Borealis with hood

The Borealis with a hood for cold weather riding.  I have been working on this prototype for the last little while.  I was able to adapt part of the hood that fits on the Aurora and make it work on the Borealis.  The hood is large enough that I fit even with my helmet on.  This is somewhat important here were helmets are required.

The front windscreen flips open so you can see if it fogs up.  The two black foam bits create a small gap
between the hood and the lexan  allowing air to flow up the backside of the windcreeen.  This is quite effective at clearing any fogging off the  windscreen once you at moving at even modest speed.   While am am not a big fan of head in velomobiles this may be a good solution for the customer who has riding temperatures of -20C. 

Rob English and the Borealis

Hers's a quote for Rob English after he has had his Borealis for over a year.   This is from way back in November 2009.

" Well I've been back in the velomobile full time for several weeks now, and
just wanted to reiterate what a great job you have done with the design.
After getting a chance to ride the waw and quest at PIR I have greater
appreciation for the Borealis. No one else has managed to come up with a
good covered-head-out design, and I feel this is essential for a practical
vehicle, both for visibility and airflow. The large door makes getting in
and out easy, and the spacious inside (as a racer I like the idea of the
tight fit of the waw, but not so practical or comfortable for everyday)
makes for lots of storage and comfort whilst riding - I can even remove a
layer without having to stop. The lights are super visible and well thought
out."

and

"Anyway, with the Oregon winter weather I am very very happy to have my
little yellow beastie to keep me safe, warm and dry, thanks once again for
helping me get it (almost one year of ownership now!).

Cheers,
Rob.

PS. New top speed of 93km/h the other morning!

If you want to know more about Rob and his bikes visit his site: 
http://www.englishcycles.com/

Cool eh?

Some years ago at one of the early Left Coast Velombile Gatherings in southern California I was riding along and saw a dark green convertible sport car coming towards me.  At the time I was  behind the group and riding by myself.  The scenery along this section of the coast was very pleasant and the normally brownish landscarp have a ting of green all over it. It had been a wet spring and the hills were green.   As the car got nearer he slowed down and we looked at each other over.  He waved and I waved and we both continued on with big smiles.  A little while later I finally figured out what the car was.  They are very rare up here in Canada but easily recognizable but the belt across the hood.  It was a new looking Morgan.  I looked it up when I got home and they are still in business making about 700 cars a year.  A very unusual car company where the normal model is to build lots of volume.  They have now been in business for 101 years which is quite an achievement.   Hopefully the day will come when velomobiles are less rare than Morgans!!

Fenders Inside Fenders

Here is a view down onto the fenders that are attached to the rear swing arm in the Borealis V3.

 The little fender that covers the rear derailleur is still a work in progress.  This is about the seventh version but it still needs a bit of refinement as it is not a shape that easy the layup.   It prevents water thrown around inside the rear fender from landing on the chain.  Tomorrow should see the install of the main rear fender that covers all the these.  Once the rear fender is on I will be able to tell how I can improve the rear derailleur cover so we can try out version eight in a couple of weeks.