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        Please Read this First!
           I am an amateur and this is my effort at a purely informational site about Human Powered vehicles, recumbents for now. The pull down lists above is my links page. If it does not work here is that links list If you are looking for info on if recumbents are fast ? ,, or how well can they go up hills 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 lists above. So far most of what I have found are commercial sites. Steve's 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 complementary 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? * ”
The links above are here to help you search for info on recumbents. Those pages will turn up in this frame. `
        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.Their 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 links 2 lists of links. if you are interested in trikes there is a must see leaning trike from Germany in the Trikes list the “Tripendo”.  
       If you are looking to make a fairing look at the CoolBikes in the Fairings list, 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. Fairings help at speeds as low as 12mph or approximately 20KPH so they might help going up hill. But they are heavy and may slow you below those speeds. I average 13.4 mph so if my fairing helps it is not a lot. I have found that good tires can make a lot of difference and are probably the best investment for the money. On the down hill rim brakes can be scary 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.
        The more information list is meant for web publications on recumbents and personal views about recumbents. I need to spend more time with the list to get more discriptions in the list. I am looking for volunteers or if you know someone in the list who does not have a good discription tell them to E-mail me a better discription

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 A carbon fiber Lighting Dynamics P38
My bike a R40 by ATP
A P38/F40 by Lighting
A R84 by Lighting
$1000-$1500 BIKE
$2500-$3500 BIKES
A $5,000+ bike

        As you can see from the photos several bikes can have the same configuration yet look different. The three /four pictures above are all Short Wheel Base Above the Seat Steering

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MWB     Medium Wheel Base
This is from Germany. It folds
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 Cheetah 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 was a prize for the first person to travel 45 miles in one hour, a feat that seemed to be a ways away but is past now I believe. I could be wrong my GPA says I'm wrong %20 time

curent record holder the Cheata. It needs a section to discribe it and other speed bikes. I have not made one yet          The mouseover is a picture of the first documented full faired recumbent          Commercial version of the bike on the left
A past record holder 68 mph          The 1933 bike that banded
recumbents from UCI races		          Commercial version of the bike on the left

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CLWB     Compact Long Wheel Base EasyRacer CLWB Garder Martins Compart Long Wheel Base bike

EASY RIDER CLWB

Vision-CLWB

Vision CLWB

         CLWB bikes have the front wheel just barely in front of the pedals and the rear wheel under a or as close to under the rider as possible with a 20" rear wheel & 16" front wheel usually .......CLWB 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. The only exception that I know of is the Maxium and I have not seen a page for them .The only way to find one would be in the RCN (Recumbent Cyclist News). 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.
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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 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-lwb sling seat bike with rider. It's hard to see seat VISION R40 LWB ASS sling seat. It's hard to see seat   RYAN LWB USS sling seat   RYAN LWB USS sling seat
Tour Easy hard seat VISION R40 LWB ASS sling seat     RYAN LWB USS Mesh seat     RANS LWB OSS Mesh seat
Trikes
      Tricycles look very cool but they come with their own set of problems and are generally a lot more expensive. One of the problems with trikes is that in a sharp turn under 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 type of trike set up is called a “Tadpole”. Think of a tadpole it is fat in front then tappers off. These in my opinion and from what I've read are more stable. This is not always the case as most paraplegic 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. There are other problems with the “Delta” trike in that if it does not lean the trike is more prone to flip in a turn than the “tadpole” trike because on the “tadpole” the inertia has to push over the out side tire and lift the rider but on a “delta” trike that does not lean that outside wheel is not there to act against that inertia in a turn.
        Trikes are generally lower than most bents and that adds some aerodynamic advantage but they are wider and heavier. Because you do not have to balance yourself it is possible to put lower gears on a trike and creep up hills at a very slow pace. On the down hill side unless there are “sharp” turns you do not have to worry about falling.
A WindCheata -- Made in great Britain This trike folds FWD FWS from Bike culture

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Acronynms & Definitions

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
Tail Cone / Tail BoxThis is a rear fairing very often seen in European bikes often used for extra storage but made for improved aerodynamics
CoroPlast©This is a corrugated plastic - a plastic cardboard used in a lot of home made fairings
X-SeamThis is one way of measuring the length of a persons leg to tell if their leg is long enough • It is done by sitting with your back flat against a wall and measuring from the wall to the heel of your foot
Intermediate gearSome people call this a jack shaft. It is or they are a set of gears ,typically a freewheel with the “paws” removed, that split the long recumbent chain into two chains. one from the front to the middle and from the middle to the rear. Two reasons • partially lessen the very long chain and its effects like shifting by itself in hard turns • and provide more gears higher and lower gears
Heel InterferenceOn short wheelbase bikes your heel of your foot can hit the front wheel when pedaling this is what they mean by heel interference. This happens at slow speeds when you are more likely to turn the front wheel more. After getting up to speed very little turning of the front is needed to turn the bike a lot
Chain TensionerLike on a mountain bike and usually made commercially for mountain bikes it is used to take up some of the slack of the long chain
Body Stocking Usual cloth but not always •   “cover that encloses the rider leaving just the head exposed for better aerodynamics”
DF Diamond Frame bikes are conventional bikes so named for the many triangles that make up the old frames
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   Steering    Self explanatory the handle bar is located above the seat generally at chest level.
USS Under the Seat  Steering   Self explanatory 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 information about their problems etcetera.
Send Comments good or bad on what you like or don't and how I can improve it. e-mail gif


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Some of recumbents faults or Problems

           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 benefits and faults of these machines.
          It has been my experience that recumbents are slower than a diamond frame bike. This could be because they are heavier or due to the seating position. On a DF bike you can easily use your weight and at least some upper body strength to help move you and the bike. I am not able to put as much power into the pedals due to the seating position. 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 because you are providing the energy and there is no gravity assistance involved. 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. I have and ride exclusively a ATP Vision R40 that I made a fairing for. It is my only means of personal transportation so I put hundreds of miles a month riding it but I am always pasted by riders on Diamond Frame bikes. It should be noted here that those riders have said that they were not able to draft behind me or that the "wake" behind me was minimal. This "wake" is part of the drag that slows a rider down so maybe I can keep up with them or stay ahead longer because of the fairing and the bike but over all my average speed is 14.O mph (23.3 kph). From what I gather their average speeds range from 18mph (30kph) to 24mph (40kph). This is their stated averages not their top speeds. The faster riders often sprint to over 30mph (50kph) ,which is hard almost impossible for me to match drafting behind them, and going up hills they all leave me behind, I slow down to 7-12mph (13-20kph) while they may slow to 12-18mph (20-30kph). For me the fairing was put on for weather protection first and speed second. Recumbent riders are far more likely to add a fairing and fairings have a long history of helping increase speed. Fairings where first added to bikes to add speed before world war 1 and were band after a serious accident a few years later. 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 triangle to its maximum benefit. In the end it is the engine (rider/s) that propel the vehicle and it is their strength and speed (cadence) 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. For me this leads to a sweaty spot on the back and seat a great deal more so than on a diamond frame bike where my back is not pressed against the back of the seat.

    Recumbent have at least three major flaws in my opinion and they are related seating position.         
  1. On a recumbent the rider can not use their weight to help pedal
    2.         
  2. Or use their legs as suspension like on a regular bike.
    3.         
  3. 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
    4.         
  4. 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 comparison 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 steering 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 their upper body by pulling their body down with their arms. To get that "extra" power the recumbent rider is using more of their energy where the rider of a Diamond Frame bike can use kinetic energy of their 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 disadvantage when going up hills. That does not mean they can't just that it is harder because
  1. They are heavier
  2. Harder to balance at slow speeds
  3. You can't use your weight or upper body to help pedal
  4. 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
  5. If you are pushing against the seat you are using more energy that someone that is using more of their weight and upper body
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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 Corvette or Porsche racing in a Jeep Jamboree either. These are really street bikes and not the “best” thing to go off roading with.

              If on the other hand you are willing to risk your life on the open road recumbents have a few advantages.
  • 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 likely 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 threatening situation
          I've been riding a bike for many years.   I rarely wear a helmet and do not have the highest confidence in their 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 because 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 severely sprained ankle and bruised leg.   In a similar situation on a recumbent I was at a four way stop sign it was my turn to cross the intersection and the car to the right failed to stop and hit me squarely.   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 their 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 environmental 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 .


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A very Short History of why they are banned
For a far more in depth version visit The History of the Recumbent Bicycle , Winning forbidden: A history of recumbents, or What is an HPV ?.
These are just a few and focus on the forbidding of bents in races (one bike in particular) but bents have been around since the 1900's and never very popular it seems

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)      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. 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 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        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 .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 responsible 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 eventually 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 commercial 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 replacement 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. It has also been my experience that high good presure tires make a big difference.



#1 these are some of my first efforts at making a fairing #2 The same bikes with different fairings.
#3 This was a fast bike. I think in part because it had an intermediate gear. The top didn't add any speed in fact it slowed the bike but it made it possible to ride in the rain. The top was removable. I really noticed an increase in speed when I added the rear aerodynamics. I really miss that bike #4 My R40 the same picture as at the beginning of the page
#5 My r40 with a home made front fairing made of coroplast styrofoam and model airplane covering #6 KingCycle from England trunk mouse over shows bike with typical front fairing
#7 German bike trunk - mouse over is a poor picture of bike with front fairing #8 The current speed record holder - fairing in back with the designers and the bike with rider in front - mouse over is bike no fairing no rider
#9 The link is to the seat of the Pants company www.windcheatah.co.uk.These are both WindCheatas the mouse over is an earlier version #10 these bike have to be light to be fast the one here is about 35 pounds

           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 aerodynamics 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 spec 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 a lot 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 holder the Cheeta. The mouse over link leads to their 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 describing 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 construction page
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/wisil/whatsup.htm WISIL recumbent project page a must see
http://www.mcs.net/~gkpsol/coolbikes.html cool bike pictures and links
http://www.mcs.net/~gkpsol/workshop.html Chicago recumbent fairing work shop
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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 overlapping so that the grain of the wood goes in a different 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 shrank 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 monocoat separated from the balsa I could easily take it completely 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         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 a lot 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. 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 tedious and so is gluing the pieces together to make the "rim" that the Monocoat® is ironed to but for me it has worked out nicely. After cutting small arcs the arc are glued together ,making sure to get cross grain overlap for added strength, the finished "rim-hoops" are glued to each other and on to the wheel with pieces of balsa wood between the spokes. After the "rims-hoops" are glued to each other and the wheel it will not be possible to true the wheel using a spoke wrench. The advantage I have seen with these over the UNI wheel covers is that the UNI covers had aluminum hoops that the cover was stretched over and then hooks attached to the spokes held the covers on. Some times when I hit a bump the cover would unhook and mangle the alumium hoop. this would require me to completly remove the hoop which ment removing the wheel and possibly the sprockets/freewheel. On the ones that I made the cover never jumps loose and if it is badly damaged and the cover portion has to be remove it is just ripped off. On that note monocoat® is easily damaged and the monocoat will last about a year (for me 6-9000 miles) before it is so trashed that it has to be replaced. When it has to be replaced the wheel does need to come off. Another advantage that I like is that the cover is more "inline" with the rim making a smoother transition
       Here is a link to someone who just glued/ironed the monocoat® to the rim for their wheel cover   These links should also be in the pull down list and in the menu page.

     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 theirs 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
back top My Vision R40 with 2 zipper fairings one normal in front and one on top the one on top is for the rain
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 model airplane covering was attached to it. These add nothing but looks and a cheap mud guard in front

More Fairing Pictures


Back top
A 1910 fully faired diamond frame bike the same picture as in history           I have to start by saying that good high presure tires are probably the best investment for the time and money to increase your speed and that a fairing is probably one of the last things you should add for speed. But after all else is done 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 turbulence 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 From the makers of the 'Bean' The Kingcycle rear fairing is lockable, very useful. Rotator interceptor found at http://health-cycle.com/bents-rotator.htm Mouse over is a race bike mouse off is the interceptor f40 From Tim Brummers Lighting
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 coroplast, a corrugated 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 stolen! Both were very fast bikes I believe because they had an intermediate gear that gave then an extremely 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, outside of good tires, 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 ,monocoat or similar. A great deal of care must be taken when applying the monocoat because the styrofoam melts easily . You could instead of monocoat use a fiberglass type covering but again styrofoam melts easily and the right epoxy is necessary.



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        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 Juan at the red arrow on the map. Phone # 961-9646 open 7 days a week Sunday noon till 4 M-F 10-6 Saturns day 10-5 ?. Go to MapQuest to get directions to there from where ever you are.


       
       This was written at first on many pages (That is the way they say it is suppose to be writen and in the old days of 14k -28k modems probable the best) but I didn't like other pages that took time to down load between pages and if I saved to read off line large portions where missing. If you save this page with the pulldown menu in the top frame you have 98% of "my" page you are only missing a small gallery of 30 + small pitures most of which are on this page
        This site needs a lot of improvement . I am fairly new to HTML, DHTML and could use all the criticism you can dish out. Due to the changing nature of the WWW some links may no longer exist. PLEASE tell me of any broken links
It needs a trike section and a boat section and a trailer section among others if you have any comments, criticisms, links, Ideas, tips or tricks Please E-mail Me




Please.....give me some feed back                What do you think of my webpage?         Any comments are welcome
--Your Email address will be shown to me. Your browser will tell you such and that the message is not encrypted.  This form is just for me so that I can build a better web page. I would have to collect more than a few E-mail address to make it worth while to sell and the information is rather useless to anyone else.


One comment to you first I made it his way,(-one big page with lots of pictures-), because I didn't like other pages that where separated into little segments and when I saved them to look at later there was always some part missing. Pictures say more than I can as far as what these bikes look like.
Was making 1 large page good or bad? Good. Keep it the way it is Bad. Separate it into smaller pages not sure

Because of the size of the page I am thinking of keeping part of this message at the start of the page warning of its size
Should the messsage   Stay Go not sure

How would you grade this page A Perfect B Almost perfect C good start D Nice try but E Not good

You thought the page worth the visit Informative but needed work maybe a little misleading no comment

Where the pictures any help yes alot somewhat a little no not much I surf with the pictures off. Please expand the discriptions

Do you like or use the pull dowm menu or have you used the other menu

I used the pulldown menu a lot some a little very little no I like the other menu I did not use either menu

Because you are using Internet Explorer 5+ there were large information boxes that appeared with mouseovers like other menu
What did you think of them? Loved them Liked them a lot a little very little did not like them they were very annoying

Did you play with the colors at all a lot a little No not at all

Was the purpose of the color bar apparent? Yes a little No not at all

Would you revisit or tell someone else about the page? Yes No Maybe

What is important to you when thinking of buying one of these bikes
The cost of the vehicle           the speed of the vehicle
coolness/social acceptness           The enviormental cost/return stuff
Return on investment/long term value           Size of rider/seat hight
Size of bike/for storage & transporting on Auto           The amount of storage on bike/ for touring or communting
The type of use/ Commuting-touring, race-recreational           The amount use you think you will get out of it
Other
I put this here to get some Idea of want you expect, or want, or don't want, from a page like this.

Make any comments you'd like below:

Thank you
Thank you very very much for yor time and effort in trying to improving this page. Without responses like yours I would not know if anyone out there cared

These are a few of the questions I didn't ask
Why did you visit? What were you looking for? How did you find it? How would you improve it?
I am going to try to make a Questionare that would help in deciding which bent to buy. How would you do that?
What questions would you ask of visitors? What questions would you remove?
How long did it take to load? Was it worth the wait?
What other site that may be related to this one have you visited? Are they in the menu?
If not please send the URL or direct the owners of that site here and they can decide if they what to be added.
If you were to add a list what would it be    So many questions and not enough answers.
Uncle Milt (last list) has 50 questions but his are a lot more creative than mine.
Please visit a site in the last list about solar power history.
     web page has until 6-6-01 before it needs renewing    Do you think it should be renewed?
The page has gotten a temporary reprieve on Geocities Please visit their Ad

The HPV ring is owned by Sam,
if you wish to join then E-mail Sam at Sam@betalink.net.au [HPV Boardroom] [Host page][List sites in ring]

The counter was started when the page was jps.net/hpvofearth 6/01/99 As you can see here there have not been many visitors