7 Reasons why you should ride a velomobile
Author: Saukki (The Velomobile Channel)
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#7. Velomobiles are fast
Velomobiles are aerodynamic which makes them very efficient and fast. This is the most obvious reason why people get interested about velomobiles, including me. I got interested about velomobiles because I found out how fast these are compared to other types of human-powered vehicles, but even that the efficiency and speed are the most compelling reasons to get a velomobile, it's not the reason I've been running velomobiles all these years, so here are six more reasons why you should try a velomobile instead of any other type of bicycle.
#6. Velomobiles are comfortable
Velomobiles are very comfortable, they have this kind of laid back sitting position and on this kind of velomobile seat the pressure is divided in a much larger area compared to regular upright bike seat, so in theory you can ride your velomobile much longer until you start to get any pain compared to regular upright bike.
#5. Velomobiles are very visible compared to other types of bikes
As you can see velomobiles usually have bright colors which makes them very visible even though these are so low to the ground, but you can be pretty sure that car drivers will see your velomobile on a road because these are so colorful and weird looking vehicles. So if you run on a bike path then you will become invisible no matter what kind of vehicle you are riding.
#4. Velomobiles are safe
Velomobiles are much more safer than other types of bicycles because you are sitting here inside of this body, which will give you some protection in case of you crash and what I've heard is that usually velonauts tend to get less injured during a crash compared to other cyclists and it's all thanks to this protective body around you.
#3. Carrying stuff doesn't affect the aerodynamics
Velomobiles have usually pretty good luggage space. Some models have more than others, like for example this Quatrevelo, that has pretty huge luggage space here, but that's not why this is on my list. The nicest thing about velomobile luggage space is that even though you pack it full with groceries, camping gear or whatever, it still doesn't affect the aerodynamics, so your velomobile is still very efficient even though your luggage space is full of camping gear. Voice: "We have also here under the seat some peanuts, food and here are the clothes, tents, sleeping bags, in the front we have also mattresses..." With regular bikes you might have more room for luggage, but all that will ruin your already bad aerodynamics (see this in video, it's pretty funny).
#2. The velomobile body protects you from the elements
The velomobile body protects you from the elements. The body and the roof covers you from the rain, it also protects you from the sun, it's much nicer to sit in the shadow instead of in the direct sunlight. The velomobile protects you from the cold in winter, so you don't have to wear so much winter cycling clothes.
But none of this is the most important reason why I still keep running velomobiles. But before I tell you which is the best feature of the velomobile please click the like button below the video, I'll wait here until you have clicked the button.
#1. Enclosed drivetrain
Okay, so in my opinion the best feature of a velomobile is the enclosed drivetrain, no matter in what kind of conditions you have to ride your velomobile the drivetrain will stay clean. That's especially a great feature if a velomobile is your daily driver and you have to ride it all year round, then you will really appreciate the fact that you don't have to clean and lubricate the drivetrain after every commute.
But keep in mind that not all velomobile models have enclosed drivetrain, so when choosing a velomobile model make sure that it has completely enclosed drivetrain. The only downside is that it might be rather difficult to get access to the drivetrain parts, because they are all enclosed inside the velomobile. For example replacing the chain is not very easy, but on the other hand because it doesn't get dirty, the only maintenance you have to do is to lubricate the chain once in a while. I'm using this kind chain lubricant (see in video), this doesn't make the chain quite as dirty as your regular chain oil will do. Also the chain will last probably at least around 30.000 kilometers, so you don't have to replace it so often.
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