In the picture you can sort of see the recline of the seat. It's about what the ultra marathon riders are using for their seats and about the angle I need to be at to sort of fit in the WAW. I'll also try it with the seat in a more upright position. If you have bumps for your knees and feet vision to the front and sides can be quite good as most the shell would now be a few inches lower than normal. One big disadvantage of this approch is that you may need a couple of sizes of tops for different sized folks. I am not too worried about this as I am making it to fit me. Making a different top would make sense if there was enough demand.The sawhorses with the foam clamped to them were to check shoulder width. It's now 51.5 cm which just fits me but I will make in a couple of cm wider so I don't touch all the time. Right now my base pattern is a bit too short in the front to get a nice nose shape. I may have to extend it 10-15 cm. If I do this I will shorten the tail by the same amount so the total length stays at 280 cm. Even with this change the back end will be very aerodynamic. There may have to be a bit of a bump for my shoulders. Maximum width on the base is 71 cm with a track width of 78 cm. Next step will be to mock up the wheels and imagine what the shape may end up being.
Steve: When I built the Pod, the Trice Micro inside it used a very-laid-back seat angle, as you may recall. It meant that I was nearly looking through my knees, which is why that one had the full canopy. However, one of the things I have found for me is the the more upright seat angle relationship to the bottom bracket (more-closed position) on the Quest allows me to put more power to the pedals. So you have the old trade-off thing again - frontal area vs power...perhaps something to experiment with before you lock in your seating angle. When you ride your other bike, can you adjust the seat angle to try this out?
ReplyDeleteCraig Johnsen
I agree that a too laid back angle can decrease power. From sitting on the mock up it is still fairly close to what I am used to from the Borealis. The difference is that the bottom bracket is higher in the mock up than the Borealis. Not entirely sure that my feet will like this but it is a compromise I am willing to make. Now a shorter individual would have the option the a more upright position. Not many advantages of being taller even in velombiles.
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