"Sunset Lowracer [TM] Fanatic" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
>
> Edward Dolan wrote:
>>
>> Tom, awhile back there was a guy who was going to bring out a whole line
>> of
>> recumbents that would be bolted together out of aluminum square tubes. It
>> would have been possible to configure the bike many different ways
>> depending
>> on how you wanted to bolt it together. I got very excited about all of
>> this
>> until I heard his prices. However, I don't think he ever went into
>> production. I think he was located in Texas, but I am not sure about
>> that.
>
> Ed Dolan may be thinking about Rich Richardson's Raptor Trike:
> <http://www.raptortrikes.com/>.
No, it was not the above. I will do some research on this and get back to
you as I think it is something that you should know about.
>> Anyway, it seemed like a great idea. A bolted together recumbent out of
>> aluminum square tubing should be plenty strong enough and it would seem
>> like
>> it could be done cheaply and therefore sold at a low price. What am I
>> missing I wonder?
>
> $1,200 US is a low price for a trike (what the Raptor costs), but there
> are compromises in component level (e.g. Shimano Tourney 7-speed, rim
> brakes) and weight (e.g. 39 pounds is much heavier than the welded
> aluminium Catrike).
>
> As why the rest of the industry has not adopted the bolted together
> method of construction, they are either "behind the curve" or the
> method is not necessarily superior or competitive.
I think one of the main costs involved with building recumbents is the labor
cost. A bolted together recumbent made out of aluminum square tubes would go
a long ways to solving the cost of labor. Yes, the weight would be more and
the components would be bottom of the line. I would not care about either of
those considerations. The price is the main thing. If someone could figure
out how to build a recumbent for a couple of hundred dollars, who knows what
might transpire. I believe recumbents are where they are today (few and far
between) because they are so damn expensive.
Regards,
Ed Dolan - Minnesota
> --
> Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley
> "the bacteria people tuned in-as to bioengineering at the correct
> wave
> Point" - G. Daniels
PS. Tom, your signature is a mess. It badly needs to be cleaned up.