Bizman

Blaze, I agree with what you are saying here and all good points! The difference that I see is, although both a bike and Velo will get you there the Velo (costing more) will get me there ALLOT faster and in more comfort as well as keep me out tof the elements, hence the high price to do this. Same with the $10,000 boat. You pay more to go faster and have that luxury, so I believe you get more for that price.

You have to also factor in what makes you happy, for me its the speed and comfort of the Velomobile, not to mention it is so cool to ride! I am spolied by these things and it makes it hard to ride a regular DF bike as its slow and I get wet riding in the rain or colder in the winter. I know you have the No Com and I love that bike! Although it doesn't keep you out of the elements like a Velomobile, it costs more than a regular bike, is faster than most any bike, comfortable, and I am sure so cool to ride, you are lucky to have it!

I guess the point to my post above is that the roads are for everyone, it is a right to use them, driving a vehicle is a privilege, not a right. People need to learn to share the road with everyone and that goes for bike riders too, and any vehicle I mention. Unless its an interstate (where bikes are not allowed anyway) I don't see the need for a bike only infrastructure. I do think that if the price came down on Velomobiles that more people would own them. But even if they did, I still think most people are spoiled driving vehicles and just to lazy to ride a bike.

amnonliu

I have a Quest, and it is a ton of fun. It isn't quite the future of transportation, but it has several strong things going for it. It is very very fast. You breeze past the strongest riders. People get very excited and want to see it and sit in it and take photos of it. It is really good in the rain. It is great in a headwind, but a bit exciting in a crosswind. It is great in cold weather, and a bit warm in hot weather, but never bad. It is great in the flats, but it is a bit of a slug uphill. It isn't as bad as some people make it out to be on uphills. Downhills are speed limited only by your tolerance for terror and the quality of your life insurance policy.
On the downside, it is very low and it can be invisible if you are at the side or directly behind a car. It needs to be positioned with care. This is somewhat mitigated by its speed, which lets you keep up with the flow of traffic in many situations. It is awkward around town. It has a huge turning radius, it can't jump curbs, it can't fit between chicane gates or tight bollards. It is delicate and someone can easily damage it by pressing hard in the wrong place. You can't just hop on and off as fast as you can with a bicycle, but it is easy to pull it and walk it down the sidewalk if required. It also needs to be tailored to the rider, so you can't just try one out. Oh, and if you need to do any work on it, it can be an ordeal. It is much more difficult to do some types of work on it because of the shell.
It is fantastically expensive for a bicycle, but less expensive than many other recreational vehicles you might buy. I love it for my commute. It cuts 75 minutes to 50 minutes. I use different bicycles for different things, but if I am going flat and straight and far, the Quest is unbeatable. Clonking around town, I use a 3 speed. Dicing through the city, I use a Spot 11 spd. For hauling groceries and kids, I use a Yuba Mundo. The future of transportation depends on what you do and what your budget is.
Obviously you need to get one.

lowracer1

Velomobiles will never be the future of transportation in this country. I'm glad they aren't and that there are far and few between rolling around. It makes riding them a novelty and keeps you more visible to traffic. I'd post a current picture of my velo but I haven't figured out how to post or attach photos or links on a tablet

lowracer1

PART_1410218012469_KIMG0022_zpsdc81c297.jpg Photo by lowracervk2 | Photobucket well maybe I figured it out