tour update

Hello everyone! Sorry I have not posted in so long, I have been extremely busy. Below is mine & Adam's velomobiles. Follow our progress on facebook! The link will bring you to the page. This is our only option to post on the go!

http://www.facebook.com/triketrek11

we leave in 3 days!

Velomobile Update

Yesterday and today at the shop I mounted my rear idlers and also mounted on my front brake tabs! The trike came home with me tonight and will be stripped and painted tomorrow. The drive line on this trike FAR exceeds my expectations as it is virtually silent! The idlers are very solid and seem very resistant to wear, unlike my first trike. The steering setup has also been a pleasant surprise as it is performing very well, even though this was my first time designing my own steering setup and building it. It's a blast to ride, and 10mph on the hardest gear is effortless. I will post a riding video on Youtube once it is all painted!

More work has not been done on the fairing because of bad weather conditions which would not allow the resin to cure properly if attempted, so unfortunately the plug is on standby until dry weather comes.

okay so the rain was good for getting this picture, but not much else.

first test ride destination was 7-eleven!

Velomobile Update

With today being rainy outside, I decided to do more work on the trike inside. Today I reduced the track width from 31'' to 27''! Along with that came the necessary resizing of all three of the tie rods in my lever steering setup. After all of that was finished I made some brackets to mount on my idlers that Adam made for me. I decided to mount them side by side and it worked great!

Once those front idlers were on I couldn't help but take it for a little test ride. It rides GREAT! it feels stable through turn, the ride is stiff up front and dampened in the rear by the shock, and the combination feels fantastic.

To get this trike fully functional, I only need to mount the brake tabs & attach the brake cables, add my derailleurs & cables, and also add another idler + put on a chain tube for the return chain. All of those things don't take much time at all! Since tomorrow is supposed to be thunderstorms, I will most likely do all or most of those things!

Also: A bit of bad news. Due to financial circumstances, our friend Dan is unable to participate in Trike Trek '11. However, we plan on having him with us in a future tour! Best of luck to you this summer, Dan, we'll miss having you with us.

27'' track width - narrow!

idlers hand made by Adam Mercier - thank you!!

it looks tight, but there's no leg interference, even during turns

nearly done

wet tire from test ride

side by side idlers

steering setup - left side

pilot's seat - i'll be spending most of the days this summer in this!

very long wheelbase fit for touring

she's quick, even without derailleurs!

Velomobile Update

The past two days I have been in the shop working on getting the low spots on the sides of the plug filled in, it's just about ready for the bottom to be wet out! After I wet out the bottom, some more low spots will need to be filled in along the edge, then after that, it can be covered in glass!

right side covered. this was then trimmed and sanded down to a smooth finish.

next onto the left side!

looks like woven yarn

left side covered! tomorrow, once it's hardened completely, i'll trim & sand it

got rid of the little slope the nose used to have, now its straight

the plug is coming along :) not too much more!

Velomobile Update

     Today at the shop I put 6 cans of expanding foam on the fairing to get rid of the low spots on the hardened fleece. I first sprayed it on, then after curing, sanded it down flush. It is not perfect, but it does not need to be, because fiberglass mat will be put on top of this. Right now only the top has been done, but next time I'm in the shop I will flip it on its side and do that next. The top and sides will be covered in foam before we wet out the bottom of the plug.

scrambled eggs anyone?

used a hacksaw to trim major excess foam...

...then followed up with a belt sander

Velomobile Update

Today after work, my friend Matt helped me wet out the top side of the fairing skeleton with resin. This took much more resin than I originally expected, and more resin must be bought before we can apply any layers of fiberglass. However, tomorrow I have the day off of work and I plan on filling in the low spots with expanding foam!

Velomobile Update

This was about a week ago, but I got the entire skeleton covered in fleece. I ended up having to get a bit more fleece which came from walmart in the form of a red blanket. It was used to patch the areas that I did not have enough fleece for. Next time the weather permits, I will wet out the fleece shape with resin, and once that cures I will begin layup with the fiberglass mat.

remember, the low spots you see will be filled in and sanded down with expanding foam to reach the desired end shape. this shape will form as the plug, which will be gelcoated and sent off to our sponsor, Fiberglass Chicago. From there they will create the mold to make two identical copies of our velomobile fairing.

see also: http://www.youtube.com/user/triketrek11?feature=mhum