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Old 02-22-2012, 08:42 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Ah, got it... so basically 3 'vertical' attachment points ... one on the front derailleur post and two on the rear rack, and one 'horizontal' attachment point ... under the seat. Very cool; thank you for the ideas!

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Old 02-22-2012, 08:56 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Nice looking shape; it'll be interesting to see if/how much it improves the performance.
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Old 02-22-2012, 09:16 PM   #13 (permalink)
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@NachtRitter..answer to your other question. I have the height on the front so that I can just see over the top. Doesn't take too long to get used to judging where things are in front of me. If I am not sure I just slow down.

Thanks Frank. I can already tell some improvement after just a full week of regular riding. My legs are coming back more quickly than I expected. As I stated earlier, I am already riding at the same speeds as I was last summer and I am definitely not in racing shape right now. Plus I don't have a canopy on yet. I understand they help a good amount.
There are a couple of design flaws in my opinion. The front is a little more pointy than I wanted it(inexperience and in a hurry). Due to needing to take the fairing past the wheels(so that I could both make tight turns and split the frame easily when needed) I think there is way too much frontal area. The other thing I'm not thrilled with is how low I had to bring the fairing to the ground to clear my feet. The lowest point is right at 1 1/2" and I believe it's crunching the air flow a bit underneath.

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Old 02-23-2012, 01:46 PM   #14 (permalink)
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Nice.

The colour scheme reminded me of this :





I like the simple tube-in-tube design.
But won't the overall weight kill you on uphill stretches ?
If you ever reskin it, ZoteFoam may be an option - definitely lighter.

Couple suggestions :
- streamlined fairing aft of your head ;
unless you have a dimpled head or dimpled ball shaped helmet

- does it really need the extra rear attachment tubes ?
maybe the top tubes could serve double duty as attachment (making the structure more like the first pic),
and you can shave off a few pounds by deleting the tubes that run up to the seat
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Old 02-23-2012, 01:54 PM   #15 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjackstone View Post
The front is a little more pointy than I wanted it.
That's not really going to be an issue.

Quote:
Due to needing to take the fairing past the wheels(so that I could both make tight turns and split the frame easily when needed) I think there is way too much frontal area.
But less drag due to the wheels and a simpler body design ... everything is a trade-off.


Quote:
The other thing I'm not thrilled with is how low I had to bring the fairing to the ground to clear my feet.
It's a design issue on all velomobiles.
Using holes for the heels is an option (see velomobiel.nl) to lift up the lower body, but it too introduces more drag - .
The holes are doubling as ventilation in summer, but letting the cold in during winter - some folks have covered them with bulged fairings, but these scrape the ground.
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Old 02-23-2012, 08:19 PM   #16 (permalink)
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Quote:
I like the simple tube-in-tube design.
But won't the overall weight kill you on uphill stretches ?
If you ever reskin it, ZoteFoam may be an option - definitely lighter.
Weight is no heavier than most commercial velos. I considered ZoteFoam but just didn't have the patience to work with it at this time. Maybe in the future.

Quote:
Couple suggestions :
- streamlined fairing aft of your head ;
unless you have a dimpled head or dimpled ball shaped helmet
That's funny. Working on a canopy now for over my head and back to the tail of the frame.

Quote:
It's a design issue on all velomobiles.
Using holes for the heels is an option (see velomobiel.nl) to lift up the lower body, but it too introduces more drag - .
The holes are doubling as ventilation in summer, but letting the cold in during winter - some folks have covered them with bulged fairings, but these scrape the ground.
Thought about all the possibilities. Decided I wanted no more holes than necessary but thanks for the thought.
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Old 02-26-2012, 11:49 PM   #17 (permalink)
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Great shape and build! A deeply curved front air dam would divert air from under the nose if there is a problem. The basic shape looks very good and it's tough to minimize frontal area on a tadpole trike. On a enclosed canopy heat and ventilation are major issues. The glider canopies use solar blocking tint on top and slots along the base for airflow. Keep your brakes in good shape; I bet you'll be pushig 30 mph before long.

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