Vehicular Design

[Linford]

I'm struggling with the designs on these ones. What are you trying to create ?

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

Type 9 is also known as the Fiberglass Ladies Bicycle, and it was designed by my Daughter Mellisa.

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

I'm struggling with the designs on these ones. What are you trying to create ?

That's an interesting question, and I've given it much thought. I am thinking that, as I started this project so long ago, when there weren't many Velomobiles around, that these bikes are meant to be Velomobiles, but with greater cargo carrying capacity than most Velomobiles on the market today. Not quite as much cargo capacity as a Bakfiets , but more than the average bicycle.
A combination Velomobile / Utility Bicycle, is what it is, while other builders either built Velomobiles OR Utility Bikes, but this is the only "Hybridization" of the two lines, that I know of.
Now, I have just been notified that Flickr dot com is down for maintenance . The photos I just posted were on my photobucket dot com account.





The Type 10:






The Type 11, as it first appeared:

Coroplast is a lot cheaper than Fiberglass!

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

Then it was time to strip down and rework the Type 10. The plastic Case from an old Apple iMac Computer made a good Fairing:






Then the Fairing was painted in a "Shark Tooth" scheme, like the United States Air Force pilots used to do with their fighter planes:



There have been advances in LED Lighting technology:

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

The Type 11


The Bike needed a new front fork, and I decided now was the the time to change the configuration of the front end. The combination Fairing / Handlebar Basket is now mounted on a Fiberglass Platform affixed to the Head Tube, and no longer revolves with the headset bearings. This work was started on 19 August 2013, and was finished on 2 September 2013. The Type 11 is now able top carry a heavier load in front.




That is a more or less complete Synopsis of the whole NFA Vehicles Project, from it's inception in 1985 , up to this month, Sept. 2013.

I know of no other Velomobile with more cargo capacity.

 

[MontyVeda]

love the yellow shark!

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

DSCF0955 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr


DSCF0953 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

The other photos, which are on my Flickr account. Flickr was down for 10 minutes or so. These photos show the Head Tube mounted Fiberglass Platform.

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

love the yellow shark!

Everybody loves the Yellow Shark!
Unfortunately , the Upgrades to the Type 11 (white bike) , means the Type 10 (Yellow Shark bike) will not be seen in public much more. The Yellow Shark is only a One-Speed Bike (BMX) ; while the Type 11 is a 21 speed hybrid bike, with 700c x 32mm Touring Tires.

 

[Linford]

Well I'll give you 10 out 10 for perseverance, but I'm struggling with your execution of the concept. When I think of a Velomobile, I think of something which is based on a recumbent. If you have you got ambition for a commercial prospect, then I think you might start again with a blank sheet.

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

Well I'll give you 10 out 10 for perseverance, but I'm struggling with your execution of the concept. When I think of a Velomobile, I think of something which is based on a recumbent. If you have you got ambition for a commercial prospect, then I think you might start again with a blank sheet.

Yes. 99% of Velomobiles are Recumbents. The Type 7 is a Semi-Recumbent. The Type 9 and the Type 10 have Lowrider seats.

I want to point out that this was all done without any Welding, all the Joinery was connected by lashed strips of Fiberglass/Epoxy, direct to the Frames of the Donor Bikes. This is a Student Project, and if it was a commercial venture, I would've bought a TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) Welder a long time ago.

I hope these pictures can help the average bike builder who views this forum.

 

[Linford]

I'm a design engineer by trade (press tooling for producing Aluminium profiles), and pretty much all the work I do starts from first principles, which is look at what is trying to be achieved/required, and then look and see if it can be done with the physical limitations of the machines which my customers operate...the design intent.

I'm looking at the amount of effort you appear to have put into all these different bikes, and feel that your time might have been a lot more productive if you had perhaps mocked up a riding position as a timber jig to get the physical parameters around the rider(s) right (ergonomics for the seating position/bottom bracket/steering etc), chopped an existing bike frame up, sourced and cut new tubing to suit overlaying it over the timber jig and then paid a local welder (who doesn't need to go through a learning curve) to stitch it all together.

You would have had a much better chance of keeping the weight down, in the right place, and end up with something which is a bit more pleasing to the eye.

 

[classic33]

I think they're more problems looking for a solution. First impresions are that you've used what was around as a starting point, adapting that to suit your perceived design.
Most would have looked at the problem the other way round.
As for carrying capacity http://en.velomobiel.nl/strada/

 

[Dusty Bin]

Mike Burrows meets Damien Hirst

 

[jayonabike]

These look very pleasing to the eye to me.

Your having a laugh, right?

 

[AviationMetalSmith]

I'm a design engineer by trade (press tooling for producing Aluminium profiles), and pretty much all the work I do starts from first principles, which is look at what is trying to be achieved/required, and then look and see if it can be done with the physical limitations of the machines which my customers operate...the design intent.

I'm looking at the amount of effort you appear to have put into all these different bikes, and feel that your time might have been a lot more productive if you had perhaps mocked up a riding position as a timber jig to get the physical parameters around the rider(s) right (ergonomics for the seating position/bottom bracket/steering etc), chopped an existing bike frame up, sourced and cut new tubing to suit overlaying it over the timber jig and then paid a local welder (who doesn't need to go through a learning curve) to stitch it all together.

You would have had a much better chance of keeping the weight down, in the right place, and end up with something which is a bit more pleasing to the eye.

I will mention this again, I had been seeking a female partner to design the Ladies Bike, and set this enterprise up as a Family Business. There is a shortage of females in Engineering School, but my cousin Mellisa asked me to adopt her and , then she designed the Type 9, a.k.a. "Fiberglass Ladies Bicycle" . It was she who designed the Type 9 and chose the material Fiberglass. Her Idea was to create a quarter scale version of a Roof Spoiler, found on Eighteen Wheelers (American English for "Articulated Lorry"):



Actually, the finished product is closer to 1:5 scale than 1:4 scale.


IMG_0002 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr


IMG_0003 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr


IMG_0004 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr


Type 9 - 1 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

This (Above) is the Type 9. A series of builders photographs against a blank wall. "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder" . People liked this design , and I conducted some impromptu "Test Marketing" . The results were favorable, we found that the finished Bike could bring in about Four Times the cost of the Raw Materials, or a %400 Gross Profit.
But the downside is , most people were simply mollified by the shiny paint, which contained extra Aluminium Powder, to make it sparkle.