Tag Archives: Commuting

English Velomobile Commuter

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Some time ago the BBC did a report on Ian Fardoe and his home built velomobile for the Midlands Today program.  The clip is available via Ian’s Youtube channel below.  At the time he was using the velomobile to commute to work, a 12 mile round trip according to the reporter.  The tone is very positive and it is interesting to note the distinction made with the infamous Sinclair C5!

Ian has since upgraded to a Quest from Velomobiel.nl and a couple of driver’s eye videos from his daily commute are shown below.  There is visual commentary superimposed on the video and at one point he highlights his speed as 54 mph based on GPS data!

Much of the following video is played back at high (x 4) speed which distorts the true sense of speed.  It is none-the-less of value as it illustrates a range of different UK roads over which Ian commutes.

UPDATE:

Here is the video Ian refers to in his comment below:

The Velomobile as a Commuter Vehicle

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While looking for something else I ran across this interesting post over at the Commute by Bike blog.  It is an extensive report by Josef Janning on his use of a Quest velomobile to commute to work all year round, and includes a potted history of how he moved from commuting on a road bike, through several stages, till he reached his Quest.  If it looks or sounds a little familiar this is the same Josef Janning who organised the Roll Over AMerica (ROAM) of last year.

Quest Velomobile

View from the Quest | Photo: Josef Janning

He summarises his view nicely.

The velomobile exceeded these bikes and trikes in all dimensions. It allowed me to ride faster than on any of my other bikes, in more comfort, with better weather protection through all seasons, better luggage capacity, and on top of all this, with the most sensational feeling I have ever experienced on wheels.

The article is quite lengthy and informative and features a couple of excellent YouTube videos as well as several illustrative pictures.  It is well worth a read.