My Favorite Velomobile

[@twilwel]

100% I love my Bülk. It's comfortable in any weather and it handles so good. I have owned many velomobiles in the last 21 years, several Mangos, so many Quests that I lost count, an early carbon MilanGT, a MilanSL. My extra light SL was very fast but the lack of rear suspension was just too much for an old guy like me. The Bülk is very versatile and comfortable. It's a blast to ride even, correction, especially in a storm.

[@mnveloguy]

I obviously agree. There is a reason it is so popular. What a great design. I am curious to see what improvements they make in the future. It is a really great team of people working to make the Bülk better and better.

[@ronsteed]

Nice post ... I am in Northern Utah and a long time recumbent trike rider (no e-assist). Considering the lack of any flat trails for me can you give any suggestions on the choice for e-assist if I go for a velomobile? Do you think it should be based on a percent spent climbing or something else? I just want to get it right because of the cost of adding e-assist.

[@mnveloguy]

This depends partly on the choice of velomobile. A stiff lightweight model like the Bülk will do very well with 250W assist and reasonably low gearing. With the 90lb wooden velomobile I built, I had 500W assist which got me up 9% grades at about 12mph. That much power would be overkill for the Bülk. Right now the factory offers the option to install 250W Bafang mid-drive in the Bülk. We don’t install it in other models presently, but I know people have added 250W assist to the QV and to some DFs. That said, if you are not in a hurry to climb hills and can get up them fine on a trike without assist, you can scale them just as easily with a velomobile without assist. My Bülk weighs in at 55lbs. The extra weight compared to a trike actually doesn’t seem to have much noticeable impact on climbing. With a schlumpf drive, you can quite literally crawl up double digit gradients purely under human power.

[@ronsteed]

Thank you! I have a Schlumpf on the trike and I need it around here :) Being able to maintain even 10 mph on the uphills would open up my riding so much. I am stuck at 10-20 miles radius just because I run out of "go" before I get back due to the hills.

[@mnveloguy]

@@ronsteed assist could help a lot with that then. The drastic improvement in aerodynamics in a velomobile opens up range tremendously as well. My average speed on a bike around where I live was usually 13-14mph (Bacchetta Giro). With the velomobile is 20+mph. A 40 mile ride on my Giro is the rough equivalent to a 60+ mile ride with my Bülk. I’d be happy to chat with you more about Velomobiles. You are welcome to set up a free consult on my website at www.northlandvelo.com.