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
and
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.
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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.
. 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 
)/recently-graduated-and starting-own-business offspring are expensive enough toys ! 
10% ? 12% ?? 14% ??? 
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