Living with a velomobile

[John Lewis]

You can get some portable cheap 9v powered alarms which have motion sensors and a remote key fob alarming thingy.......

Check eBay !!

I have one of those.
Loud as!
Pretty flimsy construction and looks to be meant as a door alarm as it has a slot to hang it from.
I velcroed it up behind the head rest fairing inside. Out of sight and hard to get at.
Main purpose is to deter those who want to push and prod.
John

[John Lewis]

it has arrived...... picked it this afternoon, but had to go to work straight after! will check it out tomorrow.

Yeee Haa!!!

Bet it will be a long shift at work.

Great news though.

John

[Riggsbie]

it has arrived...... picked it this afternoon, but had to go to work straight after! will check it out tomorrow.

So sickie tomorrow ?

[Riggsbie]

You can get some portable cheap 9v powered alarms which have motion sensors and a remote key fob alarming thingy.......

Check eBay !!

I have one of those.
Loud as!
Pretty flimsy construction and looks to be meant as a door alarm as it has a slot to hang it from.
I velcroed it up behind the head rest fairing inside. Out of sight and hard to get at.
Main purpose is to deter those who want to push and prod.
John

I have one but not felt the need to use it yet, but I like the idea of velcroing it behind the headrest area !! If you climb in that will be where your ears are......quite deafening aren't they ?

[Bartek]

Well I have finished nights and now have 4 days off to familiarise myself with the new arrival

No sickies and the fires keep your mind occupied so not much time to dwell on the thought of a new Mango at home waiting for me! I managed to 'unwrap' it Tuesday before going to work, had a busy night so just spent Wednesday morning unpacking everything Sinner had packed into it and getting to know the basics of operation. I had a little test ride round the streets at lunchtime, feels lighter and more 'jittery' than the Viper (even though it is heavier) but reaches 30 km/hr very easily without me even realising until I looked at the speedo. I seem over cautious when cornering, I think this is because I can't lean as much as I could in the Viper, whether I need to I will learn in time

Wednesday afternoon had to sleep ready for nightshift, so the Mango was left alone!

I will take some pics today and post them later, I will be going for my coffee run in the Mango later so I will be conscientiously working on familiarisation over the next few days

[Bartek]

Well I managed a familiarisation ride today after we finished shopping

Even though I decided to take it steady I still managed to average nearly 30 km/hr with a top speed of about 40km/hr. side winds seem to move you around quite a bit more than on the Viper but don't seem to effect the speed as they did on the Viper. The steering is very sensitive and my right leg seems to be interfering with it, might need some adjustment somewhere! The flexible roof nearly blew off, might not have fastened it properly then I couldn't remember how or where to stow it I am still very careful with cornering but getting better.

I fitted some anti-puncture liners today and then realised that I didn't know what pressure to pump up the tyres to. After some reading I found a recommendation from Sinner to inflate to near maximum marked on the tyre (95psi on the front and 85 psi rear) I have inflated to 80 psi for both! any thoughts from other Mango owners, what pressures do you use? the front tyres are Schwalbe Kojaks and the rear is a Schwalbe Marathon Racer.

Now for some pictures:

Caged Mango


Topless


Soft top


Hard top


Mango & Viper


Front headlights and indicators


Front indicator lense


Rear indicator lense


Now I need some advice about mounting my Gopro, flat or curved mounts and do the 3M adhesive pads stick well enough? should I tether it as well?

[Riggsbie]

Looks good.....Love the dual lights and indicators !

They are fast without having to try too hard aren't they ?

I have exactly the same problem with the Flevoroof.....big gust off wind and up it pops, tried more velcro helped but not fixed it.....the race hood also tends to lift a lot as well.....maybe they don't have much wind in Holland ?

I run Duranos on the front at 100 - 120 psi...... And still have the standard fitted Big Apple on the rear at 100 psi.....

I still find the steering a bit twitchy even after 1000km but you get more confidence ! Gusty sidewinds still scare me a lot, had some scary ones at 80kph which shoved me 2 metres across the road !

How do you fit with helmet under the Flevoroof and race hood ? I really struggle with a helmet on and the race hood .....

Keep the details coming !


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Aushiker]

I run Duranos on the front at 100 - 120 psi...... And still have the standard fitted Big Apple on the rear at 100 psi.....

I am curious as to why no one seems to run Continental Grand Prix tyres which come in 28-406 or is the problem that they are 28 mm?

BTW the Big Apple is no longer standard going by the latest price list. It now shows "Schwalbe Kojak 406 -35 - Rear: 406-40-Marathon Race" which I assumes means the Kojak on the front and the Marathon Race on the rear.

Regards
Andrew

[Bartek]

Riggsbie - yes it is fast, it doesn't seem to be until you look at the speedo and realise how fast your going! I bought a new helmet today a pryme 8 V2, which is actually more comfortable than my previous helmet, has a lower profile and only weighs 300g, it's still pretty tight with the hood on (tested it today) and I can't turn fully to the sides. not a problem topless or with the flexible roof on. maybe I should pump the tyres up fully to the max.

Andrew - that sounds to be exactly what mine is fitted with, I have big apples on the Viper but generally only pump them up to 50psi.

Just been looking at the battery and wondering whether it will need charging, how much warning do you get before it runs down? anybody built a standby backup?

[Baalzamon]

Perhaps you might want to upgrade that velcro to 3m Dual Lock
I've got some if you want to give it a try
btw I think Aushiker and I need to see this in person

[Rhubarb]

I run Duranos on the front at 100 - 120 psi...... And still have the standard fitted Big Apple on the rear at 100 psi.....

I am curious as to why no one seems to run Continental Grand Prix tyres which come in 28-406 or is the problem that they are 28 mm?

BTW the Big Apple is no longer standard going by the latest price list. It now shows "Schwalbe Kojak 406 -35 - Rear: 406-40-Marathon Race" which I assumes means the Kojak on the front and the Marathon Race on the rear.

Regards
Andrew

Re Conti GPs - no real reason although David Hembrow did a review suggesting they weren't so suited to the lateral forces of velomobile use and got "scrubbed" up pretty quickly and didn't last very long. Shame because they GP4000s were always my tyre of choice for the road bike. I will try them one day but I am still working through my supply of Kojaks.

[Rhubarb]

@Bartek,

1 - Welcome to the club mate !!!!

2 - Looking good too

3 - When you get a chance, can you please take some video of those blinkers in action. Did you request those or is that now stnd or ???

4 - It took me about 700km to get used to the steering (ie feeling comfortable at speeds >60km/hr), and about 1000km before I was really comfortable. I used to brace my legs on the inside of the wheel arches, brace my shoulders under the lip of the cockpit, and touch my elbows on the sides gently for added steering stability. Now I bomb down hills at mid 70s every day and I couldn't even tell you what I do as I don't think about it. The only exception to this is on windy days. I do temper my speed down hills on windy days, but only a little, maybe low 60s where I'd normally do low 70s.

[Rhubarb]

Just been looking at the battery and wondering whether it will need charging, how much warning do you get before it runs down? anybody built a standby backup?

Fully charge it to start with. Then you will get excellent run time out of it.

I only charge my battery once per week, and run the headlights whenever I am on the roads, so maybe 30-40mins per day plus indicators and the odd toot of the horn I only have 1 headlight though.

[John Lewis]

Hi Bartek,

That looks very nice. I like the indicators. is it just a lens over a single LED or multiple LEDs? I don't think the ones I have are very visible.
I'm glad you finally have it now and with a bit of time up your sleeve to be able to get to know it a bit.

Good to hear you already getting along in the 30's. Harry, first up, had my computer calibrated in MPH and I wondered what was going on until I woke up. 30kmh and up is only on a downhill for me although I had a rolling average of 21 for the 10km round trip to town the other day so I must be improving.

Re the battery. It is NiMH and won't give much warning of going flat. Mine seems to last pretty well but I've not been using the headlight just the side lights, brakelight/tail light and indicators. I have only charged it a couple of times in 600km.

John

[Baalzamon]

You could use the suction cap mount as well on the velo bartek.

I have one if you wish to test it.

[Bartek]

Thanks guys,

Baalzamon - I think some extra velcro might be the go, you are welcome to come and view it in person I am off until Monday, I think I am Diving in the morning (Sat). but just let me know and we can meet up for coffee somewhere.

Rhubarb - I will try to remember to take video of the indicators in daylight and the dark. Someone on here mentioned that you could get additional LED's (X4) for a little extra (25 euro) so I asked and that is how they came. Battery fully charged now. I have only used the horn once, apart from testing, yesterday a car got a little impatient whilst waiting to overtake me, as they came past they blared their horn so I returned the favour and the car veered away from me suddenly I think they were a little shocked

John - I dont know if they are 4 single LED's or 1 Cree type 4-in1 LED but there is definitely a lens over the top which looks like the surface of a golf ball but see-through. I will check the speedo today, I may have been going even faster than I thought

[John Lewis]

I meant to mention that I had the flevo roof come loose in a big gust yesterday too. Not the first time.

I think some have rigged an elastic that holds it down. Have a look on the velo section in BROL.

H@rry has modified his to what they use to hold covers on the back of a ute. Not sure if he has it on a vid or if it was a BROL post. Seems a good idea.

Edit: Here it is
Mentioned here
http://twilwel.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/ ... obile.html

Some pictures here.
https://plus.google.com/photos/11427502 ... banner=pwa

Stowing the roof:
I have a long sock. I remove the long ali poles and put in sock so they don't rattle. Then I roll the flexible bit with the screen inside and hold with velcro. Slips down behind the seat on the right with the poles.

Paul gave me the trick of removing the poles. Not sure how he stows the rest though.

John

[Riggsbie]

Riggsbie - yes it is fast, it doesn't seem to be until you look at the speedo and realise how fast your going!

Yes, after a while 30 - 35 kph seems slow in a Mango !


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[burnt]

I used some bungee cord and put under the headrest foam. It hasn't lifted off since

[Bartek]

John - we use those Tanax clips at work, they are very good, but I think they might interfere with the hood. I will have a look on BROL, although it looks like burnt has just shown me how! thanks burnt.

now the video of the indicators, I don't think they look very visible in daylight will have to maintain my hand signals but they are excellent in the dark.

http://youtu.be/Wvq7ZTFKsEU

[Baalzamon]

Big hotspot on the lights, can they be adjusted upwards at all?
The Busch & Müller LUMOTEC IQ2 LUXOS just by itself appears to give much more light as well

[Rhubarb]

Thanks for the vid !!!

It looks as though you can switch the 2 lights on independently - is that correct?

I would assume there is only 1 height adjustment lever which they are both attached to.

[Aushiker]

Black Edition



Andrew

[Aushiker]

From VeloRydr via Velomobiles

Andrew

[John Lewis]

What's happened to Bartek?

Must be too busy enjoying the mango to post.

Hope you are having fun with it anyway.

john