G'day.

I'm new to the group and while my usual mode is to lurk a bit before posting,
new members are moderated so, rather than keep the mods in suspense while they
wait to see if I'm a goodun or a badun, I thought I'd post early and confirm
their worst fears.

I know nothing about recumbents. True. Oh sure, I've seen pictures, I've read
bits and pieces about them, but in reality, know stuffall.

So why do I want one?

**throws hands in air** I need a reason?
Okay.
It's purely emotional and yes, I am a bloke.
They appeal to the non-conformist in me. I like the look of them. I'm fascinated
by the concept. I can't for the life of me see how they're supposed to work. How
can anything that looks that odd work so well?

I live in Adelaide, Australia, and recumbents are rare beasts indeed. I've read
on American bike forums where the new buyer is advised to look around and ride
as many as he can find. Well, within cycling memory, I've seen three bents in
real life - one trike in a shop (new) and two in the distance on the roads ...
and I've been riding all my 50 years on this earth ...well, the last 45 of them
anyway. Recumbents are strange beasts, similar to Unicorns - known but feared
for their rarity.

Yet despite all that, I've developed definite views on what I want in a
recumbent. Short wheel base. Two wheels. Long frame down the middle. Why?
Aesthetics probably, and a feeling that I prefer two wheels to three.

So, considering the rarity of bents in my world, considering my impoverished
state (aided and maintained by buying bike bits), considering my preference to
doing things myself rather than letting someone else have all the fun of messing
it up, you can imagine my joy at discovering Bentech.

I get to build my own recumbent and it's almost exactly what I've always
pictured me riding!

So here I am.
Ready to listen and learn.
And as soon as I get a job, I'll be ordering a pipe kit.

Richard