Prisoner at War wrote:

I seriously wonder. Sometimes I wonder if 'bents aren't made as
carefully...even though, with such low sales volume, each one is
practically custom-built!

As you've said yourself, there are no problems with the frame. The
chainwheel is not HP Velotechnik specific, or even recumbent
specific: it's a standard chainwheel bought off the same shelves
everyone else has access to, so the extent to which it's a problem
because it's a recumbent is it's in a slightly more vulnerable spot
if you crsh into things. Moral #1, try not to crash into things,
moral #2, though that's a downside on the 'bent you're far less
likely to waste your forks and front wheel crashing into things
than you are on a wedgie... you choose, you lose.

Just a little, but enough to impair operations. Continued cycling is
what caused the chain itself to break

Again, same chains as on wedgies. 2.4 chains, admittedly, but that
doesn't cause any immediate problems of itself and because the
chain is much better protected from goop there's less cleaning and
lubing to do. But it still needs to be done, or just like any
chain on any bike it might well break. Chains that aren't looked
after won't necessarily go, but they might. OTOH, chains that are
looked after have a vanishingly small failure rate IME, and that's
true on a 'bent or an upright.

Your complaint about all the different screw to hold things on...
those things are, rack and seat excpeted, standard items from the
standard any-bike parts available. It's silly to complain about
differences being down to the bike being recumbent, they apply to
anything.

Which takes us back to Gremlins.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/