I would like to develop a wooden Velomobile
easy to build in a fablab.
I would like to develop a wooden Velomobile
easy to build in a fablab.
Velomobiles are very efficient bicycle cars, faster and more practicle than bicycle.
It's a good alternative to cars in urban aera, to made transportation more ecological and more good for health
Unfortunatly, actual production models, because being artisanal and hight quality are very expensive (more than 4000€),
so this is a obstacle to large diffusion of this kind of vehicle.
It's why I whant to try to build a velomobile easy to build in a fablab
to made possible to exchange the car that you can't repair by a car that you can build...
I whant to mix two techniques that I like : Plywood bent and sandwich.
- easy to build in a fablab
- no use of mold
- ecological material (as possible)
- not (so) expensive : large use of standard bicycle parts
- practicle to get in and out
- visible (from inside and outside)
- large and accessible loading compartiment
- large opening cockpit, to be able to use in summer
- maniable (in front of north european model, that they are build for countries in wich there are large and nice bicycle tracks)
- no more of 80cm of height (to go in bicycle tracks)
This project is born in my head long time ago.
I can say that is the outcome of a long period of crossings and meetings about this topic.
Particulary I organise two meetings/workshops during our summerlabs about this subject.
In 2010, I discover a Plywood Recumbent Building workshop in wich I discover the marvelous technique of sandwih building with plywood and foam.
I use this technique to build my recumbent trikes in 2010
My friend Luc Kerleo build a velomobile with this technique last year.
He works on lot of small tips for this technique.
[+] this technique is very aforable and easy to make
[+] a very strong and light weight frame
[- ] it's not so easy to make special shapes
During one of our workshop, I invited Titus Vandenbrink who as built a plywood velomobile, with the technique of bent plywood.
Plywood Velomobile by Titus Van den Brink from cdriko on Vimeo.
[+] a very strong and light weight frame
[- ] relatilely difficult technique
[- ] fragile and flexible frame
I discovered the technique of developing surfaces, mostly used in ship construction
and I try a free software named freeship that is very helpfull for designing this kind of structures.
The alleweder is the first velomobile sell in kit, since the early 90's.
This model has a long history , and can be considered as the first fablable velomobile.
[+] kit, no so expensive
[- ] alumimium material
[- ] Complexity of construction
february >> CAD
March >> smal cardboard model
April >> Scale 1 prototype