Agilo velomobile

This week the first night time drive since last year (in town), I really need to change my windscreen! Scratch resistant polycarbonate only seems to exist in >2 mm thickness so over twice the weight of 1 mm :unsure:

The Axel wiper 2nd generation is great, with the straight handle I special ordered it is near invisible despite being in the middle of the screen. Still waiting on a day with rain and wind a little less than gale force... But I am confident that it will function perfectly.

I have a few 100 km with the new tiller setup and the independent brakes. The brakes are still fabulously efficient and there is no way I will ever go back to combined brakes. Now I need to clean up the tiller and get the weight down, my bar ends are VERY heavy. Today I saw some Chinese bar ends weighting 67 grams (the pair), those would be a direct swap.

I am really enjoying the driving position with the bar ends and have dropped the idea of a tank steering modification for the moment. Shoulders are back and relaxed, hands aren't in the puppy like sit up and beg position... I went looking for 90º bends with 22 mm external diameter but found nothing in CF. This in Sweden https://www.do88.se/en/artiklar/aluminium-pipe-90-degree-0875-22mm.html but the 2 mm wall thickness is a bit much, 1.5 would be perfect. Everything else is in the UK so complicated with tax and fees and ...

The brake levers are a little long which is why I am looking for a 90º elbow instead of bar ends. I could then use the Tektro TL720 levers with internal cable passage and drill a hole in the bend of the elbow for cable exit. The cable run would be very straight! The cheap DIY solution is to cut the ends off the RX 4.1 levers and grind them round. When the brake lever position is final I will fit the brake light switch.

Then we have the option of putting the brake levers in the tiller ends and going back to a lighter traditional hand position tiller. The Rohloff grip shifter needs to be moved so:
Bike-Handlebar-Extender-Aluminium-Bike-Handlebar-Extensions-Bicycle-Mounting-Clamp-Bracket-For...jpg

There is also room for the headlight high beam switch and an electric horn switch too.

While on the subject of the Rohloff, the cable adjusters loosen over time making shifting less precise. Maybe I need to add a spot of Loktite to the threads? And I need a light in the cabin for night time driving, I can't see what gear I am in. Knowing the correct gear is important for the Bafang with the hills I drive at night. I am also going to order 14T and 15T sprockets when I can, the top end speed is just a little too low for me now.

Conclusion also about speed, the holidays are over, my around town average is now 24 km/h compared to 18 km/h when the tourists ar jamming up the streets :giggle:
 
Thanks to a post from @Recumbentbiker I checked out the Wim Schermer blog again and read this post: http://wimschermer.blogspot.com/2021/07/foss-binnenband-test-na-3458-km.html?m=1

My 2 front Gocycle tyres still have a lot more rubber than this :giggle: :

20210702_103620_1625230860951.jpeg


So I think the Gocycle tyres will go back on until they are worn a little more as a test. The rear one is like new and will go back on too. The big Maxxis DTH is a great tyre but the Gocycle tests a lot faster than the 43-406 version of the DTH and at lower pressure. I like to drive 4 bar on the rear and 3.6-3.8 bar on the front.
 
With internal or external cable run u might be able to use some V brake noodles or the flexible version, for tight cableruns. With the small forces on the handlebar i would have no problem opening up the steering tubes.

I found that the inside of a 22mm tube can be a nice match for those Velomobiel.nl flip switches. U can press them in the tubes.
 
I am still fighting with driving in the rain because I need to change my windscreen - too dangerous to drive in the rain and at night with over a year of scratches! And even during the day, at this season, with the angle of the sun it is not much fun... Not to mention the weather, high winds and buckets of rain :( So waiting for pension day so that I can buy a sheet of polycarbonate to cut new windows. I will continue my side window experiments and make side windows very much like the ones on the plan - with a different sliding mechanism on the bottom. I also looked at rare earth magnets :unsure:

I am now studying my own version of the Mango front chain tensioner. I need to take up 14T of slack and the tensioning system on the plan only works well (for me) with a single chain ring. After driving in the north I know that a 13T Rohloff sprocket is a much better idea - capable of 53-54 km/h at cadence down 1% gradients for example. So I need to be able to shift down to the 42T ring easily for driving around here and the longer climbs. And the Mango tensioner allows me to remove the annoying part of the slack side chain tube.


I know that I can drive home with a flat battery and full camping gear with 1.56 metre development, 1.44 metre will be even more comfortable.

January will be re-wiring month, I will lose the standard Bafang cable for a much shorter one that only goes to the LCD and run a single cable front and rear for the lights and indicators. 300 gram gain? :unsure:
 
In the video here there are some close ups of a Mango chaintensioner. Not sure if it's the original or a modified version.

On later versions, he used bungycord to get the tension on. Ive also seen versions with Derailleurwheels.
 
Yes I browsed the whole Mango thread, 169 pages... :rolleyes: and I have all the necessary photos here.

The original:

mango-tension-2.jpg

From the parts box:

- Alligt plastic idler (needs teeth dremeled out and an O-ring)
- Alivio derailleur arm and idler

tensioner-mango-style.jpg

I have 6 mm threaded rod and 8 and 10 mm aluminium tubes for bushings and spacers. Missing is the 5 mm bungee cord. 91 grams in the photo + some washers, a section of 6 mm rod and the aluminium parts, less than 150 grams? :unsure:

The large pulley will go just after the steering bridge, like the original Mango, so the PTFE chain tube will end there and have no curves! I will add polycarbonate disks to the small idler to keep the chain in place.
 
Today some stuff arrived from China:

- new primary nylon gear for the Bafang - 14€ instead of the 20€ that OZO asks
- a set of Ztto crank taps so that I can shorten the Bafang cranks (thanks to Google translate I know which one is the left one. Yes, it was only written in Chinese.. :rolleyes: )
- a Ztto single speed chain tensioner
- a Ztto axle adapter for my wheel truing stand that accepts SA brake hubs! (y)

I am hoping that the single speed tensioner will stop the chain slap on bumpy sections when I release tension on the pedals. It should guide the chain better onto the Rohloff sprocket as well. It is not there to replace the front chain tensioner, only improve chain tension in faster downhill bumpy sections so the tension will not be set too high. The chain has jumped off twice, the paint has suffered :(

And more weight optimisation for April :giggle: I did some Decathlon tent hacking and am now down to 2090 grams. Thanks to this photo: https://www.velomobilforum.de/forum/index.php?media/camping.19225/ I have removed the aluminium thing that holds the vestibule out. It will be replaced by 2 guy ropes and 2 pegs. Testing was done in the living room :sneaky: If the energy crisis continues I can pitch the tent and sleep nice and warm :LOL:

tent.png
That hoop weighs 110 grams!

<OT> I also got a set of filters for my German/French Rowenta vacuum cleaner, essential spare part you can't find where I bought it... Grouped shipping for everything of course!
 
... Auch das kann ich problemlos umdrehen ... Rohloff.
;)

Welche Nabenschaltung hat denn nur 2.000km gehalten? ...
Klar kann man das mit Rohloff und den passenden Scheinen umgehen.
Das war eine Shimao 8-fach, die damls im Birdy standardmäßig drin war. Nach 2k Km startete die immer wieder automatische Schaltvorgänge. 2 x zzum Service eingeschickt und jedesmal wurde nix gefunden. Seltsamerweise hielt es dann ca. 1k Km, bis das Spiel wieder von vorne anfing. Bei 3. Mal gang es dann Kettenschaltung und Ruhe war.
Aber um auf das eigentliche Thema zurückzukommen: Kein langes Schaltwerk ohne Motor kann doof werden. Mit einem kraftvollen Motor mit Thermoüberwachung hätte ich in hügeligem Gelände und kurzem Schaltwek mit maximal großer Kassette keine Bedenken, so die Zweiarmschwinge (?) die übliche Breite hat. Hinten scheint ja im Bereich des Rades alles offen zu sein (vgl. 3. Bild von unten). Sehe jetzt auf den ersten Blick nicht, was man da groß anpassen müsste, außer den Ausschnitt für die Kettendurchführung etwas vergrößern/verbreitern :unsure: . Aber die Probleme können natürlich wie so oft im Detail liegen.
 
(OT) falsch: Der Motor ist unter nem hängenden Tretlager platziert. Am Überkopf Schlitten kann m.E. kein Auslger für einen Umwerfer sein (Selbstbauer können das ändern).
Ok ... aber was hat das mit einem Motor oder damit, dass man auch am einen Motor 2 KB montieren kann, zu tun?
Und mit der Hand kannst du immer das Blatt wechseln.
;)

Gruß Jörg
 
Wow! I just went away for the day cutting wood in Tolosa... :)

OK so a rear derailleur would work but the Rohloff is such a great gearbox.

And with a chain tube who needs a front derailleur? You do need a chain guide on the chainring for it to be very comfortable.
 
To be more complete on the subject of a cassette on the rear wheel:

- I used an old derailleur as chain tensioner for a while. To enable that I cut a slot in the floor for the return strand chain tube
- you will also need to modify the shape of the slot where the drive side strand comes into the wheel well
- I would do all of this before gluing the sides on, you will most probably need a modified building platform to allow the swing arm to be in fully loaded and unloaded position. Mount the hub with the cassette into the swing arm and use a length of chain from the cassette to the idler pulley under the seat.
- personally I would fit a second idler pulley on the drive side somewhere near the swing arm pivot point

Although all of this can be done you will have to use a shorter rear derailleur which is compatible with a 20" wheel and this can limit the gear range. If you can find a Dual drive hub that could be a workable solution. Note: Tern does mount a Deore Shadow+ with 11-40 on their Verge folding bike https://www.ternbicycles.com/sites/...mano-shadow-derailleur.jpg.webp?itok=YE54Nme1


So a lot more complexity and not a huge gain in weight, for me the cheap alternative to the Rohloff is the Alfine 11, don't waste you time with the Alfine 8, it is not adapted to a vélomobile. Even with e-assistance...
 
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Time to tidy up, this is not about weight saving, just getting rid of some stuff that is not necessary.bafang-cable.jpg

The new cable connects the LCD.
 
Too many cables not plugged into anything. I don't have a throttle and the brake sensors are not needed either.*

If I was being radical I would remove the gear sensor and the light power cables from the motor too.

There is enough cable length coming from the motor to plug directly into the LCD but you need an adapter. This one is the shortest one you can buy, only 10 cm.

* The controller is programmed to turn the motor off instantly, there is no run on
 
Help! :giggle:

I need an idler with sides like this bottom one

mango-tension-6.JPG

Is that just some plastic cut and fitted to the side of the idler?
 
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