My first velomobile ride
December 15th, 2008,
Last August my family and I attended the Midwest Recumbent Rally, which is held annually near Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The rally is organized by a highly successful recumbent bike dealer, the Hostel Shoppe, which is located in Stevens Point.
One of the highlights of the rally was my ride in the vehicle pictured above, a Leitra velomobile, which Tony Dombrowski of Appleton, Wisconsin, was selling for $5,000. The photo on the left features our daughter in front of the Leitra. That’s me peering through the window in the photo on the right.
This was my first-ever ride in a velomobile, and I kept to the safe test track located in a parking lot. Upon entering the vehicle, my first impression was how uncar-like it was. Instead of seeing a polished interior with a dashboard hiding the mechanical components, I instead was in an open cab with electrical wires and other things visible. It had a Rube Goldbergish-feel to it.
It’s probably unfair to compare the polish of a velomobile to that of an automobile, since the latter can be so much heavier. However, I’ll be interested to see the interior of other velomobiles.
My impression of the Leitra improved when I actually drove it. It was not very hard to get it started and keep it going, and it was easy to maneuver.
I remain unlikely to purchase a full velomobile for a variety of reasons: cost, storage, complexity. It’s hard to beat the advantages of the common bike – except, of course, when the weather is bad, like it is today here in Minnesota; we have frigid, subzero temperatures. I’m still interested in the simpler and less expensive Velo-kit, which puts a plastic-and-fabric top on a trike, though I have no plans for purchasing one.
Interestingly enough, the owner of the Hostel Shoppe recently purchased a velomobile prototype made by Greenspeed, the highly regarded Australian trike manufacturer. See his review of the Greenspeed Glyde, complete with pictures. It’s a darned beautiful vehicle that features a head-out design.