Velomobile & E-Bike

Thomas Waldmann, Dec 2019 @ 36c3

Unexpected things I ended up with

after researching for my next car.

Choosing the next car...

• I am driving cars since 30+ years,
  currently a 14y old Toyota Prius II Hybrid.
   
• Time to research for potential next car:
  • high efficiency, "as eco as it gets"
  • reliability, usability
  • acceptable price, ...
     
• Expected outcome: choose some "nice" electric car.
   
• Actual outcome:
  I found that I don't really want any of the cars...

Requirements / Context

• move yourself + some luggage
   
• don't waste too much energy / resources
• avoid polluting the planet
• means:  EFFICIENCY RULES!
   
• not too slow, but not too fast either
• not too uncomfortable
   
• most trips are rather short
• most trips are 1 person

Why not (E-)Cars?

• Cars are way too heavy, even the "small" ones:
  • 1600 - 1900 kg (Tesla Model 3)
  • 1200 kg (E.go life)
  • 900 - 1000 kg (Smart ForTwo)
  • 500 kg (Renault Twizy [+ weight of opt. doors?])
• A car mostly transports itself, not you!
   
• Too big, wasting a lot of space (traffic/parking).
• You are not "stuck in a traffic jam",
  you "are" the traffic jam.
   
• Overall bad environmental impact.
   
• Cars are dangerous, big&heavy cars even more.

(E-)Motorcycles?

• Better weight ratio than a car, but:
  • not much luggage space
  • usually no weather protection
     
• Most other problems are similar to cars.
   
• Thus:  NOPE, that's no solution either.

E-Bike

• Range e.g. up to 40km (then recharge x hours).
• Helps unathletic types getting uphill. :-)
• ... which also helps a lot with motivation!
• Relatively inexpensive.
• Mature tech, thus: low risk of investment.
• Also: low TCO (mostly standard bike parts).
• Good weight ratio (bike: ~20-40kg).
• But:
  • limited luggage space (cargo bikes have more)
  • no weather protection (= need good clothes)
  • slow and/or complicated / limited by law.
• Overall:  good and cheap enough to just try!
• E-Cars are not booming, but E-Bikes are!

So I got a RadRhino:

Context

• I never liked sports.
• I never found motivation for it.
   
• ~40y ago, this spoiled cycling for me:
  • cheap go-to-school bike (3 gears)
  • south-west germany's hills
     
• Didn't touch a bike since then, until that E-Bike.
   
• So, how did it work in practice?

E-Bike: Experiences

• Fun!
   
• Lots of trips up to 40km distance (one way).
• Get around traffic jams via bike paths.
• Get exercise w/o much extra time and with a reason.
• 750W geared hub motor, E-assist up to 25km/h.
• Got bike wear and some side bags: works for me.
   
• Used car only rarely:
  • carry big and/or heavy stuff
  • extremely ugly weather
  • distance > 40km (== battery capacity of my E-Bike)

E-Bike: Observations

• Rides are often "shorter than expected"!?

  • obj.:  different routing (e.g. across some field)
  • subj.:  less boring than sitting in a car
     
• OpenStreetMaps (OSMand) is nice and powerful
  (but it needs a bit to get used to it).
   
• Close to nature and environment,
  not isolated in a metal box.
   
• Improved health / endurance, lost weight.
   
• E: one can get as much exercise as one likes!

Improve?

• After the positive E-Bike experience, I wondered:
  
  Does it get better than that?
   
• Desired:
  • More weather protection.
  • More speed without losing bike path access.
  • More range (not having to recharge after 40km).
  • ...
     
• And I found ...

VeloMobiles!

short:  VM

not: Velo

Text

Velomobile Models

Text

Velomobile Models

(Fast) VeloMobiles

• Recumbent bikes with low, comfortable seat.
• Closed or mostly-closed aerodynamic shell.
• High tech materials, carbon fiber composites
• Low weight: 15 .. 40 kg
• Good gearing with wide range.
   
• Resulting in:  the most efficient vehicles!
   
• Default:  no (E-)motor
  (optionally available, but maybe not needed)

So I got a QuattroVelo...

VM: Distances & Speed

• up to 40km regularly (one way), sometimes more
• no E-Motor / no motor battery, thus:
  • no vehicle range issue, no range anxiety
  • no recharge duration issue, no outlet to search
  • no big&heavy battery / charger / motor to carry
• High Efficiency == Speed:
  • Flat:  easily 30-40, sometimes 50 km/h
  • Downhill:  80 km/h  (100+ possible)
  • Uphill:  slow, but stable (3 or 4 wheels).
    Shift down & try the Zen thing.
• Physics:
  • Air resistance is futile!!1
  • Law of conservation of energy FTW!

Speed etc. (HH VM rider)

Records / Remarkable

• Nicola Walde: 1088km in 24h
  Velomobile, on Opel test course.
   
• Roland Schell: 1074km in 33h
  Velomobile, across Germany.
   
• "Narvelos" from France: 12000km
  Velomobiles, Europe round trip.
   
• Todd Reichert: 144 km/h
  StreamLiner (faired bicycle), Men's World Record.

VM: Comfort & Security

• No PITA:  comfortable seat / recumbent position
   
• Luggage space: ok
   
• Weather protection:
  • some UV / IR protection
  • some / complete rain protection
  • no cold & icy winds
     
• Crash protection:
  • carbon fairing
  • legs first, not head first
  • you can hardly "fall off" from it
  • with or without extra helmet

VM: Reactions / Interaction

• "you are easy to overlook" (said by biased car driver)
   
• Experience:
  • lots of positive reactions (that means one is seen)
  • more careful overtakes by cars
• Also:
  • VM usually very colorful and almost 3m big
  • good lights, reflectors and blinkers
  • similar speed as city traffic
• Reasons for bias?
  • psychology:  lower=inferior,  higher=superior
  • sometimes just bad excuse for not even looking
  • some real visibility issues remain, be careful

VM: Experiences

• FUN!  The QuattroVelo is faster than my E-Bike, so
  actually preferring it over my E-Bike mostly.
   
• Fixing a flat is easy! (one-side mounted wheels)
   
• Turning radius can be large (depends on model/tires).
   
• Narrow enough for bike paths (QV VM: 77cm).
   
• Speedy on decent surfaces (roads, good bike paths).
• Loud on bad surfaces (low frequency though).
   
• Lost more weight.
  Car: burn oil, get fat.   VM:  burn fat, get fit.  :-)

VM: Buying

• First, practically try it:
  • fairs, manufacturers, dealers, owners
  • needs adjustment for rider size
  • try without motor
    (just check if E-motor can be added later)
• ... then consider buying a used one:
  • less waiting time
  • cheaper
  • sell it again if you do not like it or when you get your next VM.
• ... then ride it to its new home:
  • did that, ~230 km, no problem
  • some ride way farther than me
• ... or put it in a transporter or on a car roof.

VM: the price...

• VMs: made by small companies, low production volume, lots of manual work, expensive materials.
   
• So, let's compare apples to oranges... :-)
  • New VM: usually 5.000 .. 15.000 EUR.
  • New car: usually 15.000 .. 50.000 EUR (and more).
  • Price(car) >> Price(VM), also TCO(car) >> TCO(VM)
  • VMs are bikes, do not require:
    fuel, drivers license, insurance, paid parking place, regular dealer's garage visits for maintenance, obligatory 3rd party technical inspections
     
• So, do we need a price attitude readjustment, like:
  • car: pay for lots of power / size / weight and all bells and whistles one can think of.
  • VM: pay for lightness, high efficiency, construction.

Other

relatively light vehicles...

PodBike

OrganicTransit's "ELF"

Light Vehicles

• Often have E-motor, these are not velomobiles.
• Some still classified as E-Bike / Pedelec though.
• Power ratio human / motor varies.
• Still relatively low weight (e.g. the ELF has ~ 77 kg).
• Might be more practical than fast VMs:
  • easier/quicker to get in/out
  • sometimes more luggage space
  • sometimes space for (small) addtl. passenger(s)
• Speed depends on motor, vehicle class, ...
• Sounds good for fetching kids or groceries.
• Not as efficient as a fast velomobile, but way more efficient than a car.
• Bike path access allowed? Also practical??

More Infos

• YouTube:  channels of saukki and velo-ads
   
• velomobilforum.de
   
• Web / YouTube search terms:
  • velomobile, velomobil (de), velomobiel (nl)
  • quattrovelo, quest, strada
  • df, alpha 7, milan, go-one evo
  • orca, leiba, leitra, sunrider
  • elf, pebl, podbike
     
• "SPEZI" spezialradmesse.de (April 2020!)
   
• whpva.org
• kreuzotter.de

Q & A

So, which questions do you have for me?

Please:

VeloMobiles, Light Vehicles, (E-)Bikes + related.

Not:  Electric Cars, Heavy Vehicles.

English or German.

Disclaimer:  I am not an expert on this - just a user.

Contact:  twaldmann @ thinkmo.de