Long Wheelbase or short?

When I first started building and riding recumbent bikes I thought short wheelbase was the way to go. Short wheelbase bikes are easier to transport and have much quicker steering response. But I was curious about claims of more comfort and better positioning for hill climbing on long wheelbase recumbents and decided to build recumbent number 3 as a LWB.

Number 3 is the blue bike above. I liked the ride of the LWB almost immediately. Very easy learning curve and I felt like it was more comfortable and easier to master hills with. Number 3 was made from an old Schwinn hi-tensile steel bike and some electrical conduit (not real high tech stuff) but I was ready to part with my entire short wheelbase fleet of 3 bikes within a few months. I decided to build number 4 (shown above right) using the same basic Tour Easy design http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/plans/plans1.htm but using a Cro-moly Schwinn World Sport ($5 from a neighbor's garage sale) and good thinwall Cro-moly tubing from the local aircraft supply store. Number 4 was a good 4 lbs lighter than number 3 and is a wonderful touring machine. I kept number 4 for several years until number 11 proved to be a fit replacement. A friend now owns number 4 and still rides it on the streets of Kansas City.