Velomobiles in the Star

This bike looks like a car from the Toronto Star, Sunday December 2nd.

"While the notion of a bike wrapped in a sleek body may appeal to some – mostly people who already ride bikes regularly – it's likely that the future of the velomobile lies not in pedal power but in the addition of a small engine. "

Seems someone agrees with me about the future of Velomobiles. The bike shown in the article is the Quest. It sells for around $7,500 excluding freight and duties according to their website.

"For many it will be an expensive toy, for leisure or exercise, not a vehicle for daily commutes to work. "I don't see these becoming a utility tool, not in this particular culture, weaned on cheap gas and big vehicles. In other cultures, especially in Asia, it's more of a possibility," says Londry"

I don't disagree with this guy in the short term. The velomobile I like most (the go-one) goes for around 12 grand. Not something that's going to catch on with the commuter looking for a low cost alternative. However in the medium term, lower cost recumbents with electric assist or even conventional bikes with electric assist will be a viable option for most commuters. The biggest issue that needs to be addressed is secure storage for these bikes once they get to their destinations. Even a relatively inexpensive bike once outfitted with an electric motor becomes a very tasty treat for a bike thief and it's no harder to steal than a regular bike. A full fledged velomobile is a harder target to make off with but it's also worth a lot more so would attract more unwanted attention. You can't just leave a 80 lb. vehicle in a parking lot and expect it to be there 8 hours later. You also can't simply lock a velomobile to a bike rack. Until the issue of security can be solved, widespread use of electric assist bicycles simply will not happen.

"But he does see the velomobile as a step in the evolution of what he calls microvehicles – they're like velomobiles, but have small electric motors and "sex appeal.""

Again, I'm in complete agreement on this. As gas becomes prohibitively expensive, people will begin to realize that driving around a couple of tons of metal doesn't make much sense. If you are ready to rethink your entire mobility strategy then you would also consider the efficiency of the internal combustion engine (ICE) vs. an electric motor. Electric motors are many times more efficient than an ICE and recharging batteries is at least as convenient as refueling a conventional vehicle. Micro-cars will help drive improvements in battery technology as well as get people used to making room on the roads for unconventional vehicles. The line between velomobiles and microcars might blur and eventually converge into a single concept.

velomobility

Aspriring away from the automobile

The first winter storm of the year moved into Toronto today. I procrastinated about getting snow tires for my car but decided I could (or should) live without them. I could have had new snow tires and rims installed for around $400. That seemed like a good deal. However, my car has run-flat tires and a mechanic said I shouldn't run regular tires when my car is designed to have run-flats. Besides having my tire pressure monitor going off every time I use my car I'm not sure what the problem was. The run-flat option would have bumped that $400 to over $1,000. So that more than anything motivated me to try and do without a vehicle on days when there is snow and ice on the roads. Based on how little winter Toronto has seen over the past few years, I'm not predicting that my personal sacrifice will be too oppressive.

This morning being the first time I had to deal with my sacrifice in any real way, I'm ashamed to say that I felt a tiny bit oppressed. Of course, that oppressive feeling melted (or maybe a better analogy is that it froze) when the first cyclist rode past me. I currently own 5 bicycles and at least 2 of them are better outfitted for a snowy ride than the bike that the first guy rode past me (he was also wearing only dress shoes and carrying a lunch bag in one hand). I continued walking for about 15 more minutes until I decided that my running shoes were not the most appropriate footwear for a 45 minute walk through snow. I jumped on the first bus that would actually stop for me (my 2nd bus ride this year) and tried not to moan too loudly as the blood started moving into my frozen toes.

Funny that a guy that rides at least 5,000km a year decided without a 2nd thought that riding in a little snow and ice was out of the question where as a guy who probably rides to work everyday likely decided without a 2nd thought that he would ride, regardless of the snow and ice. To me this demonstrates the power of entrench habits. By and large, everyone moves around the way they are used to. If there was a better way to get around, everyone is not going to just abandon their cars and embrace a better way. The entrench habits of millions first have to be shifted. So far the only motivation being provided is economics. Some people will be swayed (or forced) by economics to break old habits but some (and I'd say most) will not. Our consumer culture holds up the ideal of automobile ownership as a forgone conclusion for anyone that can afford it. And while my toes where slowly going numb this morning waiting for the bus, I wouldn't fault anyone who doesn't own an automobile for wanting one.

Tomorrow I'll be breaking out the snow tires on my mountain bike and trying to find that dude riding in his dress shoes, carrying his lunch bag and tell him that he help shift my thinking. By comparison to society as a whole, shifting my thinking was pretty easy. Nobody will aspire to parking their car and getting on a bus or exposing themselves to the elements on a regular bicycle. Here's a personal transportation option that I think is worthy of aspiring to. The go-one is a fully enclosed recumbent bicycle (ok tricycle). With a price-tag of over 10 grand it's a status symbol worthy of anyone. When the time comes, and that may be very soon, I'll be happy to park my car and hop into something like this (provided it has snow tires).

velomobility