Recumbent - Fully faired weather resistant bents?

I'm considering a velomobile, either ready made or buying a tadpole and building my own shell. I'm wondering if I'm missing the boat ruling out 2 wheelers? I know they are out there fully faired. Clearly I'd have to put a foot down when stopped. Does having the front wheel on center cause road gunk to be thrown into the opening on the bottom? Any suggestions, pros, cons, or things I should be thinking about?

Thanks,

Dan

The fairly obvious answer to my own question just came to me - snow & ice + 2 wheeled bent = bad. Sorry for the wasted thread.

Dan, you don't say where you're from, but don't go jumping to conclusions. Bents aren't any worse in the snow and ice than DF bikes are. You can put studded tires on them and they'll track just fine. If you're worried about putting your foot down (a valid concern, but not specific to 'bents), you can put ice spikes on your shoes.

I can't speak to a fully-enclosed velomobile, but I've ridden ride my Giro 20 with a fairing down into the lower 20s, and on ice.

Thanks for the reply. I'm from NH, by the way. I don't mind riding a DF in the ice because I can get a foot down fast if I need to, without worrying about where the hole to put my foot down is. It is encouraging to know some people are riding faired bents in the ice though. I'm leaning toward a full-blown tadpole velomobile at the moment. It's a tough call, having never ridden a bent or a trike.

Have you looked on bentrider? www.bentrideronline.com has several interesting websites that might introduce you to the concept of complete fairing. Bluevelo, & the Greenspeed Glyde are my personal favorites. They are expensive though.

Terra Trike & CaTrike are great trikes to use as a potential base. I have ridden on a Bachetta Cafe in cold weather but not on ice.

I hope this helps.

I've nearly completed my Bricycle prototype. I've ridden it in 3" on snow and temps in the 20's, my hands got cold after about twenty minutes.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezbp2rZ39jA

The fairly obvious answer to my own question just came to me - snow & ice + 2 wheeled bent = bad. Sorry for the wasted thread.
That's not the reason. If your frame and fork can fit studded tires, snow and ice isn't much of a problem.

The usual reason given for lack of two-wheel velomobiles has to do with their sensitivity to sidewinds. Particularly the sidewinds encountered when riding alongside passing car traffic.

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Also We Note: most of the better velomobiles do not fully-enclose the riders head--or if they do, it is removable. The reason is that during colder weather, the rider's sweat tens to fog up the inside surfaces of windows.
~

A low streamliner will tend to have the wheels affected by wind more than the body. This actually acts as stabilization. 2 wheeled streamliners are much harder to get into and get started. They tend to have much tighter entrances and tolerances than a 3 wheel velomobile. Cargo capacity is also affected.

Most 2 wheel streamliners are not for practical use but instead for racing. The Varna is one well known example.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/540368715_b0c109be4e.jpg

John Tetz has made a number of practical streamliners. Check out his pages on the design and construction of one here (http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/VFS/projtetzVFS00intro.html).

Some quotes from his pages regarding fit:


This inside view of the cockpit shows my shoulders and arms up against the shell. The first few times inside it feels extremely tight and confining, but as the days pass it is beginning to feel more and more roomy, typical of streamliners. My body is learning where to be and what to do. Getting up off a seat that’s 7” from the ground takes effort. On occasions I have had to help people off the seat on the bare bike even though the feet can be spread apart and moved below the CG of the rider. Can’t move your feet like that in the shell, so it’s like doing a squat thrust to get up. Sure develops those muscles.


You can see how it is more difficult to get in and ride vs a trike platform velomobile.

Have you looked on bentrider? www.bentrideronline.com has several interesting websites that might introduce you to the concept of complete fairing. Bluevelo, & the Greenspeed Glyde are my personal favorites. They are expensive though.

Terra Trike & CaTrike are great trikes to use as a potential base. I have ridden on a Bachetta Cafe in cold weather but not on ice.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I've heard the catrike a few times now, it's pretty high up on my list of potential candidates.

I've nearly completed my Bricycle prototype. I've ridden it in 3" on snow and temps in the 20's, my hands got cold after about twenty minutes.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezbp2rZ39jA

Looks pretty cool. Any idea what the final product will cost, or when they'll be available?

That's not the reason. If your frame and fork can fit studded tires, snow and ice isn't much of a problem.

The usual reason given for lack of two-wheel velomobiles has to do with their sensitivity to sidewinds. Particularly the sidewinds encountered when riding alongside passing car traffic.

-----

Also We Note: most of the better velomobiles do not fully-enclose the riders head--or if they do, it is removable. The reason is that during colder weather, the rider's sweat tens to fog up the inside surfaces of windows.
~

Excellent point. I'll be doing a lot of riding alongside traffic, some of it fairly fast moving with occasional trucks. That could be an issue. It's also pretty windy in my area (coastal MA/NH).

I'm definitely thinking removable head covering. Most of what I see has that going for it, if it has a head covering at all. I actually think that will be the hardest part of building a shell myself if I go that route.

A low streamliner will tend to have the wheels affected by wind more than the body. This actually acts as stabilization. 2 wheeled streamliners are much harder to get into and get started. They tend to have much tighter entrances and tolerances than a 3 wheel velomobile. Cargo capacity is also affected.

Most 2 wheel streamliners are not for practical use but instead for racing. The Varna is one well known example.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/540368715_b0c109be4e.jpg

John Tetz has made a number of practical streamliners. Check out his pages on the design and construction of one here (http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/VFS/projtetzVFS00intro.html).

Some quotes from his pages regarding fit:


You can see how it is more difficult to get in and ride vs a trike platform velomobile.

Thanks for the link & tips. As cool as a streamliner is, I see it being a PITA for everyday transportation, shopping, etc. Throw in the crosswinds, stopping, starting, etc. and I think I'm sticking w/ a trike platform.

I'm sticking w/ a trike platform.

I used an inexpensive prototype - had to update almost everything. 2007 had a new hub motor installed changing over to very high gears, now in 2009 36V battery is dead. Craigslist, here I come! :mad: