I built bike with my buddy in university (his plans and tools, my unskilled labour) but its mild steel (easy to weld but very heavy). I'd like to commision someone to build an aluminium replica of my frame but all the custom frame builders roll their eyes when I say recumbent. Oh, and did I mention that I don't want to spend a million dollars on it?

Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Try this guy, last I knew he dropped out of the rat race to build custom frames. Don't know how it worked out for him or if he's still at it.

rspreng@hotmail.com

Are you rspreng@hotmail.com? Or another frame builder?

Out of curiosity what is your ballpark for building a SWB frame? What I want is very similar to the Vision R40. Is it $500, $1000, $5000? What is the price difference between steel (cromoly(?)) vs. titanium?

thanks

I am the guy mentioned as rspreng@hotmail.com. I am building some 'bent bikes and trikes, but not working in aluminum. I am no longer at the above address, either, but the same name at hickorytech.net

Ron

What’s the weight difference on the Chromo R40 clone vs. the Ti R40 clone?
Did that price include a Ti front fork?

Are you guys fabricating any FS, FWD, and/or lowracer frames in Ti?

PaPa, Doesn't the chain routing on that bike make for some hellacious drag?

[Are you guys fabricating any FS, FWD, and/or lowracer frames in Ti?[/QUOTE]


Nothing in Ti for me. I am building Greenspeed trikes and related stuff (like trikes for disabled folks) and 'bent bikes, some pretty nice, some recycled from castoff bikes so adolescent males can cruise around town and get oohs and aaahs from the girls since BMX bikes are a dime a dozen. I'll also take someone's old bike and convert it into a 'bent so they can try riding one without spending a bunch of bucks.

Ron

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): https://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.

Try Steve Delaire of Rotator. Located in Santa Rosa, north of SF

mbeadon, try www.wisil.recumbents.com I you can't find any plans on the web site itself send Warren Beauchamp an e-mail he can probably help you a great deal.

Bikebob: Delaire does some superb work in Ti but he
is not cheap. Stock frames in Ti run $2500+ for his
standard Tiger (SWB) or Pursuit (LWB). He also makes
the Ti GRR frame for EasyRacers which runs high $4k as a complete bike. Delaires' complete bikes in Ti are in the $4800 range. $700 for a frame is quite good if the welding and engineering are adequate. Delaire had to recall his initial production of Ti Pursuits because the long monotube tended to crack at the bottombracket and substitute a 2.125" tube for the 1.75" tube originally used. Still would need a fork ($2-400 for carbon) and fixtures to make the frame suitable to be built up: chain rollers/guides, seat clamps, headset and bar/stem etc so end product would be at least $1k before Shimano/Campy stuff and wheels + seat are acquired. (Steel fork on Ti frame would be silly.) Depends on your billfold and ingenuity. Steve