Nice summer riding

Nice summer riding

I have has a number of good rides this week, my average speed is increasing some more.  I feel that my physical condition is getting better, I’m getting better acquainted with my velomobile and the weather has been great with temperature in the mid to high seventies. 

I have been using the modified insoles, they are not perfect but I think it helps.  I have also taken out my road biking shoes instead of my touring shoes I prefer because I can walk safely in them.  I think the road shoes have a stiffer sole and it seem to help with my feet took longer to feel numb and that quickly disappeared shortly after stopping.

I also ordered a new 11-40 cassette to replace the 11-36 cassette when the riding conditions include significant climbing, hopefully I will be able to use it without any significant issue as it is at the maximum capacity for the derailleur.  I think that for everyday use I will keep the 11-36 as it provides me a good range and good shifting.

Velomobiel

It appears that after 5 weeks working at the factory in Romania, Allert Jacobs, the designer of the QuatroVelo, will not be able to have the velomobile working in time for Cycle Vision as expected.  There is just too much work still needed to finish the first one.  He also indicated that he had to reinforce the luggage area and unfortunately for beer drinker, a case of beer will no longer fit in the trunk of the QuatroVelo.  The reinforcement is not the only reason, the hinges for the lid make the entrance a bit smaller than initially expected.

Intercitybike

New video of the DFs shell completed with the new boom all coming below 8.6kg!   Daniel thinks that sub 20kg velomobiles for everyday use are now possible.  In this case, he expects that the DFs prototype will come in finished at around 16kg.  There are a few things to note in this video: first we have a better idea of the integration of the bottom bracket into the middle of the boom; second, you will notice the access holes in the rear idler cover to facilitate maintenance and; finally the scale complete shell with boom 8.578kg, the weight with the seat removed is 7.922kg the weight of the boom including bottom bracket was not shown but Daniel quoted 340g for the weight of the boom minus bottom bracket, the weight does not include the swingarm but the tiller support and linkages and the idlers are installed.

It seems that the idler issues I identified last week have been more common than first thought.  A number of people have reported similar problems this week… coincidence?  Daniel indicated that he has upgraded his idler to one made by Alligt, the sides are made of stiffer materials to keep the chain centered.