Different parts of the country have different traditions. I'm from long Island , New York, but I joined the US Navy in 1991, and I was stationed in Florida. Mellisa was my 6th cousin, and she asked me to adopt her. ... for her foster mom's boyfriend, who was too drunk to drive...

You deserve big props for adopting Mellisa and steering her towards a better course.

omg

This is the Type 5 in camouflage:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type5MilitaryPoliceBike.jpg

This is a copy of the 80 dot per inch flyer advertising the Type 5 and Type 6:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/ColorCover.jpg

Here is the Type 6 (which I designed, and shares the front end of the Type 5):
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type6Velomobile1990.jpg




Now that I've seen pictures of these, I'm leaning back towards this being an elaborate joke. Seriously, you can't expect people to find those pieces of dog crap to be attractive, useful, or worth ANYTHING at all. I think if you left one of those monstrosities on my front lawn, I'd pay to have it removed. They are all eyesores and worth NADA. Please stop insulting our intelligence by trying to convince us that your bikes are anything more than cheap garbage with pounds of fiberglass smeared all over them. Jeez, give it a rest.

Stuart, you're missing the point. His design does not fulfill any unmet need.


im not missing the point... i felt like giving him some helpful advice, that if followed, would turn his "bike" into a recumbent... so then it would actually be sellable in stead of laughable


i didn't want to be a jackass... yesterday




ok so you will build your 55lb "bike" in carbon?

so now that you know carbon fiber is stronger, did you also know it doesn't like sudden crunches? for example, if say you hit a car with it you might end up in areally crappy old bike, with 55lb of bits of carbon fiber on the ground around it.

secondly WHY DO YOU THINK HELMETS ARE MADE TO CRUMPLE WHEN HIT??? ever heard of a crumple zone? wanna know what its for? Its there so when a car hits something, all of the force of the sudden stop isn't absorbed by the people on the inside. so by making your "bike" a battering ram you will only end up in hurting your occupant of the "bike" (is the person riding it a driver? rider? dumbass?). I dont have any experience in engineering (well i did build a kick ass rattrap car in physics 12, like 65% of the energy was transfered into forward momentum), so i could be 100% wrong, using common sense, i believe that I'm right (well at least on the crumple zone bs)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumple_zone


What type of carbon fiber will you use?

Stellar bike there Jim,hope you sell a million.

With that said,are your a professional geneologist due to locating your "6th cousin",most people here would struggle to know a second cousin?
Or do we have another famous BF word association issue going on here?

this just keeps getting better!

this just keeps getting better!

I know, I almost peed when he fired that last salvo.

This is some excellent trolling. 10/10.

With that said,are your a professional geneologist due to locating your "6th cousin",most people here would struggle to know a second cousin?


Being a semi-professional genealogist, I have to admit I was rather wondering about that myself...:) .

East Hill

I think it's official. We are dealing with Ryanf in super-handy-man mode
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type6Velomobile1990.jpg

sig'd

Hotbike, you, on a daily basis must encounter fierce amounts of failure that no ordinary human being could withstand. You have sucked in ways that I don't know how to. I commend you, king of the botards.

You guys are feeding a troll, if you don't stop this never will.

I have seen hotebike's stuff last year and I said the same things, when he replied, I just let it be.

Let it be.

I think it's official. We are dealing with Ryanf in slightly handy-man mode


Fixed.

"crumple zone"- yes, that term appears in the flyer , that I scanned and linked to. Look about halfway down the page.
On the Type 9, there is polystyrene foam on the rear edges of the fairing.
On the Type 5 & 6, there is styrene foam between the front and the first bulkhead.

Mellisa had spent a Summer traveling with her Uncle, who drove a big rig (Kenworth) across 38 of the 48 contiguous States. So she knew what frame rails could do. Her idea for the Type 9 was for the rider to be safe from a semi backing into the bike at low speed. You know if a truck is about to back into you; You Should bang loud on the back door to let the driver know? Make him think he hit something, he'll appreciate it.

Mellisa did not want her bike to be a fully enclosed velomobile.

So my earlier velomobile is a joke? What am I poking fun at? Automobiles in general. It's great to have a roof over your head when it's raining, but people are *addicted* to automobiles. If it's a perfectly fine day, you should be out on a bike, not cooped-up in a car.

Okay, for the record, I avoided "duplication of effort". I let others build recumbent bikes while I tried an upright velomobile. I tried to build a unique machine. I could add a motor kit at any time.

But I would like to build a new velomobile for foul-weather riding. I am also considering building a fiberglass shell for a Quad, like 450cc gas engine, so the Quad will become a microcar. (will be complete with lights).

Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb here and speak for an entire group of people. Alt bike culture generally is about humor. A tall bike is humorous, a bike with a flamethrower is humorous, a 17 foot lowrider is humorous, and they're all a lot of fun. There's also some focus on engineering and welding/fabrication skills, but the bikes aren't meant to be marketable, fill a demand, make anyone money, etc. Many of them aren't even meant to be ridden for appreciable differences.

Had you posted your fiberglass bike here without the description, people would have laughed and sincerely told you that you did a good job and that the bike was awesome. But instead you posted it as if it were a product that you planned to market and wanted feedback on. That right there is why you got such a negative response. Tall-bike builders don't try to claim that their bike is safer in traffic because you're higher up and more visible, faster down hills because it's heavier, etc. and then try to sell it to the general public. If they do sell it, they're selling it to weird people who want to own a weird bike to show to their weird friends (weird is meant to be enduring here.. I've got access to a tall bike and a bike with a shopping cart sidecar that I ride with friends, and I consider this to be delightfully weird - see the photo below of a slightly younger me in the shopping cart and the tall bike on the left).

I am extremely impressed with how you've handled the negative and sometimes inappropriately biting comments, but the fact that you keep claiming that your fiberglass is some kind of marketable product that's new and innovative makes us (and again I'm speaking for a lot of people) think that you yourself are a little bit weird. But in a bad way.

http://staticline.drastic-creations.com/stand/junior.jpg

maybe if your going to disguise your bikes as a pile of poo, then wrap 'em in platic wrap you could market them as fetish bikes!

two bikes, on cup.

am i the only worried that this guy was trained in the US armed forces?

i agree w/ the person that said if he would have posted them as alt bikes everyone woulda said great work, but presenting them as some kind of usefull and innovative thing make 'em a joke. who builds a bike that is prepared for getting backed into by an 18 wheeler? how bout a rider that doesnt park and sit behind semi's at the truck stop?

fast eddie outty

Here is the Type 6 (which I designed, and shares the front end of the Type 5):
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type6Velomobile1990.jpg



As a woman with a disability who sometimes has to get around by bicycle in the heavy rainstorms we get around here I almost liked this bike. Wait now, before rolling around laughing please note I said almost. The elements of the design aren't new, there are a lot more than a handful of patents covering weather protected bicycles of one sort or another; - and some of those patents were registered a long time ago too.
What I don't like about the blue 'protected' bike is that the same thing could've been done a whole lot more neatly in Coroplast over a pvc pipe frame. Reinforcing and protection could be built in using sheet insulation foam and the whole thing would've been a whole lot better looking. A talk to anybody involved in making awnings for boats and the like would've got a much better windscreen too and it still would've been a flexible sheet plastic.

I have heard of people entirely making bodyshells from 'Zote' foam, but I haven't had any personal experience of this material.

http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/sadler/shell/projsadshell.html

http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/OFS/projtetzOFS.html

I have heard of people entirely making bodyshells from 'Zote' foam, but I haven't had any personal experience of this material.

http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/sadler/shell/projsadshell.html

http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/OFS/projtetzOFS.html

That was very interesting. What occured to me was the possibility of using papier mache instead of fiberglass for the nose cone. In a crash, it might not survive as well, but it wouldn't be a danger to the cyclist. Done with kraft paper and wallpaper paste it can be surprisingly strong.

That was very interesting. What occured to me was the possibility of using papier mache instead of fiberglass for the nose cone. In a crash, it might not survive as well, but it wouldn't be a danger to the cyclist. Done with kraft paper and wallpaper paste it can be surprisingly strong.

In the desert.

In the desert.

If you coat paper mache with resin it becomes quite waterproof. I had wondered about building something from all the piles of advertising pamphlets that get stuck in our letterbox. Free building material and that has to be an advantage :)

If you coat paper mache with resin it becomes quite waterproof. I had wondered about building something from all the piles of advertising pamphlets that get stuck in our letterbox. Free building material and that has to be an advantage :)

I like it. If you could find a way to keep the glue translucent, you'd have an cool looking fairing. Suddenly I'm thinking of hanging on to all the glossy color dance party pamphlets that get stuck on my windshield every day at the office. It would certainly make the spoke card crowd sit up and take notice...

I like it. If you could find a way to keep the glue translucent, you'd have an cool looking fairing. Suddenly I'm thinking of hanging on to all the glossy color dance party pamphlets that get stuck on my windshield every day at the office. It would certainly make the spoke card crowd sit up and take notice...

What a way to recycle, too :D .

I vote we have Sianelle put this in play, and we can applaud her efforts :D .

East Hill

Um..... thank you EH :o

Could be a good project for Winter when it's raining outside and too wet for me to work in the garden. :)

Um..... thank you EH :o

Could be a good project for Winter when it's raining outside and too wet for me to work in the garden. :)

Would you like me to send you some Bulk Business Mail aka 'junk mail' to make it easier for you to gather supplies :p ?

East Hill

This thread... :roflmao:

This thread... :roflmao:


Almost belongs in Foo, doesn't it:D ?

East Hill

If you coat paper mache with resin it becomes quite waterproof. I had wondered about building something from all the piles of advertising pamphlets that get stuck in our letterbox. Free building material and that has to be an advantage :)

I'll tell you what's better than paper mache; hemp. I wish I had about twenty pounds of hemp. I heard some auto makers are using hemp in the interiors of their cars, as a way of "going green".

Almost belongs in Foo, doesn't it:D ?

East Hill

That's the irony. It's so.... on topic!

I'll tell you what's better than paper mache; hemp. I wish I had about twenty pounds of hemp. I heard some auto makers are using hemp in the interiors of their cars, as a way of "going green".

But hemp is hard to get, and junk mail is SO easy.

East Hill

That's the irony. It's so.... on topic!

Hey, don't make us go OT!

East Hill

I'll give a few links here, maybe not everyone has seen these:

http://www.velomobile.de

http://www.velomobiel.nl

These are recumbent trike velomobiles.

http://www.velotaxi.com

This is a German Engineered pedicab, with aerodynamic styling.

http://www.peraves.ch

This is a link to that Swiss enclosed motorcycle. It has aircraft landing gear that come down hydraulically.
Power source aside, I think this is a lot like my Type 6 velomobile, i.e., it's not recumbent.


http://www.speed101.com

These bikes are record setting speed bikes. They are called "streamlined recumbent bicycles" , although if you called them velomobiles , you wouldn't be far off. Main difference is a velomobile has a hinged door, and the rider can get in and out unassisted. The streamlined speed bikes need someone to tape the canopy shut. You'd best carry a knife to cut your way out, in case you go a mile past your pit crew.

Note:
I originally posted this in " Manufacturer, Retailer, and Consumer Feedback ", but it was moved to alt bike culture, without any notice that it had been moved.

I was trying to suggest that fiberglass and carbon fiber go good together.By that I mean a working design can be made in fiberglass, and it can be built in Carbon later. Or reinforced with carbon where needed.

And , as an Engineering student, it's my job to make a potential business profitable.

I do realize that alt bikes are about an artistic design, and are not generally calculated to make a profit (exception: Schwinn Stingray & Schwinn Spoiler).

I have also posted my bikes in the Utility bike forum.

I wish we had a velomobile forum.

Also , The only profitable bike was the Type 9, designed by Mellisa. I know it may be hard to understand how I could build bikes, and outsource the design. But women are responsible for most of the purchasing decisions in the United States.

I wish I had about twenty pounds of hemp.

I'm sure some members suspect you already do. ;)

...I'll tell you what's better than paper mache; hemp...

...I wish I had about twenty pounds of hemp...

...I heard some auto makers are using hemp in the interiors of their cars...

I am so agreeing with you. I wish to conduct experiments with hemp and some form of naturally occuring resin. The prototype and myself should hit the street at roughly the same time...

The insanity is spreading. My sig is quoted from a thread in ssfg.

The insanity is spreading. My sig is quoted from a thread in ssfg.

Got a mention in Foo, too :D .

That would take time away from discussing 55lb fiberglass battering rams.

East Hill

Nice

That would take time away from discussing 55lb fiberglass battering rams.

I had pondered modifying the spring loaded claw of my Pletcher-style rack into a ballista. :rolleyes:

Hotbike, you should check out my disc wheel I'm selling! (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=6098494#post6098494)

It's fiberglass, and I think you've got a similar aesthetic going.

Hotbike, you should check out my disc wheel I'm selling! (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=6098494#post6098494)

It's fiberglass, and I think you've got a similar aesthetic going.

I like the pink with the silver stars :) .

I can't use it, but I do like it :) .

East Hill

I am so agreeing with you. I wish to conduct experiments with hemp and some form of naturally occuring resin. The prototype and myself should hit the street at roughly the same time...

I found the article, here is a quote:
Natural materials, including hemp, flax and knaf, replace the fiberglass that is traditionally used in headliner production.
Byron Foster, who leads the North American interiors business of Johnson Controls, says, "The Ecobond headliner is made from natural fibers instead of glass, making the final product a lightweight, bio-based product, which can help increase fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions, and is easier to recycle at the end of the vehicle's useful life.

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=3177

I found the article, here is a quote:
Natural materials, including hemp, flax and knaf, replace the fiberglass that is traditionally used in headliner production.
Byron Foster, who leads the North American interiors business of Johnson Controls, says, "The Ecobond headliner is made from natural fibers instead of glass, making the final product a lightweight, bio-based product, which can help increase fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions, and is easier to recycle at the end of the vehicle's useful life.

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=3177
Why am I suddenly picturing a bike that looks like Cheech & Chong's van from Up In Smoke?


http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/Wordbiker/0212lrm_sanfrancisco24_zoom.jpg

Why am I suddenly picturing a bike that looks like Cheech & Chong's van from Up In Smoke?


http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/Wordbiker/0212lrm_sanfrancisco24_zoom.jpg


The fully recylable vehicle. Just burn and enjoy when it starts to fall apart :p .

Thanks for that, Wordbiker!

East Hill

The fully recylable vehicle. Just burn and enjoy when it starts to fall apart :p .

Thanks for that, Wordbiker!

East Hill

YVW EH :D

"Dude...my bike like...totaled a car...like, totally wasted it!"

Hmmm...that'd be the only bike requiring a medical prescription to own...

i love the idea of the full fairing to keep the weather out. especially those crosswinds. nothing like 10 square feet of wind catching fabric to deaden a 5 mph crosswind.

I'm not entirely sure this magnificent thread isn't a hallucination.

I'll check back in a few days when I'm off the pills to be sure.

I'll give a few links here, maybe not everyone has seen these:
http://www.velomobile.de
http://www.velomobiel.nl
These are recumbent trike velomobiles.
http://www.velotaxi.com
This is a German Engineered pedicab, with aerodynamic styling.
http://www.peraves.ch
This is a link to that Swiss enclosed motorcycle. It has aircraft landing gear that come down hydraulically.
Power source aside, I think this is a lot like my Type 6 velomobile, i.e., it's not recumbent.
http://www.speed101.com
These bikes are record setting speed bikes. They are called "streamlined recumbent bicycles" , although if you called them velomobiles , you wouldn't be far off. Main difference is a velomobile has a hinged door, and the rider can get in and out unassisted. The streamlined speed bikes need someone to tape the canopy shut. You'd best carry a knife to cut your way out, in case you go a mile past your pit crew.

NEAT! www.velokit.com is my latest addition. Good velomobiles in north America too. hmmm- still lookin' for that beer though.....

countersTrike

And Bakfiets has no US distributor.

I think bakfiets are imported and sold in Oregon. We have a few in CA, but whether or not we are in the US is questionable........

countersTrike

Some good material in this (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=381512) thread as well :) .


East Hill

Cat wants a chimichanga and a hot cocoa after a century... can you blame them?