What is This Recumbent?

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Hugh Manatee

Veteran
Hello those in the know! I have seen this very quick yellow beastie around where I live and took a picture an age ago when I stopped to see if I could help with a breakdown. I'll admit my first thought was someone's canoe had fallen off their car as I couldn't see any wheels at first.

I'm sure the pilot told me the make but it has gone from my head!
Recumb.jpg
 

screenman

Legendary Member
Velomobile.
 

young Ed

Veteran
no idea on ID, but that looks fast just standing still!
would love a velo someday, knowing me i would have one winter and one summer and the winter one would have full winter tyres and i would fit a dynamo to charge a battery to run lights, indicators and a wee heater! :rolleyes:
Cheers Ed
 
They're great if it's flat-ish and you can keep the speed above ~15 mph due to the aero advantage.
Not so good uphill due to the extra weight of the body work.
Good when the weather is bad/cold and not so good when it's sunny & hot.
They do tend to rumble a lot when the roads are rough.

I'm still tempted to get the E version of the Flevobike Orca ...... ^_^
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
That's a Quest. VMs aren't aimed at the disabled, they're for people who want to cycle fast. Or very fast....


Seriously thinking of getting one for my forthcoming longer commute.
 

Scoosh

Velocouchiste
Moderator
Location
Edinburgh
:training: + :sweat: = :biggrin: +:wahhey:+ :dance:
 
OP
OP
Hugh Manatee

Hugh Manatee

Veteran
Now that is fast. Something similar, (not the one in the picture, it wasn't yellow) was in the paper because it set off every speed camera on a section of the A5 near here. The limit is 50mph!
 

EatSleepRideRepeat

AKA Martin from Wales
Location
West Wales
Made by www.velomobile.nl, I have an early example of their work in my garage. They are superb fun in all weathers, and really shift. The aero advantage is huge, even a strong headwind has little effect on your speed, and there is plenty of room inside to carry camping gear, or your shopping. If you get the chance to try on, don't turn it down :biggrin::hyper:
 

Scoosh

Velocouchiste
Moderator
Location
Edinburgh
Made by www.velomobile.nl, I have an early example of their work in my garage. They are superb fun in all weathers, and really shift. The aero advantage is huge, even a strong headwind has little effect on your speed, and there is plenty of room inside to carry camping gear, or your shopping. If you get the chance to try on, don't turn it down :biggrin::hyper:
Seeing that you live in West Wales, how hilly is it around those parts ? My concern with a(ny) velomobile is that we have some hills around the Lothians and, for all the :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::wahhey::wahhey::wahhey: and :hyper::hyper::hyper: when coming downhill, I still find going up on my Nazca Fuego to be hard work ! I appreciate that velos have 3 wheels and can crawl but ... well, ... just but ... !

There's a lass in Edinburgh who has one (carbon Quest) and she says that it is not very traffic-friendly but brilliant on the open roads. Gets pretty hot inside, even in mid-winter, when velos really come into their own/ become extremely attractive. :cold: -> :heat:
 

EatSleepRideRepeat

AKA Martin from Wales
Location
West Wales
Seeing that you live in West Wales, how hilly is it around those parts ? My concern with a(ny) velomobile is that we have some hills around the Lothians and, for all the :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::wahhey::wahhey::wahhey: and :hyper::hyper::hyper: when coming downhill, I still find going up on my Nazca Fuego to be hard work ! I appreciate that velos have 3 wheels and can crawl but ... well, ... just but ... !

There's a lass in Edinburgh who has one (carbon Quest) and she says that it is not very traffic-friendly but brilliant on the open roads. Gets pretty hot inside, even in mid-winter, when velos really come into their own/ become extremely attractive. :cold: -> :heat:
Every now and then I think, 'I'll get a DF bike, they're much quicker up hill'. This usually follows a particularly strenuous climb, with a couple of friends waiting for me on DF bikes at the top. Gasp. So I took the plunge, bought a cheap alloy DF racing looking thing, and conducted as fair an experiment as I could. On a regular circuit of 25 miles, I rode the DF, a M5 20/20 and the Quest (not all at the same time,^_^ but whilst the weather was very similar in the last few days. Results....DF quicker uphill, increasing my plodding 7mph to a more respectable 10mph, but downhill and on the flat the speed was reduced very noticeably. The fastest I managed, and I tried hard, was 33mph on the DF, 39mph on the M5, and 43 in the Quest. The circuit is very varied and undulating, you may expect the DF to be fastest, but it was slower by 10 minutes over 2 hours over the other two, which were very close in time. Biggest difference to me was the comfort. I was experiencing some pain on the DF, arms, and backside, whereas the M5 and Quest produced only smiles.
So the result, I'm more than happy to keep the DF in the garage and lend it to friends when they need a bike. Slogging up hills is fine, I will catch up, and pass. The Quest is an amazing machine, and can make even me look fast. I don't find it too hot, and the benefit in winter is great, with the safety of 3 wheels, and a warm dry cocoon to be encased in. Windy conditions just makes the Quest better, all DF riders know how tough it can be to ride into the wind, but in a velo, it's hardly noticeable, and if the wind comes at you from around 30 degrees from head on, you actually get pulled along, seems odd, but it's just like sailing.
There are of course, a few hills I avoid....there are plenty of very sharp,, short climbs that kill the speed, and the legs, but the above shows it's worth it. :thumbsup:
 

Scoosh

Velocouchiste
Moderator
Location
Edinburgh
Thanks @EatSleepRideRepeat - that is a very interesting comparison.- but I'd better not show this to Mrs Scoosh ... :laugh:. Actually, she does encourage me to get bike(s) and has said "Well go on then" when I suggest a trike ... a velomob might be a bit far for now, as 2 student (currently MSc and maybe PhD next year :ohmy:)/recently-graduated-and starting-own-business offspring are expensive enough toys ! :eek:

What sort of gradient can you manage in the velo and what is 'not worth the walk' ? :blush: 10% ? 12% ?? 14% ??? :ohmy:
 
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Thanks @EatSleepRideRepeat - that is a very interesting comparison.- but I'd better not show this to Mrs Scoosh ... :laugh:. Actually, she does encourage me to get bike(s) and has said "Well go on then" when I suggest a trike ... a velomob might be a bit far for now, as 2 student (currently MSc and maybe PhD next year :ohmy:)/recently-graduated-and starting-own-business offspring are expensive enough toys ! :eek:

What sort of gradient can you manage in the velo and what is 'not worth the walk' ? :blush: 10% ? 12% ?? 14% ??? :ohmy:


Toy?

Advertising space and way or raising business' profile surely
 
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