Hi! My name is John Schlitter and I am a velomobile ambassador from Port Charlotte, Florida, USA. Let me know how I can help you discover a fantastic alternative to a car that’s much faster and more comfortable than a bicycle! Let’s schedule a chat and maybe even a test drive!
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My history with recumbent type pedal vehicles goes back to the seventies when my brother Randy Schlitter developed street legal sailing machines. A delta trike with the recumbent position. We then developed two recumbents in 1978 under the RANS name. I left the company in 2000 and started another recumbent company called Bacchetta Bikes and now have my own label of Schlitter Bikes. How does this relate or has to do with velomobiles?
I have been a recumbent ultra-cyclist since 2005 with my first recumbent team event in the Race Across America. It was from that point I was pretty much on a mission to prove a recumbent bicycle can be competitive in ultra-races. Many ultra-races and many records were competed and completed over the next decade.
Late 2021 I decided to put my name in on the Tans America Bike Race. Having been the first solo recumbent rider to crack Race Across America in 2008 the TABR (Trans America Bike Race) was my next big challenge in my ultra-cycling. Dave Lewis a 2018 TABR veteran (Milan SL) got wind of it and contacted me and asked if I wanted to ride with him (train) because he was considering doing the race.
So, we started doing rides together he in his Milan and I on my Schlitter Freestyle recumbent. It was soon evident to me that riding together was not possible. I would either be riding at max to stay close to Dave or he would be doing 100 watts riding down to my speeds. This went on for awhile but after a week of watching him go so dam fast I mention to my buddy Troy Timmons that if he see a Milan SL for sell let me know. Well Troy saw one and I bought it!
Dave and I continue our training together and doing races while I made arrangements to get the Milan to me. We both rode the Sebring 12-hour race, Dave did 344 and I did 284.2. Then I said we ought to do the Florida 500 the following weekend. We would ride to Jacksonville for the start race 533 miles to Key West then ride home after a day of recovery. Dave did the Florida 533 miles in 22:21 and I in 28:52. You can see a trend here.
I received my Milan SL about the middle of March and hoped in and went for a 125-mile ride with Dave, then all of sudden we were doing training rides up into the 300 plus mile range pretty quickly and I made the decision to use the Milan SL for my TABR race and Dave was in for the race also. Soon we were running out of different places to ride, and I suggest that we should just ride to the start of TABR somewhere around 3600 miles to get there. I said we should have it all figured out by the time we get there.
Reasons for doing the TABR in the Milan SL were, great average speeds, able to carry what gear needed to be self-supported without increasing the drag on the bike. No worries climbing at slow speed vs climbing a slow speed on a two-wheel loaded recumbent. Riding in a weather protected environment was a plus too!
Ended up being a great learning experience and fun trip. I decided in Kansas near my hometown that I would pull the plug on doing TABR and rolled into Hays Kansas with 1905 miles in ten days of riding. Dave rolled on to Boulder Colorado.
Every time I get into the Milan, I get a giggle because it can be so fast, but I also enjoy just cruising. Just like I do when I ride my two-wheel recumbent, pain free and fast but the velo is a whole step above.
I look forward to sharing my experience as Dave Lewis has been so great in mentoring me in the ways of riding a velomobile, I to want help future velomobile riders.
By the way I’m only 66 years old! My location is in Port Charlotte FL. I do traveling a bit and always travel with a velomobile along, so it is possible I can introduce and show the Bülk to interested parties.
You can visit also my website here.
After Eggert Bülk and Jens Buckbesch started the Milan project in 2005 (which is still running successfully today), they started a new velomobile project in 2021, the Bülk-MK1. It implements a new space utilization and aerodynamic concept. The findings from various wind tunnel tests were also taken into account. Jens documented every step of the Bülk-MK1 project, then he sent us very detailed info to create a PAGE where you can discover the philosophy of the Bülk-MK1.
A velomobile is a human-powered vehicle related to the bicycle, for everyday use, with a body/shell that provides comfort, weather protection and luggage space. Due to the aerodynamically shaped bodywork, you can achieve a decent speed with little effort (30-50 km/h on flat road). Velomobiles are very suitable as commuter vehicles, for shopping or holidays, also are a good way to clear your mind while taking a tour or a road trip with your friends.
● Fun to drive with little effort on long distances
● Environmental friendly transport
● Very suitable for commuting, shopping, holiday travels
● Comfortable to drive
● You are independent, needs only your force to work
● Good for training and sport, good for your health
If you live in USA or Canada, please create an account, so you can order your velomobile. After you create your account on our website, you can access the configurator to create the velomobile after your needs, you will see also the final price and other details, if you follow the steps. Do you need help? Please contact me!
Werner Klomp, one of our clients, took some time to share with us his experience over the years with a few models of velomobiles.
I just want to write something positive as a customer of VelomobileWorld.com; In one year, I drove about 16.000 till 20.000 km with a velomobile made by VelomobileWorld.com in Romania, and that’s already over 10 years with a lot of fun and almost no problems.
The velomobiles are getting better and better, lighter and lighter, faster and faster. Therefore I thank the Romanian producers and off course the designer Daniel Fenn and also the distributor Ymte with whom I have also good connections. If there is a problem, what normally is small, the help from all three of them is very fast. I never had a problem that big in the last 8 years that I couldn’t drive on to the destination I want.
The first Velomobile was a Strada, which I drove in two years about 50.000 km and the only problem was the broken suspension on the back. This part made from aluminum was on the post after two days at my place to repair it. Strada was a little bit big for me, that is when Daniel came to Velomobiel.nl and started to work there. At that time he designed the DF, which is like a smaller Strada, with the complete team from Velomobiel.nl. The DF velomobile came and I drove it with a lot of fun and speed, over 50.000 km in two years. By driving so many kilometers you’ll always find something to make better. All those experiences I offered to the team to make it even better than already was. The time goes on, people want to do their business to work, not always together, so Ymte started Intercitybike and Daniel is working for himself in southern Germany.
Daniel designed a new model called Alpha 7, which is a bit bigger than DF but a bit smaller than DF XL. This velomobile is about 21 kg, which is 3 kg lighter than the normal DF, so as you can see, it is still getting better and better. This Velomobile is made in Romania of course, and at a really good quality. Also if the new velomobiles have some problems, they always fix them very fast and the customers are getting help. The Alpha is now also produced with tank steering, which is made from carbon fiber and very light.
At this moment I have an Alpha with tank steering at home and a DF that was specially made for me with special parts and special carbon fiber to make it lighter for me. This one made me happy and I drove 500 km already, with a lot of hill meters in it the last 5 days. The speed between Alpha and my special DF is almost the same, but for me the DF fits very well to my body, so I am very lucky to have this part built for me in Romania.
So I want to thank the whole team in Romania for their work, the good parts and the deliver … thanks a lot guys.
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