This page describes a do-it-yourselfer's approach to building his foam-shelled recumbent bike.
Relative speed of velomobile designs, and the inherent trade-offs, discussed at
http://bentrideronline.yuku.com/topic/4847#.Tk1E3Cd5mc0
"I've been following posts in several places, listening to discussions among VM enthusiasts, and reading accounts of races and am going to make a guess on how the VM's would rate for speed, with comparable riders:
lots faster than a regular bike: Birk Butterfly, WAW, Quest, Tri-Sled
faster than a regular bike: Mango, Cab-Bike speedster option
no disadvantage over a regular bike for speed: Leitra, Cab-Bike, Alleweder, Go-one
I haven't heard enough about the Leiba, Berkut or Cyclodyne to make a guess.
There are trade-offs in the Velomobile world. Speed is generally "bought" in exchange for less space, poorer turning radius, cramped entry, limited adjustability, or other trade-offs that might or might not be acceptable to the purchaser.
I'm happy to go as fast as I would on my other bikes while staying warm and dry and having space for carrying all my groceries. (I wouldn't want to go SLOWER than on another bike.) It's a nice bonus that the Cab-Bike really picks up speed with a tailwind or sidewind, and that it can cut through a headwind much better than a similarly-loaded regular recumbent. (My commuting route rarely brings me into any wind, so this is more an issue for tours.)
Mary"
No comments:
Post a Comment