Velomobiling -

Trike Train

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:37:46 -0500

Fourth of July, 2009 -- Celebrating Independence Day on linked trikes

Sometimes, you don't really want to be completely independent.

"Delta" trikes -- with two wheels in back and one in front -- can be chained together into trains of any length. In this example, a Hase Kettwiesel leads, followed by three Greenspeed Anuras, with a Sun EZ-3 on the back. The Hase and Greenspeed trikes and the hitches to connect them are available from several dealers in the U.S., including Hostel Shoppe in Wisconsin. The hitch for the EZ-3 comes from Van-Guard Machine. Nothing is hitched behind the EZ-3 in this photo -- it's left open for any other delta trike to hook up!

Recumbent trikes with two wheels in front and one behind ("tadpoles") can be lower and more resistent to tipping, and their drivetrains are less complex, but the delta trikes offer several advantages of their own. Delta trikes are usually easier to get on and off, they turn in a very tight circle, and they stand up on end for storage, taking up no more floor space than regular bikes. Even a train of 5 trikes can make a U-turn in less than the width of a city street.

We set up this train of five trikes for Edina's 2009 Fourth of July parade. (Two of the five were just back from a 534-mile tandem tour across Wisconsin.)

The whole train can easily be ridden by a solo captain, so it was no problem to take a blind guy, a lady in her 80's and a kid with a puppy on his lap along for the ride, even joining the other trikes in the parade doing Figure-8 maneuvers.

Velomobile Seminar Invitation 2009

Thu, 14 May 2009 19:07:14 -0500

Explore the Velomobile World in Bike-Friendly Denmark!!

Left Coast Velomobile Rally

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:30:43 -0600

We received this announcement of the Left Coast Velomobile Rally

West Coast Velomobile Rally Announcement
We are planning to hold the 3rd Left Coast Velomobile Gathering (LCVMG - 2009) over the Memorial Day weekend, (May 23-25, 2009) at the Portland International Raceway (PIR), in conjunction with the running of the 10th Annual Human Power Challenge in Portland, Oregon.

In an effort to increase awareness of Velomobiles and to demonstrate their blend of versatility, efficiency and fun, LCVMG 2009 will combine demonstration/comparison rides and photo opportunities within the PIR, along with daily rides in the Portland area which will follow a couple of local scenic riverside trails. For those velomobile owners who are curious to “push their speed envelopes” on the smooth, fast track at PIR, we will also have track access during certain times. (Note: We will have to ask for a nominal fee of -15 for insurance coverage while at PIR which will cover participants for the entire weekend.)

The LCVMG 2009 will provide an excellent opportunity for those who live in the Pacific Northwest (or those who are willing to make the trip to Portland) to view and compare examples of the majority of the current commercially-available velomobiles as well as a variety of home-built VM’s. Early indications are that we will have examples of the following velomobiles: the Aurora and the Borealis, FAW, Greenspeed’s new Glyde, Go-One, Leitra, Quest and WAW.

Please periodically monitor the HPC website

Mary Arneson

2008 Velomobile News

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:22:34 -0500

What's new in velomobiles in 2008?

What's new in Velomobiles?

We've been overwhelmed trying to keep up with the velomobile world. Existing manufacturers have been refining their designs, and new velomobiles keep appearing. In North America, European velomobiles continue to be imported by Blue Velo in Canada and sporadically by other dealers, but the falling U.S. dollar favors domestic production. Big trends: easier entry and exit and velomobiles that can accommodate heavier riders. Fairing options that can be varied depending on the weather are showing up in both new and older models, and the Versatile's foldable weather roof is being mounted on many new and old velomobiles. Here's a sampling of recent activity:

Aerorider continues to offer its pedal/electric hybrid velomobile, but has spun off the pedal-only Sunrider to Sunrider Cycles.

Alligt Alleweder - New for 2008 is the Alleweder A6, a fiberglass resin version of the recently-updated aluminum Alligt Alleweder, the A4. The A4 and its smaller version, the A5, remain in production and are also available in kit form. German Alleweder dealer Lohmeyer Leichtfahrzeuge produces the Alligt Alleweder with or without electric assist (less necessary in the Alleweder's original Dutch homeland), and in all RAL colors.

Aurora - from Nimbus kayak builder Rainforest Designs in British Columbia, Canada, this delta-style velomobile (two wheels in back) has been available through Cambie Cycles since late 2006 or early 2007 and is already achieving popularity for its ease of entry, good weather protection, capacity for large riders, and readily-available electric assist. See it in action at: AuroraVelo's YouTube channel.

Bakmobile - Only one of these two-person, side-by-side electric-assist velomobiles has been produced. Fietser.be built the Bakmobile to allow disabled bakers to deliver their bread to customers.

Borealis - announced for April 2008, the Borealis is Rainforest Designs' velomobile shell for the Trice QNT tadpole (two wheels in front) trike. In contrast to some shell designs that offer shelter from the rain without considering the puddles underneath, the Borealis features real velomobile splash protection below. A large hinged access door facilitates entry and exit.

Bries - featuring full suspension, 16-inch front wheels, seating for somewhat larger riders than the WAW, and quick disassembly for transport, the Bries was introduced by Fietser.be in September 2007, but difficulties with production led to its further development being taken over by one of their dealers, in Denmark.

Brise - Leiba's very "open" Brise velomobile offers limited weather protection, but it's easy to hop in and out, and the aerodynamic fairing has plenty of space for decoration or advertisements.

Cab-Bike has improved its windows for better function and easier maintenance. The International Velomobile Meeting report from September 2007 has been posted on the Cab-Bike website in German and English. In North America, Cab-Bike is available from Blue Velo.

Cabriovelo - 4-Seasons Velo announces a delay in production of the Cabriovelo velomobile fairing for the Sinner Comfort delta trike. (This might be because Sinner entered a partnership to produce the Mango velomobile with Go-Mango.)

Flevo Alleweder - the classic Dutch velomobile from the 1990's was thoroughly updated when it went into production in Texas as a kit or finished velomobile. VelomobileUSA now has more than a dozen Flevo Alleweders on the road all across the United States. With a distinctive aluminum body and a double hump on the nose, they are easy to recognize.

Go-one3 - The manufacturer's website and the United States dealer announce important new developments for 2008: better lighting, better ventilation, and a soft-top for changeable weather. There are also dealers in Belgium and Germany.

Leiba has completely updated their website, including an English-language version. Now offering three models, they cover the range from fully-enclosed through top-open (with removable roof) to barely-covered.

Leitra - The website for Leitra has been updated to feature a rider forum. Leitra in Denmark continues to sell directly to customers in the U.S. Ligfietswinkel Amsterdam is the dealer in the Netherlands, Leitra.de and Mikus Liegerad cover Germany, and Bike Revolution in Austria (which also builds its own velomobiles based on the Leitra shell design) is now the distributor for the remainder of Europe

Mango - In 2005, Velomobiel spun off assembly of the Mango to Harry Lieben of Go-Mango, so that Velomobiel could concentrate on building and maintaining the Quest. By October 2006, Go-Mango had brought the total Mango production up to 100. In August 2007, Go-Mango became a division of Sinner Ligfietsen (manufacturer of several recumbent bikes and trikes) allowing an increase in production from one every 4 to 6 weeks up to as many as 4 Mangos a month.

Milan - new in 2007, the Milan adds a 3-wheeled fully-faired velomobile to a well-established family of limited-production enclosed racing HPV's from German builder Eggert Bülk, working on this occasion with Jens Buckbesch. The Milan will probably be built in a small series, aimed at the velomobile racing market.

Ped-3 from Slovenia now has a website. The Ped-3 is fully-enclosed and features easy entry and exit. The cabin is fully demountable, to allow riding on the open trike base (the Berkut trike from Russia). This YouTube clip from a Slovenian news program shows the Ped-3 on the road, with views of the interior.

Quest - Velomobiel spun off the Mango and has concentrated on building more than one Quest a week for the past two years. There is a waiting list of more than 200 -- and over three years -- for this very popular Dutch velomobile. The 245th Quest rolled out of the factory in Dronten in April 2008.

Team is the name given Blue Velo's combination of a Cab-Bike bottom with a top from Rainforest Designs. The Team top -- to be available in 2008 -- offers an "open" velomobile option with easy entry and exit and can be retrofitted to existing Cab-Bikes.

Thunderstorm - Bike Revolution in Austria works with Stein Trikes and other manufacturers in the Balkans to produce their own advanced designs for trikes and velomobiles, with particular attention to off-road capabilities and suspension. The Thunderstorm went into production in 2008, offering the versatility of a suspended trike with a removable velomobile fairing and the advantages of very easy entry and exit and a tight turning circle.

Stormy Weather - Availability of the Stormy Weather velomobile was delayed through 2007, with production of an improved model expected in 2008. This delta velomobile, like the Cabriovelo, was designed to be able to link to form a tandem.

Sunrider was developed as a student project modifying the Aerorider design to produce a pedal-only, "open" velomobile; the production was then spun off to Sunrider Cycles. The first Sunriders were sold in January 2008. A YouTube video of a Sunrider test-ride at Ligfietswinkel Amsterdam shows the interior and the ease of entry.

Versatile - This Dutch velomobile brought easy entry and exit, single-sided rear-wheel mounting (for easier tire-changing), and mid-drive mounting of a Rohloff hub-gear (for very low maintenance) to the velomobile world. Developed by Flevobike and now assembled by Ligfietsshop Tempelman, the Versatile is a much-admired commuter vehicle.

WAW - Fietser.be notes that there was some delay in production of the WAW because of diversion of time and resources to their new Bries velomobile. The WAW has been available since about 2004. It is best suited to slender riders in a somewhat shorter height range than the Quest.

Wega - new on the German velomobile scene, the Wega velomobile was scheduled for introduction at the Spezi bike show in 2008 but the prototype was not yet complete. Like many other new velomobiles, it will offer easy entry and exit.

X-stream - this new velomobile brings a more conventional design to the Leiba stable. The wide entry offers easy entry and exit, while the cover and roof provide customizable weather protection.

And for those who want protection from the weather but aren't ready for a velomobile, weather protection is available from Alfred's All-Wetter-Schutz, Lightfoot Cycles' Windshadow and Rain Shadow fairings, and the Velokit, among others. Adjustable head tube and front mounts and a new extra-long version enable the Velokit to fit even more trike models than before.

Mary Arneson

Sixth European Velomobile Seminar - Call for Papers

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:03:16 -0500

Planning has begun for a Conference on Velomobile Design, to be held in Copenhagen in October 2009. We received this announcement:

Invitation to submit papers to the

6th European Seminar on Velomobile Design, Copenhagen October 16.-17. 2009.

The series of Velomobile Design Seminars started in 1993 in Copenhagen. Through 15 years the seminars have been an important inspiration to the development of velomobiles for practical transport and sport.

The perspectives for velomobiles as an alternative, environmental friendly means of transportation are today more obvious than ever. In many situations a velomobile can replace a car, offering cargo space, weather protection, better aerodynamics and higher speed than an ordinary bicycle.
People need more physical exercise for health care reasons, to stay or to become fit, to improve quality of life. A velomobile is a comfortable and secure means to get training.

The velomobile doesn’t increase greenhouse-gas emissions, an issue, which has gained increasing attention in the last 5 years. The United Nations (Conference of Parties under UNFCCC) has called for the next Climate Conference in the first week of December 2009. It will take place in the Bella Center in Copenhagen. On this occasion, let us demonstrate the potential of velomobiles for an environmental friendly lifestyle.

The Velomobile Design Seminars allows to discuss many subjects, such as social acceptance of velomobiles, solutions for the infrastructure, technical innovations and design and styling.

The seminar organization invites you to present your contributions to skills and knowledge necessary for further development of velomobiles.

Send your abstract (max 500 words) to:
designseminar@liggecykelforeningen.dk
before October 31st, 2008.

The abstracts will be reviewed by the program committee:
Dr. Andreas Fuchs (Switzerland)
M.Sc. Frederik Van De Walle (Belgium/Sweden)
Dr. Stefan Gloger (Germany)
Dr. Carl Georg Rasmussen (Denmark)
You will be informed not later than December 31st, 2008, whether your poposal is accepted. If your abstract is accepted you will receive instruction for authors.
Deadline for submission of final paper will be August 31th , 2009.
The proceedings of the 6th Velomobile Design Seminar will be published in digital form only.

Weekend on ice

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:30:08 -0600

Cycling "heats up" in the Minnesota winter

Minneapolis, January 26 and 27, 2008 -- a cycling weekend on ice.

After a couple weeks of Arctic cold, the Minnesota winter warmed up to near the freezing point, and cyclists' thoughts turned to ice-biking. The Minnesota Human-Powered Vehicle Association usually holds races on Rogers Lake in Mendota Heights, but snow had fallen during the freeze-up, and the ice was un-rideable. Rinks and paths on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis had been cleared for an international Pond Hockey tournament the week before, so the races were (unofficially, since there had been no time to get a permit) re-located to the city. Enthusiastic riders raced on a dozen trikes and about as many bikes. From as far away as South Carolina, innovaters came to test their ice-racing contraptions in timed heats, drag races, and circuit races. Check out the Icebike race and photos in the Gallery, or look at a few ice-bike pictures on Flickr or a lot of videos on YouTube.

Winter weekends on Medicine Lake, just west of Minneapolis, are a time for ice-fishing, and for the annual Art Shanty exhibit. A cluster of ice houses sponsored by a local art group offered something new this year -- a human-powered fish-house. Six cyclists lined up on a wooden bench pedaled this little shanty around the exhibit, while the other passengers warmed themselves next to a wood stove. See more Human-Powered Fish-house photos in the Gallery, or on Flickr or watch the videos on YouTube.

Mary Arneson

Bakmobiel

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:30:39 -0500

A two-person velomobile with electric assist -- introduced in Belgium.

Fietser.be introduces the Bakmobiel, a two-person velomobile with electric assist. This special-purpose vehicle was built for a foundation that provides employment for the disabled. It serves as a delivery van for a bakery, hence the name "Bakmobiel" which refers to a "Baker's vehicle" and also plays on the "Bakfiets" or "box bike" that serves to transport goods and children in the Low Countries.

Mary Arneson

September Events

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:55:36 -0500

September 2007 bike events

September events

We're staying in Minneapolis this September to cycle to a couple of local rides that offer traffic-free streets and lots of biking fun. On September 9, about 7000 cyclists will ride through St. Paul on the 13th annual St. Paul Classic bike tour, and on September 16, Minneapolis introduces its own cycle tour, the Minneapolis Bike Tour on the "Grand Rounds" route.

For bike and velomobile enthusiasts elsewhere, there are a couple of great opportunities in September:

The International Velomobile Meeting takes place near Giessen, Germany on September 21-23.

The Niagara Velomobile Happening is on the same weekend (September 22 and 23) in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

We've stayed close to home this summer except for riding in the Midwest Recumbent Rally in Stevens Point, Wisconsin in August. We're trying to put fewer miles on our cars and more on our bikes.

Mary Arneson

Global Bike Days

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:33:39 -0500

A local event with a global flavor

Cycling promotion sometimes bypasses urban residents who didn't grow up with bikes. A new organization in Minneapolis, BikeOn.org, reaches out to immigrant women, low-income families, and others who may not even know how to ride. (Readers may be familiar with a similar program in London.) Their promotional material shows the Midtown Global Market, a mixed-use development in an old Sears store in south Minneapolis. Running up the left-hand side of the picture is the Midtown Greenway, a cross-city bike and pedestrian path all the way across Minneapolis. This commuter route links to other trails, reaching the University of Minnesota, downtown, Farmers' Markets, and several suburbs.

On Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1, BikeOn invites everyone to Global Bike Days at the Midtown Global Market. "A weekend of bikes, music, language, culture, art, spoken word, film, theater, children's activities and more" is planned for participants. And of course there will be bikes -- from ordinary to completely different!

Mary Arneson

Velomobile News, Spring 2007

Mon, 28 May 2007 21:01:54 -0500

Velomobile news for spring of 2007

Velomobile News

It's been a month now since the Spezi bike show in Germany, and we're overdue for a report on what we saw there. We had a terrific time on our trip -- triking through the tulips in Holland, riding through Cologne in a Velotaxi, catching up on the European specialty bike scene at Spezi, and visiting friends and relatives in Austria. It's taken us some time to process and edit more than three gigabytes of photos, and we've been back at work since the day after we flew home, but we have some videos up on YouTube and some photos on Flickr and in the Gallery here. More will be coming as get them sorted and edited.

Velomobiles are cropping up all over, and some of them are quite different from the "standard" models.

The minimalist approach was seen in these examples of fabric or soft fairings for bikes and trikes:

Winter-Reisner of Hamburg offered some enclosures for trikes, including the blue one on the left. Alfred's All-Weather Solution (seen in two versions in the center) is a fairing system for various recumbents. The Velo-Kit (in red, on the right) fits a variety of trikes.

There were also new removable rigid fairings for trikes -- including one delta version:

The Cabriovelo, seen above in orange with the roof down, and in blue with the convertible top and sides in place, is built on the Sinner Comfort delta trike. In yellow, the Ped3 fairing from Slovenia is made for the Berkut trike from Russia.

New velomobiles in the WAW and Leiba line both ended up with names that translate as "breeze" -- the WAW Bries and the Leiba Brise. Drawings of the WAW offering showed its 16" front wheels and newly-designed wheel-mounting system. A late prototype of the Leiba Brise was being test-ridden on the plaza. The Leiba Brise is more open than most velomobiles.

After Spezi, we stopped at BikeRevolution in Austria and talked with Thomas Seide about his velomobile projects. His Thunderstorm velomobile wasn't ready for Spezi but will be introduced later this year. He'll be offering a lightweight full fairing that will mount on a Nomad or MadMax trike, allowing the rider to choose to ride a full-function open trike or a fully-enclosed velomobile. In addition, he will be producing Leitra velomobiles.

Mary Arneson

Mary's Blog 10 - May 17, 2007

Thu, 17 May 2007 01:43:50 -0500

Spezi 2007

Where is the Spezi news? We've been back for a little over a week, and there's lots to say about the Spezi bike show in Germersheim, Germany, but we haven't had time yet to upload the photos and write about the new developments. New velomobiles and velomobile-like fairings are appearing faster than we can keep up. There is the Bries (Breeze) from WAW, with 16" front wheels and space for larger riders than the standard WAW. There's the new Brise (Breeze) from Leiba, with only a partial enclosure for the rider. 4 Seasons Velo introduces the Cabriovelo, a fairing for a Sinner Comfort delta trike. It's wide open for fair-weather riding, but quickly converts to an enclosed trike for cold or rainy weather. Several full and partial fairings for bikes and trikes were on display. The Thunderstorm velomobile wasn't ready in time for the show, but we stopped in Austria and talked with Thomas Seide at BikeRevolution about it. Ped3 is a new velomobile from Slovenia; it is built for the Berkut trike from Russia. Over the next few weeks, we'll be working on the updates to the comparison tables and the Gallery, and we'll be posting some travel photos as well. In the meantime, we have a few pictures up on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/velomobiling/.

Mary Arneson

Mary's Blog 9 - April 20, 2007

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:55:11 -0500

HPV developments

Wired published an article yesterday on a Human-Powered Vehicle contest sponsored by the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

The West Coast Human Powered Vehicle Challenge took place at the NASA-Ames Research Center - Moffett Field, CA on April 13 - 15, 2007. Twenty-Five teams and 400 attendees particpated in the event.

The results of the West Coast HPVC are posted. Please visit http://www.asme.org/Events/Contests/HPV/HPV_Results_2.cfm for complete results.

Disappointingly, for those of us who are trying to raise awareness of velomobiles, the whole event seemed to pass without the word "velomobile" ever coming up. The mechanical engineering students could probably learn something from the velomobile industry, and human-powered vehicles have a lot to gain from new technology and insights, but the two worlds seem to run on parallel tracks and never to meet.

This separation isn't limited to the United States; European educational institutions also sponsor HPV challenges and projects without seeming to notice a thriving velomobile industry under their noses.

One where the two worlds may meet this year is in Scarborough, Maine, where the Electrathon organization is inviting some Human-Powered Vehicle people to its electric vehicle contest.

Another option is at the East Coast ASME event, coming up in May. Maybe a Florida faired trike or velomobile could show up at the University of Central Florida May 11-13 to demonstrate that HPV's aren't just for engineering students.

We're heading for the SPEZI bike show and hope to bring back lots of photos of new velomobile developments in Europe!

Mary Arneson

't Fietscafe comes to Minneapolis

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:30:33 -0500

't Fietscafe comes to Minneapolis

The Pedal Pub makes its rainy debut

March 31, 2007 in Minneapolis, a few dozen hardy souls came out to welcome the newest addition to the local human-powered vehicle scene. Builders Henk and Zwier van Laar were on hand as their Dutch invention -- a 16-person rolling pub -- rolled out on the Stone Arch Bridge across the Mississippi River.

The Fietscafe has been in production in the Netherlands for ten years, and more than 30 of them are for rent for parties, sightseeing, and even weddings there and in Belgium and Germany.

Partners Al Boyce and Eric Olson imported this popular Dutch party bike as an addition to the Twin Cities fun rental scene, which already includes a Conference Bike (Cycle Seven).

Check out a few photos in the Gallery

Mary's Blog 8 - March 18, 2007

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:23:49 -0500

Snowy weather activity

Winter still has a grip on Minnesota, but there are signs of spring. A bald eagle is sitting on her nest at the corner of Cedar Avenue and the Crosstown freeway; we went and looked at her yesterday. Most of the activity is indoors, though, when half-melted snow still makes the trails slippery. I've been building a Mango velomobile. It's made out of paper, and it's tiny. You can find the pattern on the Velomobiel website. Photos will follow.

I've also reviewed our YouTube experience. It's sort of fun to see which videos are viewed and how often.

Mary Arneson

World velomobile news

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:22:22 -0600

What's happening in the world velomobile market?

Astrophysicist and science journalist Yvan Dutil has been talking with manufacturers and velomobilists and has written an article on velomobile production around the globe. Click on the photo to see what he's found out.

Mary Arneson