"Hi Sparky.
I love the Meridian design. I have built two. It's a fantastic all round bike. Good news that your building again. Keep up the good work. Once you ride it for a while and get comfortable, and confident you will love it for sure. I have had so much fun on mine and it has done all I asked of it.
Best bike I ever rode.
I ride in forest and enjoy weaving in and out of trees, On the road in and out of traffic and everything in between. It took an hour or two of riding for me to get used to never having ridden a recumbent before. "Permagrin" is a very appropriate term for the Meridian. I enjoy every moment on my Meridian and even when my legs feel like jelly from pushing the fun I still have that grin on my face.
Keep us posted. All the very best, Tim"
Follow Sparky's Meridian recumbent build blog: http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php?t=4270
Because the Meridian is a fusion of a lowracer and a touring recumbent, it's a bicycle for all occasions. It's great for those wanting a stable, easy-to-ride and comfortable bicycle for city commuting or long leisurely rides, but it also jumps into action when you want that all out fast and furious blast around the track or neighborhood. Due to the high seat position, you can look most traffic "in the eyes", so safety in crowded urban traffic is greatly enhanced.
The unique over seat steering places your arms in a natural position and feels much like any standard bicycle steering system, so there is no learning curve when riding the Meridian. Since the steering is connected to the front wheel through a linkage system, there is no long flexible gooseneck to deal with and no dangerous "Tiller Effect", which would seriously compromise the handling characteristics.
Tiller Effect is a common problem on long wheelbase cycles that places the handlebars close to the rider using an extended gooseneck connected directly to the front forks. Because the gooseneck is placed at an angle, the handlebars tend to swing out from side-to-side when making sharp turns, which can become a real safety issue when dodging obstacles at high speed. For this reason, there is no Tiller Effect in the Meridian design.
The cost of building the Meridian is up to the builder, and will be dependant on the quality of components such as brakes, wheels and transmission hardware used. But typically, the bike can be completed for under $100 if you already have a donor bicycle to use as parts for the frame. When completed and painted, the Meridian will look as good or even better than some production "bents", and when you proudly proclaim that you build it in a few weekends, you may find the entire bicycle club lining up at your garage door with spare parts!
