Human Powered Vehicles of Earth -- www.jps.net/hpvofearth

Links page http://www.jps.net/HPVofEarth <-- no dot com expires 6/6/01         First a little about this page. I am an amateur and this is my effort at an informational site about Human Powered vehicles, recumbents for now.
If you are looking for info on if recumbents are fast ? ,, or how well can they go up hill I have 2 small sections on those ideas plus one very short history why they are banned. I am looking for dissenting views about recumbents. Most recumbent sites don't give the negative side and I would like to give you an off site dissenting view to give you as much information on both sides as I possibly can. You have to be well informed to make a well informed decision so there are just about 100 links in the links list .
So far most of what I have found are comercial sites. Steves comments on recumbents is the most objective response so far with mine being the the only other negative so far.
        I've found two less than compemntary non-commercial sites linked to each other that give some off site dissenting views, Unfaired Recumbents and Road Bikes by Sandiway Fong.* and with it “ * Is a racing recumbent really faster than an aero time trial bike or a quality road bike? * ”
       Fairings help at speeds as low as 12mph or aproxamatlly 20KPH so they might help going up hill. But they are heavy and may slow you below those speeds. On the down hill rim brakes can be scarry as to whether they are good enough to stop in a panic and they can wear out very quickly so extra attention to them is a must before the brakes wear to the point of damaging the rim.
        Remember buyer beware, try to find someone or some store to let you ride a recumbent so you can form your own opinion before you buy. These are very expensive bikes $700 - $1000 for the “cheap” bikes.There are some bike that are less expensive but this is an example of their expense
       A very good place to look for more info on HPV's is the IHPVA Source Guide in the menu page lists section There is a must see leaning trike from Germany in the Trikes section the“Tripendo”.
       If you are looking to make a fairing look at the CoolBikes in the Fairings section, It has links to peoples bike fairings and how they made them. Or go to the WISIL page in the Links 2 lists of Links then to the HPV project Page. The more information is meant for web publications on recumbents.
       The last list is for web design, like were I got the script for the 2 frame pull down menu and other scripts, and My ISP -Main One.Com - unlimited access and web space for $11.⁵⁰ a month
      These pictures are gathered half through magazines and books that I have and the other half through the Internet. I am claiming as a means of defense from copyright suits the idea of fair use in that no profit is made from this site and that it is meant to educate the general public through my experiences and knowledge of the subject of Human Powered Vehicles(recumbents bikes for now)on this Planet commonly referred to as Earth.
         Definitions SWB     Short Wheel Base bikes have the front wheel behind the pedals and generally have a 44" or less wheel base or distance between wheels

My Vision R40 with 2 zipper fairings one normal in front and one on top the one on top is for the rain

P38's and F40's are the same bike except the F40 has a fairing mount and fairing

My bike a R40 by ATP

A P38/F40 by Lighting

A R84 by Lighting

ABOUT $1000-$1500 BIKE

$2500-$3500 BIKES

A $5,000+ bike

SWBASS MWB Medium Wheel Base

Medium wheel base bikes look a lot like SWB bikes. The only difference is that MWB bikes have the front wheel closer to the pedals sometimes right under the pedals.This is to get some weight off the front wheel and on the back to weight over the drive wheel and less on the front wheel which is usually smaller and more sensitive to bumps. By getting the weight off the front wheel it uses the bikes frame to reduce the road shock to the rider much like a LWB bike does yet retains some of the agilitie of the SWB. The fastest flat land undrafted bike is a MWB fully faired bike. The Cheata currently holds the undrafted speed record of just over 68 MPH. This is through a 200 meter time trap with a run up and not 68 miles distance in one hour. There is a prize for the first person to travel 45 miles in one hour, a feat that seems to be a ways away.


The current record holder		The 1933 bike that banded recumbents from UCI races		Commercial version of the bike on the left

CLWB Compact Long Wheel Base CLWB bikes have the front wheel just barly in front of the pedals and the rear wheel under a or as close to under the rider as possible with a 20" wheel usually EasyRacer CLWB Garder Martins Compart Long Wheel Base bike

EasyRacer CLWB Garder Martins Compart Long Wheel Base bike

EASY RIDER CLWB

Vision CLWB

.......CWLB bikes started as an effort to reduce the cost of recumbents. They are not considered speed bikes but are more for comfort at a closer to reasonable cost. These bike are not cheap their prices start around $700 and this is about as cheap as recumbents get. Recumbents are expensive generally starting around $1000 and going up fast from there. CLWB bikes are what I’ve seen in most bike shops that have recumbents . Usually these bikes have a 16 inch front tire close to not for but in front of the pedals and a 20 inch rear wheel almost under the seat. These bikes are for casual riders and not built for speed.

bikeE.One of the more common recumbents found in bike shops.
A Compact Long Wheelbase bike CLWB. Mesh back padded seat -sling seat-

LWB Long Wheel Base LWB bikes have 20” wheel in front of the pedals and 26” or larger rear tire behind the rider. Easyracers Flagship bike the TourEasy? the mouse over is the Gold Rush the 65mph bike

Easyracers Flagship bike the TourEasy? the mouse over is the Gold Rush the 65mph bike

The idea behind recumbents is to lower wind resistance by lowering the frontal area. LWB bikes are better able to do this than SWB or MWB bikes because the rider isn’t sitting over the front tire. This does add weight and on bicycles built for speed weight is a hindrance and the longer the wheel base the larger the turning radius but the advantage is lower profile and therefore lower wind resistance helping to increase speed. Less weight on the smaller front wheel helps reduce rolling resistance. The first bike to go over 65mph through a 200 yard time trap was the long wheel base recumbent in the left mouseover


Vision R40 LWB USS	VISION R40 LWB ASS		RYAN LWB USS Mesh seat

Tricycles look very cool but they come with their own set of problems and are generally alot more expensive. One of the problems with trikes is that in a sharpe turn under any speed they have a tendency to flip or at least lift the wheel on the inside of the turn possible flipping to the outside of the turn. There is at least one trike the Tripendo from Germany that addresses this in that its wheels lean with the trike.
Most trikes with two front wheels that steer and one rear drive wheel. This is not always the case as most parapalegic trikes come with two rear wheels and the front wheel drives and steers. THe last trike picture here is one of a front wheel drive rear wheel steering trike. One of the problems I've read about those type trikes is that the rear wheel steers into what the front steers away from.

SWB	Short Wheel Base bike
MWB	Medium Wheel Base bike
CLWB	Compact Long Wheel Base bike
LWB	Long Wheel Base bike
Bent	Slang for recumbent
DF	Diamond Frame bikes are conventional bikes
HPV	Human Powered Vehicle this is anything that is powered by a human from bikes, or boats, to skates, or skis
ASS / OSS	Above or Over The Seat Stearing Self expainitory the handle bar is located above the seat generally at chest level.
USS	Under the Seat Stearing Self expainitory again. The handle bar is located Under the seat.
Mesh Seat	Is a seat that is more like a lawn chair in that it has a sling/mesh seat as opposed to a hard seat with cushions
Hard Seat	These are generally a fiberglass seat with some foam pad

I hope that this is of some value Please go through the rest of the this web site for more imformation about thier problems etcetera.

Some of recumbents faults

This is by no means a definitive list of all that could be considered wrong with recumbents but a list that I have made to validate my own position as someone who experiments with and is open to discussion on some of the benifits and faults of these machines.
It has been my experience that recumbents are slower that a diamond frame bike. This could be because they are heavier or due to the seating postion. On a DF bike you can easily use your weight and at least some upper body strenght to help move you and the bike. I am not able to put as much power into the pedals due to the seating postion. All the power that I can put in is energy from my legs and not from my weight or upper body. Some people say that the recumbent rider can push against the seat to get more power but this is not as easy as it sounds and it takes more energy in my opinion. The speed records most people use to justify recumbents have generally been made with fully faired recumbents. It should be said here that the recumbent that got them banded from racing was an unfaired MWB bike so there is at least some truth to the idea that they are potentially faster. Recumbent riders are far more likey to add a fairing and fairings have a long history of helping increase speed. I would like to see some races between fully faired diamond frame bikes against fully faired recumbents to see how they would match up. DF bikes would not have lasted as long as they have if there was not some advantage to them. The triangle is one of the strongest geometric forms. This makes for a light and strong base on which to construct a HPV. Your basic bike uses this triangel to its maximum benifit. In the end it is the engine (rider/s) that propel the vehicle and it is their strenght that determines how fast an HPV will go. Fairings and light bikes help but a strong rider on a heavy bike with no aero dynamics can still beat a weak rider on a light bike with lots of aero dynamics advantages.

If sweating totally disagrees with you these bike are not for you. Because the rider is sitting their back is against the seat and therefore does not have air circulating around it to help evaporate the sweat.This leads to a sweaty spot on the back and seat a great deal more so than on a diamond frame bike where a persons back is not pressed against the back of the seat.

On a recumbent the rider can not use their weight to help pedal
Or use their legs as suspension like on a regular bike.
They are inherently longer and their shape makes them difficult to transport by auto if you are a car person that is you drive your bike some where to ride it
One more - They are more difficult to balance. ( My experience with SWB recumbents)

Balance It is more difficult to move a recumbent under the rider than with a conventional bike. This is a result of the sitting position and therefore inherent to all recumbents. Because a rider on a conventional diamond frame bike is in a more upright standing position they are able to balance themselves easier and move the bike beneath them easier for balance. By comparision this is like laying down on a 2x4 and balancing yourself or standing on the 2x4 and balancing yourself it is easier to balance yourself while standing up than laying down. Little curbs or differing heights in the road can cause the rider to loose their balance because the bikes small front wheel doesn't negotiate these as well as a conventional 26 or 27 inch front wheel. This is easily compensated for by strearing into the area of differing height, but for me it was an embarrassment the first few times I came across this situation in that I lost my balance and fell. Long Wheel Base bike are more user friendly and are not as difficult to balance as SWB bikes or as touchy as SWB bikes

Weight on Pedals Some supporters of recumbents say that there is an advantage in this riding position in that the rider can push against the seat and provide more power to the pedals. In my opinion this puts more strain on the knees than on a diamond frame bike. This neglects to inform people that on a diamond frame bike the ride can better use thier upper body by pulling thier body down with thier arms. To get that "extra" power the recumbent rider is using more of thier energy where the rider of a Diamond Frame bike can use kenetic energy of thier own weight to help pedal when tired. There is the possibility of more strain on the lower back but I have back problems due to my work as a manual laborer and IMHO my recumbent may have helped my lower back with the exercise it needs.
Up Hills
Recumbents are at a definite disadvantange when going up hills. That does not mean they can't just that it is harder because

They are heavier
Harder to balance at slow speeds
You can't use your weight or upper body to help pedal
Recumbents have the same gears as DF bikes. Recumbent enthusiasts say get in a low gear and spin. This can be done just as well if not better on a Diamond Frame bike
If you are pushing against the seat you are using more energy that someone that is using more of thier weight and upper body

The Plus Side Now that I have informed you of some of the situations in which recumbents are at a disadvantage it is very unlikely that you will see a recumbent off road racer. If you ride off road to get away from cars, and I don't blame you cars are dangerous , a recumbent is not for you. Then again you are not likely to see a Corvete or Porshe racing in a Jeep Jamboree either. These are really street bikes and not the “best” thing to go off roading with.

Heads up seating position of recumbents give a better view of the road and possible traffic hazards
(very important for defensive riding)
In the event of an accident you generally are feet first and are far less likly to go flying over the handle bars
If the bike falls it is a shorter distance to the ground and there is a greater chance that the bike will take some or even most or all of the abuse
To counter the last one if you loose you balance and fall on a DF bike your feet are already under you ready to stop the fall, unlike recumbents where you feet are in front of you and are not readily able to catch your fall

Does this mean that they are safe or even safer?

In My Humble Opinion when you are on the road with cars you in a dangerous potentially life threating situation
I've been riding a bike for many years. I rarely wear a helmet and do not have the highest confidence in thier ability to save my life in the event of an accident. I've been in several car/bike collisions two in which I suffered broken or badly sprained ankle leg injuries. One was on a Diamond Frame bike were the car was at a stop sign and I had no stop sign. As I passed in front of the car it gassed it and nearly ran me over. The car hit the bike at the seat tube and threw me and the bike 15 to 20 feet ( 5 to 7 meters ). I believe it was becasue I was moving at about 18 MPH (30 kph, 8.3 meters per second, 26.4 feet per second) that the diver didn't hit me instead of the bike. This was a hit and run accident so I have no idea of how much or if there was any damage to the automobile at all. I suffered a severly sprained ankle and brused leg. In a similar situation on a recumbent I was at a four way stop sign it was my turn to cross the interestion and the car to the right failed to stop and hit me squarly. The bike took all of the impact and even though the bike and me were pushed through the intersection I had no injuries. In another incident a car pulled in front on me and stopped I hit in at about 33 MPH (55kph 15.2mps 48.4fps) the bike was totaled and my ankle was broken. The pickup truck suffered a large dent in the front fender but no serious damage. Had I been riding a LWB bike it is possible that I would not have had any injuries because my foot pedals hit he car first and with a LWB bike the front wheel and then the bike would have take most if not all of the impact.

These are not the only accidents that I've been in but they and others have given me the experience to say that if you ride on the road enough you are likely to be hit by a car and no matter what you do to make your self visible they will say that they didn't see you . In the many years of riding I've had he misfortune to know two others who were not as fortunate as me and lost their lives while ride thier bikes . Both of them rode DF bikes one religiously wore a helmet. I did not know these people well they just rode along the same route as I and therefore had an opportunity to talk. One rode for envirormental reasons the other for his health.
In a collision between a car and a bike the car will win every time. The best defense you have is to ride defensively. To that end the one big advantage of recumbents ,in my opinion, is the natural heads up forward looking riding position .

A very Short History of why they are banned

People have always raced . The bicycle was invented in the mid 1800’s and by the 1880’s it was very close to the shape it is now. The 1890 bike looks alot like a modern bike without derailers. Derailers were invented in the 30s 1890 bike looks like a 1960 bike 1910 fully faired Diamond Frame bike. The fairing made them so fast they were band for races. I think it was a consiracy to keep bikes slow so that they wouldn't compete with cars. This was just before WW1 when cars were young and a very good speed was 40 mph (67kph) these bikes did 30mph (50kph) By the 1890’s cyclist had already discovered the advantages of aerodynamics. By 1900 motor paced cyclist were going over 40 mph , The current record is now over 152 mph. In 1913 a Frenchman patented a streamlined enclosure for the bike called the Velo-Torpedo. At this time a rivalry involving at least two individuals in order to claim the fastest unpaced speed and any means possible was use to gain the advantage.By WW1 the Union of Cyclist International ,UCI ,the organization that organizes races, had band the use of anything intended to reduce air resistance.

A picture a historic track race. One of the very few with a recumbent A bicycle revival in the 30’s saw a lot of recumbents. One maker noticed that his recumbent was significantly faster than conventional bikes and in 1933 asked the UCI if the bike fit their rules. They referred to their earlier ruling of no aerodynamic devices but made no ruling. The bike later that year broke the prestigious 1 hour record and was beating all challengers . It set records that were not matched on conventional Diamond Frame bikes until the 60's. The recumbent that set records that were not matched by conventional bikes until the 1960's and caused recumbents to be band from organized races By 1934 the UCI had ruled against recumbents and set the strict dimensions on the bike .Their argument was that it should be a race of people and not machines. As far as the UCI (Union of Cyclist International) and USCF (United States Cycling Federation)- The people that organize most professional races are concerned recumbents are illegal and banned from racing.

In the 70’s interest in how fast a person could move under there own power was reborn. Dupont put up a prize of money for the first person to go over 65mph(93.3 feet per second)(109kph 30.3 meters per second) through a 200 yard? "time trap" on level ground with no wind.
easyriders.jpg first bike to go through a 200 meter time trap at over 65 mph Easyracers won this prize in 1985.It is this interest that led to proof that 80% of a persons energy was going to move the air out of the way at speeds over 15 to 20 mph . This developed into the International Human Powered Vehicle Association an organization developed to record and encourage speed records on all types of vehicles . This organization holds annual speed championships around the world and is at least partly repsonsible for the resurgence of recumbents. There is now a prize for the first person to travel 45 miles in 1 hour.

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Fairings.htm

This section will evetually be about fairings. How I have made mine. How I think others have made theirs. Where I think your best effort should be put and lots of pictures of mine and other peoples fairings.

Below are some pictures of fairings that I've gathered. #1-5 are of my past and present bikes. I only have one bike now and that is #5 which is also #4 but the fairing in #5 I've made and those in #4 are Zipper fairings. The one on the front of the bike is comercial the one on top is my own idea. #1-3 are the same bike with different fairings on it, the bike was in an accident its repacement that was made in school shop was stolen! I have learned though reading and personal experience that the rear fairing is more important than the front fairing as far as speed is concerned. The rear is were the drag is created. It is because of this that many commercial recumbents in Europe have rear fairings "tail cones?" that add lockable storage and speed. #6 & 7 are examples of that.

#1	#2
#3	#4
#5	#6
#7	#8
#9	#10

The above are the few pictures I have of my bikes. The #4 & #5 pictures are of the bike I now own and use as primary Transportation a Vision R40 by Alterative TransPortation ATP. The ones before that, 1-3, are from a bike company that has gone out of business. That bike was stolen from me. It was heaver yet faster because it had an intermediate gear cluster that gave it a gear range of 20 gear inches to 252 gear inches American or 1.6 meters to 20.3 meters European. It was with this bike that I really found out how much the rear fairing mattered. It was not until I added the rear aero dynamics that the bike really increased its speed. #5 Mouse over Mouse off is the rear of my bike now. Mouse off shows the rear open. It lost some storage spce compared to the baskets I had but it added a space to place cool looking stickers. It was made with coroplast™ and styrofoam. The coroplast doesn't bend much and was very difficult to bend into a shape I liked at the end so I used styrofoam and carved it to a shape that I could live with. #6 & #7 are the tails of some european bikes. Obviously those look alot better than my bikes ever did and they better they cost more and are production bikes. The next one #8 is the current 200 meter record holded the Cheeta. The mouse over link leads to there site #9 & #10 are typical race bikes

The bike in picture #1 was one of my first attempts and the basis of the way I made the next three fairings and influence in the last one #4. It was made using coroplast as the backbone and what held it away from me and to the bike. In 1-3 the fairing itself was made from styrofoam blocks that were glued together and then sanded to the shape I wanted. After the shaped the styrofoam was covered with model airplane covering like monocoat. The fairing in #4 used the support from the zipper fairing to hold the fairing. The majority of the fairing is made with coroplast with a little styrofoam for shape and then covered with model airplane covering to make it uniform color. The first three cost about $30-50 dollars in materials # 4 because it uses a zipper fairing support cost considerably more but the fairing itself ( what you see in the picture ) cost about $30-$50.

You may be asking yourself if I already had a very nice commercial fairing why did I make one? The reason was because my bike is my primary form of transportation and I wanted to be able to ride in the rain and the commercial one was just not adaptable to that end. Though not pictured here yet #4 has been able to do just that.
Below are a few of the many great site discribing various fairings the best in this list is the WISIL site which is a link to other sites on various recumbent type things . If you have not visited it yet it is a must see if these things interest you.

http://www.mcs.net/~gkpsol/fairingseminar.html A coroplast fairing constrution page
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/hpvpfair.htm coroplast fairing w/zipper front from midwest
http://www.merit.edu/~rjd/fairing_construction.html M5 w/coroplast lots of detail lots of pictures
http://recumbents.com/giles/fairing.htm GreenspeedTrike fiberglass fairing
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/whatsup.htm WISIL recumbent project page a must see
http://www.mcs.net/~gkpsol/coolbikes.htmlcool bik pictures and links
http://www.mcs.net/~gkpsol/workshop.html Chicago recumbent fairing work shop

Wheel Covers

     The wheel covers that I have experience with are the UNI ? wheel covers that have an aluminum hoop that a cloth cover is stretched and tightened over and the ones that I now have on my bike made from balsa wood hoops and monocoat ,a model airplane covering.
      With the covers with aluminum hoops the hoops are attached to the wheel with clips after the cover is stretched over them . In my experience the hoop had a tendency to jump off the clips if a big bump in the road was hit . This more than once became a big annoyance.
     The wheel covers on my bike now are home made using 1/8" balsa wood sections carved in the shape of the rim that they are going on then glued together overlapping the sections to form the hoop .One hoop each side each side glued to the other side with the scapes of balsa left over from caving the shapes needed for the hoops . The hoops are more than one layer of balsa glued together overlaping so that the grain of the wood goes in a diffent direction than the layer its glued to. After the hoops were glued together and dry I glue the two opposing "hoops together through the spokes with scrape pieces of balsa ironed on the monocoat and srank it tight. The picture gives you a little idea of how it is done. I've had less trouble with these than with the ones with the aluminum hoops. Not that I have not had trouble with these but with these the balsa wood has never left the wheel and when the momocoat separated from the balsa I could easly take it completly off.

Image of a past bike with front wheel off and the start of a wheel cover with balsa wood strips on the rim to be used for covering with model airplane covering

This Image is old but I hope that you can see what I have done. The balsa that I will use to iron the model airplane covering to is in front with one small portion cut out of a 3x12x1/8 piece of balsa. This is teadious and so is glueing the pieces together to make the rim but for me it has worked out nicely.
I hope that the picture has some value. One Balsawood "rim strip" is on the wheel and part of the other side can be seen in front cut out of the 3x12x1/8 balsawood. There are alot of small arcs that are glued together to make the whole circle that the model airplane covering will be ironed to. The short strips were cut using the rim as a template.

There are problems with everything and this is no exception . these balsa hoops after they are glued together on the wheel they can not be easily removed and placed on another wheel unlike "UNI" wheel covers with the aluminum hoops and clips. Those wheel covers can easily be removed except at the sprockets were you need to remove the freewheel/ to remove the wheel cover. I have been pleased with the home made covers that I've made. I've heard of others that instead of making balsa wood hoops like I did they just glued the model air plane covering directly to the rim of the wheel. If this is done the brakes must be very carefully adjusted so that they don't come in contact with the cover or they will rip it off when the brakes are applied.

A must see site listed in the drop down Fairing links above is the Wisil wheel cover site. I think that thiers is easier and cleaner although I have not tried to make one yet
A fine example of a cover made with plastic that I think would be easier to make, better and cheaper than my balsa wood and Monocoat covers. The wire hoop with the clips at that page is just like the UNI wheel covers that I had and therefore are likely to have the same problems

Fender
The front fender mud guard was made with aluminum flashing cut and shaped then taped to the forks and covered with model airplane covering . The model airplane covering wasn't necessary I used clear packing tape and left it bare for a time.
The rear fender is commercial fender with some balsa wood strips along the bottom glued to the fender then moldel airplane covering was attached to it. These add nothing but looks and a cheap mud guard in front

More Fairing Pictures

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A 1910 fully faired diamond frame bike the same picture as in history

Fairings are what really make recumbent bikes and bikes in general go fast The real speed advantage is gained with the rear fairing because it is the turbulance in the back that add the drag on the bike This has been known for quite some time but modern race rules are about races between people and not machines. There are only a few commercial bikes that I know that have fairings as bike specific options,the F40 by Lighting the kingcycle and the interceptor by Rotator The F40 is a lighting P38 with a Zipper type fairing and cloth body .The Kingcycle is fiberglass front and rear with the rear fairing being lockable .


	kingcycle & “trunk ”	Rotator interceptor	Lighting F40

I have made a few fairings for my bikes . The best so far was this The Shark an old bike of mine I called the lead sled. I could ride that bike in a down pour and stay dry The Shark It was made out of coropast, a corogated plastic ,styrofoam and monocoat, a model airplane covering. I called it the lead sled everyone else called it the Shark.It was in an accident and its replacement that I made in the college metals shop was stollen! Both were very fast bikes I believe becuse they had an intemediate gear that gave then an extremly wide range of gears.
Now I have a Vision R40 with a Zipper fairing That I know is not as fast or even close to as fast as the previous bike.

I plan to make a new fairing for the front but I must emphasize that it is the rear fairing that will gain you the most speed. Wheelcovers are the best advantage for weight / cost / time as far as my experience shows . I gained 2.5 MPH average speed with the addition of the wheel covers . The "fairing" over the front wheel is really a fender/mudguard and does not help with speed IMHO . It was made with aluminum flashing shaped and taped together . Then taped to the front forks and covered with monocote. I've made others that were made out of coroplast, styrofoam and monocoat that carried a light . These add a certain look to the bike like fairings in general but I don't believe that they add any speed advantage. They are neat mudguards though. The rear fairing/fender/mudguard was made out of a commercial bike mudguard with balsa wood strips glued to it to hold the monocoat in place

I have hade marginally good results with Styrofoam blocks that can easily be carved and sanded to the shape that I desired. These blocks were first glued to something ,generally coroplast, then shaped. After I was satisfied with the shape it was covered with model airplane covering ,monocoator or similar. A great deal of care must be taken when applying the monocoat because the styrofoam melts easly . You could instead of monocoat use a fiberglass type covering but again styrofoam melts easly and the right epoxy is nessesary.

For those of you in Sacramento Here is were I purchased my recumbent A Vision R40. It was at the "Bike Shop" on the corner of San Jaun and Winding Way behind the Dairy Queen. At 4719 San Jaun at the red arrow on the map. Phone # 961-9646 open 7 days a week.

This map is modified from one that I got from Map Quest. I wish that I would have modified it more but the street addresses did not turn out very good

Go to MapQuest to get directions to there from where ever you are.

To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
Just because I believe there is a conspiracy doesn't mean there isn't one
Recycle and bicycle the planet you save may be your own.
Samuel Clements said “Get a bike you won't regret it, if you live ! ”
My empire for an editor.