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-   -   Yet another corovelo (https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/yet-another-corovelo-20638.html)

jjackstone 02-21-2012 12:08 AM

Yet another corovelo
 
After putzing around with the idea for a couple years I finally got busy and put a coroplast shell on my Catrike Expedtion. Borrowed many other folks' ideas except for the method of separating the front and rear end. Most influenced by the Trike Trek 11 kids though.
The body is done but I still need to build a canopy and probably some fenders to keep the inside a bit drier during rain.

Will upload pix later.
JJ

mcrews 02-21-2012 12:16 AM

that's a serious trike!!!
I have lived in south Carmichael for 20 yrs. Love hoping on the bike trail at the end of arden way!
I have a crosstrainer.

jjackstone 02-21-2012 12:56 AM

All right, I'll try the picture thing now.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...3581-frame.jpg

Above is the PVC framework placed around the trike.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...rame-split.jpg

This one shows the frame attached to the trike. The gray PVC is 1" schedule 80. The white frame is 1/2" schedule 40. The ID of the 1" is only about a tenth of an inch larger that the OD of the 1/2. Makes a good slip fit.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...-view-crop.jpg
Here is a side shot of the completed body. Below shows the front end removed from the trike. The bottom two pieces of 1" PVC are pinned in with trailer hitches. The top pieces are tight enough and under enough tension that I didn't need to pin them.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...side-split.jpg


And the final photo is a front view of the more or less completed assembly.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...d-front-ii.jpg

I've been riding it for a couple weeks now. Got out of shape over the winter, but am still riding at about the same speeds as I was last summer. Cruise between 18 and 20 mph, thrash at around 28 to 30 mph. I sxpect that as I return to good shape I should be able to cruise at around 22 to 24 mph by say May of this year.

Thanks for reading.
JJ

mcrews 02-21-2012 01:50 AM

that's an amaxing use of coroplast and pvc!!!
Very nice job?

that'a a decent clip.
I can do 24-25 on a slope down, probably do 16mph on a flat.

jjackstone 02-21-2012 09:34 PM

Thanks mcrews,
Like I said. Got the idea from the many people that have posted before. My only real contribution is in the manner the front and rear separate from the mounts. While I've removed the front several times, as of now I still haven't needed to take the back end off. I fully expect a flat tomorrow now that I've said that.
I'm actually in West Sac. I get over to the bike trail fairly regularly. Might catch you there sometime.
JJ

NachtRitter 02-22-2012 01:59 AM

Pretty impressive...! do you have an estimate on the weight the frame & skin adds?

jjackstone 02-22-2012 12:40 PM

The additional weight is probably 25 to 30 pounds. There are about 9 sticks of 1/2 inch pvc at 1.6 pounds/stick. 7 to 8 feet of 1 inch and a foot of 1 1/2 inch. I screwed a lot of the fittings in instead of glueing them so I could take the frame apart in reusuable pieces if I ever wanted. Total empty weight is probably 70+ pounds. After thinking about it, I probably could have used 2mm coroplast instead of 4mm to save a bit of weight but I figured the 4mm would last longer.
JJ

NachtRitter 02-22-2012 05:17 PM

Thanks JJ...

I do like the design... I was looking to do something similar to my Terratrike Zoomer but I was originally thinking of keeping the front wheels outside the skin... and that didn't look possible because the turned wheels nearly touch the trike frame, not leaving much room for a skin... I hadn't thought of putting the skin completely outside the front wheels. Much better for being seen by others as well!

I'd be interested in seeing how you attach the frame to the trike ... I can sort of make out the front attach point, but can't quite make out the rear attach point(s)... if you have time for additional pics, I certainly would appreciate you posting some more!

Last question for now... how is the sight line over the 'hood'... do you find yourself mis-judging the distance to curbs, other obstacles?

Thank you!
NR

NachtRitter 02-22-2012 05:21 PM

Looks like you have another velo skin hiding in the garage... ?

jjackstone 02-22-2012 08:30 PM

This should help with the rear attachment.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-jj...attachment.jpg

I attached 1 inch pipe to the back of the seat braces and to the side of the rack. You can see the 1/2" pipe going into the 1" pipe on the right hand side. That 1/2" pipe goes the entire inside length of the 1" pipe and butts up against the T attached to the rear fo the seat(I think it helps with stability). The two lower pieces of the 1/2" pvc slide into the lower frame mounts near the middle of the trike. They can be seen in the split side view photo.

The other shell you see is hopefully going to be a streamliner for Battle Mountain later this year.
JJ

NachtRitter 02-22-2012 08:42 PM

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!

NR

Frank Lee 02-22-2012 08:56 PM

Nice looking shape; it'll be interesting to see if/how much it improves the performance.

jjackstone 02-22-2012 09:16 PM

@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.

JJ

euromodder 02-23-2012 01:46 PM

Nice.

The colour scheme reminded me of this :

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/im...JqnE5xoLOshGZw
:)


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

euromodder 02-23-2012 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjackstone (Post 288580)
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.

jjackstone 02-23-2012 08:19 PM

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.
JJ

Grant-53 02-26-2012 11:49 PM

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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