Has anyone ever ridden a Cobra Folding Recumbent?

[Danny the Who]

I love my recumbent but frankly it's hard to transport. Got to put the rack on the car and its a fiddly thing, bike hangs off two feet either side, etc. You all know the story. I would love to have something that I could fit in the boot of my car and leave there.

I've been checking out the Cobra from TW Bents in Taiwan (sold as the Actionbent Cobra in the US). It looks amazing and there are a few good reviews of it online.



It folds up amazingly small for a recumbent (they say it will fit in the boot of a smart car).



I am reluctant to get one shipped to Australia without ever having ridden or seen one though. They aren't cheap (US$1300 plus shipping probably means $2500 Aussie or so by the time it gets here).

So, does anyone in Australia have one of these things? What do you think of it?

Any alternatives available locally that anyone knows of?

regards

Danny

[bradwoodbr]

The guys at Just Bents may be able to help you.
http://www.justbents.com.au/index.htm

[Danny the Who]

I am on the East Coast unfortunately. I have contacted Ian at Flying Furniture to see if he has imported a Cobra or plans to and am waiting for for his reply. Doesn't sound like we have one in Oz yet?

[Storm]

I would buy a Cobra if they were available here, hey I'm sure more people would buy recumbents if they were more accessible, like you know you want to go to a shop try then buy not search and search the net, contact a distributor, pay the ransom, wait, hope, wait worry, then wait some more only to find out something in the kit was omitted or worse something was broken. Most people havn't even heard of recumbent
If I had a bike shop I would stock recumbents just for the "WOW whats that" draw card.

[bradwoodbr]

I think you have to buy them direct.
If you are after a fast front wheel drive bike, check out the Silvio from Cruzbike.
It is Australian made and distributed.

http://www.cruzbike.com/silvio.html

[Freddyflatfoot]

I think it was the folding function the OP was looking for!
I'd say go for it! TW bents has a good rep for build quality, and the dual 451's should provide a nice ride and reasonable gearing!
IIRC, it comes with a SRAM dual drive?

[Danny the Who]

Just took the plunge and ordered a Cobra from the USA. I am having to get it forwarded on to me by a friend there as Actionbent doesn't ship outside the US and Canada and I established that there isn't a local dealer in Australia. $400 freight (ouch) on top of the US$1375 price but with the strong Aussie dollar at least it works out under A$2000. Hopefully will arrive mid February and I'll post pictures and impressions.

[fredinver]

Danny,
Glad you took the plunge, I have a TW Bent Attack from Ian at FF and am happy with the build quality. Came all boxed and ready to assemble. Some of the parts are the same across their range. I will be interested in your review when you have time after you get it. What geari ng havve you ordered with it? I did find the weights on TW Bent site to be optomistic.
Ben at Trisled used to advertise his Nitro low racer but it didn't fold.