If only humans could be so efficient at transporting themselves as a butterfly
After wrestling with many ideas of what could, should and can be done given the resources at hand, I made a list of the requirements Velomobile 2 should satisfy to make it attractive to people who already use a bike as their primary mode of transportation, are proud of that fact and are looking for a more practical and useful human powered machine. It is quite dry (just the facts, ma’m) in the way a grocery list fails to portend the delectable dish that is to result so turn off the right side of your brain for a moment and see if this agrees with you intellectually. What do you think? Feel free to comment!
Velomobile 2 Requirements
- 1+1 Seating – ability to carry small child along
- Stability – Around corners, over bumps, under braking (no rear wheel lift under maximum braking) as well as aerodynamic, at rest, and at high speed
- Light weight – <45lbs
- Collapsible for ease of storage and transport, no longer than 8’
- Quickly convertible from head-in to head-out, ventilation suitable for all seasons
- Easily fits through 29? doorways
- High visibility – both rider to outside world and velo to others (pedestrians, car traffic), in day/night and all weather conditions
- Customizable body to suit different personal preferences and body styles
- Can be stored in floor area no larger than cross-sectional area of velo
- Forward, side impact and rollover protection for both rider and pedestrian
- Easily and quickly lockable and securable
- Quiet as typical bike
- Low maintenance and highly abuse tolerant from rough roads, speedbumps, curbs
- Serviceable by local bike shops
- Quickly adjustable to suit different size riders
- Easy ingress/egress
- Consumer price of $4500
For VM, opposed to a bike, to be dynamically stable, “stoppy” (lifting rear wheel in hard braking) is acceptable.
Dry weight less than 45lb and price ~$4.5k are unrealistic requirements for practical VM given conventional (not NASA) technology and materials. Double it.
Serviceable?! No, it must and can be service free of minimal maintenance
Quickly collapsible, convertible and door-thru-rideable is B.S. whims not the requirements because use-case rarity
P.S. I have complete all-round-calculated design, not just the requirements
Interesting, what weight, price points and other requirements is your velo designed to meet? Congrats on getting through the design stage, do you plan to build it this winter?