The velomobile -- a recumbent tricycle with aerodynamic bodywork -- offers a more interesting altern

Both the velomobile and the electric bicycle increase the limited range of the cyclist -- the former optimises aerodynamics cheap domestic flight tickets and ergonomics, cheap domestic flight tickets while the latter assists muscle power with an electric motor fuelled by a battery.
While electric velomobiles have a speed and range that is comparable to that of electric cars, they are up to 80 times more efficient. About a quarter of the existent wind turbines would suffice cheap domestic flight tickets to power as many electric velomobiles as there are people.
Few people find the bicycle useful for distances longer than 5 km (3 miles). In the USA, for instance, 85 % of bicycle trips involve a trip of less than 5 km. Even in the Netherlands, the most bicycle-friendly country in the western world, cheap domestic flight tickets 77 % of bike trips are less than 5 km. Only 1 % of Dutch bicycle trips are more than 15 km (9 miles). In contrast, the average car trip amounts to 15.5 km in the USA and 16.5 km in the Netherlands, with the average trip to work being 19.5 km in the USA and 22 km in the Netherlands. cheap domestic flight tickets (Sources: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 .)
It's clear that the bicycle is not a viable alternative to the car. Depending on his or her fitness, a cyclist reaches cruising speeds of 10 to 25 km/h, which means that the average trip to work would take at least two to four hours, there and back. A strong headwind would make it even longer, and when the cyclist is in a hurry or has to climb hills, cheap domestic flight tickets he or she would arrive all sweaty. When it rains, the cyclist arrives soaking wet, and when it's cold hands and feet would freeze. Longer trips on a bicycle cheap domestic flight tickets also affect the body: wrists, back, shoulders and crotch all suffer, especially when you choose a faster cheap domestic flight tickets bike.
An electrically-assisted bicycle solves some of these problems, but not all. The electric motor can be used to reach a destination faster, or with less effort, but the cyclist remains unprotected from the weather. cheap domestic flight tickets Longer trips would still cause discomfort. Moreover, the range of most electric bicycles (about 25 km or 15.5 miles) is just large enough for the average one-way trip to work, which means that it will not suffice for all commutes.
The velomobile -- a recumbent tricycle with aerodynamic bodywork -- offers a more interesting alternative to the bicycle for longer trips. The bodywork protects the driver (and luggage) from the weather, while the comfortable cheap domestic flight tickets recumbent seat eases the strain on the body, making it possible to take longer trips without discomfort. Furthermore, a velomobile (even without electric assistance) is much faster than an electric bicycle.
At speeds below 10 km/h (6 mph), rolling cheap domestic flight tickets resistance cheap domestic flight tickets is the biggest challenge for a cyclist. Air resistance becomes increasingly influential at higher speeds, and becomes the dominant cheap domestic flight tickets force at speeds above 25 km/h (15.5 mph). This is because rolling resistance cheap domestic flight tickets increases in proportion to speed, while air drag increases with the square of speed. Because a velomobilist has much better aerodynamics than a bicyclist -- the drag coefficient of a velomobilist is up to 30 times lower -- he or she can attain higher speeds with the same effort.
On the downside, a velomobile is heavier than a bicycle, which means that it takes more effort to accelerate and to climb hills. The power required for acceleration cheap domestic flight tickets is inversely proportional to the mass of a vehicle, so a velomobile uses roughly twice as much energy during acceleration than a bicycle, depending on the weight cheap domestic flight tickets of the driver and vehicle.
If rigged with an electric auxiliary motor, the weak points of the velomobile -- its slower acceleration and climbing speed -- are eliminated. At the same time, a motor accentuates its advantages by further improving on the range of a cyclist. Last but not least, a battery will give a much better range in the velomobile, due to its better aerodynamics.
In August, I test drove an electrical velomobile -- the eWAW , a vehicle cheap domestic flight tickets that is sold by Fietser.be -- in and around Ghent, Belgium. Brecht Vandeputte, the driving force behind the Belgian manufacturer, accompanied me in an unassisted WAW during a one and a half hour trip through the city and along the tow path of the river Schelde.
The WAW velomobile (without electrical assistance) was originally developed for winning human-powered vehicle races. It was adapted for daily use with the addition of, among other things, a leakproof rear tyre, open wheel arches (which make the vehicle more agile), an adjustable seat, and a more durable body -- which consists of a carbon roll bar and safety cage surrounded by aramid crumple zones. The WAW is known worldwide, at least among velomobilists, as one of the fastest velomobiles available on the market -- some call it the Ferrari of the velomobiles.
The WAW stands out because of its weight (it is 28 kg, as opposed to 34 kg, the weight of the most popular velomobiles, the Dutch Quest and Alleweder ) and its low centre of gravity (it has a ground clearance of only 9 cm and a height of just 90 cm). Along with a wide wheelbase, a hard suspension, and precise steering (it uses two gear sticks instead of one), this results in high speeds and excellent handling, even on sharp corners. Of course, the WAW also has the drawbacks you can expect from a real sports car, like the very basic interior finish and the fact that the vehicle rattles like a box of rocks when you ride it over a cobblestone road. If road conditions are bad, other velomobiles with more comfortable suspension will be a better choice.
The eWAW that I drove has everything that the WAW has, plus an electric motor of 250 watts and a surprisingly small battery of 288 Wh, which takes you 60 to 130 km further (37 to 81 miles). The battery and the motor add only 5 kg, bringing the total weight of the vehicle to 33 kg. This is comparable to the weight of other velomobiles without electric assistance. Hence, this pedal powered Ferrari is more than 10 kg lighter than other velomobiles, with a 250 watt electric cheap domestic flight tickets assistance, such as the hybrid Alleweder and the e-Sunrider, which weigh 45 kg.
So how fast is the WAW, and how much faster is the eWAW? First of all, the eWAW is a hybrid vehicle, cheap domestic flight tickets but the biomass powered motor, also known as the driver, is not included in the package. Because the driver always provides the main part of the total power output, the speed of the vehicle will depend on the power that he or she can deliver. There is no better illustration of this than my test drive. Over a period of about an hour and a half, Brecht and I managed to reach an average speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) -- I was in the eWAW and had the regular assistance of the electric motor, Brecht was in a WAW without pedal assistance.
Cycling literature makes a distinction between three types of cyclists: people with an average fitness level, people with a good fitness level, and top athletes. Riders with an average fitness can maintain a power output of 100 to 150 watts over a period of one hour. Riding a WAW, this translates to speeds of 35 to 40 km/h in ideal conditions -- an unobstructed racetrack, and a completely closed vehicle. cheap domestic flight tickets Drivers with a good fitness level can deliver 200 watts of power over a period of one hour, which translates to speeds of 45 to 50 km/h under the same circumstances.
I am a speed freak, so when I found myself on a nice, open stretch of road, the first thing I did was start the motor at full throttle and pedal like a madman at the same time. If I could have more than 350 watts at my disposal, I calculated, I must be able to reach speeds of at least 70 or 80 km/h (40 to 50 mph). However, my attempt to go any faster than 50 km/h (30 mph) left me frustrated -- the vehicle lacks the high gears needed for those speeds.
Why? Because the eWAW is designed cheap domestic flight tickets for maximum efficiency. The electric cheap domestic flight tickets motor is intended to be used for acceleration only (and for climbing hills). Once the velomobilist reaches a cruising cheap domestic flight tickets speed of about 40 to 50 km/h, he or she switches cheap domestic flight tickets to pedalling alone.
The eWAW does not increase the cruising speed or top speed of the unassisted WAW, although it does increase the average speed because it speeds acceleration. This is a different approach from the electric bicycle, where pedal assistance is continuous at normal cruising speeds. With regards to efficiency, the concept behind the eWAW makes much sense. A bicyclist needs less energy to accelerate than a velomobilist does (because of the bike's lighter weight) but more energy to keep up speed (because of its weak aerodynamics). In contrast, a velomobilist needs more energy to accelerate than a bicyclist does (because of the vehicle's heavier weight) butless energy to keep up speed (because of its excellent aerodynamics).
Because it takes more energy to accelerate in an eWAW than to drive it at a constant speed, the engineer's choice to assist the driver only during acceleration is smart; it increases the range of both the cyclist and the battery. The electric motor supports the driver during peak efforts, so that his or her endurance cheap domestic flight tickets will increase spectacularly. (Peak efforts have a detrimental effect on endurance, while pedalling at a steady pace can be done for hours.) Meanwhile, the driver offers the same service to the battery. Because the electric motor is shut off at cruising speed, the battery range increases cheap domestic flight tickets considerably.
This said, the driver of the eWAW can choose to use the motor at cruising speed, because it can be operated at his or her will by means of a throttle. This is how I drove the vehicle. As a consequence, the battery lasted 'only' 60 km (37 miles), but at least I could keep up with Brecht.
Mounting an electric engine in a velomobile is controversial among velomobilists, just as an electric bicycle is skewed by many biking aficionados. However, when we compare the eWAW with the electric car, still viewed by many as the future of sustainable transportation, it's a clear winner. In fact, the electric velomobile is everything cheap domestic flight tickets what the electric car wants to be, but isn't : a sustainable alternative to the automobile with combustion engi