, both with underseat steering. I could sit on it comfortably when stopped to eat my lunch. I toured on it with a trailer. So very easy to get on an off, perhaps better than a low 'bent trike. Mine also folded for transport, but not something to do frequently, but available. I don't know if weakness or balance will prevent the OP from using a 'bent bike versus a trike.

Yeah, old Linears were known to be pretty flexy. In fact, just normal riding could pull the rear triangle out of line on the older models. I think a determined search could find a good used recumbent *bike* pretty cheaply. An old RANS, Lightning, or even a TourEasy would be a great ride. The last time I looked, used RANS Rockets in reasonable shape were going for $300-500.

If anything, mine would qualify for that, as it folded at both ends, But back then I was light, and never mashed pedals. (I still don't when sitting, but have learned to climb standing.) If I was getting a LWB bent and didn't need to fold it, I'd look for a Ryan or Longbikes, I would bet they had good stiffness. (I'm biased toward under seat steering, so not into the Easy's or P-38 Lightning.) But LWB with USS are murder for carrying up or down steep stairs, like I have now. I'd need a garage to just wheel it out and in from.

Just after I got my Linear, I met folks with a Ryan Duplex LWB bent tandem, with no couplers. Even with their big van, it took up the whole length of the cargo area, and the front wheel between the front seats. But what a Cadillac in terms of ride smoothness.