Living with a velomobile

[John Lewis]

Did a brake test with phil when he had his Ice Vortex+
70mm drum brakes vs Hydro disc brakes.

Which had which brake? I'm guessing the hydro disks were best.
But the trike would only have had 70 mm drums I'd think.

John

[Bartek]

I was going to take some pictures of mine but then I remembered that Sinner posted a video on You-tube of how to replace the shock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7EHWb4n8VQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hope this helps.

[Riggsbie]

Thanks for the video link !


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[John Lewis]

Interesting.

In the video he uses the rodend bearing from the first shock.
The new one I got had the rod end already fitted.

John

[Riggsbie]

Just swapped my shock, very simple....took about 8 minutes....

Feels really hard at 5.5 bar, it hardly moves when applying weight on the back of the Mango....ride height unchanged, if anything slightly higher at the back, was 24cm on the old shock and now 24.5cm at the back wheel....

Might try a test ride when the wind drops....and a MTB shock pump is definitely needed to add/reduce pressure


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[Rhubarb]

Sounds like you haven't "cracked the seal" as yet Riggsbie. It will drop and move more freely once you start riding it.

[Riggsbie]

I did wonder If it might 'break-in' a bit.....


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[John Lewis]

8 Minutes must be a record.
You must know something I don't. It took me ages.
I let the air out of mine completely and still had to push down hard to break the seal.

I then reinflated it to 5 bar. I couldn't really move it at that but it seems to work on the road.
I'll have to get Helen to measure how much the back drops when I sit in the mango.

I got the gadget from Sinner that lets me use an ordinary pump but a shock pump will be better.

Let us know how the test ride goes.

John

[Bartek]

I let the air out of mine completely and still had to push down hard to break the seal.

I then reinflated it to 5 bar.

+1 you will also need to oil your shaft ; ) to ensure it moves freely up and down. If you can't get it to move by pressing on the rear then something isn't right.

[John Lewis]

What the Heck is That.

That's what I thought when I went out a short while ago. Hit a bump and suddenly got this funny clicking squeaking noise. I thought something had fallen into the drive train.
I pulled up and had a look but couldn't see anything. Then I noticed the shock was a bit soggy. It must have either lost some air or freed up.

I pumped it back up to about 5bar again. Don't know what it got down to as I lost the air getting the pump on. Replaced the covers, saddled up and got moving again and the noise was gone.

Now the question is whether it will go down again. Harry mentioned having trouble with some and using some tape on the valve housing. He appears to have already done that on mine.
Perhaps it is normal on first pump and use or maybe some dust ion the valve. Might even need to tighten the valve as I didn't check that.

I guess I'll find out in good time. The sooner I get a proper shock pump the better. Any recommendations?

John

[Rhubarb]

I think mine cost about $25 from torpedo7. Seems to do the job.

[John Lewis]

Thanks Ben,
Yes I had a look at some there.

Planet Bike ShockMate and the Topeak Pocket Shock DXG. couple of others didn't have gauges.
The Planet Bike one looks OK and about $3 cheaper than the Topeak.
Decisions, decisions.

John

[petie]

I think mine cost about $25 from torpedo7. Seems to do the job.

Mine too, a Giyo I think.

[John Lewis]

Went to buy the Topeak from T7.
It was in stock but on special. I had trouble with the check out. I wouldn't let me
proceed because it wanted my mobile number and I don't have one.
had to sort that which took time. Then went to order and.... You guessed it.
Sold Out.
Can't understand their checkout. Surely they must realize we don't all use mobiles.

John

[eldavo]

The creature that adapts survives the winter, or inflates their shock absorber sooner =D
1234567890
0400123000

Home number is the same length if you wanted to try a valid number if they're not excluding it by validation.
0892449244

[Riggsbie]

Did a test ride last night

http://www.strava.com/activities/97160409" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.strava.com/activities/97160405" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

85km in total.....initially I didn't think it was a lot different from the nitrogen filled shock, hit the first big bump and it was a lot better damped, the high speed twitchiness was a lot better....much more confidence inspiring !

My buddy said the bodyshell high frequency surface vibration had disappeared and he said it sounded a lot quieter on the outside when he was riding alongside me....

The secondary rides a lot lot better, the high frequency vibration is a lot better, the primary ride, low frequency was a little soft but still well damped.....had a nice slow bobbing in sync with my pedal cadence whilst riding at 55kph....

Got a nice KOM in Strava averaging 50kph through Torquay at the end of my 85km ride

A definite improvement, need to oil my shaft and check my air pressure.....

Off to Canberra tomorrow to look at an M5 carbon lowracer ! I am a little excited !


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[Riggsbie]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/30/re9esa9e.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[

This photo was taken on Christmas Eve on 13th Beach on the Bellarine Peninsula.....I was shifting along at this point


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[Riggsbie]

Has anyone else been out much in their Velo's over the Christmas break ?


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[burnt]

Thats a great photo of the Mango Paul, re getting over Xmas-was in Melbourne with my tourer, now back in Bris the 40C yesterday was not conducive to Mango riding!

Firing up the Greenspeed GT3 for the hotter days!

[Aushiker]

I believe a Milan SL Carbon is heading down-under. Mark Textor of Twitter fame (and Chairman of the Board, Amy Gillet Foundation) has a Milan SL on order I believe. It is his intention to attempt to ride from Darwin to Adelaide in 90 hours in August.

.@Aushiker ordering a Milan SL Carbon special this week. Alice spring to Darwin in 90hrs attempt in August for AGF / road safety. Billboard!

Andrew

[Riggsbie]

Cool.....another velomobile and the first Milan in Oz ?


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[Rhubarb]

Here's a velomobile video that will bring a tear to your eye:



On the upside, I think this reinforced the safety side of a velomobile. The front end effectively acted as crumple zone to absorb much of the impact. This damamge was caused by a head on collision with a BMW X5, fortunately on a corner so both vehicles weren't travelling too fast. The velomobile apparently hit black ice (in Germany) and just slid across into the other lane and the oncoming vehicle. The rider went to hospital to have his foot x-rayed but it was found to be just a severe sprain.

[Rhubarb]

I believe a Milan SL Carbon is heading down-under. Mark Textor of Twitter fame (and Chairman of the Board, Amy Gillet Foundation) has a Milan SL on order I believe. It is his intention to attempt to ride from Darwin to Adelaide in 90 hours in August.

.@Aushiker ordering a Milan SL Carbon special this week. Alice spring to Darwin in 90hrs attempt in August for AGF / road safety. Billboard!

Andrew

Very interesting indeed !!!

The Milan SL is very eye catching with its curves and bumps. I actually thought it was ugly when I first saw it, but it quickly grew on me, such that I would now rate it the most attractive velomobile shape out there. So yes it will be an extremely effective Billboard.

Regarding the physical distance / time challenge, I think its very do-able. Google Maps tells me its 1500kms, relatively flat, even slightly downhill. Assuming he takes 3 x 10 hour breaks for sleeping at night, that leaves 60 hours over 4 days at just 25km/hr to cover the distance in the overall time of 90 hours. 25km/hr should be very easy to do, provided he is of reasonable fitness. If his fitness is high, he might average as much as 40km/hr or more.

I think his biggest challenge will be comfort. It has taken me a while to get my Mango set up just perfectly for me, probably because I hadn't previously ridden a recumbent so I didn't know how I should be setting it up. But it will take his legs a few months to fully adjust to the different pedalling dynamics of a recumbent. Also, the Milan SL is built for smaller guys. I don't know how big Mark is but you wouldn't want to be squished into a tight fit for that long. The Milan SL also has no rear suspension, and a relatively thin rear tyre. If the road surface is course grit, the constant vibration may also take a bit out of him. I hope he gets enough time in the Milan beforehand to get used to all these things.

Good to see another velomobile coming to Australia, and the first Milan too.

[Rhubarb]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/30/re9esa9e.jpg[

This photo was taken on Christmas Eve on 13th Beach on the Bellarine Peninsula.....I was shifting along at this point


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Great photo !!!!

Where did you get your mirror covers? Wim Schermer or custom FoMoCo skunk works ?

[Rhubarb]

need to oil my shaft and check my air pressure.....

Ha - don't we all