[Velomobile] Affordable velomobiles

Thu Jan 5 12:19:12 EST 2012

And the response to "I could buy a car for that" is "... and what is the total cost of ownership for that car?" - how much per year does it *really* cost you?

The Automobile Association here in the UK claim that an average car costs 45p (92.5 US cents) per mile all in. Note that these figures do not include the additional cost of gym membership that may then be necessary to address the sedentary lifestyle of the car driver.
(http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/advice/advice_rcosts_petrol_table.jsp)

That is looking almost break-even on a new 'standard' velomobile each year :)

Rob

On 5 Jan 2012, at 15:43, Terry Rouse wrote:

> I agree with most of what John says. I have gotten a lot of favorable responses 
> from motorists as I cruise about in my homemade velomobile. And a lot of 
> questions from interested persons. The biggest hurdle for many folks and the 
> reason I made my own is cost. When I tell people what a commercial velomobile 
> would cost the typical response is, "I could buy a car for that". The cost has 
> to come down for these to become practical transportation. For several years I 
> rode a Catrike Speed to which I added a body. My main objections to it were the 
> harsh ride and lack of good road hazard vision due to the body and reclined 
> position. There has been a resurgence of single speed bikes around here and I 
> suspect that is mostly due to the simplicity of the design. It is very hilly 
> here and I can't imagine why anyone would want to pedal up some of our hills, 
> but they are doing it. So in short I think the KISS principle applies here. Keep 
> it simple stupid. My current homemade velomobile has a small amount of 
> suspension to dampen the jarring effects of bad roads and I plan to add Schwalbe 
> Big Apples when my current tires wear out to see how that affects the ride and 
> handling. I think the big challenge will be coming up with a design that can be 
> economically produced on a big scale. Sort of a Model T version of the 
> velomobile. Making them one at a time is never going to be cost effective.  I 
> see some major design challenges making them light enough to be practical, while 
> relatively easy to manufacture. To me the Rotovelo is step in the right 
> direction.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: JOHN TETZ <jgtetz at msn.com>
> To: velomobile at hupi.org
> Sent: Wed, January 4, 2012 8:09:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [Velomobile] Intellectual Property
> 
> David Eggleston 
> 
> Thank you for giving your experienced and wide ranging overview on various VM 
> issues. Very valuable information. 
> 
> I agree we have a lot yet to learn but we have accomplished a lot in these last 
> 10 years of VM development. 
> 
> 
>> An all-around velo has a better chance of commercial success than one that is 
>> only good for a few things.
> ......Too much of a range is asking a lot of a design, given the power source is 
> so weak. Seems to me that honing a design for a specific area of need is more 
> apt to be accomplished. Cars range from small to large with few to many features 
> to accomplish various needs. 
> 
> 
> What I have set my sights on is a practical suburban human powered alternate 
> transportation vehicle to be  used by average folks to do their shopping and 
> running errands in the 2 to 5 mile radius. Average speed 14 mph. These design 
> limits give the opportunity to come up with a viable vehicle. 
> 
> 
>> You can fairly easily put an aero body on an existing unsuspended trike, but 
>> you are likely to end up with many difficulties, including body attachments to 
>> the trike, noise of thin shells vibrating, and many others. 
>> 
> ........How true this is. But I look at the fact that the bare trike business is 
> booming. Although adding a shell of some kind may not be ideal it does change a 
> trike into a vehicle, a vehicle that is first of all not seasonably limited, has 
> weather protection, some crash protection, more visible to cars  etc. This will 
> change the consciousness of the trike rider into using the vehicle more as local 
> alternate transportation rather than just recreation. 
> 
> 
> Second, by being seen by the public these vehicles will affect their awareness. 
> I see and hear a change in the publics response to my VM over a 7 year period. 
> They more often comment now - it doesn't use gas, its good for the environment, 
> and its good for the health of the rider, etc.  
> 
> I am hearing more and more happy - I like what you are doing horn honks  -  from 
> drivers. 
> 
> The publics environmental awareness is changing. We need a viable practical 
> vehicle. 
> 
> It doesn't need all the wish list of advanced features. 
> 
> I designed my present VM 8 years ago coming from a long background with 
> streamliners and the thrill of speed.
> What's important to me now is weather protection (head in), light weight, quiet, 
> ease of access to decent cargo space, some amount of suspension, small physical 
> size for parking reasons. Aerodynamics is there but further down the list. 
> 
> This is accomplishable given what we know.  
> In another 10 years more viable vehicles will be developed.  
> 
>> I guess we will have to rely on our own ideas and resources for low-budget 
>> design and development paths. 
>> 
> .....Yes, but some method of sharing ideas is very important. Look at the 
> advancements made after the birth of the IHPVA in 1975   - which eventually lead 
> to present day Velomobiles. 
> 
> 
> In some ways its less a technology issue than a change in consciousness as to 
> why and how we use these vehicles. Requiring the wish list of advanced features 
> hints of 19th and 20th century thinking where the Earths energy and resources 
> were thought to be limitless. Efficiency - doing more with less - is the 21st 
> century password. HPVs are up with the efficiency of railroad trains and super 
> tankers.  
> 
> 
> Notice for one how I have skirted the issue of funding. 
> 
> John Tetz 
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