A Light Sport Recumbent Bike
The recumbent bike has always seemed an interesting project. In 2007 daughter Sara saw a $3000 European design that would lend its best features to a homebuilt recumbent so she could learn Tungsten Inert Gas welding. The ergonomics of the bike could only be described as impressive. After considerable research, we bought a new 18-speed men's 26-inch bike for essential functional parts and some aircraft tubing. When it was complete, our recumbent had cost us about $300.00 and it is a great ride. I was so satisfied with the result that I had to build another for myself. Knowing dimensions, materials, process and photos made it less of a research project. The actual second build took about half the time. The tools needed assume reasonable access to a lathe, gas or TIG welder, a band saw, a drill press and a disk grinder. It'd also be good to have a light Dremel tool for salvaging bike parts. Feel free to copy what I have done here if you're interested.