Rear Fender First Attempt

 

I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time making the first rear fender. I will caulk this one up to experience. It was simply a case of over thinking what was needed. Here are a couple of picutres.

 

 

Being assembled after bagging the part.  The parts have a small flange left on them which I can use for alignment.  In the photo you can see and two extra ridges I added for some more stiffness.  I stopped the kevlar short of the area you trim out for the rear wheel axle.  Kevlar does not trim cleanly as it is almost impossible to sand a smooth edge. Cutting it is not fun either.

 



The other side with more stiffening ridges.  The black shadow arround the ridges is the carbon plate I glueing on the inside.  While it accomplished the goal of adding some stiffness, it is way to labour intense to repeat.  The next one will have a small strip on foam in the ridge which will do about the same for less weight. 

After I installed the fender and checked clearances for the rear wheel I spotted another small improvement I want to add.  This one should be easy to do.  It will creat a bit more space around the spokes on the cassette side.  The fit is tight here so gaining even 2mm is a big deal.  It should make it simpler avoid any rubbing issue between the spokes and the fender. 

The first Milan is now sitting on it's wheels.  We are getting closer to the first ride.

First Milan GT Shell

 

The first shell is now assembled.  It has been a long time getting to this point.  There is still quite a bit more to do before I can ride it.  All the bike bits need to be added.  The stripe along the side will be a custom cut reflective vinyl.  The lights and turn signals are still missing.  The hood and door moulds still need sanding and polishing. 

For the first one it has come out really well.  I am very pleased with the stiffness and the weight.  I did end up using some Kevlar and carbon fiber for reinforcing in selected areas.  It is still mostly a glass laminate.  For what I can tell it looks like the weight will be closer to what carbon velomobiles weigh than a glass one.