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1. Velomobile For Sale
2. Quest Velomobile Usa
3. Sinner Mango Velomobile

Personally, if I had $15,000 to throw around, I would gladly spend it on a velomobile if it could easily do the urban speed limit via human power on the flats, and via an electric motor on average. Dec 07, 2011  Velomobiles have light and fragile and hard to repair body shells or heavy tough body shells 6. Velomobiles are really expensive and usually use very specialised parts 7. They can't carry big items and in fact don't carry all that much. All in all there seems to be at least seven reasons why velomobiles fail the daily commuter test. Velomobile Media Velomobile Sales Velomobile Media is your international dealer for WAW velomobiles. Our WAW velomobiles are sold in in USA, Norway and Europe except EU countries since 2013. WAW velomobile with racing hood and aerodynamic tail. Picture: the Sinner Mango Red Edition. A velomobile reaches a constant cruising speed of 35 km/h (21.7 mph) with the same energy output, so that the distance covered in 15 minutes becomes 9 kilometres (5.5 miles) instead of 5 kilometres (3 miles).

A velomobile or bicycle car isa human-powered vehicle, enclosed foraerodynamic advantage and protection from weather andcollisions.^[1] Theyare virtually always single-passenger vehicles. They are derivedfrom recumbent bicycles and tricycles, with the additionof a full fairing (aerodynamic shell). There arefew manufacturers of velomobiles; some are homebuilt. Some modelshave the operator's head exposed; this has the advantage of givingthe operator unobstructed vision, hearing, and some cooling, withthe disadvantage of being more exposed to weather. Similar vehiclesthat are not human-powered are instead called microcars.

History

Before World War I Charles Mochet built a small 4 wheeledbike-car for his son. Mochet built many models of small vehiclescalled 'Velocar'. Somemodels had two seats, most were pedal powered but as the years wentby, many were fitted with small engines.^[2]

In the 1970s the PPV or People powered vehicle wasproduced. It was a two seat, 'Sociable' tandem with a steel subframe and molded plastic body. It was actually well designed, andrelatively light, though weighing over 50 kg (100 lbs),(arecently restored version weighs 59 kg (131 lbs)) but hadflaws in the execution that doomed it as a practical, every dayvehicle. Positive features such as easily adjustable andcomfortable seats, independent pedaling for both passenger anddriver, adequate cargo space and relatively good weather protectioncould not overcome the negative features such as a complex, heavyand badly spaced 3 speed gear box, ineffective brakes, and pedalsthat slid on sleeve bearings on steel shafts which made itdifficult to use as an everyday vehicle.

In Sweden a design calledFantom was sold as blueprintsand became very popular, over 100,000 copies of the blueprints weresold, but few were actually completed. In the 1980sFantomen was rediscovered by Carl-Georg Rasmussen whobuilt a redesigned version called Leitra. The downfall of the bicycle car camewhen economy improved and people chose motorised transport.

All current velomobiles are produced in low volume. The onlyattempt at a mass-produced velomobile which was in the mid eightiesflopped. This was the Sinclair C5. The C5 was a delta trike (onefront, two rear wheels) with electric assist designed to be massedproduced and sold for a low price. The C5 was poorly designed; itwas heavy, had only one gear and had no adjustment for the distancebetween the pedals and the seat which is important to get acomfortable pedaling position.

Recently, some velomobiles have been converted to provideelectric-assist. Electric assist means that a small batteryoperated electric propulsion system is provided to assist thedriver's leg muscle effort. Most Electric-assist propulsion motorsare of the inwheel design, such as the Heinzman electric motor orthe Bionx. While an electric-assist unit does add extra weight tothe velomobile, it is somewhat offset by the flexibility it alsoprovides, especially during hill climbs.

The Leitra is currently thecommercial velomobile in production for the longest period of time— since 1983. Other manufacturers include Cab-bike, Velomobiel.nl, Sinner Ligfietsen, bluevelo and Alleweder, the go-one (Germany), go-one.us and Flevobike (makers of theVersatile).

Characteristics

Velomobile For Sale

A practical velomobile has many competing requirements. Itshould have as many of the following characteristics aspossible.

• Light weight
• Good visibility for the operator (clear front vision isespecially important, but a 360 degree view is alsodesirable).
• Adjustable seating
• Maneuverability (steering, braking)
• Roll stability (steering, braking and adverse camber)
• Safety in collision andover bad roads
• Ventilation, including a windscreen defroster. This should beadjustable for more cooling in warmer weather.
• Many gears; a vehicle that is heavier but more aerodynamic thana bicycle needs a wider gearing range than a bicycle.
• Aerodynamics -which allows greater speed for a given level of effort, or reducedeffort on level ground and against headwinds.
• Low rolling resistance - primarily dependent upon thetires.
• Enclosed wheels, aerospoked wheels, or wheel discs.
• Single-sided wheel mounts - to facilitate puncture repair,inner-tube and tire changes.
• Good suspension.
• Reliable operation.
• Efficient transmission.
• Low maintenance, because of the fullyenclosed transmission components, such as chainwheel, chain &gears.
• Strong wheels, brakes, transmission, more so than on alightweight bicycle.
• Efficient brakes - an unbraked velomobile with goodaerodynamics can rapidly reach dangerous speeds in a descent.Caliper brakes are unsuitable, and disk brakes are rarely fitted.Drum brakes are often used, but long descents can cause overheatingand so fading. Some velomobile pilots use drogue parachutes as used by runners during training.These parachutes need to be stabilised to avoid tangling and offergreatly increased on long, steep descents. It is best to use twosmaller parachutes than one large, because of the suddendeceleration upon deployment. An alternative is to remove wheelfairings (if fitted) and take periodic stops to allow the brakes tocool.
• Parking brake - essential to prevent the velomobile rollingaway.
• Cargo capacity suitable foreveryday shopping.
• Low noise, for both the comfort of the operator and safety intraffic.
• Multiple tracks (tricycle or quadracycle design)for safety and practicality in slippery weather.
• Easy entry and exit.
• Strong headlights to identify obstacles and hazards at the highspeeds
• Visibility to others. Velomobiles are unusual and much lowerthan conventional cycles. Also, velomobiles do not show pedalingmovements and other visual clues to other road users. Aninattentive driver may mistake a fast-moving velomobile for a carat a much greater distance (totalled Questvelomobile).
  • Front, side and rear running lights, preferably strobe lights, even in daylight. A nosestrobe with enhanced sideways emission to attract the attention ofother road users when emerging into traffic from behind an obstacle('creep and peep' technique). Because the pilot's head ispositioned to the rear, which hinders the usual observations.
  • Fluorescent colours; retroreflective decals and tyres withreflective side-walls.
  • Two warning devices: a pedestrian-friendly bicycle bell and avery loud horn for motor vehicles, aggressive dogs and inattentivepedestrians with personal stereos or cell phones on cyclepaths.
  • Optional Safety flag for visibility in traffic. The flagincreases drag, but announces the presence of the velomobile todrivers who cannot see it directly. It is best if the flag ismounted close to the front of the velomobile, to enhance visibilitywhen emerging from a side-road.
• Very easy to ride.
• Low price (from around 5,000 to 10,000 USD) - currentlyhindered by the low-volume of sales and manufacture.

DIYvelomobiles

With a growing DIY-community and an increasing interest inenvironmentally friendly 'green energy', some hobbyists have endeavored to buildtheir own velomobiles from kits, sourced components, or fromscratch.^[4] Whencompared to similar sized commercial velomobiles, the DIYvelomobiles tend to be cheaper.^[5]

See also

References

1. ^Frederik Van De Walle. The Velomobile as a Vehiclefor more Sustainable Transportation ISSN 1651-0194,Retrieved on 23 November 2007.
2. ^The Real History of theRecumbent Bicycle Retrieved on 26 March 2008.
3. ^Sherwood Stranieri (11 March 2008). 'An Awfully TemptingVelomobile'. Using Bicycles.http://usingbicycles.blogspot.com/2008/03/hybrid-velomobiles-awfully-close-to.html. Retrieved 26 April2008.
4. ^Building a velomobile DIY,description with usable designs
5. ^DIY velomobiles cheaper thancommercial ones

Externallinks

• Open Source VelomobileDevelopment Project from the IHPVA
• KV4 (Alleweder) velomobilekit. The aluminium KV4 is an updated version of the provenAlleweder design. Download the KV4 velobileconstruction manual. Not available in the US. However, the similarready-built Flevobike Alleweder(FAW+)is available in the US. Kits are available forimportation into in the US.

• Human Powered Vehicles atthe Open Directory Project
• Velomobile at the OpenDirectory Project

Quest Velomobile Usa

Sinner Mango Velomobile