|
| Homepage • Products • Contacts Us |
Steve's Velomobile Project
Update August 28, 2004
Three views of velomobile fairing(version 2) for the Kettweisel Trike.
Weight of the fairing is 19 pounds (8.6 kg). The fairing is an all glass laminate with some 2 mm core added in a few areas to increase stiffeness of flat areas. A bit of weight could be saved but reducing the amount of core used and some lighter weight glass cloth is those areas that are stiff enough. The top and bottom parts are butted together and bonded on the inside with fiberglass tape. A simplier method for a production version would be to make an inward facing flange on both parts and then fasten them together with bolts. This would be a bit heavier but would save quite a bit to time in assembly. Next will be to make a foam cover for the opening to exclude rain and add provisons for ventialtion. It should be ready to ride in a day or two. The fairing is 243cm long, 75 cm wide and 97.5cm tall (95 5/8", 29.5" 38 3/8").
Rode home today August 30 mostly uphill and it took a bit longer than on the Vision but stopped a couple of times to adjust the mounting for the fairing. Also having lower gears on the trike and being more stable at low speed encouraged a more leisurely pace uphill. First impression is that the trike is faster on the downhill and flats. Will test this by seeing how long the ride to work is in the morning.
The ride the next morning felt faster on the downhills(more than normal use of brakes)and the overall time might have been a bit quicker than normal.
Some things to add or change. Built mirrors into the fairing just within reach so they are easy to adjust from the inside. Recess the fairing behind the mirror to just in front of the shoulder position. Add ventilation duct to the front of the fairing. Turn signals and running/brake lights using leds.