Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

With all the buzz about velomobiles, I'm now thinking about fitting a trike (fairing)* to my GTIII Greenspeed.

This one caught my eye



The WGX.

Has anybody had any experience with one of these?

Alternatively are there some manufacturers in Australia that I could contact? The only one I could google made fully enclosed ones which I'm not quite ready for yet.

Thanks in advance,

Joe
*on edit

I had a GX on my Ice Adventure FS HD
FlyingFurniture has them at same price from USA

Ooh thanks for that.

Joe

I ordered the WGX from the US last week. I didn’t realise FlyingFurnture also stocked them.

For overhead protection there is the recumbent ragtop (http://recumbentragtops.net/gallery/dis ... um=1&pos=7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) which provides reasonable shade but not much rain protection unless the rain is vertical. It also performs as a sail in tailwinds and a parachute in headwinds.

missinglink wrote:I ordered the WGX from the US last week. I didn’t realise FlyingFurnture also stocked them.

Wow, some people have all the luck

I'm not dead set yet on buying one but I'd certainly appreciate hearing about it when it arrives. (Piccies please? )

Thanks,
Joe

I do suggest you get the following
One point mount with tilting system, makes getting in and out a breeze
Get the fairing cover, an absolute must for protection and for transporting it
I had the tinted gx cover. When I was thinking about mine I priced it up from terracycle then I spotted flyingfurniture had them as I've previously posted. FFC do free shipping on orders over $100 now, so you get free shipping on the fairing vs paying something like $50US for them.

I did have my fairing flare up once coming down Jarrahdale Rd. I altered the angle after that and I didn't have it happen again. Flared up around 60kph mark and next time I hit 82kph without an issue

Baalzamon wrote:
I did have my fairing flare up once coming down Jarrahdale Rd. I altered the angle after that and I didn't have it happen again. Flared up around 60kph mark and next time I hit 82kph without an issue

Will be bearing that in mind as I've hit 70+ kph on several occasions going down both Welshpool, Kalamunda and Gooseberry Hill Roads.


Joe

Joeblake wrote:

Baalzamon wrote:
I did have my fairing flare up once coming down Jarrahdale Rd. I altered the angle after that and I didn't have it happen again. Flared up around 60kph mark and next time I hit 82kph without an issue

Will be bearing that in mind as I've hit 70+ kph on several occasions going down both Welshpool, Kalamunda and Gooseberry Hill Roads.


Joe

With a fairing faster again
I actually moved the mast for the fairing a fair bit on my Ice Adventure. I had them direct above one another, and that is how the flare up happened I think. I then moved the top part of the mast and it fitted snugly between my bottle cage mounts on the boom and that is where I had mine and didn't flare up after that.

I have a GX fairing and homemade tilting mount that I've used on my Greenspeed, looking for another excuse to take it on a run down Lesmurdie Hill - if Mr Blake wants to take a look. I have a shipment coming from the US for a Windwrap XT for the Bacchetta and a WERX for someone's Easyracer, when these arrive I'm going to be busy making new and improved mounts. And there's the hint: if you're considering a fairing the mount is the most expensive part and the easiest to build in the shed.

just4tehhalibut wrote:I have a GX fairing and homemade tilting mount that I've used on my Greenspeed, looking for another excuse to take it on a run down Lesmurdie Hill - if Mr Blake wants to take a look. I have a shipment coming from the US for a Windwrap XT for the Bacchetta and a WERX for someone's Easyracer, when these arrive I'm going to be busy making new and improved mounts. And there's the hint: if you're considering a fairing the mount is the most expensive part and the easiest to build in the shed.

If you wish to take a run down from Lesmurdie, I'm quite happy to oblige and go with you. Just set a date. Alternatively, I could jump on the BMW and go for a bit of a ride south. I was down near Adventure World on New Year's day, so I've still got the route fresh in my mind.

A couple of years ago I built a small "bikini" fairing and made a fairly sturdy mount from PVC tubing and hose clamps. The fairing eventually cracked, but the mount still seems to be in working order so I may rebuild the fairing and mount it on the 26" trike (20/26 GTR), then I can put any new fairing on the GTIII.



It gave me a couple of kph extra coasting down Welshpool Road and on the flat I found myself under-geared with a fairly high cadence, so maybe I'll need to get a few extra teeth on the big chain ring with a better fairing.

Joe

On the subject of fairings one has popped up on eBay. Might be of interest to Melbourne readers (no shipping).

Andrew

You'd linked to something else, try http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Recumbent-wi ... 3cce5d9cf9
Definitely a homebuilt job and possibly not the material that I'd want out in front of me, can't be sure but might be the stiff stuff that shatters into a million little pieces. The GX fairing the OP was asking about can be rolled up for transport, flexes on its mount.

Joeblake wrote:If you wish to take a run down from Lesmurdie, I'm quite happy to oblige and go with you. Just set a date.

How about next Sunday 03/02/13 at about 3pm? Perhaps near the corner of Pomeroy and Welshpool Rds? That time of day either has the roaring SW seabreeze or mild SE winds, the latter is preferable on the Lesmurdie run. I'll bring the faired trike with a dinnerplate chainring.

The weather forecast is for 38 degrees That's the forecast for Perth. It'll probably reach 42 or worse at Lesmurdie. I don't dare go out in those conditions for long, especially going UP the hill. Even with the motor that's a pretty hard slog. If you DO come up, might be better if you just drop round to my place and I'll fill you full of my iced ultra-refined rain water, then perhaps take a short tour down to the Falls Road look out which has a couple of km of reasonably sloped road to get up a head of speed.

Will keep an eye of the weather forecast and perhaps we can decide closer to the time.

Thanks,

Joe

Blow your own fairing.
I always wanted to try something like this. I reckon a couple of paintstripper guns would produce enough heat. Just need to find a source of vivak

John

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/Bubbles/hpvbubbles.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mythbusters did something similar but with copper plate and high pressure water if I remember correctly, copper is a bit more malleable I'd say.

before:



after



Joe

Joe,

Just start saving (or sell a kidney) and get a Mango, you won't regret it


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

If I'd lived on the "Flatlands" I'd have bought a velo yonks ago, but if I have to travel any distance that would make it worthwhile I've always got to finish my ride with a longish (for me) ascent up Welshpool road.

Here's a video of somebody else going down on a DF

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al_96eNkd_g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another guy going down Welshpool then turning left onto Crystal Brook Road

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... upXRE&NR=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And then me going down Gooseberry Hill Road on the Greenspeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRAoa5tzR1I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No matter which road you take it would be a fairly long climb in a velo.

There's still Kalamunda Road to film yet. Maybe when the weather cools down.


Joe

just4tehhalibut wrote:

Joeblake wrote:If you wish to take a run down from Lesmurdie, I'm quite happy to oblige and go with you. Just set a date.

How about next Sunday 03/02/13 at about 3pm? Perhaps near the corner of Pomeroy and Welshpool Rds? That time of day either has the roaring SW seabreeze or mild SE winds, the latter is preferable on the Lesmurdie run. I'll bring the faired trike with a dinnerplate chainring.

If you're not under way as yet, just to let you know at 10:22 Sun morning it's 41.8 degrees. About 36 in the shade. I don't think I'll be going outside today.

Joe

We'll sort out a better day sometime then. In the meantime I'll make a better fairing mount.

A good idea I think. It's now 41.6 degrees on its way down from 43.1.

Joe

By selling the other kidney, you could get the velomobile with e-assist for those hills!

I've been in touch with Ian at Flying Furniture and will hopefully be putting the money down this week some time.

Thanks to all for your assistance.

Joe

I might follow along for your downhill run with just4thehellaboutit with my gopro setup
When I had my fairing I wasn't able to beat my downhill on Jarrahdale RD that I did with my Masi... Missed it by 1kph

Have to get the fairing first and some cooler weather. I went down then up Welshpool Road last Saturday, before it got too hot, just to try and establish some sort of baseline speed. Here's the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTi27Et2Yg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

unfortunately, just before the start of the video, I accidentally reset all my computer functions, and couldn't remember what the wheel circumference was. (I'd painted it on the back of the computer for exactly that reason, but part of it wore away when I changed batteries). Worse, about half way down the piece of PVC pipe which carries my computer came loose (it's only a press fit) and bounced down the hill, still attached to the cable. I suspect the cable broke somewhere because when I got home the computer works, but won't show speed.

I know I've gone over 75 km/h down there (80 km/h speed limit), and over a 90 km trip I can do an average speed of about 18.9 kmh. It's over 20 km/h till I hit Welshpool road

Anyway, will keep you posted.

Joe