Thank you very much for the video! I'm trying to figure out how to improve my homemade velomobile and your input will help me a lot! I also conduct tests and can evaluate your work. It is very difficult to make accurate measurements in real conditions.
Thanks for sharing this knowledge. From personal experience I know it takes a lot of time to do these runs. Maybe a nice topic for a next video is looking for the optimum tire pressure. Of course this depends on weight and road condition.
Nice comparative testing, Ben! If you are going to do something like this again, I would like to see the difference the simulated-NACA duct makes (Watts) in the open and closed position. Unlike a true NACA duct that offers very low aerodynamic drag during its operation, I'm afraid that the current offering on the Bulk... doesn't. By-the-way, what brand of power-meter-pedals do you use?
@@mnveloguy Thanks for the pedal info. The NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) duct has very specific geometric dimensions, none of which are met by the "thing" that I see inserted into the deck of the Bulk. No problem. If I purchase one of these machines, I'll make the necessary alterations. See you in Sept.
Thank you. Great testing! Just a question is Cabrio mode without foam combi (rear piece) cover, or is it without both foamcover and without the front piece combi carbon part I assume combi mode is with both combi parts first front carbon part and second rear foam part.
Race hood is the full hood with visor. Combi hood was without foam cover. Just the carbon hood portion. As I mentioned in the video, I forgot to bring the foam portion with. Cabrio is completely open with no hood of any sort.
The Milan SL has a slight edge in the mid-30mph range and up, but it is quite narrow and only fits really skinny riders. The Bülk can fit quite big guys allowing them to ride a really fast bike. The Snoek is faster, but I don’t know a specific amount faster. However, it doesn’t handle that Greta on wind and doesn’t corner as well. That means it is mainly faster on straights in not so windy conditions. In some instances the Bülk would be faster than the Snoek. The Snoek is also tiny, has very low ground clearance, not as much cargo capacity, and just isn’t nearly as practical. If you are racing and can fit a Snoek, then yes, it will be the fastest option. But, if you want more space, practicality, and outstanding handling, the Bülk will come out on top. In the end the choice is which compromises are most critical to you.
Bonsoir, Avez vous bouché les entrées d'air ? Avez vous fait des mesures dans les 2 sens aller et retour ? Ou bien sur un circuit fermé ? Le vent, même latéral, fausse les mesures et est favorable , par effet d'aile.. Je tente encore une traduction automatique ... : Have you blocked the air inlets? Have you taken measurements in both outward and return directions? Or on a closed circuit? The wind, even lateral, distorts the measurements and is favorable, by wing effect.. I am still trying an automatic translation.
I closed the NACA duct, but I do not close the nose intake. In Australian Pedal Prix racing they have found the nose intake does not negatively impact the speed as long as the air vents correctly out the tail. I do not take measurements going in both directions. I’m measuring the difference between various setups rather than making claims of a certain wattage. I weigh 65 kg so I will always need less watts than larger riders.
Yes, as I said in the video, you will see a bigger difference at higher speeds. I chose a speed I knew I could do a lot of test runs at. I also wanted it to be a speed that normal riders would be able to reach for a longer period of time. For typical riding, changes like removing mirrors is unlikely to make a difference we can notice. I think that is very important for people to know. Bigger differences like using the race hood instead of the combi hood will obviously make a difference though. Very few people watching these videos are going to do any serious racing or be riding at 50-60km for a long time.
I don't know about many other drivers but the ones that i know all drive around 50 km/h normal Speed. I have a Quest and even i only have it for 4 month i still can average 45km/h in normal Road for one hour with 50km/h most of the time. With a Bülk i should be faster. So tests at higher speeds would be very interesting for me. I did Rollout Tests with my Quest at 60 km/h. That would also be interesting for the Bülk and W9. Thanks for your Videos.
@@pw9349 either you are very strong, or you have very nice flat roads. I know very few riders here in United States that can sustain those speeds. Perhaps your friends would be interested to do this testing? You may have better conditions for it than I do.
I did not test going in the opposite direction. I am only looking for comparisons, not a power consumption that would apply to anyone else. I weight only 65kg so my power consumption will be much lower than most riders.
Hi Ben! You do a great job, that's for sure! Thanks for your videos! It is interesting to see here, what difference the Racing Hood does! I did a 1050 km ride through Transilvania and Hungary and it was definetely to hot with the Racing Hood. When I did some comparison tests at this hot period, I made the experience that I have the same speed with the Combo Lid compared to the Racing Hood! But I assume that this is the case, because inside this hot bike you don't have that much energy. So it really depends how hot it is or what kind of human you are, when looking at the Racing Hood! Best regards! Marlon
@@rawfuturetv yes. In the heat I’m not sure you would get the benefit of the race hood. The airflow is ok, but not quite enough when it is really hot. I also notice that it does not make much difference at lower speeds. If you are riding over 40km/h, then I think you will see more benefit. For my commute I am about as fast without the hood as with it because I do not ride much at higher speeds.
@@mnveloguy So as a short conclusion we could say that it does not make many sense to combine a racing hood with an urban? Unless you are living in a cold area with a lot of rain...
@@rawfuturetv I would not say that. If you are trying to ride at higher speeds, then the racing hood should make this easier. If you are going slowly, say 30km/h, then you might not notice much difference.
Hello, I would like to know the power consumed, on the return journey and going without wind... the temperature of the tires, the ventilation? problèmes de traduction !!! excuses !!!
I’m not sure what you mean by the grazing consumed. The wind was very slight in this test, about 5mph. Only a very small breeze from the side. I do not know how to measure the temperature of the tires. Perhaps you have a suggestion? I’m also not sure what you mean by ventilation. I think perhaps something has been lost in translation.
I think that depends on your definition of an acceptable turning circle. For me acceptable is I can turn around in a cul de sac when only using roughly 2/3 of the cul de sac. The limit for me in the Bülk up front then is 32mm (continental contact urban). I have sourced a set of 40mm scorchers that I’d like to try. I think the turning circle will be beyond what I deem acceptable, but I know of several others happily running those tires. For the rear the widest I’ve ever installed is 32mm. Supposedly 40mm will fit, but I think it would be a challenge to squeeze it in there. The rear wells is tight mainly because a narrower tire stays on the rim better and supposedly provides more stability in the event of a catastrophic rear flat to reduce your chances of crashing badly due to control loss. I’ve been bugging the factory to change that in any future models to allow room to run proper winter tire in the rear.
@@Klausi666 that’s interesting. That’s quite different info than I’ve gotten from my friend that racer Australian pedal Prix where scorchers are heavily tested.
I’ve never ridden a Snoek. It is a very fast bike, the fastest of the three options, but from what I’ve heard, it handles poorly in wind, is not as stable in corners, and is a pretty tight fit. The W9 and Bülk are equal in performance in my experience. The Bülk can easily be set with stiffer suspension if you need high speed cornering performance. Vibration has to do with getting the tires seated properly. That can be made equal on all Velomobiles. My decision comes down to comfort. The Bülk seat is very easy to adjust and a much more comfortable shape for me. The W9 seats have no lumbar curve and I tend to slip up the seat back when pedaling hard pushing my shoulders up against the cockpit opening. I don’t like that. The W9 steering is very stiff and the turning circle is quite large at 14-15m with 32mm tires. The Bülk turning circle is 11-12m with the same tires and I like the lighter steering action. I find the Bülk handles sidewinds a bit better than the W9. It seems to self-correct whereas I have to adjust for the W9 in wind. Since the Bülk is more comfortable for me, I really don’t ride the W9 unless I’m leading a test ride. I’ll likely offer the W9 for sale soon.
@@SuperPathfinder10 it is lighter, but I don’t find and advantage from that in my own riding, even on my hilly commute with many traffic signals. The Bülk is stiffer due to the support running from the boom to the ceiling and better transfers power in accelerating and climbing. Best is to do a test ride of both and see for yourself which performs as you need it.
That’s getting pretty nerdy. A person could potentially have a test session just on mirrors. Mirrors with cones, mirrors without (not sure I even have mirrors without cones though), zefal spin mirrors, the mirrors offered by velomobil SH, etc.
