Velomobile - Mango, speed check: Bike vs Trike vs Velo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- My totally unscientific, and possibly biased, comparison of speeds I can achieve on my bike, trike & velomobile. In an attempt at fairness, I took each of them in turn for a quick run on a half-mile stretch of cycle track outside Bitton to see what speeds I could reach and maintain. Not brilliantlly filmed, apologies, but the results you'd probably expect follow on...
You: "some clumsy goon on a...."
Me: Land Zeppelin!
Ha ha, excellent! My mini Hindenburg...
I'm a bit surprised that you are quicker on the trike. I have road bikes, two wheel recumbents and 3 trikes. For me the trikes are the slowest, I believe due to the rolling resistance of the third wheel not as much aero improvement as with the two wheel recumbents, especially when running my Tailwind with front fairing, aerotrunk and a bodysock. Very much want a good velomobile for the speed improvement and cargo carrying capacity along with weather protection.
Hi. I think in that video there was a bias towards the trike in that it was all done on a flat stretch of track: If I take hills into account, I'd probably overall get there about as quickly on my bike. The reason I think I go faster on the flat on the trike is because I find it much more comfortable to put down sustained power, coupled with enjoying it a lot more maybe. I'm in my 50s, have a bit of a bad back (and, if I'm totally honest, maybe not in the best shape I could be!), so I find road bikes to be too uncomfortable to get the best out of me, if that makes sense. A year or so after I did this I got an old Performer HR26 two wheel recumbent, which I like a lot - but still haven't mastered pulling away going uphill... If you've got any tips on that I'd love to hear them!
I hope you manage to get hold of a Velo: I'm not sure I'd recommend the Mango though, of the better known ones (Strada, Quest, Quattro, Waw, DF, etc) from what I understand it's probably the less desirable one (unless being short and having a better turning circle are your top two requirements! Thanks for watching and commenting, all the best.
Great video! Is it just me or do recumbents have unusually low gear ratios? When you tested the recumbent I was thinking if you could shift up a few gears, couldn’t you touch 35-40mph?
Hi! thanks for watching my ancient video! I'm really not an expert - but my assumption has always been that you can have whatever gear ratio you want. Since I made the video I put in a larger big rear gear and a smaller front chain ring as I'd been struggling on the hills. I've not really hit 35 mph on the flat (not without momentum from coming down a hill anyway), but then again I'm 52 and not very fit! 30 mph on the flat is quite achievable, and keep in mind that my old Mango is not a very fast velomobile. Downhill I get *very* scared at 50 mph and tend to hit the brakes, but could certainly go faster if I was brave/crazy enough! Thanks again, and all the best.
Those are very encouraging results for the Velomobile , what sort of Velomobile do you have ?
I did a 45 mile ride on a borrowed trike once, and after 20 miles I was struggling. Perhaps the gearing wasn't right or it wasn't setup just right for my size. I'm used to using my body weight on the upright bike to keep pedaling.
I'm impressed you were getting those speeds on the trike. It is a different muscle group on the trike vs upright.
Hi Vadim. I think it's true that you do need to get your "recumbent legs", those different muscle groups do make a difference, especially when the going gets hard (uphill!). Having said that, most of my use was on fairly flat ground and the comfort and fun factor, for me, massively outweighed the negatives. Cheers.
Yeah, you can't expect to get straight in the seat of a completely different style of bike and expect to do well first go. If you'd have gone from a trike to a velomobile- you'd have been screaming "I want one!". In anticipation of buying a trike in future months, I wanted to have my "recumbent legs" ready so I built a recumbent 2 wheeler out of scrapyard bike parts and some 40mm rectangular tube fence rail for a frame.(basically copied a Brit youtuber who made the same.) Was awkward and dangerous at low speeds to ride, but I got my recumbent legs ahead of the trike!
Thanks for posting, I've never seen a velomobile in the uk, did you import it? I ride a recumbent and a trike they are great fun both home made, thanks
Hi. Thanks for watching my (frankly terrible!) old video! I bought this velomobile second hand (I think it's actually fourth hand...) from a guy here in the UK. I don't know of any that are built in the UK. I think I've seen about four or five others out in the wild over the last few years, but they're certainly a rare sight! I don't see many trikes either (coincidentally I actually saw one yesterday though in Bath). I love them both but, in some ways I prefer my trike to the velomobile. I'm impressed that you've built your own, I wouldn't know where to start. Thanks for looking in on this, all the best.
Very interesting indeed...
Climbing in VMs isn't fun. They're heavier than normal bikes, you can't stand up and there is no air to cool you. On a straight stretch such as the one shown here though they're awesome!
I hope you'll enjoy yours a lot!
Cheers
Hi there Mischa, many thanks for watching. Absolutely right, climbing hills is a serious workout - but easily worth it for the rewards elsewhere; I'm definitely enjoying it! All the best, Will.
You can always get an electric motor or as I did with a recumbent bike, just get out and push for a little. Much easier on the legs. Gotta use energy much more wisely on long rides.
When using recumbents and velomobiles in car traffic and going up hills, what are the problems? What would you recommend for commuting? What about riding in the rain and storage capabilites, not to forget offroad capabilities?
Hi there. Thanks for watching. I'm honestly not an expert, but as for rain protection the velo doesn't offer for me the advantage of weather protection that a lot of other people get from it simply because I sweat so much when riding that I always need a shower when I arrive anyway! Hills are easiest in this order for me: Bike; Trike; Velo. For storage the velo is easiest and most capacious. My big problem with the Mango at the moment is the gearing - I find hills a major struggle: I've already put a smaller front ring on, guess I should try a larger rear ring next... I feel way safer in traffic on the velo than the trike because it's massively more visible. Still have to be careful though and keep in mind how low you are. As for off-road, I've never seen a velo doing that - but I'd like to! Cheers, Will
Very interesting analysis. I wonder if it's worth trying this on some gradients to see if having your feet above your bottom slows you down more than on a conventional bicycle, as you suggest.
Paul Cryer In my experience, having your feet above your bottom can certainly hinder your progress...
@Pieter Jan Zijlstra Nope. Nice delusion though.
@@KandiKlover i ride a catrike 700. Definitely slower up long steep hills than a road bike, but generally faster up shallow gradients where the aero advantage is a bigger factor. The aero advantage and greater momentum allows you to go further up a hill following a downhill. When pacing road bikers, the trike is definitely faster on downhills, on the level and into wind, but is left behind on hills, so it evens out overall on moderately rolling terrain. Id expect this difference to be exaggerated much more with a velomobile.