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Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 14th 17, 06:44 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

Interestingly enough a normal recumbent three wheeler is hard to get on and off of perhaps the two wheelers are easier. But I can hardly picture how you would get on and off of those streamlined ones.

But I think that they are a good idea. Now only would they give you additional speed (a friend of mine who rides a standard two wheel recumbent says that it's reasonably easy for him to ride at 40) but also protection from the weather. Though the idea of windshield wipers for fully enclosed models appears to be somewhat daunting.

Another thing is that you could have the streamliner painted a bright color to make it a lot more visible than a non-covered version.
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  #4  
Old April 14th 17, 08:07 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
DougC
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Posts: 1,276
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On 4/14/2017 12:44 PM, wrote:
Interestingly enough a normal recumbent three wheeler is hard to get on and off of perhaps the two wheelers are easier. But I can hardly picture how you would get on and off of those streamlined ones.

But I think that they are a good idea. Now only would they give you additional speed (a friend of mine who rides a standard two wheel recumbent says that it's reasonably easy for him to ride at 40) but also protection from the weather. Though the idea of windshield wipers for fully enclosed models appears to be somewhat daunting.

Another thing is that you could have the streamliner painted a bright color to make it a lot more visible than a non-covered version.

Velo windshields fog up on the inside surface, in the rain. The
windshields flip up and end up being just a visor in rainy weather.

The racing 2-wheel streamliners can't be used solo at all, since the
shells are totally enclosed and are taped shut after the rider is inside.

So far the /only/ 2-wheel streamliners I've heard of being sold for
street use is the Peregrin-on-Birk
http://speedbikes.ch/en/peregrin-on-a-birk/
it is built very nice but the typical delivered price is $30K - $35K.

If you get a long-wheelbase recumbent and add a front fairing and
bodysock, you can get most of the aero gains of a hard shell with very
little cost and weight added. They look dorky but a decent job can add
5-7 mph to your flat-ground cruising speeds, assuming you have the
gearing for that.




  #5  
Old April 14th 17, 08:22 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
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Posts: 5,270
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On Friday, April 14, 2017 at 3:07:49 PM UTC-4, Doug Cimperman wrote:
On 4/14/2017 12:44 PM, wrote:
Interestingly enough a normal recumbent three wheeler is hard to get on and off of perhaps the two wheelers are easier. But I can hardly picture how you would get on and off of those streamlined ones.

But I think that they are a good idea. Now only would they give you additional speed (a friend of mine who rides a standard two wheel recumbent says that it's reasonably easy for him to ride at 40) but also protection from the weather. Though the idea of windshield wipers for fully enclosed models appears to be somewhat daunting.

Another thing is that you could have the streamliner painted a bright color to make it a lot more visible than a non-covered version.

Velo windshields fog up on the inside surface, in the rain. The
windshields flip up and end up being just a visor in rainy weather.

The racing 2-wheel streamliners can't be used solo at all, since the
shells are totally enclosed and are taped shut after the rider is inside.

So far the /only/ 2-wheel streamliners I've heard of being sold for
street use is the Peregrin-on-Birk
http://speedbikes.ch/en/peregrin-on-a-birk/
it is built very nice but the typical delivered price is $30K - $35K.

If you get a long-wheelbase recumbent and add a front fairing and
bodysock, you can get most of the aero gains of a hard shell with very
little cost and weight added. They look dorky but a decent job can add
5-7 mph to your flat-ground cruising speeds, assuming you have the
gearing for that.


I'm surprised that noone makes a streamliner with a sliding rear part of the body. Slidethe body rerarward to get in and then pull it forward when ready to pedal away. It'd be much like the sliding canopy on a WW2 fighter plane Such as the P-40, the Hurrican or the Yak-3.

Cheers
  #6  
Old April 14th 17, 08:23 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
DougC
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Posts: 1,276
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On 4/14/2017 1:03 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 4/14/2017 12:44 PM, wrote:
Interestingly enough a normal recumbent three wheeler is hard to get
on and off of perhaps the two wheelers are easier. But I can hardly
picture how you would get on and off of those streamlined ones.

But I think that they are a good idea. Now only would they give you
additional speed (a friend of mine who rides a standard two wheel
recumbent says that it's reasonably easy for him to ride at 40) but
also protection from the weather. Though the idea of windshield wipers
for fully enclosed models appears to be somewhat daunting.

Another thing is that you could have the streamliner painted a bright
color to make it a lot more visible than a non-covered version.


I am not an expert.
That said, of the few times I've been bashed by a motor vehicle in
traffic I went up and over every time except one (big rental truck
turning for a left hook kill shot on a one-way street with LH bicycle
'facility').

I look at recumbents, then look at car bumper height and wonder...

Three points:
1) safety bicycles were introduced to reduce the problem of people
falling-over-forward on penny-farthings,,,,, and yet the main cause of
severe injuries from (safety) bicycles today is head/neck/clavicle
injuries caused by riders going over the handlebars during hard braking
or collisions, and landing on their heads.

The Longbikes Slipstream is said to be the safest type of bicycle in a
crash, because 1) it is too long to flip over forward from braking, and
2) in a collision the rider simply slides forward off the bike,
feet-first. The under-seat-steering means there's nothing to impede the
rider's body as it moves forward.
http://www.longbikes.com/2/Bikes/Sli...lipstream.html

2) recumbents main advantage is greater riding comfort, but that is only
useful on long rides (like, 50+ miles). And most bicyclists don't take a
lot of long rides in urban areas, so recumbents simply aren't well
suited for urban environments anyway: their main advantage goes unused.

If for some reason I was forced to live in a big urban area, I would
probably only own small-wheel folding bikes; they make the most sense
for that circumstance. ...However...

3) if you are riding a bicycle at all, the most likely way you will get
severely hurt or killed is by being hit by a motor vehicle. So trying to
ride in urban areas--where motor vehicle traffic is concentrated higher
than anywhere else--is kinda silly.
  #7  
Old April 14th 17, 08:32 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
DougC
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Posts: 1,276
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On 4/14/2017 2:22 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:


I'm surprised that noone makes a streamliner with a sliding rear part of the body. Slidethe body rerarward to get in and then pull it forward when ready to pedal away. It'd be much like the sliding canopy on a WW2 fighter plane Such as the P-40, the Hurrican or the Yak-3.

Cheers


Many home-builders have tried, but it ends up being too heavy. Also,
having big airplane-style canopy windows means you boil in sunny/warm
weather.

There is also occasionally, a commercial builder offering tadpole trike
(2-wheels in front) bodies where the whole thing flips up (on either a
front-end or rear-end hinge) to enter and exit. These body shells end up
being very flimsy compared to a good velomobile, and much heavier besides.

When trying to build bicycle bodies--especially for practical use--the
main enemy is weight. All the main velomobile manufacturers now have an
all-carbon-fiber monocoque model as their top offering, because despite
being expensive it ends up being less weight than any other method.
  #8  
Old April 14th 17, 08:54 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
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Posts: 5,270
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On Friday, April 14, 2017 at 3:32:19 PM UTC-4, Doug Cimperman wrote:
On 4/14/2017 2:22 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:


I'm surprised that noone makes a streamliner with a sliding rear part of the body. Slidethe body rerarward to get in and then pull it forward when ready to pedal away. It'd be much like the sliding canopy on a WW2 fighter plane Such as the P-40, the Hurrican or the Yak-3.

Cheers


Many home-builders have tried, but it ends up being too heavy. Also,
having big airplane-style canopy windows means you boil in sunny/warm
weather.

There is also occasionally, a commercial builder offering tadpole trike
(2-wheels in front) bodies where the whole thing flips up (on either a
front-end or rear-end hinge) to enter and exit. These body shells end up
being very flimsy compared to a good velomobile, and much heavier besides..

When trying to build bicycle bodies--especially for practical use--the
main enemy is weight. All the main velomobile manufacturers now have an
all-carbon-fiber monocoque model as their top offering, because despite
being expensive it ends up being less weight than any other method.


I did NOT mean for the entire thing to be enclosed. I was thinking that the body shell would be in two halves a fixed forward area and a sliding rear area. the seat would be fixed to the front portion of the frame and the shell behind the seat and at the side would be able to be slid rearwards for entry and then easily slid forward to close it. That'd ba a heck of a lot easier to do than whatthe video showed of fixing a fabric cover. With a sliding shell you could even start pedalling and THEN pull the rear part of the shell forward. Plus the shell would add protection to the person inside in the event of a fall or crash.

Cheers
  #9  
Old April 14th 17, 09:48 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Posts: 10,538
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On 4/14/2017 3:23 PM, DougC wrote:

3) if you are riding a bicycle at all, the most likely way you will get
severely hurt or killed is by being hit by a motor vehicle. So trying to
ride in urban areas--where motor vehicle traffic is concentrated higher
than anywhere else--is kinda silly.


And yet, if you look at the data on bike share systems (which are used
almost only in urban areas) the safety record is astonishingly good. See
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/..._of_rides.html

and
https://www.citylab.com/transportati...y-safe/476316/

--
- Frank Krygowski
  #10  
Old April 14th 17, 09:48 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Posts: 10,538
Default Getting into and out of streamliner recumbents

On 4/14/2017 3:07 PM, DougC wrote:
On 4/14/2017 12:44 PM, wrote:
Interestingly enough a normal recumbent three wheeler is hard to get
on and off of perhaps the two wheelers are easier. But I can hardly
picture how you would get on and off of those streamlined ones.

But I think that they are a good idea. Now only would they give you
additional speed (a friend of mine who rides a standard two wheel
recumbent says that it's reasonably easy for him to ride at 40) but
also protection from the weather. Though the idea of windshield wipers
for fully enclosed models appears to be somewhat daunting.

Another thing is that you could have the streamliner painted a bright
color to make it a lot more visible than a non-covered version.

Velo windshields fog up on the inside surface, in the rain. The
windshields flip up and end up being just a visor in rainy weather.

The racing 2-wheel streamliners can't be used solo at all, since the
shells are totally enclosed and are taped shut after the rider is inside.

So far the /only/ 2-wheel streamliners I've heard of being sold for
street use is the Peregrin-on-Birk
http://speedbikes.ch/en/peregrin-on-a-birk/
it is built very nice but the typical delivered price is $30K - $35K.

If you get a long-wheelbase recumbent and add a front fairing and
bodysock, you can get most of the aero gains of a hard shell with very
little cost and weight added. They look dorky but a decent job can add
5-7 mph to your flat-ground cruising speeds, assuming you have the
gearing for that.


I've wondered how stable those things are in gusting crosswinds. Any idea?



--
- Frank Krygowski
 




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