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Originally Posted by arcosine
Hi,
Do you know Jerry .., use to live in Mo now Dallas?
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I've spoken to him online on bentrider and recumbents.com and have seen his youtube videos and followed his builds. I don't know him personally. He seems very strong and would be fun to ride with.
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35 mph is pretty fast for flat ground and no wind. Yes a suspension is good. I rode on a bumpy bike trail, with cracks across, and it was like being inside and someone kicking the sides of a cardboard box. I put zote foam between the frame and coroplast.
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It's absolutely necessary for maintaining control at car-like speeds when going over poor condition roads, plus is nice to have for comfort. I would be very reluctant to go fast without it.
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I take it you built the bike from scratch, do you have a write up?
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I used a KMX frame kit for this build. I have a notebook detailing all of my design decisions but I never posted it online. I have made topics of this build on bentrideronline and recumbents.com.
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Yes 40mph would be great. I had one bike 10 years ago that hit 40 mph one the flat ,well the one in the video, but it had a full enclosed top on it. The top made a big difference.
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I have an aluminum version similar to my current coroplast shell in progress as a training exercise on learning how to work with aluminum(a friend and I want to build ultra-efficient lightweight streamlined high performance cars in his shop out of it, one idea which includes a 50+ mpg mid-engined 502ci V8 lightweight sports car, another which includes an all-wheel-drive electric race car with at least 1 horsepower per lb of laden weight). A friend who can weld aluminum wanted to get started on it right away and I didn't have the chance to take my time with the design so I'm probably not going to be happy with it as it will have worse aerodynamics and practical considerations as well as more weight than I would like, but I will probably use it for a bit when it is ready. Its aerodynamics should be slightly improved over the current plastic shell, but the extra weight may end up more than making up for it and slowing it down, and it will probably be less practical than even my first plastic shell in the pics/video above. He prizes aesthetics above performance, cost, ease of ingress/egress, and practical concerns when it comes to this velomobile for some reason, and that's not a good thing when it comes to velomobile design as it hampers everything that makes a velomobile better than a normal bicycle.
Form should follow function, not the other way around... The looks can come into their own, and a lot of people just don't get it. I would rather have a fast and usable machine than a beautiful but unpleasant to ride garage ornament. We'll see how this first aluminum shell turns out before I complain any further.
My next coroplast design is also under construction and is intended to have a top with NACA ducts pointed at my neck/head, hands, and armpits. It will be fully enclosed and should be much faster than my current plastic body, hopefully getting me to 40+ mph on the flat. It is THIS design I really wanted to do in aluminum, but given the time/expense involved, that may not happen. If only my friend would have been willing to wait an extra two or three weeks for me to get this one ready... as we started the first aluminum one June of last year and are still working on it...
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Do you do any touring in you coro faired trike?
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Not yet. I plan to when it is ready. The most I've ridden thus far is 150 miles in a 24 hour period.