Recumbent Bicycles

I started looking at electric and recumbent bikes about a year ago. I have a tendency to get heavily into a subject once I become engaged. I now have 7 recumbents and 3 electric bikes that you are welcome to try out.
Recumbent bikes are those odd looking bikes that cruize around carrying people who are so lazy, they take their easy chair with them on the bike ride. Recumbents (also known as 'bents) are wonderfully comfortable as you sit back against a back with a big padded seat under your butt. Your hands have no weight pushing on them, so the wrists and palms don't get sore. They are more aerodynamic and can be fitted with a fairing (wind shield) for further efficiency. The main problem with them stems from the same reason they are so comfortable, your butt is stationary. On a diamond frame bike (normal bike), your center of gravity can and is easily adjusted constantly. On a recumbent, you are sitting on your center of gravity so the recumbent seems more wobbly at slow speed. Of course, you are lower to the ground so it is easier to catch yourself before you tip over but it feels strange at first. However, if you watch any child learning to ride a bike for the first time, you will notice it takes a bit of practice. The other drawback to the recumbent is the hill climbing. You don't have the option to stand up on the pedals and effectively 'walk' up the hill like on a diamond frame bike. Most 'bent riders build up the muscle groups they need over the course of the first month or year, depending on how much you ride and other factors.
In comes electric motors... add one to a recumbent and you have just about the perfect commuting machine. You can sit back in comfort, go fast more efficiently, install a fairing for speed or winter, and meet lots of people who ask, what is that?
I have two bikes I use a lot, one is my electric recumbent. I just made a trip to the county library which is 10 miles away (I live near Fort Worden). I took my time and went up the Larry Scott trail and up Otto Street to Fort Townsend Park and then went out to Highway 19. Cruized at 25 mph until I got to the 40mph zone and slowed to 20mph to the county library. On the way home up the hill I only went 15 mph because I was testing my new battery. By the time I got home, I had gone 20 miles averaging 14.5 mph according to the computer. I used 1/3 of my battery and had gotten a good ride in without hurting my knees. Next time I will increase the speed and go straight there and back like someone would in a car, it is so fun to talk to people and site see with a bike but it doesn't give a perfect comparison with a car.
Now all this wonderful electric power comes with a financial cost. However, so does my small pickup truck. This summer I spent $1700 putting new brakes, shocks and leaf spring helpers on my truck and I don't use that as much as I use my bikes. You could get a pretty nice electric bike for $1700 and you would have that for a lot longer than that truck is going to last.