Today is the day I picked up my new velomobile / commuter bike. A Bülk from velomobileworld.com . This is my first velomobile. I temporarily rented a Carbon Quest and also rode a 20" very old Quest for 2 weeks. So now a Bülk is finally mine. It's relatively compact/small and very fast. I'm definitively not a strong rider but I averaged 36km/h on my first ride from the dealer to my place. Cruising speed was around 40-48/h. I did 59km/h max on a false flat piece of road (I think by car you wouldn't even notice the slight downhill). Previous record there was 51km/h with the Carbon Quest.
So yeah, it's definitively a lot faster than a Quest.
The shell protects you from the sun/rain/cold. But now in the summer and a good bit in the autumn, I guess I'll be wet anyway because you sweat a lot in a velomobile, even though the Bülk has descent ventilation while riding.
First thing many people say: It's unsafe. But I feel safer in this for some reason than on a bicycle. I also ride on the road (legally) as much as I can because I want to be seen by cars, which is much less the case on a cycle path.
Oh and as the sticker says: no electric assist or solar power or whatever else. Pure pedal power 🤓.
The good: Fast. I mean FAST! A lot of fun to drive. It's comfortable. Bye bye saddle pain. Depending if you like it or not but draws a lot of attention.
The bad: Lots of sweat. If you ride it hard, you'll arrive soaking wet. It's also not good at accelerating and uphills are a real battle. Car drivers do not tend to like you. It's different, they don't know it so: "Out of my way you stupid velomobile" 😞. I've had people honk their horns, flash their lights, rev behind me, …
The ugly: the price. 😬. A descent velomobile costs upwards of 10k€/$. Oops.
by ConstructionSafe2814
1 Comment
Fascinating. I worked a late shift job for 7 years and every night I’d pass a person in one of these things. I always assumed it was electric. Never saw another one in my life until you posted this. Happy riding!