First velomobile ride of the year
On Saturday I drove to
the first ride of my cycling club. It
was help some 2 hours away where the snow had mostly melted. At the start the weather was foggy, windy and
the temperature about -1C. I had the
only velomobile and that made some of the others jealous.
We rode mostly as a
group but I would ride ahead and wait.
We stopped for coffee at the mid point and I was the instant attraction
in the little town. For some of the
members it was also their first time to see the velomobile and they saw how
fast and comfortable it was.
Unfortunately I will
need to wait just a while longer to ride some more unless I travel a bit to
find safe riding conditions.
It was also my first
ride with the new hood. As this was not
a long ride and I did not encounter many different conditions, I can only provide
some initial impressions.
What I liked: the ICB
hood is roomier, sturdier and less noisy than the Schermer hood on the Quest,
the visor was holding in place very well with the bungee clips and was it not
shaking.
What could be
improved: the field of view is adequate but much more restricted due to the
large post where the lens is attached, I have the double Pinlock lens and it
further restricts the FOV as only the middle section is double lens. The ventilation is not as good and the side
window was fogged-up most of the time even with the visor partly open. In the cold and dry conditions the visor did
not fog up at all.
Four-wheel velomobiles
My last post on four-wheel
velomobiles appears to have been very popular and generated a lot of
discussion. This week one of my readers in
Canada sent me a note. Interested in
purchasing a QuattroVelo, he contacted the government authority to ask f a
four-wheel bike could be used legally in his province (Quebec). The answer he received was not what he
wanted; “Les bicyclettes à quatre roues ne sont
pas autorisées à circuler sur les chemins publics, ni dans les pistes
cyclables.” To
paraphrase this answer since they
are not identified in the regulations, four-wheel bikes are not legal on the
road or even on bike paths.
I cautioned people that
they should ensure the new type of velomobile can be operated legally in their
area before they order, I think this is a warning to those who order without
first inquiring. Currently, I am not
aware of any group making representations to change current laws and this may have
an impact on adoption. I know how long
it takes to change regulations so it is serious work and must be done for each
jurisdiction. Is anyone out there
willing to take up the challenge?
IntercityBike
Daniel Fenn has been working on the new
4-wheel velomobile. Here is what I
gathered so far on the new project. He is using two DF-XL shells that he will
modify as the platform of the new velomobile.
Until a new name has been announced, I will refer to this new velomobile
as the DF-4.
Already Daniel has shown some pictures of
the modification process. It is similar
to the technique he used to create the DF-XL from the shell of a DF. Already the front wheel wells have been made
larger to accommodate larger tires. Here
is what we knw so far on the velomobile specs:
The DF-4 will be an original design
that is somewhat unconventional. First
it will have 451 instead of 406 wheels all around which is a significant
departure for velomobile designs. All
four wheels will get a 90mm drum brake. The velomobile will have a mid drive
Rolhoff and a 10-speed short cage derailleur providing 140 gears. It is not clear yet how the system will be
designed and built.
The shell will also be made wider and the
wheelbase will also be longer at 105cm. The
bike will have a left-chain along the frame, powering the left wheel only the
chain will have maximum distance from your leg and torsional forces on the
frame is reduced. This eliminates the need for a
differential or freewheel thus reducing weight and space requirements. Provisions are being made to provide a 500W electric assist motor to
the right wheel. The tail of the velomobile will also be flat to
enable vertical storage.
It is expected that the development period
would take approximately 6 months before production could start. Ymte hopes that the prototype will be
available in the not too distance future so they can start testing on the road.
Trisled
Trisled is offering a conversion kit for
the old Tomahaws to update them to the new rules. The kit costs under AU$2,000 will provide a completely new Chromolly roll frame, PETG windscreen,
laser cut Coroplast body delivered in a flat pack as well as an instructional
DVD. Trisled estimates that there are
about 200 trikes that could be updated.
For more information and order http://trisled.com.au/product/tomahawk-xl-conversion-kit/
