Velomobile: no gas, burns calories, secure like a car

Most Americans have never seen one before. When Stephen Mosca takes his out on the street, he says he's treated like a mini Mini Cooper.

A velomobile guarantees you protection from rain, sun and even cold, but you still need to pedal. Because underneath the aerodynamic shell that gives it the sleek look of a minicar lies a recumbent bicycle.

The fairing (shell) not only helps protect drivers against the elements (and even collisions to some extent), but it gives it an aerodynamic advantages making it one of the fastest bicycles on the road.

Mosca bought his first velomobile about ten years ago when he was looking for something that would protect him on his daily commute. Today, he pedals the 15 miles to work in a full business suit with his briefcase and morning coffee tucked in alongside.

Original story here: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/...
Stephen's company here: http://www.go-one.us/

• Category

  Autos & Vehicles

[Steve smith]

This should be illegal. You are having too much fun and making too much sense so it needs to be stopped with government regulations. No license? No insurance? Oh man, you are asking for trouble.

BTW.....I want one!

[theknightlynews]

20 mph to work is not an "average cyclist". That's an athletic cyclist.

[TheDragonFinder]

erm depends on where you live and how long youve been cycling.. i mean ive been cycling since the age of 8 and can do about 50mph top speed on my mountain bike on gears 3 front cog and 9 back cog if i push hard enough on the pedals.. but then again my mountain bike is fully custom and basically i do tend to cycle about 60 miles each time i go out on it. some weeks its 60 miles i do and others its about 420 miles (in a week). why? well basically i dont like sticking around in areas.

[angelinbluejeans855]

Low profile.....I see a road splatter!

[Carl Nesensohn]

I wouldn't say nothing,sure i have a nice road bike and can go 30 mph but not for long,doing 20 for a decent distance takes a bit of fitness,not to mention the wind,if the wind is in your favor 20 isn't bad,if not it is much harder.

[ElGatoLoco698]

I found this contraption quite annoying. That guy sure was proud of his little bike. Looks like more of a problem than convenient.

[Daniel Watson]

This is really neat for a suburban maybe even a laid back urban environment but I can't see this being functional in a rural area where most things are very spaced out with encounters with rocky dirt roads. and safety would be an issue with this in a busy city with lots of traffic and potential theft.

[Lejanie Siman]

i want that ahahahahahhahahhahana

dick eater

[scott england]

You could bake this seat by putting hinges between the seat area and backrest. And then the frame of the backrest and seat would have telescopic poles that extend out. Then slide on the mesh to sleep on. The foot area could be rocked into the pedals on both sides. The two rods that support the backrest while riding would unhinge and support the head of the seat/cot against the ground.

[scott england]

I do a lot of touring (8 months out of the year) on my recumbent delta trike. Every night I do stealth camping to save money. I would love to add a full fairing like this to keep the rain and sun off, and have my recumbent seat that folds into a cot to sleep inside my velomobile. It would be so easy to set up at night, I could even sleep in parking lots if neccessary, like RVers do at Walmart.

[theknightlynews]

Really. Well if you can average 20 mph on a bicycle, which is 32 km/h, over a significant distance, including hills, you are good enough to compete professionally.

You are full of shit.

[Adam Wilber]

I'm not an athlete and I can do that. 20mph on a bicycle is nothing.