Let me start by saying that I have wanted to build a velomobile for at least five or six years. I've been collecting little bits of research since then, but things finally reached "critical mass" just a few months ago. The combination of assistance from a Coroplast velomobile group on Facebook, the rediscovery of some old CAD designs, and the results of extensive glue testing (yes) culminated in what I call the "Facet V1."
("The Vector" seemed too generic, and "The Polygon" was too geeky.)
The Facet V1 is made almost entirely out of Coroplast, the same corrugated plastic that many election signs are made from. The plastic shell is wrapped around a Catrike Expedition recumbent trike. This is a well-known build method, with dozens of examples all over the net. I'd suspect that people have been building coroplast shells over their trikes ever since both objects existed in the same Venn diagram. So this is definitely not a new thing, but my Instructable is hopefully one of the most comprehensive you'll find anywhere.
I designed the shell of the Facet in Google Sketchup, based on a design I obtained from a fellow in Belgium several years ago. After taking careful measurements of my Expedition, I re-sized and tweaked the shell to fit. After that, I unfolded the design in Pepakura. I had full-size patterns printed on a plotter, then transferred those to large 4x8 foot sheets of Coroplast. Finally, everything was assembled around my beloved trike, using a glue technique I perfected for this specific purpose.
The result is stunning (IMNSHO). If you've got a recumbent trike, you should build a shell for it. If you don't have a trike, GET ONE, then build a shell for it! Be sure to click any images that interest you for the larger version - the quality is much better.
All of the CAD files you will need are contained in Step 4. And of course, don't forget to vote if you like this project!
("The Vector" seemed too generic, and "The Polygon" was too geeky.)
The Facet V1 is made almost entirely out of Coroplast, the same corrugated plastic that many election signs are made from. The plastic shell is wrapped around a Catrike Expedition recumbent trike. This is a well-known build method, with dozens of examples all over the net. I'd suspect that people have been building coroplast shells over their trikes ever since both objects existed in the same Venn diagram. So this is definitely not a new thing, but my Instructable is hopefully one of the most comprehensive you'll find anywhere.
I designed the shell of the Facet in Google Sketchup, based on a design I obtained from a fellow in Belgium several years ago. After taking careful measurements of my Expedition, I re-sized and tweaked the shell to fit. After that, I unfolded the design in Pepakura. I had full-size patterns printed on a plotter, then transferred those to large 4x8 foot sheets of Coroplast. Finally, everything was assembled around my beloved trike, using a glue technique I perfected for this specific purpose.
The result is stunning (IMNSHO). If you've got a recumbent trike, you should build a shell for it. If you don't have a trike, GET ONE, then build a shell for it! Be sure to click any images that interest you for the larger version - the quality is much better.
All of the CAD files you will need are contained in Step 4. And of course, don't forget to vote if you like this project!
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Signing UpStep 1: Why Jeff? WHY??
The answer is simple: Because I CAN.
But beyond that, there are many reasons why you'd want to build and ride a velomobile. Here's my top 7:
That said, I've had doubters. I don't pay attention to them very much. They can be quiet and get back in their cars for all I care.
But beyond that, there are many reasons why you'd want to build and ride a velomobile. Here's my top 7:
- Weather Protection. I ride in all weather conditions, and was tired of getting wet and cold.
- Speed Boost: The aerodynamic shell of the velomobile means you can put less effort into going the same speed. Or, you can put in the same effort and go faster!
- Enhanced Visibility: Cyclists can be hard to spot out on the road. Recumbent trikes are even harder due to their height. But what driver can say they didn't see a 3 meter long red, black and white missile hurtling down the road at 45 km/h? Blind ones.
- Cycling is GREAT for the environment: A velomobile is better, because you're more likely to ride it when the weather is bad instead of taking a car.
- It's great for your health: Seriously, is there any better way to get exercise than riding a bike?
- Increase Awareness: A velomobile gets people talking. I've been interviewed twice by the press, while riding my trike. Can you imagine the reaction a velomobile gets?
- Exclusivity: How many people own a velomobile? Less than the number of people who own Ferraris. A velomobile is more exclusive than a freakin' FERRARI.
That said, I've had doubters. I don't pay attention to them very much. They can be quiet and get back in their cars for all I care.
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I'm glad to see my design come to life in an entirely different corner of the planet and many years after publication (2004!).
It was sort of orphaned when we started making the carbon/kevlar WAW velomobile professionally and I lost interest in covering my trike. The Bratmobile (a word play on my name and the looks of the shell) was a design exercise driven by a curiosity how efficient a faceted approach would be. As it turns out it confirms my presumption that, at real world traffic speeds, a low resolution approach of a decent form factor could yield 80% of the efficiency for 20% of the price.
The subsequent versions narrowed the frontal area making the sides flush with the wheels, then eliminated the ridges in the transverse direction. A few alterations on the latter design were constructed. Funnily enough the builders came to the same conclusions and stepped up to a purpose built velomobile. Go and proselytize!
The design, design principles and drawings are open source as long as credit and some much needed publicity is given to www.fietser.be.
Regards, and thanks to the Instructables community and Jeff-o.
Brecht Vandeputte arch
Thanks very much for filling in some backstory on your design. For all this time I felt the bratmobile was too cool to simply fade into the ether, so I am proud to finally give it the attention it deserves.
To everyone reading this, do take a moment and check out the amazing work Fietser is doing with its legendary WAW velomobile. Oh, how I'd love one of them parked in my driveway!
Sorry to be a worry-wart, but if you accidentally bumped into even a bush you would be thrust into your coroplast like a guillotine. I have a friend who went through multiple surgeries to his face and neck after being sliced by cardboard that hit him on edge with some mass behind it.
It would be great if you could at least wrap some of that grey foam pipe insulation from Home Depot around the inside of the sharp edge of your cockpit maybe with something even stronger underneath it so that in a crash the coroplast collapses like a crumple zone of a car rather than just chops you in two.
Again, sorry to be Debbie-Downer, but I've seen this injury in the flesh, so to speak.
Awesome work. I will borrow some of your gluing research for a project of mine.
I'd suggest wrapping any of the exposed cut edges in vinyl tape, such as electricians tape or floor marking tape. That should blunt the sharp edge pretty well. You could also wrap thin foam around the edges to be extra cautious.
The problem is that all the energy from your momentum will be concentrated on the thin 1/4 inch edge of coroplast. lt is the thinness that creates the danger, not the just the sharpness. It's the same issue when snowmobilers accidentally hit a barb-wire fence at speed. The barb doesn't kill them, it is the rounded wire slicing through that gets them. Or the same issue with the steering column on older cars that used to kill people by spearing them even in fairly minor accidents until they made them super padded and collapsible.
You did great gluing experiments. The same could be done for this risk factor. Duct tape a steak or chicken leg to concrete block and then drop it from a step ladder from 10 feet in the air onto a well supported piece of coroplast on edge and see if it doesn't just chop the meat in half.
So the vinyl tape is a good start, but then you've got to do something to widen out the edge so that the force is dissipated across a broader area, that is why the foam suggestion, but I worry the foam itself isn't very strong so maybe you need something quite strong like a split rubber hose to go from the 1/4 inch coroplast out to 3/4 of an inch or so and then the foam on top of that.
Sorry to have scary visions, but your mom and I want you to live to do more cool projects.
** http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BOB-30298-19-238/
I also had an idea of just making a frame and covering it with a large sheet(s) of heat-shrink plastic. Would this be any cheaper or more expensive/ harder to do?
Chances are, the flexible plastic would act as a parachute, trapping air or making it roll turbulently across the surface of the shell. That's not what you want!
As for the frame, what would you make it from? Depending on what you choose it could be difficult. But, a suitable frame could make a good foundation for a fiberglass shell...
I'm fairly sure that coroplast is just about the least expensive material you can use to build a shell from, especially if you use discarded election signs and zip ties.
You might also consider adding a flag on a stick (or some other attention-getter) that would add some height to your riding profile and make you more readily seen under certain circumstances, such as to a driver who is several cars back, or over the crest of a hill.
You might even want to make your entire vehicle fluorescent!
When there are enough bikers in your area, maybe it's time to start lobbying for bike lanes, like we have in the Netherlands.
The ride looks incredibly fast, and in the video, my computer just started to play the william tell overture as you pulled out of the driveway, so it only added to the effect.
On the fun side, This is "Instructables" so I expect someone will geek out a similar version with lights, windscreen heads up display GPS Ipod stereo etc.
and take this to the extreme. Can't wait to see what people come up with.
In the end, do whatever works for your particular situation!
Another option you could consider is Mr. McGroovy's box rivets, or even plain rivets (with extra washers to prevent tearing).