A Quest

[meic]

Yes but not excessively so. My head is out of the shell so wind noise drowns out road noise at higher speeds. I still had my music playing with my phone dangling from a piece of velcro, something to stop me getting bored on the climbs.

[squeaker]

It would be great for a mass market manufacturer, or a lotus, to get involved to review the designs and create lift off body or access panels and other design tweaks where needed. Some may have these but so far I've not seen them.

DF has a forward access hatch (as it's a fast machine frequently used without foot holes). On aWAW you just remove the ends (each held on with 7 machine screws although this causes obvious structural and aerodynamic compromises.

[squeaker]

You can see there is an 18/28 ratio from that shaft to the rear wheel but I dont know if it reduces or increases the gearing.

Increases, to give an effectively larger real wheel than the 406 used.

[squeaker]

As it isnt mine, yes I do. Possibly I should pack a mat or sheet to lay down for it.

Some bubble wrap usually works
As for the advantages, you can carry loads of 'stuff' without ruining the aerodynamics, and three wheels gives you the ability to grind up gradients without having to get off & push (providing you get the necessary very wide range gearing)

[old_windbag]

If it's gridlock I can get off bike and push it if needs be,it ain't gonna happen with a velomobile or a 'bent trike

I've read all the comments and will try to convey my take on it. I think we are viewing the velomobile as it is now, a rare machine in a sea of cars. Surely the idea would be to manufacture a velo at as low a cost as possible with all current functionality, then e-assist and perhaps more ease of manoevre. I think the small companies who currently make them may have their hands tied in how far they can push development whilst also having a current saleable range of product. Then with low sales, as R2 says they are at present niche, those companies may never take the designs where they wish to. It needs a bigger company( possibly vehicle manufacturer ) to bring in their cost reducing methods and alternative ideas construction wise. The product is good but there may be areas that can improve to make it appealing to the mass market.

I don't see the velo as it is now, I see it rather as replacing many car commutes and taking cars off the road so we could see three abreast velo's in one car lane. I think their are more positives than negatives and the negatives are surmountable in many cases by new tech. Efficiency wise they would be low cost energy wise to make but then the ease of flat "cycling" allows much more realistic commute speeds for the same or less effort, also it may be possible to wear normal clothes( I know you can on a bike.... but not in pouring rain ), on hills e-assist. So they could be a nice alternative transport to reduce car use. The vid below has a pretty rational take of the velo, it may be biased in a way as he sells some as a hobby but its a good vid to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAcy7EVRpXc

[meic]

As it isnt mine, yes I do. Possibly I should pack a mat or sheet to lay down for it.

Some bubble wrap usually works
As for the advantages, you can carry loads of 'stuff' without ruining the aerodynamics, and three wheels gives you the ability to grind up gradients without having to get off & push (providing you get the necessary very wide range gearing)

Yes, ideal, and I have a couple of pieces that are big enough between them. They can get pushed down the bottom of the tail where you wouldnt want much else.

Or I could line the insides with them to stop the lip digging in to my left shoulder and maybe add some silencing.

[reohn2]

Windy
IMO enough people won't want to pedal such a machine to make it viable for any kind of volume production,even if it's elec assist
They would however be willing to buy an electric powered trike that'll keep up with traffic up to say 50mph such the Honda CR-3 concept car :- https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new- ... c-unveiled or similar
I know it's a completely different thing but people are people,and not many want to share the road with motors in velomobiles even if the cost came down to £3.5k.
A forum member has a Renault Twizzy,I reckon that's as small as people are willing to go and that's niche.
As I posted up thread on flat dedicated cycleways such as in NL they work but even there they're still niche and that's with everything in their favour,sorry but I don't share your vision much as I'd like to.

[Vorpal]

I think that in the future, there will be growing demand for such things. We cannot carry on forever with our resource-devouring ways, and I am seeing more and more ebike and cargo ebikes around on the continent. Even if there is a shift toward working form home for those who can, and more flexible jobs, people will still need personal transport to commute, shop, and run errands. It probably won't look like a quest, but there are many advantages to an electric velomobile type thing for that sort of transport.

[reohn2]

Vorpal
I think your right,but I don't see the answer being velomobiles.
I can see small electric cars doing the trick for longer 10mile+ journeys but they'll need to have creature comforts to attract buyers,I can also their power source will be efficient solar panels on the home and place of work roofs,and even on the vehicle itself to keep the battery topped up when on the move and when parked.
Shorter journeys with dedicated infrastructure could be by pedelecs with a smattering of trikes and 'bents charged in the same way,but for utility cycling to become popular ninth UK the infrastructure will need to be in place and convenient
I can't see velomobiles ever becoming popular enough for the price to become attractive.

[[XAP]Bob]

I have to agree - they're great, I'd love one - but I don't see them becoming mass transit.

If they can do 40-50mph (only needs a 1kW motor, so it's not as if the tech is beyond us) then you might even get people to accept the option of pedalling at times - but it'll be a rare option, and I suggest that a full enclosed drive train internally would be required (shaft drive with a few inline doublers?? Something like a 1*3*9*rolhoff might be wide enough?

Of course you could argue that top speed and or bottom end aren't needed...

Or a massive step up gear that you can bypass somewhere...


The issue with small e-cars at the moment in my eyes is that they are trying to be small cars, not small transport.
So they come with a ton and a half of extra bits and bobs - massive suspension and pillars, airbags, etc... Which means they need a more powerful motor and more batteries which makes them heavier again, so they need more powerful motors and more batteries....
If you started with a velo, and put a motor at the rear, then reshaped it to account for less leg motion and added a couple of speakers with a 3.5mm jack input...

If you could reasonably put a kW motor over each front wheel then the rear could be more flexible, allowing a quad wheels configuration with a kid seat for instance...

[old_windbag]

I don't see the answer being velomobiles.

I try to see a positive future...... but I'm realistic enough to know that I'm dealing with mr and mrs average. Sadly as I've said before the future will be greener but will be as, if not more, congested with full on electric vehicles. As you say the velo isn't attractive enough to entice most people( also people don't like to put any effort into life, everything needs a motor from your toothbrush to lawnmower ). The early electric vehicles( think? ) and hybrids such as the insight etc were expensive and did not attract the public. Engineers have over that time since created hybrid power plants in the 100's of BHP and electric cars such as the tesla again with huge bhp. Its power and size that seem to attract joe public so we end off with large high powered vehicles matching todays petrol/diesels in size but running on greener fuel( well to some degree, it's not as green as we think ). Our consumer demands and resource use carry on increasing, with all the undeveloped countries catching up and wanting western lives then we have big issues to resolve.

The latest advert for our greener future is for this bloated monstrosity. But it's a must have ( not ).

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/c-hr/index.json

For many on here they don't feel belittled by walking or using a bus etc but for the masses the car is the be all and end all transport. It'll be hard to change that view when they beleive their energy use is green and sustainable.

[reohn2]

The key words for Joe public are,affordability both to buy and run,convenience(range and charging points),creature comforts(onboard entertainment,and sophisticated ride characteristics),and a respectable speed up hill as well as on the flat,which means direct 2kw(?) power and no pedals.

[meic]

You forget load carrying ability. The Quest can only take something like a touring bike can.
That isnt enough to compare with a car, where you just chuck everything in the back and passengers in with you through the side doors.

[squeaker]

...a respectable speed up hill as well as on the flat,which means direct 2kw(?) power...

You forgot a zero 475kg of Twizzy with two 100kg passengers needs about 15kW to do 30mph up a 1 in 10. But you're correct that pedals won't help, even if Mark Cavendish is a passenger

[old_windbag]

But are we not getting confused here by the velo as a replacement for the car. It isn't but what it is is a simple way to transport a single person to work and back as most car journeys tend to be single occupancy on the commute. I expect most homes to have a car for those "family" occassions or load lugging but for different journeys involving only the individual the velo would work.

It's reducing the excess of cars on our roads and balancing out transport use from walking, cycling, velo to bus and train. Choosing the best tool for the time.