Eggert Bülk. Passion and genius | Second Part
The portrait of an HPV pioneer, text and images by Jens Buckbesch.
Today I want to write the second part of Eggert’s portrait. The first part ended with the description of the Bülk 2 and its success as a world record vehicle over 24 hours by Christian von Ascheberg.
However, races showed that single-track velomobiles had major disadvantages in rain compared to multi-track velomobiles such as the Quest. There were a number of falls and against this background I managed to convince Eggert at the end of 2005 of a joint velomobile project for a three-track vehicle: the Milan.
This velomobile should primarily be designed for speed and maximum driving efficiency (that was what Eggert drove) and at the same time offer full suitability for everyday use, safety and comfort (in my opinion, that should definitely be part of it).
So Eggert and I started the Milan project and Eggert first created the original positive of the Milan GT:
First Milan original positive.
I drew a production mold from this original positive and made the first copy.
Eggert then made positives for various hoods and hatch covers, I focused on the internal engineering of the vehicle.
At the 2009 European Championships in Leer, Daniel Fenn stepped in as a driver for the Milan GT at short notice and became overall winner.
In 2008/9, Eggert derived the Milan SL from the Milan GT, with which Christian von Ascheberg drove a new 24-hour and 12-hour world record in 2010 (see table).
As an ultra-fast velomobile with a very high level of suitability for everyday use, the Milan struck a chord with many sporty cyclists and there were many requests for a model.
In order to commercialize the Milan project, I brought the Milan to the Räderwerk in Hanover in 2009 and set up the velomobile department there for the sale and further development of the Milan. My focus until leaving the Räderwerk in 2020 was the further development of the Milan to make it more suitable for everyday use and lightweight.
In this way, I was able to contribute to Eggert’s Milan velomobile becoming widespread and his ingenious velomobile design now finding friends and users on almost every continent on earth.
Modern Milan SL
In 2013, Eggert built the first 2-seater based on the Milan GT: in 2016 he set a world record himself with the Milan 4.2
Milan 4.2
Eggert is still active today and designs on the computer. His last project was the design of a wide-bodied all-wing aircraft:
Eggert’s current project: The flying wing
If you are interested in a detailed description of the development of the Milan, you can find it on the Internet at: https://www.miwik.de/?p=5603. A wealth of material on the development of the Milan 4.2 can be found at: https://www.miwik.de/?p=5953.
It can be said that Eggert’s passion for aerodynamics and construction culminated in the Milan project and also found a fair spread. Nevertheless, Eggert never pursued a commercial interest and never profited from it commercially. He was always concerned with the matter itself and the joy of the results! As an HPV member from the very beginning, Eggert Bülk has always been committed to the association and has published many articles in their magazines.
In this photo we see the typical Bülk design language in various exhibits of his work over the last 20 years: from left: Milan SL, Milan GT, Milan 4.2, Bülk2 and tricycle.
Bülk Family
The design language reaches its peak with the Milan SL and GT (far left)
In particular, many world records have been set on the Milan SL, and this is a fitting tribute to Eggert Bülk’s life’s work.
Because that’s what Eggert Bülk lived for: the construction of muscle-powered record machines, and he did it more successfully than almost anyone else: with passion and genius!
Here we see a list of the world records set on the Bülk and Milan velomobiles:
Click on image to see it in full size / to zoom
What happened next?
The Milan velomobiles were continuously developed over the years 2009 to 2021. In 2021 the current version, the SL and Gt MK7 was launched and found many customers and followers.
In 2021 Eggert and I started a new velomobile project: the Bülk MK1
Was there anything else to improve on the Milan MK7?
The new velomobile Bülk MK1 does not see itself as a continuation of the Milan project but starts a new concept.
Although it builds on the features of the Milan aerodynamically and conceptually, some aspects should be re-evaluated and introduced.
Here is a photo from the development work:
Suitability for everyday use, safety and easy adaptability to different rider sizes, including very large ones, were in the foreground.
Further developments in drive efficiency and compactness were also on the agenda of this new project.
In the meantime, the Bülk MK1 has been successfully launched on the market and there is even a first world record on this vehicle: In 2022, Holger Seidel set the new record crossing Germany South-North. See all the details HERE.
Detailed information about the “Philosophy” of the Bülk MK1 can be found here: The Philosophy of the Bülk MK1 >>>
