This is a really good overview of the species. I have been looking at them for a while and they have a look only a recumbent geek like me would love.
As much as I would dearly like to have one, where to park it at my apartment is a big issue. Heck, where to park them anywhere could be an issue. But most cyclists would park them in automobile stalls. As far as storing them in my apartment, I figured I would get a folding recumbent trike and buy or build front and rear fairings that can be attached or stored when needed. They are heavy or heavier than the standard bike but that's true too with cargo bikes. Both of which are popular in the Netherlands which are flat flat flat. They are also noisy like a rolling drum but autos also have a bunch of road noise, which is covered up radios and music players. Most require some nimble maneuvers to get in and out of but that could change with more generously designed models. As much as I would love to see more on the road, in the long run 100 percent pedal-powered velomobiles won't replace the gas powered auto in the general population. But they do indicate a trend for smaller solo or two-seater vehicles of very small size. Also the velomobiles are so new to the American scene that design concepts have not been set in stone except the extreme aero look that is the norm right now. On the other hand the concept is flexible enough to be a bike/electronics geek's dream. In my own humble opinion, I could envision a multi-model transportation structure in which like bikes, people can take a velomobile on a train to their destination and have a personal vehicle to travel about locally and take the train home. I could see a folding version for planes and busses. Velomobiles answer a few issues I have with "plain" open bikes. Speed is nice but not my over-riding issue. Number one is lockable storage of personal items or purchases out of view while on a multi-errand run. Rollover protection in a collision a composite velomobile is your helmut. A velomobile won't prevent some injuries and it won't prevent stupidity, but it limit the amount of road rash. Whether they are a car or bike in most places they are classified as a pedaled vehicle. Should they be allowed on bike paths? I would say with a qualified yes. The qualifications that they be narrow enough to fit in one lane and that they should respect the speeds of slower bike and pedestrian traffic. The real temptation is to go real fast in them and for that they should be on the street. There are enough blind corners and bends on Madison bike routes and paths that would behoove many cyclists, including me, to be attuned to the potential of surprises along the way. Also, since most of the velomobiles have three or more wheels, stopping at stop signs shouldn't be an issue since they don't fall over while standing still. They're either equipped with disc or drum brakes so they stop really quickly; which makes them problematic with tailgating bicyclists. Another country with the hots with velomobiles is Australia. High schools have programs that have teams that design and build their own versions of HPVs (Human Powered Vehicles) and race them in regional and national contests. (see - http://www.trisled.com.au/racing.html) It’s kind of like their version of the Soap Box Derby. For those of you who are connected to me in Facebook, my current "avatar" is a picture of me in a Greenspeed "Glyde" at the Hostel Shoppe Recumbent Rally in Stevens Point this summer. A good starting website to check out velomobiles and recumbents in general is the Recumbent Blog - http://www.recumbentblog.com/ Anyway, I rambled on too long. DJ --- On Thu, 9/30/10, Hans Noeldner <[email protected]> wrote: From: Hans Noeldner <[email protected]> Subject: [Bikies] Velomobile article To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010, 11:29 PM A nice overview of velomobiles here: http://energybulletin.net/stories/2010-09-30/velomobile-high-tech-bike-or-low-tech-car Hans Noeldner -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
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