Originally Posted by
Machka
I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe this has been addressed, but ...
What's wrong with a bicycle and rain gear?
That's what I used for many years of bicycle commuting and it worked just fine.
I just use a poncho but I try to wear waterproof shoes on days I expect rain because my feet and legs do get wet. Generally, people are wimpy, though. When I worked in a supermarket, business slowed to a trickle when it was raining, not because people had to bike in the rain but because they had to drive. A huge entitlement culture has grown out of modern conveniences and comforts. The term, 'entitlement' has been used mostly to criticize people who expect governmental subsidies, but the culture extends far beyond that.
Originally Posted by
Ekdog
No one has said that there is anything wrong with a bike and rain gear.
That is my preferred method, too. But have you ever considered that the way you did things back in the day may not be what is best for everyone?
It actually would probably be best to just bite the bullet and wear a poncho or rain gear, for everyone, but because we lack totalitarian power to mandate how people must do things, we have to look for ways to appease their eccentricities, however irrational, if we want to continue gaining bike-commuters in order to reduce traffic congestion and sprawl/road-widths.
Originally Posted by
wphamilton
It is a reasonable question - you really do need to start with "why" in my opinion.
For this e-trike idea, one advantage is that you don't have to use a bicycle and rain gear. In your normal clothes, just get on and go. The electric motor dovetails nicely with that concept because without it, given the weight of it any hills would defeat the purpose. The aerodynamics, if they have achieved their goal, increase the top end speed and also help more on the hills than one would think. So in theory, it would be easier, faster and more comfortable than your bike and rain gear, while at the same time providing at least part of the bicycling experience.
Aerodynamics are a good point, with or without the motor. I think recumbents are already superior in this regard without fairing, but fairing cuts through wind even better, I believe. Any speed records I've seen with color photographs have involved fairing. I think there was one with a b&w picture where a cyclist without fairing raced a train and won but I don't remember the particulars of the time-trial or the year.