Fairings do more than reduce wind resistance (which increases speed).
Fairings also provide weather protection.
I saw motorcycle fairings before, and I had to ask "why don't these things have a storage compartment inside? Like a glove compartment?"
So my creations bring forth two innovations;
1) Putting a motorcycle windshield on a pedal-bike. (Everyone said it was impossible, I said 'why not?' The pictures proove it can be done).
2) Providing internal storage space inside the fairings, thus creating a prototype for a modern plastic handlebar basket. The fiberglass keeps things in the basket dry if the bike is left out and it rains. No one can see through the fiberglass, I can conceal things.
And there is a profit motive, the type 9 sold for twelve hundred with an investment of two hundred seventy in materials, thus a nine hundred thirty dollar profit was made.
I hope other bike builders can glean an idea or two from my work. Yes, I built the fairings partly because they look neat, but that's what sells the bike. They look neat to other people, who offer cash.
I started this project as an Engineering student. I prooved that it would make money to produce a Human Powered Vehicle/cargo bike.
I don't have enough manufacturing space , or enough distribution (trucks), or enough money to advertize.
I'm waiting for other bike builders to copy some of my/her ideas. I haven't shown you anything newer than 1991, so it would be at the end of it's 17 year patent, this year.
Schwinn named it's motorcycle styled bike the "Spoiler", and now I'm kicking myself. Mellisa wanted to name the bike "Mini-Kenworth". but I told her we'd get sued by the Truck Maker for using their name. I don't know if I can sue Schwinn. I don't want to sue Schwinn, but we called our product "Spoiler" first.
I realize there is more to custom bike building than making money. There is an art to bike building. Good artists rarely see the money their art is worth in their lifetime.
I'd like to note that the Type 9 and the Type 7 were designed by volunteers from Florida. They tried the Type 5 in Florida and they said they got too hot. So they designed smaller fairings. I live on Long Island, it gets cold here in the winter. Fairings are more for protection from the cold than for making the bike go faster.
The negative side of what I've done is that I've crammed ten pounds of sugar into a five pound bag.
A bicycle manufacturer only needs to improve one thing to sell a new bike, for example shock-absorbers. If a customer isn't happy with the ride of the $119.00 basic model, there is a $179.00 bike with shock absorbers. Borrowing motorcycle technology is slowly changing bicycles for the better.
But you can't add rear shocks to a bicycle that doesn't have them. Neither can you turn your existing bike into a velomobile by adding aftermarket parts.
And although I'm happy that I made some money selling my work, I am getting started on another project to build a bike for myself, which I have no intent to market. I value weather protection, and cargo carrying ability and looking neat, in that order.