I bought a velomobile 

My recumbent trike wiht marathon plus tires loses rear wheel traction at speed on bends on rough road surfaces but easy enough to control as front wheels have great traction with 2/3 your weight on them.

You can pretty much see where you can see with any Velomobile, or even less, because usually you don't have to view through the body of the Velomobile, but have your head sticking out over the body, which has blind spots through the structure. Also you can't look 90° to the side without moving your head forward

Yes. Wipers work well in the rain and fogging is minimal whilst moving. If you work had up hill and then stop, there is a tendency to steam up. But opening the windows clears misting quite fast. Also internal fan seems to reduce fogging quite a bit. Windows are coated so this also helps

You can get a windscreen wiper for your Velomobile Actual there are 3 Models of wipers you can buy

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k3ssmHskdDk.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VPJE3OMSN5U.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u5KO-DN-bHI.html&t i hope the links are ok

Actually I believe they may be legal in Oz. But you will have to confirm local requirements. For example they may have size, power or weight limits. There is a local manufacturer. trisled.com.au/ As they are basically bicycles or tricycles, an unpowered/unassisted velomobile is very unlikely to be illegal.

@@devonchris8036 I do know that with regards to electric assist we are limited to 250 watts max, across all states. We can have trikes, and tow a trailer, but I just don't see velomobiles here for some reason. They make sense as not all Australia is hot, and certainly not all the time. I live in an area known for cold, rain and occasional snow.

@@bmccameron7642 If a bicycle is allowed on the road I don't see why a velomobile isn't. Would be some interesting rule to make them illegal. Especially without e-assist (most are actually without).

@@4nz-nl it turns out I was wrong, we can use them on the road , with or without e assist. It's very difficult to access the information from government sources to clarify the issue. We just rarely see them.

@@bmccameron7642 Cool! You might run into pioneering issues if you get one now, but I sold my car last winter and can assure you: It's well worth it here 😁

This velomobile only has rear suspension. Given the state of some of our local roads I think full suspension would have been much better. At speed it does tend to give an uncomfotable ride sometimes.

@@devonchris8036 My WAW has no suspension. A big problem. I think suspension is a must for a velo, as is an electric windscreen wiper.

I built my first velomobile using a Performer JC70 trike (In fact I have had two). See www.performercycles.com/. (Probably the cheapest half-decent trike available new). George at Performer bikes will happily add a couple of screw lugs to the steering tubes to allow you to mount a body frame. I used 20mm PVC electrical conduit to make a frame and then covered it with 2mm corrugated polythene floor protection sheeting. I took loads of photos but unfortunately not much video. I made a windscreen by blow moulding some clear plastic into a large bubble. The finished velomobile had no floor and looked a bit like the batmobile but it kept the rain off and was surprisingly warm in winter. Search for correx velomobile shells and you will find similar examples. Please let me know in the comments if you would like to see a photo-montage of the DIY velomobile. Thanks. (PS I sold my trikes for more than I paid for them and put the money towards my current velomobile so you probably won't lose out financially by attempting a self-build).

I made one from two older two wheels laid back bikes for about 350 euro's - tilting trike - hans Schipper

Actually it isn't as bad as you may think. You do get a little spray but the internal wheel arches prevent most of the water from entering the cabin. Larger puddles are worse as is deep standing water. So far I have never been splashed by water entering from the footwell. You do get a few drips from the windows but it isn't a problem. However in comparison with how wet you get from a bicycle when it rains, there is no contest. I do put a rain cover over the velomobile when parked to limit drips inside. You don't need insulation as you are so protected from the wind that even moderate efort keeps you very warm. I normally just wear a sweatshirt over a T-shirt in winter. Fortunately my commute is only a couple of miles or so. I have ridden in 0 degrees C and admit I took a thin coat but it was only really needed for the walk from the velomobile to my office. If you really wanted to add insulation you could easily stick some on the internal surfaces of the shell. It might also make the machine a little quieter inside. But my feeling is that if you travel more than a mile or so you will probably stay sufficiently warm with normal clothing unless you are in a location with really cold weather. I am currently producing a video on riding in the rain which should be available in a few weeks time.

For new machines try www.velomobileworld.com/dealers/ or www.velo-ads.com/ . And of course a good internet search! You sometimes see them on Facebook marketplace. But for used machines you really need to hunt about a bit. There is a facebook group and you also sometimes see velomobiles for sale on various auction sites (but haven't seen one for 12 months) Try the Velomobile Club Of Great Britain I'm saving up for a new Quattrevelo or Bulk, but cannot justify the price yet. I started with a trike, then a DIY velomobile and now I want a carbon-racer! So watch out, you get hooked.

Fortunately this has not yet become a problem. Yes it is light enough for one person to pick up and put on a car roof rack. But it isn't easy to actually get hold of to do so. When parked, I generally remove the speed controller. A replacement Neodrive unit would be required to enable the motor. (Neodrive replacements are VERY expensive so you would be stupid to steal one that wasn't complete - in fact they probably wouldn't supply one as they refused to supply me with parts unless I went via a dealer). I also have a wireless alarm to warn me if the velomobile is being tampered with. Additionally I put a padlock through the chain wheel and a bike chain through the back wheel around a solid object to deter casual thieves. The bike is also registered via The Bike Register. But as you will see in my upcoming videos it attracts so much attention that it is unlikely that it would become a target. Obviously it is garaged at night. Yes, some car drivers really are idiots and will overtake anything not going at least 130% of the plated speed limit. So I now always have a front and rear safety camera which records events. In the UK you can now report unsafe driving direct to the police online via Operation Snap. There has been a recent change in the law which requires drivers to give priority to more vulnerable road users such as cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians. I have reported a few close passes and the drivers generally get sent on a rather expensive road safety awareness day or risk their licence. And for the moment this seems to be working as car driver behaviour towards cyclists seems to be improving, in my area at least. More on all this in future videos.

Good luck trying to sell it on if you manage to steal it!

Not absolutely true but I understand your concern. Yes the ticket price for a new velomobile is a bit steep for casual buyers but remember they can be much cheaper to run and have less depreciation unless you crash it. Legally you can ride it without a licence etc. If you have very poor vision it may be best not to do so for your own safety. You also need to take into account exactly how much it will be used and on what kinds of roads as for many short journeys it is hard to beat a standard bicycle. And for many an e-bike (even diy kit versions) may be a better option although I'm not really a fan of them. Most people may need to do some calculatons to see how much they can justify spending.

This particular velomobile is no longer manufactured. It orginally cost about £5500. But modern machines tend to be getting a bit more expensive new. However you can often get decent used machines from about £3500 as of 2022. You just have to do lots of internet searches for velomobile sales in your area. I have seen some real bargains as well as a few ridiculous offers. Fortunately bicycle technology means they generally aren't too difficult to maintain as long as the main structure is sound.

See the earlier reply to Bryan Patrick, above. Yes not very secure but there basically isn't anything that can stop a determined thief!. So far I have had one drunken nutcase who actually ran out into the road to tell me he could 'tip me over', but as far as I am aware, nobody has tried to steal it. Unfortunately it wasn't captured well on camera. But mostly, velomobiles attract so much attention and are so rare that they probably aren't a good target. So called 'joyriding' may well be a different story.

See reply to prvious post. But note that new carbon velomobiles are starting to get seriously expensive.

Legally (UK) you can ride a velomobile on cycle lanes and indeed anywhere you can legaly ride a bicycle. This includes many bus lanes, advance stop lines and shared cycle and pedestrian paths. Mostly this works but often there are inappropriate drop-kerbs, narrow anti-vehicle bollards and the staggered barrier contraptions. Most velomobiles are narrower than a standard wheelchair so in theory should fit but their length sometimes increases the challenge. And there is a related issue that often potholes and poor road surfaces mean that you have to actively choose your routes more than with say a mountain bike.

I'll have you know that my wonderful wife does all my coiffure and makeup (Sorry Girls, I'm taken!).

Thanks for the comment. In the rain it stays fairly dry inside. Not too much spray through the footwell. What does come through the footwell tends to stay on the floor, but your feet are higher up on the pedals. A small amount of water drips through the roof and around the windows but it is still a lot better than riding an upright bike with a cape!. This velomobile sometimes mists up when going very slowly but usually clears if you open the front window slightly and get moving. Really only the only problems I have with velomobiles are that the local road surfaces are so bad that it limits your speed and sometimes the bumps are so bad you get steering instability. Secondly the cycle infrastructure often makes it difficult to turn into narrow cycle lanes or requires negotiation of high kerbs. I'll produce another video soon suggesting some ways to improve your riding safety on a velomobile.