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@@kettlebellcarnivore-vr5cw depends on the model, but given how remote Whitehorse is, shipping could be pretty high.

thanks for watching.

@@donaldtank yes. There are a few reasons Velomobiles use tadpole. The biggest is aerodynamic shape. Having two wheels in the back would mean the shell would need to be quite wide there which is the opposite of what we need for good aerodynamics. The other equally important reason is that having two wheels in front gives more stable high speed cornering. Since Velomobiles can easily cruise over 20mph on the flat, this is quite a critical point. So unfortunately for these reasons you won’t find any delta Velomobiles.

@@Pink-Velo which is exactly what I would love for her to do. Free voluntary advertising is the best kind 🙂

@@BlackWarriorLures haha. Exactly. She was fun to chat with. Very lively lady.

@@glenn_r_frank_author absolutely. I’ve been doing that for awhile now.

@@palleh.jensen4648 yes. I sure enjoy it!

@@sebastiandomagala9233 I ride without the race hood on hot days. Not sure where you’re located, but I haven’t had any issues with overheating any more than on any other bike. The sun protection helps me a lot. I’ve found having at minimum the top of the velomobile white does a lot to prevent overheating inside. I rode in several heavy rains this summer including one my 2 week tour. I didn’t have any issues with water buildup inside. All of my stuff stayed dry. Does your velomobile have drain holes?

@mnveloguy It's a DFXL, couple of years old. Yes, it has drain holes, but not all over the floor. The water would drain, but with my stuff in the way it can't. On the day of the purchase (used) it was barely 17°C and overcast, which isn't even really warm in the first place. The ride home was 30ish miles (46 km), I was soaking wet, despite wearing only a shirt.

@@sebastiandomagala9233 some of us sweat more than others. I’m quite sweaty riding even in the winter, but I get sweaty regardless of whether I’m riding a traditional bike or a velomobile. When I ride the basement trainer even with a fan running you can wring the sweat out of my shirt at the end of a ride. That’s not the fault of the bike. That’s just how my body operates. You might try Ventisit floor mats. That will keep your stuff from rattling on the floor and give space for the water to drain under your stuff. I carry the foam cockpit cover with me and put that on when it rains. That keeps the vast majority of the rain from getting in. I have heard the front access hatch in the hood can be leaky on the DF, but you could try taping it shut if water is coming in through it. Aside from those two spots, I’m not sure where else water would get in on a DF. There are no other holes I can think of. Usually there are drain holes under the seat to drain out your sweat. And no, it’s not a car. It’s a bicycle. You have to think of it like a bicycle. Of course most people will sweat when riding. The DFXL has a 40mm boom instead of the 50mm boom in the Bülk and new Alpha Models, so not quite as much air comes in through the nose air intake. It also has a smaller cockpit opening which maybe reduces the air coming in and it doesn’t have a NACA duct in the race hood like the Milan and Bülk Velomobiles, so it will get warmer with the race hood than models that have the NACA duct. It’s an older design and doesn’t benefit from some of the newer cooling technologies, but it’s a solid model for getting an idea of how it is to ride a velomobile.

@mnveloguy I know it's a bike. I do compare it to my upright bike that I used before for commuting. If the situation is right I will try to ride without the front access hatch, maybe that will work. Atm. it's too rainy to try.

@ I think you are likely similar to me in that you sweat a lot. That’s just part of riding a bicycle. If you’re trying to prevent yourself from sweating, I think that will be a lost cause. As I said, I get very sweaty riding even in the winter. It’s not because I’m overheating. It’s just because that’s how my body works when I exercise. It’s ok to sweat. You can try removing the front cover to get more air in, but there is a little loss of aerodynamics then. You might be better to get a small fan to blow air on you. I once mounted a couple fans to the back of my seat in my Quest XS and wired them into the electrical system. Computer fans run on 12V. That helped keep me feeling cool on hotter days. With the Bülk I’ve never needed to do that. The airflow is designed better in the newer models.

@@gsnyder2007 yes. Sightseeing is part of what always slows me down too. And stopping for a gelato, and a bakery, and hunting to a restroom (can be tough to find one in Europe.) The velomobile is just enough more efficient that it leaves me more time to do these things without severely impacting how far I can get. Or, you can just travel at the same speed as before and use a lot less energy. It also makes a very fun photo subject and can lead to some really inter Tsing conversations during photo stops.

100-120km per day depending on how hilly it is.

@@trickystravels it’s tremendous fun. I actually have a client who recently purchased a Bülk MK1 for that same route. He plans to have a follow vehicle though with a mountain bike for climbs and gravel roads. If the gravel isn’t too chunky, Velomobiles are fine on gravel. Just use durable tires. On super chunky gravel and mtb type trails, it’s not the best option. I don’t know what the gravel roads in Alaska are like, but at least here in Minnesota they are ok to ride. Some of the gravel roads in Europe though, have too much big loose stone to be pleasant to ride.

@@Timberius that’s specifically why I said less likely. Yes, you can tip a velomobile, but most people out touring aren’t blasting around corners, especially on gravel. The point here is that a velomobile is generally quite stable for most riders. I read a lot of cycle touring blogs and have read plenty of stories, especially from older riders, of them hitting an imperfection in the path and going down. A velomobile has a decided advantage in these situations, especially for older riders or people like myself that have balance problems due to health issues. I’ve gone down multiple times cycling with two wheels. I have yet to tip a velomobile. Oh, and I’ve seen the GCN videos of Hank trying to ride a streamliner. He tips over plenty of times! So do riders in the Tour de France.

@@ColinMclelland-j5w my situation is a bit unique as a velomobile dealer and being fairly well-known in the European velomobile community. I actually have done tours/testing the past two summers with new models. I ended up selling the velomobile after the tour to clients of colleagues. That’s obviously not going to work for the majority of people. I did once bring a velomobile back as checked baggage on Lufthansa, but you’re at the mercy of the gate agent who may or may not be convinced that it’s allowed. It cost me $350 one way. I also tour here in the US. There are plenty of interesting places to ride here as well. One doesn’t have to go to a foreign country to have an epic adventure. When I tour here I often ride with friends, which is fun in its own way.

@@mnveloguy Thanks. Yeah I saw that. For us that might work once when you bought them instead of getting them shipped, but after that not so much. If you find a reliable answer let me know. We'd be talking two, return, so the costs quickly adds up.

@@ColinMclelland-j5w I think your best options would be either if you intend to do multiple tours to rent a storage facility and keep them there. I know a Canadian couple that does that with their e-bikes. Or, the other option would be to buy used and then try and resell after the tour. Beyond that I don’t know if a good option for touring by velomobile in Europe if you don’t live there. But, as I said, there are a lot of great places to tour in the US as well. I have a loop route planned out in Minnesota using a lot of rail trails, but I haven’t gotten around to actually riding it.

@@paulthew2 different strokes for different folks. I enjoy chats with folks when I stop for an ice cream or the restroom, or a photo. I find I have a lot more conversations with the velomobile than I did with my previous touring bikes. I was so pitifully slow that I’ve been passed by joggers. For me velomobile speed is just right. I can enjoy the scenery, but also take in a lot more ach tour because I’m not limited to much shorter distances. I hate getting rained on and always hated the clammy feel and restriction of pedaling with rain gear on. Took me a long time to find a rain jacket that worked with my recumbent. Most rain coats keep rain off the back but are horrible keeping rain out from the front. It felt like wearing a soaking wet garbage bag. That took a lot of the fun out for me. I ended multiple tours early and bailed to the train because the rain took the joy out for me. Perhaps your panniers were more organized than mine, but I always hated stopping to dig through to pull out my camera, or shoes, or wallet, or goodness knows what else. I’d rather have it right at my side. I’m not in a hurry, but I also know I have limited vacation time and I’d like to make the most of it. Spending an hour or two of the day digging around for stuff just never seemed an efficient use of my time.

@@edruttledge342 indeed. Saving society one hoodlum velomobile rider at a time.

@@emanuele8226 interesting. I ride mine year-round. I’ve been in humid 90F weather all the way to below zero F. I find the ventilation quite good, and that is coming from someone who sweats and overheats quickly. I enjoy a variety of terrain with my Velomobiles. I also enjoy being really comfortable while traversing that terrain. I can easily look around me instead of down at the pavement in front of me. I own a car which I never use. It’s way more fun to ride my velomobile. I get my exercise while I commute. I don’t have to spend a ton of money on gas or car maintenance. I also don’t have gym fees because my exercise comes during my commute. I live in a city, Minneapolis. I ride here all the time. Never had a problem with maneuverability. I can get up to speed pretty quickly. Can’t think of the last time I was passed by a cyclist riding here. I’d encourage you to learn a bit more about Velomobiles. It’s easy to look at one and make assumptions. I did before I decided to try one out. I was surprised to learn that I was very wrong in my thoughts about Velomobiles. Now I wish k had learned more about them sooner. It’s so much fun.

@@doxielain2231 about the same speed as most any other recumbent on climbs. You more than make up for it on the flats and downhill portions. I do most of my touring in the alps. I did a couple passes last summer and was able to relax and immerse myself in the scenery during the climbs. It was very zen. Raccoons raiding my yummies? I’m not following why that would be an issue. The coons would have to catch me first to steal my food. I’ve never seen a coon move fast.

@@mobilemiall haven’t encountered that, but I imagine the shell would offer good protection and the speed potential might give Fido a run for its money.

I always carry a can of Bear Spray...

@@Guenther-Eichinger very impressive mileage and elevation gain. Respekt.

@@slavikmishcheriakov2832 my first tour in Europe with a velomobile I had quite a lot of gravel trails. I used a gravel tire on the rear of the velomobile so that I would have better grip. It is of course slower to ride on gravel than on the road, and bumpier, but it is otherwise not really a problem. I would rather ride slow on an unpaved road that with very fast traffic.

@@michaelcorriveau4944 I would not recommend it. The road is the ideal place for a velomobile. Velomobile is all about speed, efficiency, comfort, weather protection, and safety in traffic.

@@PRH123 routing with a velomobile is quite different from routing with a bicycle. You think more like a car driver when riding velomobile. I am comfortable riding on roads with the velomobile that I would never ride with a bicycle because I am more visible and treated like a car usually. The amount of distance you can cover with a velomobile is remarkable. I never did 100 miles on a regular bike. I was too slow. But with q velomobile i have done this distance many times, including during tours. For someone who is already used to doing this distance, a velomobile would make it possible to go quite a distance in one day. One of my clients recently did 300 miles in one day. He had not ridden velomobile in many years and his main training was he had recently walked 50 miles in one day. So I think for you 200 miles would not be a problem. Yes, your butt muscles will be much happier sitting in a velomobile seat. The comfort is remarkable.

@ thanks for the info, and for the confirmation! now I just need to find one to take on a test ride, or at least a regular recumbent, which I’ve never tried :)

@ where are you located? I may be able to connect you with a dealer. The largest number of dealers are in Europe, but there are dealers in other countries including a couple of us here in the US.

@@mnveloguy I’m kinda far away in EEU, but I can probably find a dealer who has recumbents, I think there’s a club also

@ the main velomobile factory is in Romania about an hour from Cluj. Depending where you are, that might be an option.

@@igorilyasov2057 yes. I want to do a whole series about cycle touring once I finish with the videos from my last summer tour. I don’t camp when k tour in Europe because hotels are not too expensive. I always ask when I book a room if they have space to store my velomobile. They almost always do. In the US I usually camp because hotels are so expensive. For camping I just keep it at my camp spot. If you’re really concerned you can chain it to a tree.

@@mnveloguy i’m looking forward to it. Thanks Ben. See you on your next video

@@driewiel a quality bike costs money. Velomobiles are the equivalent of high end carbon road bikes. Price range is equivalent too. Might be slow uphill, but they sure are fast on everything else. My climbing speed with a velomobile is faster than any of the other recumbents I’ve had. I have friends that actually store theirs in their house or apartment. No harder to push than any other bike. Lift hole in the back makes it easy to maneuver. Just pushed one a couple blocks this morning to ship it out to a client. You can transport a velomobile on any car. I have clients that have even stuffed one in the back of a Mini Cooper and a Honda Fit. I’ve even flown commercially with a velomobile as cargo. Lufthansa and Condor both have allowed it as checked luggage. Tougher to take on a train, but I’m much better about finishing my planned tour routes and not bailing when I know it don’t have the train as an option. It’s pushed me to do tough things I wasn’t sure I could do. In the end I found I was actually capable of cycling up mountain passes and it wasn’t as hard as I imagined it to be.

@@mnveloguy Quality super yachts cost money too. Maybe we should all get one? Fact is most people on this planet can afford €7000 Euro or more for a velomobile. I can fix an old mtb for €100. Put e-assist on for €500. You can travel the world with it will do a better job than a silly carbon road bike. It's also less to worry about if you leave it somewhere unguarded. Most people in my country won't have space to keep a velomobile. And you're not gonna let it rot outside. Yes it is hard to push. You have to bend all over and break your back. Which means you are not going to do experiments but stay on the road and ride in traffic. It's just one of those things you have to except if you want a velomobile. With a bike you can do single tracks and stuff. Walk your bike up a mountain if you have to. And get in a train to cover large distances. Have it as cargo on a plane costs a small fortune. If something does break or the shell gets damaged often the only place to repair it is where they built it. And they do get damaged. The problem with you is you think everybody can have a velomobile. That is not the reality. They are for the happy few. Which is probably a good thing or we would be stuck in velomobile traffic jams. Now I myself built a solar trike. Total costs were €1500 it's closer to what people can afford. I don't have to lock the thing. I can get up any mountain pass with ease. The roof makes it easy to push. 65 year old me with bad legs cover 150 km on a good day. It can carry tons of camping gear. And above all it's great fun. But I do realize it's not always as practical either. There are moments where I wish I could push a button and turn it into a mountain bike. So if people tell me they prefer a bike I can understand that. Especially if you want to go on a bike tour with family or friends, the good old bike rules.

When I was at recumbent cycle-con this year, I discovered it was pretty easy to run into a recumbent trike that cost as much as a velo, or more. ICE, HP Velotechnik, Carbontrikes, Steintrikes and others all fit in this window. Now I'm not trying to say that everyone should feel comfortable spending that much cash on an HPV, I'm just saying velos are surprisingly competitive.

@ this surprised me when we had our display at CycleCon in 2023. I hadn’t been following the recumbent market and didn’t realize prices had gone up so much over the years.

@@mobilemiall That is absolutely true. I saw a couple on a campsite with 12.000 Euro Azubs. Ridiculous. I was more comparing velomobiles with normal bikes. Not carbon road bikes costing thousands also. Of course you can get less expansive recumbent trikes and put on an e-bike kit yourself. Then you get much closer to the range of a velomobile. A velomobile is only faster if you stay on nicely paved main roads without too much climbing riding in traffic.If for example you follow bike routes in Germany you end up on gravel and forest roads. People with velomobiles try to avoid that.

@@rodrigosouto9502 Um, yes. A Velomobile is essentially a bicycle with a shell.

@@Teacher659 yeah. Pretty much. Short little dude riding a bike at quite a reasonable speed, I might add. But now the world is saved from another one of those hoodlums in a velomobile 😂

@@TomWalterTX that sounds about right. Looking at segments in Strava my speeds were generally 2x faster with the velomobile compared to the last tour. It’s the transitions where the trail crosses small bridges or zigs and zags that slows me down. European trails are notorious for this which is why I used the new air an this year. US trails are not quite so bad that way.

@@DemiGod.. the watts readings are Strava estimates. I did not have a power meter on either bike. I was not pedaling hard on either bike, probably 80-100 watts at most. I’ve now edited the video in that spot so the misleading watts readings are no longer visible. If you would really like to nitpick, I can show individual segments. Especially on segments over 1 mile long, I was minimum 2x faster with the velomobile despite it weighing twice as much as my touring recumbent. No matter how you look at it, the velomobile is decidedly faster. It’s also warmer and drier than my touring recumbent. I hate riding with rain gear.

@@Zyzzyx42 yeah. Or retire young, which is basically the same thing.

@@devasfpv2232 your turn next 🙂

@@robertsmme 56/33 Front with 11-40 11 speed rear. Just enough to survive the worst hills.

sorry to add another question, how much power do you have to use to get up something like this pass?

@ I don’t know. I didn’t bring my power meter pedals for this tour. Probably 110-150 watts. I wasn’t very out of breath at any point and ended up doing my longest ever day of riding. If I had been maxing it out on the climb I would not have made 102 miles.

@@rayh592 I agree

@@daniele_go excited for you to get an urban. Great bike for touring. I was not sure what the traffic would be like on the road, so I chose the bike route. I’m not used to how Europeans drive, and trucks especially make me very nervous. Good to know that the road is not so bad for traffic.

@@McKenzieLockwood-j6c kind of hard to do that when I’m riding it. The camera is mounted on the hood so I can easily reach it. I don’t have a drone, but really it’s about the scenery. The bike for me is just a vehicle to deliver me through the scenery from point A to point B. There are other videos on my channel that focus on the bike itself.

No. It's pointless in Europe where the assist limit is 25 km/h. For the majority of the tour I was riding well above that. Then a motor is just extra weight. Plus you have to worry about battery range and finding places to charge it. I have enough things to charge every night. I also would not feel the same sense of accomplishment for achieving something hard like climbing a mountain pass if the motor did most of the work.

@@fortunist-k5r it is legal to ride there. There is only a very small amount of bike path along this road that ends halfway up the hill where there is only sidewalk. It is not legal to ride on the sidewalk because it is a business area, so you have to ride on the road anyway. Traffic does not go very fast on this road because there are 4 stop lights very close together. It is the only road to get across the highway so I can get to work. Infrastructure in US is very different from in the Netherlands, so do not assume that the riding here is anything like it is for you. This road is actually very safe to ride on. There is not even much traffic.

@@mnveloguy My apologies for the Dutch Karen. He/she does not even know how it is in his/her own country.

It is allowed to drive on the road in the Netherlands: "Bestuurders van fietsen op meer dan twee wielen en fietsen met aanhangwagen, die met inbegrip van de lading breder zijn dan 0,75 meter, mogen de rijbaan gebruiken" Bron: Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 (RVV 1990), Hoofdstuk II, Verkeersregels, Artikel 5. Yes, we have bike lanes, many bike lanes compared to other countries, but not even a third of all roads have bike lanes.

@ 😂

@ thank you for setting the record straight. I’m surprised there haven’t been more Karens commenting on this video. Usually the comments are full of people telling me how it is.

@@markifi thank you. It was an amusing story to tell. Sometimes drivers do some pretty strange things when they see Velomobiles. I also had a guy once sit at a green light because he was live-streaming his encounter with me. 🤦🏻‍♂️

@@ericeinar cyclist cycling at a legal speed on a bike path. Also no big deal.

This is the big crime wave? Cops are cops because they are too incompetent to survive in the real world.

@@kopprev 100%