In February 2008 I purchased a Cruzbike Silvio frame. This is a front wheel drive recumbent bike frame. I've wanted to get a recumbent and when my friend Elias purchased a Silvio recently I felt it was the perfect solution.
Parts purchased:
Cruzbike Silvio Frame - $2,190 from cruzbike.com
Mercier Serpens 30 LTD Ultegra Road bike - $899 on Ebay
Shimano FD-6603 Braze On Derailleur PN 25942 - $51 from bikepartsusa.com
Continental Grand Prix 4 Season with Vectran 700c x 28mm Tires + Tubes - $103 biketiresdirect.com
Spin Doctor Integrated bottom Bracket Tool - $13 at Performance
Spin Doctor Universal Chain Tool - $10 at Performance
Jagwire Hyper Stainless Slick Tandem Brake Cable 2750 - $7 at Plano Cycle
Polar CS Speed Sensor (for my Polar CS300 Computer) - $33 at Performance
Polar CS Cadence Sensor (for my Polar CS300 Computer) - $33 at Performance
Forza In-line Barrel Adjustor Kit - $8 at Performance
JagNew Jagwire brake and derailleur housing - $20 at Performance
Forte Rim Tape - $3.49 at Performance
Forte Strada Lite Black Aluminum Waterbottle Holders - $5/ea at Performance
Old Man Mountain Sherpa Front Rack - $107 at Cambriabike.com
WTB Mountain Road Bar 25.4 clamp 60cm wide, 127mm angled drops - $70 at elitecycling.biz
Notes:
The donor bike (Mercier Serpens 30 LTD) was a full Ultegra 6600 Triple road bike with Ultegra brakes, cranks, bottom bracket, derailleurs, cassette, chain, shifters, Shimano WH-R500 wheels.
I wanted the smoothest ride possible and since this is my first recumbent I didn't want to try this on a 700x23c tire that the donor bike came with, so I upgraded to the best Continental offers, their Grand Prix 4 Season tires in a 700x28c size with Forte Rim Tape and 28C tubes
I took apart the rear wheel and put new Park Tool Polylube on the bearings. I think the parts bike was a instore display unit, it had never been ridden and was in new condition but was a year old.
You can use your original donor bike rear brake cable for the front brake cable, no need to purchase a new front cable since you have to replace the rear brake cable with a longer one anyways.