I'm the lucky schmuck who bought it.
I used to search the For Sale section of Craigslist in my nearby areas for "recumbent." When this ad turned up, I thought "What the hell is that?!?!?!"
Ever since I first heard of recumbents, around 1985, or so, I've been wanting to get one. I knew even at that young, lightweight age (15) that the saddle seats of diamond frames were trouble.
Since then, years in a cubicle desk job have been taking their toll on my health. I need a lifestyle change. A few months ago I learned there was a bike shop in Vienna, Virginia selling a variety of recumbents: Long Wheel Base, Short Wheel Base, both bikes and trikes, all available for test-riding. I was only interested in bikes, since I plan on sharing a busy road on my work commute. I don't want to take up so much room on a trike.
I saw immediately that Long Wheel Base designs were out of the question; I'd never be able to fit them in the back of my F-150 without having to drop the tailgate and tie a red flag to the farthest point of protrusion. I value being able to fully close and lock the back windowgate of the bed top with mine and my kids' bikes secured within.
From all the times during my childhood when a chain came loose, I sensed that the mile-long chains on even the Short Wheel Base recumbents were going to be trouble.
Not to brag, but I had already wondered about the advantages of a front-wheel drive bike. Yet for some reason I also imagined steering then needing to be handled by the back wheel. I tried that plenty of times when I was a kid, both trying to ride a bike backwards while looking back over my shoulder, and trying to sit backwards on a bike. I never got it to work then and I can't imagine wanting to try it again now.
But... having the front wheel for both steering and propulsion? That had never occurred to me!
I did a little internet searching on this "Cruzbike" brand. I had one remaining concern about recumbents and that was their sluggishness in going uphill. I don't plan on racing at this time but I do live in an area with lots of hills and I don't want my commutes taking all day.
It was finding this video on YouTube, "Climbing and Sprinting | Technical Analysis," which sealed the the deal for me. After months of searching and taking a pass on many other recumbent ads, I think I bought this Sofrider in only one day after the ad was posted to Craigslist. He asked only $225 for it. Even if the tires and tubes were dry rotted and all of the cables were rusted and broken, I had to get my hands on a Cruzbike and see what it was about.
Since then, I've returned to searching Craigslist, now areas all over the United States, but only with "Cruzbike" as my search word. I want to eventually get at least three more so my kids can each have one, too. My eldest just turned 15 and I want to introduce them to biking properly as they are reaching adulthood.