When I first started thinking seriously about I liked the look of the HP Velotechnik Grasshopper and Speedmachine too, but as I did a bit more research several things pushed me towards the Bacchetta 'high racers'. Unlike some recumbents, high racers climb fairly well (important in Sydney). The straight boom frames are relatively light and they use big wheels instead of heavy suspension systems to smooth out the ride. The other main factor was that because of their height high racers mix fairly well with upright bikes, it's easy to chat and high racers and upright bikes can draft off each other reasonably effectively.
After thinking about recumbents for a long time I finally made a trip down to Canberra over the weekend and went to see Ian at
Flying Furniture for some test rides. To begin with he had me spend a minute or two coasting short distances downhill on a
Giro 20 to get used to balancing it. On an upright bike you do most of your balancing by shifting your weight, while on a recumbent weight shift is limited and so steering is more important, especially at low speeds. As a result I was a bit wobbly at first, but after coasting a couple of times I could track in a straight line and could move on to pedalling. Once I was moving, and remembered to ease my grip on the handlebars, sit back in the seat and relax, the ride was great. In fact it felt a little like flying, perhaps because you can't see what's keeping you off the ground (the front wheel is hidden by the boom)! Starting uphill instead of downhill took a little bit of getting used to, but was mostly a matter of confidence (raising one foot to the pedal and committing to a big push to get you moving, then bringing the second foot up) and I got OK at it fairly quickly.
Over the course of an hour and a half I test rode the
Giro 20, a
Giro 26 and a
Corsa. The Giro 20 has a 20" front wheel and so is lower to the ground, good for short legged people and for lessons on how to balance a recumbent. The Giro 26 is a dual 26" wheel tourer/commuter, and despite the pedals being significantly higher didn't feel precarious or awkward in comparison with the Giro 20. The Corsa is a lighter (and pricier) aluminium bike with dual 650C wheels and an emphasis on performance, it certainly felt more responsive but it's limited to skinny tyres and gives a harsher ride when the road surface is poor (like it is in much of Sydney).
David, I do sometimes ride in the Hornsby area on
Bike North rides. I'll let you know next time I'll be in the area.
), though I'll mostly be using it for commuting plus weekend group rides. This is a bike I plan to ride pretty much every day whatever the weather, so I've gone for disc brakes and mudguards. It comes as stock with robust 26" wheels and 'sensible' 26x1.25 tyres however the frame and fork have clearance for 700C wheels so a second set of lightweight racy 'weekend wheels' is an option for a later speed upgrade.
Specifically a Bacchetta Giro 26. Yes, I'm afraid I'm turning to the Dark Side 
Disc brakes on the front too. Velly nice.
