ID:33708
 
many know of my current love of the recumbent world- a 2005 Anthrotech trike:


with over 6000 kilometers/3,700 miles in the last year, the trike has been my primary transportation- whether bouncing down dirt-tracks, carrying heavy boxes or shopping bags, or cruising at 25-30 kph (15-20 mph) for hours at a time (when the wind co-operates).

cycling is a great means of sustainable transportation: it's clean, it's healthy, and it's cheap compared to most other types of personal vehicles (specifically cars and trucks).

improvements over the last few generations in cycle-technology also improved it's useability: swing-arm suspension, air/gas shocks, disc-brakes, internal hub gear systems that allow you to switch gears while standing still, and light-weight frames - just to name a few.

recumbent cycles (and in my case recumbent trikes) add another level of attraction: comfort. on the Anthrotech above, I can go for hours without the well-known butt pain that long tours can produce. i ride in a reclined position, so i can see more of what's around me. i enjoy my rides, instead of suffer through them. in the rain and snow, i don't need to worry about falling over. no longer do i have the annoying chore of constantly getting-off-n-on a bike at every stoplight or intersection.

and to step up the comfort another notch: velomobiles! basically this means adding a body or fairing to a cycle as a means of weather protection or improving aero-dynamics.

while there are very aero-dynamic velomobiles out there, such as the aerorider and go-one, they turn out to be not that practical in several areas. most bothersome is that they are pretty useless in the rain - the angle of the windscreen makes viewing through rain/snow difficult or impossible, and they are too curved to use a windshield wiper effectively. i've heard the glare on a sunny day makes it hard to see, and it's worse if it's scratched up. plus, these specific models are friggin' expensive, on the average of $7,000 and up!

thankfully there are cheaper and more practical alternatives, such as the Cab-bike, the Alleweder, the Ped-3, and others. i won't babble further on the subject since wikipedia has a good starting point to satisfy most curiosities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile .

here in Denmark, i've become very interested in a local manufacturer of velomobile called the Leitra (http://www.leitra.dk):



i won't be getting this particular model, it's just the one i test rode last weekend with my girlfriend. what i will do is work with the builder to modify a body to fit my Anthrotech. my version will retain the top, but be removable too. and it will be white-n-red (danish colors).

and it will be mine! :)

more pictures of the 'Thunderstorm' and how it compares to the Leitra can be found here (click on 'dia-show').
Doesn't that look just a little bit weird?
Yeah. Also: those enclosed ones look like they have pretty crap visibility. Great way to get yourself hit by a car...
depends on the model. all have mirrors of some sort so you can look around you (even my un-faired Anthrotech has them- two big bike mirrors), and the fairings actually improve your chances of being seen by cars because of their size or color.
I like the Red one on the right. Looks bigger in comparison to the one on the left.

Rugg wrote:
I like the Red one on the right. Looks bigger in comparison to the one on the left.

actually they are both the same body, just that the left one is lowered and mounted on a different trike chasis. and widened.




That Trike makes me want to have a new bike. I have to even pedal downhill with mine! :(
Good point, digi. It perhaps doesn't matter what passing drivers think of you as long as they see you. =P
Hmm, I don't think traveling by something non-air conditioned would be good for my complexion(it's been in the low 100's all week, and it's gonna be in the 90's next week). Although something like that would be convenient for a place like Denmark.
SSJ4Gogetenks wrote:
That Trike makes me want to have a new bike. I have to even pedal downhill with mine! :(

yeah the fairing does help a bit in cutting through the wind. personally, it will help me stay comfortable through the rain and winter seasons.

there are also pedal-assist electric motors for bikes ya know. even the Leitra has an electric kit you can install to help power uphill.
Disturbed Puppy wrote:
Hmm, I don't think traveling by something non-air conditioned would be good for my complexion...

actually the Leitra, and most other velomibiles, have configurable vents to direct cool air where you want it. for the Leitra there is an add-on solar-powered fan for the interior, to keep you cool. :)

and most allow you to 'pop the top', making it a convertible!

digi: Right now, in Concord, NC(Both me and DP live there), it's 100F and dryhumid. Toasty to say the least. The air, no matter how fast moving is hot. I can stick my hand out the window of my car at 60 mph and it still feels hot.
then either move to a better location, or stay where your are cooler. i grew up in Atlanta, Georgia for the better part of 25 years, so i understand how hot it can get in the region. that's not the point.

DP said travelling by something non-air-conditioned would not be good for his complexion. if you use some brain cells, a little inventiveness, and creativity you can add a decent air-con to a velomobile. otherwise stay inside.

for example: a small heat-pump (maybe with freon inside it), a fan, and a battery. would not weigh too much, and you could rig up a solar charger for the battery or from the pedaö-assisted motor. still cheaper and, in some ways, better than a car.

if actually solving problems is too difficult, then don't bother using such a vehicle. hello brain-stem!
It's not just that. People down in this region have no respect for anything that doesn't have an engine(No, I'm not joking. If you think I am, get a dish, and watch CMT for about an hour). In fact, they don't respect anything that isn't a motorcycle(Like a Harley Davidson, crotch rockets don't count), car, truck, or SUV. We had a guy on a scooter actually get plowed over by a bunch of teenagers last year(they did it intentionally), and he was off to the side of the road.

PS: the complexion thing was a joke, my car's condenser is broken, so I don't get AC anyways :\ no need to question my ability to think freely :P
Looks brilliant, Digi. Do you need a driver's license for those things or is it just like a bike or electric scooter?
Disturbed Puppy wrote:
...We had a guy on a scooter actually get plowed over by a bunch of teenagers last year(they did it intentionally), and he was off to the side of the road...

I started to have that problem when I used to ride a Honda Elite 50 back in 80's in the Atlanta area. usually a the sight of my old air-powered pellet pistol kept them away.


...no need to question my ability to think freely :P

always! we must be ever-vigilant against the degradation of the gene-pool! it's shallow enough as it is.

Mechana2412 wrote:
Do you need a driver's license for those things or is it just like a bike or electric scooter?

it is classified as a bike since it is pedal-powered, and as long as any use of an electric or gas motor keeps the vehicle below 30kph, it's doesn't require a license here in Denmark. oh, and you can only have such motors as 'pedal-assisted-technology', meaning you still gotta pedal when the motor runs. and the people who produce these motors have it wired in such a way that the motor starts when you pedal, to help give you a boost at a stoplight or when climbing hills, and stops when you stop pedalling. that's keeps it all legal-like. one model i tried last weekend let me crank veeeerrrry slowly, yet cruise at 26kph.

but i only turned 40 at the beginning of August, so i won't need such help for another 20 years or so, at least.

:)

Imagine the irony of listening to "Yellow Submarine" whilde riding in that thing.