July almost gone

July almost gone

The whole velomobile community appears to be on vacation, travelling, touring and some racing but there are still interesting information to report this week.

Sliding Cassette Derailleurs

A few weeks ago Wim Schermer produced a video he shared on You Tube demonstrating the sliding cassette derailleur system he is planning to use in the VeloTilt velomobile.  This week Harry Lieben from Sinnerbikes showed a similar system they had developed in the early 2000s where they received a patent in 2002.  Upon more research he also found a similar patent issued in 1987 to a German company.  

 

VeloTilt Sliding Derailleur 1

VeloTilt Sliding Derailleur2

Sinner Sliding Cassette Hub

A few years ago I also saw a similar system demonstrated in a You Tube video.  None of these systems have been commercialized but Harry thinks that they could be ideal in a Velomobile. 

The system had some interesting advantages but almost forces velomobile to have a mid drive.  On the other hand this system could replace an idler and provide a transmission where the chain remains straight at all times reducing some loss from idlers and long chain tubes.  Could this become the standard system in velomobiles? The system is interesting as it could provide a large gearing range that is not available currently in most velomobiles but will this be offset by cost, complexity and impose a weight penalty?  Current velomobiles would have to be retrofitted and it may not be straightforward to perform the modification.  In my opinion, just like the VeloTilt and the QuattroVelo  there are people who will support these technologies but I will wait to see it being demonstrated before I fully buy-in.

We should see some prototypes on the road soon; Piet Kunis is planning on modifying his ‘Super Mango” to see how the system works, Harry is looking at installing the Sinner system performs and the VeloTilt prototype will also see the installation of their sliding cassette system.  Hopefully their tests will be successful and this will provide a good transmission system for velomobiles or even regular bikes… if patent issues do not interfere.

Austalian HPV Super Series

The 3rd AHPVSS aka Pedal Prix race will be shown live on You Tube here Sunday July 26^th at 9:45 AM local time.  The 6hr race is taking place at Victoria Park in Adelaide.

Dekra revisited

It was reported on ligfiets.net that Team Cygnus rider (probably Jan-Marcel van Dijken) may have broken the 100mi record.  The rider was participating in the 6-hr event but after a solid initial performance, he had to quit after 3hrs.  After the event, the team realized that they had broken the 100mi record.  The exact time has not been reported but his average speed was approximately 76km/h, this would translate into a approximate time of 2hrs 7min.  The record is provisional and has yet to be recognized.  

Distance logging

Velomobiel and IntercityBike keep track of the distance that the velomobiles they built have traveled.  Many riders are not aware of this because they purchased their velomobile through a distributor, a dealer or have purchased their velomobile second hand.  As a result the velomobile is not registered in their name on the manufacturer’s site.  You can contact the manufacturer and using your serial number, you will be issued a user ID then you will be able to enter the number of KM you have ridden.  Logging distance is an interesting way to compare yourself with other riders using the tools on the site by clicking on the label at the top of columns you can sort the data.