Ribs

No, this isn't about the kind you can eat.  In the photo below you can see the stiffening rib installed in the side of the Milan. 

 

This adds much needed stiffness to the long flat side of the Milan.  While the panel was strong enough without the rib it seemed to act like a sounding board for vibrations from the road.  To further reduce this I have rebuilt the rear fender.  Here you can see the first half.

 

What different about this one is that it considerably stiffer by the addition of an extra layer.  The extra layer is the material Bio-Mid which is made from sawdust from western Canada.  The material looks much like regular fiberglass but has a density similar to Kevlar.  It adds thickness to the laminate without a lot of weight.  Having this layer between two layers of carbon optimizes the carbon's properties.  



On the Road at Last

This is the first picture taken of the blue Milan GT on the road.  It is still missing a few bits but ride able.  The first thing I noticed that's different about it is the weight.  It looks like the Milan GT in carbon/Kevlar laminate will finish out in the low 60 pound range.  While I was hoping for under 60 with some more development this may still be possible.  The second thing I noticed is that it is noisier than the glass version.  Right now I am working at reducing the noise and think I may have it in hand.  My local short test loop has some very poorly surfaced roads so if I can make it acceptable on these it won't be a problem elsewhere.  The problem may be with a high tech thin laminate without excess resin in it transmits vibrations more.  Having a high resin content makes for thicker laminate and the resin itself is less prone to transmitting noise or vibration than the carbon or Kevlar material.  Some localized stiffening seems to help a lot.   Tomorrow morning ride will tell if it good enough. 

 

The first seat that I have infused.  It does have a couple of foam ribs on the back making infusion an easier overall process than our usual method with vacuum.  The disadvantage is than we end up using a bit more resin and have more materials that need to be throw any.  The big plus is the potential weight saving.  While this seat is a bit light for my liking I will test it some to see how it stands up.  The weight I would be happy with is under 500g.  This one weighs in at 414g without the holes in it but I would like to add a bit more carbon in a couple of spots.

Weight Wennie Seat

 

In the shipment with the SL plug Raderwerk sent their latest light weight seat.  I weighs in at a "heavy" 399 g.  Not yet sure if I am  comfortable going this light but it is an impressive bit of composite laminating.  To put this in perspective the Ventist seat pad is lots heavier. 

 

 

The Ventist seat weighs in at 476 grams.  This is the thin version of the pad.  The comfort one will be about 1/3 more.  

 

In the SL I will have to ditch the pad as it takes up too much space, it move me forward a couple of cm.  Given the choice between fitting and the pad I'll take the fit and deal with the comfort issue with some padding only where required.  More work but less weight.  

Fitting into the SL

Since receiving the pattern for the Milan SL this spring I have wondered if I can ride it.  Do I fit into the SL?  I am about 6'2" but have short legs.  I understood that I may just be a little too tall.   The hope was that my short legs would let me fit.  Well I now know what the answer is. 

We just got Milan SL sitting on its wheels last night.  When I first sat in the SL things were not looking too good.  I had the bottom bracket adjusted a bit too far forward and couldn't spin the pedals as my shoes contacted the sides.  The crank size is 152.  Moved the BB back a touch and couldn't pedal without my shins contacting the front of the door opening.  Next tried moving the seat back from its normal position.  Closer but still could not pedal properly.  Moved the seat back even further so there was almost no space between the seat and the rear fender.  Now it is possible to pedal if you are very exact about how you do it.  This is probably still too tight a fit for me to ride for very long.  Removed the seat pad and made sure I was fully back in the seat and I can now imagine riding this way.  Some careful padding of the seat will be required to get a comfortable enough fit. Still need to check to be sure once the SL is able to be ridden.   It may also require a modification to the door so there is slightly more room for my knees.  Moving the point where the seat mounts at the front end may end up raising it slightly as the floor is dished a bit to get the seat as low as possible.   Another issue may be if there is enough room for the rear idler. While it is looking encouraging to fit, it is not yet a sure thing.  At least it may be possible rather than not!

Progress

The first GT (green) with two other GTs in carbon/Kevlar laminate.  The little black thing in the middle is the first SL.  All three of the ones in progress should be done this month. 

Another longer ride and observations

A few days ago I took the Milan for a longer ride on Vancouver Island from Campbell river to Comox.  When I left the house, I had the hood on but ended up removing it on the ferry and putting it in Jan's car.  The reason for taking it off were twofold:  first, it was annoying me having it on and it wasn't raining much nor was it supposed to (forecast said only a couple of hours for less than a mm).  I figured this should be OK as it was warm enough and all that could happen was my getting wet.  The second reason was I was riding with a friend to whom I had lent my Borealis.  He didn't have a roof so why should I!!  I met him along the road and off we went.  Well it went from just a few sprinkles to a downpour an hour later.  Just as we got rolling along a slightly downhill section, that goes on for about 15 km, I got a flat.  Changed out the tube and on we went.  I did get a bit chilly doing this but warmed up once we had to climb some hills heading to lunch at a pub. 

 Before the flat I had given up leaving my glasses on as it was just raining too much.  The rain also slowed progress quite a bit.  I am sure on a sunny day I would have ridden this section at 40+ kph just dancing lightly on the pedals--just a perfect section for a velo.   Will need to ride here again. 

The conclusion drawn from this ride was that there is a need for a easily deployable roof that stores inside the velo.  What I am thinking of is a tensioned fabric structure with some batons in it that can be put on in a minute or less without getting out of the velo.  If it works out it would also work nicely as a sunshade.   The Flevobike roof would do this but I would prefer the roof to be wider and to pack smaller.

Second roll out test

Managed to find a spot that was suitable for a roll out test.  It is a few km away but one of the better smooth stretches of pavement on the island.  A pull out on one side the of road for turning around  and a T intersection an couple hundred meters from the test section to turn around and come back.   Only issue is the road has a slight curve in it but that didn't seem to matter.  The test section I used was about 100 meters long with a slight downhill to start then a tiny bit of flat and then gradually uphill.  I would reach 12-13 kph coasting down then roll to a stop.  Testing equipment consisted of three sticks about a half meter long.  At the top of the hill I laid one of these sticks in the bushes on the side of the road.  To start the test I would line up so I could sight along the stick and then release the brake.  The second stick was  used to mark how far I rolled out.  The third stick was to mark any variation from the first roll out.  I did three roll outs with the setting I arrived with.  All were within about a half meter.  I reset the toe in by one turn and did it again.  The difference was a half a velomobile length from the previous test.  I did this a couple of more times just to be sure and it was always the same.  The test procedure was very repeatable.  The end result was that I did not have front wheel alignment set optimally.  After a few more trials I narrowed the setting down to two possibilities.  While they were close I always rolled further with the one setting by more than the margin of error.  The real question is whether this effort was worth it.  I very much suspect so just from the fact your tires won't wear out as quickly if the setting was off.  Even just using the difference in distance rolled this would amount to at least 10 meters per km.  It is most likely considerably more when you apply effort or coast down hills(go faster).  Certainly enough to be noted by a riding buddy if they are slower than you or you are having trouble keeping up. A small improvement in the test procedure would be a better way of measuring the start position.  I will try a round tube taped of the side of the velo which I sight down to a line on the road.  This should get the start point to within a cm or less.