I'm often asked questions while out riding my velomobile. Here I try to answer a few of them. You might also have a look at Velomobile Knowledge, which goes into a lot more detail about velomobiles in general. Velomobile riders or drivers are sometimes called "velonauts", though I think that sounds a little pretentious.

What is it?
  • Physically, it's a recumbent tricycle with a carbon fibre fairing. Inside there is an aluminum skeleton that connects pedals, wheels, and steering mechanism, made aerodynamic and weatherproof by the fairing. My velomobile is a Strada Carbon, which has exposed front turning wheels allowing for a tighter turning circle, making it good for city travel.
  • Legally, it's a bicycle, so I can ride it wherever it's legal to ride a bike. Typically that means all bike paths and all roads, except where expressly prohibited.
  • It masses about 32 kg, which is double that of my bicycle. It's comparable in mass to a bicycle and trailer. With me in it, plus payload (backpack, emergency kit, bike helmet, etc.) the total is more like 110 kg (a little under 250 lb, for the imperial-oriented).
  • There is a small 12-volt battery that powers turn signals, headlights, brake light, and horn, but it has no electric assist - for movement, it's entirely pedal-powered.
  • I steer using a tiller (a central steering rod on a universal joint) which holds the gear change mechanism, brake lever, turn signals, and button for the horn. It's like the handlebar of a bike, but narrower, and can pivot to be in the most comfortable position for the rider.
  • Because it's heavier and faster than a bike, it needs a better brake system than the typical disc or caliper brakes. My Strada has 70mm drum brakes on each of the front wheels, providing me excellent braking ability. If I did a lot of mountain biking, I'd have opted for 90mm drum brakes to avoid overheating on long downhills.
  • The pedals are in the nose, and the chain is three times longer than a standard bike chain, linking the chainrings at the front with the cassette on the drive wheel at the back by routing the chain under the driver's seat. I need to use bicycle shoes that clip into the pedals.
  • The gears are standard bicycle chainrings and cassette, except that they're geared high, so I can still pedal at 50 or even 60 km/h. (I once hit 89.9 km/h, but that was an unearned speed, and I'm not willing to risk doing it again, as it felt more like an Olympic bobsled run than a safe commute. There was a long downhill on a wide highway with a big shoulder, and I got to that speed just by not braking: aerodynamics and gravity did the rest.) However, I don't have a low enough gear to get up steep hills, so I adjust my route (or just get out and push) if I encounter a steep hill.
  • Backing up is accomplished by sticking my feet out of the "flintstone holes" under the pedals, and pushing on the ground with my feet. However, many velomobiles do not have such holes, as they reduce aerodynamic efficiency, impair torsional rigidity, and can let dirt, water, or snow in. Since I ride almost entirely in the city on good clean surfaces, I haven't found these things to be problematic. Furthermore, in hot weather they help with airflow.
  • I added a 6' Tribal Whip light, connected it to the electrical system, and mounted it on the trailer hitch. This improves my visibility in tight spaces such as parking lots, and also at night, when the moving blue line of lights is easy to see from a distance, in addition to the headlights and tail lights. I also put a Naval flag on top of the whip light. It's a sort of joke: the Diver Down flag very generally means "there is someone beneath this flag that you cannot see".
  • In cold or inclement weather, I drive with the cockpit cover over me, so only my head is exposed. This keeps the rain out, and my body heat in. I remember going to work in Calgary when it was very cold (say, -20º to -30ºC) and with the cockpit cover on, by the time I got to work after 45 minutes of physical effort, radiating my body heat into that confined space, my mitts are off, my jacket is open, and I'm toasty and comfortable.
  • It came with an optional cockpit canopy to keep the rain off, with plastic windshield and velcro fasteners. However, I almost never use it, as its disadvantages typically outweigh the advantage of keeping the rain off my head. The plastic windshield increases turbulence behind it, so at any sort of speed there's increased drag and uncomfortable wind on the face; and there's no windshield wiper, so rain and sleet just accumulates, requiring me to squint through the gap under the windshield because I can't see where I'm going otherwise. Even without rain, seeing through the plastic makes nighttime riding more stressful and dangerous. I'd generally prefer to have my head out so I can see without difficulty, even if it means getting my head wet.
Where did I get it?
  • This velomobile was manufactured by velomobiel.nl, in Dronten, Flevoland, Netherlands. However, I bought it from a company (no longer active) in Ontario called BlueVelo, which both produced its own models and imported others. My total cost, after BlueVelo handled importing it (including paying the bicycle import tax of 15%) and having it trucked across the country, and paying taxes and insurance, was a little over $13,000 CDN.
  • If I were to get a new velomobile, my current favourite is the Bülk Urban, which retains the short turning circle that I like, but improves on the Strada in various ways, including having a lighting system mounted high up behind the driver, which improves my visibility to other traffic.
Why a velomobile?
It's ethical, efficient, and comfortable.
  • Ethics: Cars are not only unsustainable but deadly (see my articles MADD, or just MAD? which enumerates the problems, and Remembrance Day for Traffic Dead comparing traffic deaths with war), so to me it is important never to use a car when I have any sort of reasonable alternative. Before every trip, I imagine that perhaps today will be a day when I will make a mistake and hit someone with my vehicle. Which vehicle would you prefer to be hit with: a massive ton of high speed metal, or a 32-kg low speed aerodynamic vehicle?
  • Efficiency: In city driving I typically average 20 km/h, which is comparable to taking the bus, but I'd average more like 30 km/h on the highway. The breakeven point between extra effort required due to it being heavier than a bicycle versus the aerodynamic advantage is about 12 km/h, so it's faster than a bike even going uphill, so long as the grade is small enough to allow me to stay above 12 km/h. The ergonomic posture also makes it possible for me to push harder on the pedals than I could on a bike, because I'm pushing against the seat behind me, rather than trying to counteract the push by pulling on the handlebars. Roughly, I can go 40% further or 40% faster using the same energy as I would on a bike.
  • Comfort: So far I've put over 20,000 km on it: that's 20,000 km of city travel for which I could have used a car. Some of that travel was under conditions where I wouldn't have dared to go out on a bike, e.g. after dark in a howling gale, but felt comfortable, warm, dry, and secure going out in the velomobile. The bucket seat supports my entire back and rear, so I have no pressure points: no "numb-nuts", no tingling hands and wrists. I can also dress for my destination (bicycle shoes notwithstanding), such as I showed here: To and From the CATs. Also, part of feeling comfortable is feeling safe. I can hit ice or gravel and not feel like I'm going to wipe out. Its canted front wheels are stable on turns, even at 50 km/h. And in a collision, I have an additional layer of protection: the frame and carbon fairing. For example, I've seen a video of a velomobile getting T-boned by a driver running a stop sign, and the whole velomobile just got pushed to the side. The velonaut was shaken up, but was not run over.
It's also unlikely to be stolen, especially where I am in Canada, where the number of velomobile riders is in the single digits. Bicycles are typically stolen for quick cash, but trying to sell a stolen velomobile would be much harder. It's also a lot harder to ride off with a velomobile unless you are the same size as the driver, and a thief typically wouldn't even know how to release the parking brake. I'm more worried about vandalism than theft.
Why NOT a velomobile?
  • Cost: You could buy twenty normal bikes for the price of a new velomobile. However, if you're getting the velomobile to replace a car, it easily pays for itself within a few years.
  • No passengers: Even on a bike it's sometimes possible to fit a second person on a pannier rack, but not in a velomobile. On the rare occasion when I need to go somewhere and transport a bunch of other people at the same time, and our target is not supported by public transit, I'll rent a car. Also, when our children were young, it was sure easier to travel together with them in the back seat of a car if we were going together. But my wife routinely transported the kids in a bike trailer, even through snowy winter conditions, when they were small enough both to fit, so even then we didn't always use a car.
  • Storage: You can store a bike in a hallway, or in a bike lockup in an apartment building, but the velo takes up a lot more room, so ideally you need a garage of some sort.
  • Low clearance: Even a medium snowfall will preempt using the velomobile due to the low clearance and the extra friction from three wheels rather than two. Also, some parking lots have speed bumps that are high enough to scrape the keel as you go over. No other vehicle has that problem.
  • Public transit: Many buses nowadays have bike racks on the front, so you can bike to the bus, let the bus take you somewhere, then continue your trip. This is clearly impossible with the velomobile, which means that anywhere you go, you have to pedal all the way yourself.
  • Public attention: If you're the sort of person who does not mind fielding questions about your vehicle and receiving admiring but unsolicited shouts of "I LOVE YOUR CAR!", then you'll be fine, but if you are of a more retiring sort, and eschew unexpected conversations and attention, then a velomobile is not for you. It stands out too much.
I hope this has answered your questions about what that thing is, and why I drive it!