Road Bike VS Buelk Velomobile

So, can an ambitious roadie hang with me in my Buelk on a flat trail with road crossings? Let's find out. No idea who the roadie is, but I'd like to thank him for inspiring me to ride hard for a change.
To learn more about velomobiles and place an order click here: www.velomobile...
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[@KarlOnSea]

Oh, roadies are so sweet! I love it when they pedal their little hearts out to catch up to a velomobile's tail, expecting there to be a hole in the air they can tuck into. 😘

[@mnveloguy]

Yes. It’s very cute how they do that. Lots of fun for us too!

[@4nz-nl]

Lol. Often, they actually have very large hearts, and a lack of knowledge on aerodynamics ;-)

[@mnveloguy]

@@4nz-nl if they understood aerodynamics, then they might be tempted to give up their previous road bikes and come to the dark side 😬

[@jontypmcguire]

lol

[@someguydino6770]

I'd always wondered what sort of music played in the heads velomobile riders...

[@mnveloguy]

Jaws theme 😂

[@steveanderson1947]

It was fun to watch the competition going on with you and the rodie. And now that I’ve made a giant leap from a Drymer Mango to a Bülk, which is tremendously more efficient, keeping ahead of challengers has been more fun. I was able to stay ahead of most challenges in the Mango but I would top out around 28mph which I couldn’t hold for too longe even on a flat section. With the BulkI’ve been able to hold it a little over 30mph for a much longer period of time. I still have a nice Ti road bike and as you said the muscles you use are quite different than what you need for a velo. I try to cross train a little but still prefer the Bülk for long distance rides.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Another roadie bites the dust.

[@mnveloguy]

🤣🤣🤣

[@familles4886]

That was fun ! I'm not sure what the process is to add the speedmeter at the bottom of the screen but if it's something in a software, could you consider adding a meter that has both mph and kph ?

[@mnveloguy]

It comes from Garmin Virb software. I haven’t seen an option for koh, but I’ll have a look. I was around 45kph at the fastest.

[@4nz-nl]

* 1.609 ;)

[@andy-the-gardener]

@@mnveloguy pls dont change to kph. everyone uses kph. so annoying

[@mnveloguy]

@@andy-the-gardener I would only add it in addition to mph. I cater to the imperial based US market after all 🙂

[@andy-the-gardener]

@@mnveloguy we brits generally use mph instead of kmph. but dont use inches or lb/ounces as they are old fashioned. inconsistent us? hell yeah!

[@hagmax1531]

Is that muscle power vs muscle power? If yes that's quite impressive.

[@mnveloguy]

@@hagmax1531 yes. Both the velomobile and the bicycle are purely human muscle powered. The velomobile has the advantage here of being significantly more aerodynamic. The air flows perfectly smoothly over the shell and this the velomobile requires significantly less power to cut through the air.

[@Beinhartwie1chopper]

0:22 a U BOOT COMANDER is getting the Torpedos ready.

[@mnveloguy]

😂

[@DemiGod..]

Was wondering why he didnt drop any anti cyclist defenses like tacks, oil or smoke canisters.

[@sebastiandomagala9233]

Don't play with your food

[@mnveloguy]

:D

[@hd-be7di]

It's a great vehicle and it's very efficient at what it does but unfortunately it looks like a d**k on wheels... like sitting and riding a hotdog... yeah Idk it lacks the cool factor and the price doesn't help

[@mnveloguy]

Well, Velomobiles clearly aren’t for everyone. I certainly enjoy riding mine regardless of how it looks. It’s fast, it’s comfortable, it’s fun, the weather protection is nice. That’s all that matters to me. And I have an awful lot of people every day telling me how cool it is, so I think beauty must be in the eye of the beholder.

[@hd-be7di]

@@mnveloguy There is beauty in it's extremely aerodynamic shape but it looks like the designer(s) only considered this aspect and completely ignored the aesthetic aspect that would make it go from "that's cool" to "wow that's amazing!"

[@mnveloguy]

@@hd-be7di the whole point of a velomobile is it’s extreme efficiency. Aesthetics and efficiency are conflicting design elements. It has to look like a torpedo or it won’t be fast. The egg shape is the fastest shape. I wouldn’t exactly say a traditional bicycle lols cool either. You are welcome to design a velomobile that’s looks cool to you. I’d be happy to race you to see how your cool looking velomobile stacks up against my very aero one. I personally like the Lola of my velomobile though and I appreciate it even more when riding it.

[@hd-be7di]

@@mnveloguy Your taste and opinion in velomobiles seems to fall in the purist category and I appreciate your perspective!

[@mnveloguy]

@@hd-be7di I would not classify myself as a purist, but rather as a realist. When I initially saw the Bülk I had no interest in it. It is not the most visually appealing velomobile. As I read more about it, I began to understand the reason for the design, and once I rode it for the first time, I was able to fully appreciate it. You can have appealing looks, or you can have an incredibly efficient HPV with incredible handling, but you cant have both. The physics and engineering involved just don’t allow for that.

[@carlholm2765]

You know, if Roadie was in a velo you'd never keep up with him. He's putting down way more watts than you are. My tractor is faster than my lawn tractor, and I see no humor or competition between them. I think your ride is pretty cool, but the attitude not so much.

[@mnveloguy]

I take it you don’t ride a velomobile. Recumbent position is harder to put down the power in. Also uses a different set of muscles, so no guarantee he could hang with me if he was in a velomobile. I also was not trying to chase him. I passed him and he tried to catch me, so I figured he wanted a race. So I gave him one. Life’s too short to take this type of thing so seriously. Cycling is meant to be fun. I had fun. I wanted to share it with others. Sorry it wasn’t your cup of tea.

[@danacfalle2016]

Hi MnVeloGuy, I ride a 2007 Carbent Raven (carbon recumbent) and have been studying your videos because my wife and I will be stepping up to a Bulk for her and possibly a W9 for me. Jan and I have already talked! Back to me on my Raven, I love racing roadies cause they tend to be the rudest of riders, not all - just some…. I always smile and wave at all riders. It is amazing fun to catch a group of road riders doing 20-22 only so I can use aerodynamics to my advantage and do a fly by “at over 400 knots!!!” Enjoy the ride my man and thanks for the content!

[@mnveloguy]

@@danacfalle2016 I have a W9 I might consider parting with to the right person. I think we’ve chatted before about Bülk vs W9. For all-out comfort and performance the Bülk is better in my opinion, but some may find the sportier nature of the W9 appealing. It does at least seem to have an edge in climbing on steeper gradients. Bit of a tighter fit around the legs compared to the Bülk though.

[@EdouardTavinor]

I think that's the point: to show that weaker riders in a Velomobile are faster than strong riders on an upright

[@mnveloguy]

@@EdouardTavinor I’m not really taking the rider into account here. I like to just simplify it and say a velomobile is more efficient than an upright.

[@henrybottomsworth]

epic

[@mnveloguy]

Doesn’t happen often enough.

[@DemiGod..]

After demonstrating several times you that he could catch you , he let you go.

[@mnveloguy]

I’m sure that’s what he told himself. If he wants to charge full speed through intersections and claim that’s catching up to me to make himself feel betete at night, that’s irrelevant to me. I know who has the faster bicycle 😂

[@KADIAK_023_RUS]

👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥

[@driewiel]

This is why I don't want a velomobile. Having to race with roadies is the last thing I want. Because if you don't you look silly.

[@mnveloguy]

😂 but it’s so easy to beat them!

[@driewiel]

@@mnveloguy I don't think I would pick a velomobile for a trip to the Alps. It would mean I have to ride in traffic all the time to be faster. And I don't see myself riding a velomobile up a pass without e-assist. In Europe e-assist means 25 max. With the extra weight you then have to pedal even harder if you want to go faster. So are velomobiles fast? Yes. But only on relatively flat paved roads. Like in the Netherlands. Until they all buy one and we get stuck in traffic jams on the cycle path.

[@mnveloguy]

@@driewiel there is actually a German couple that rode in the alps last summer and also this summer including up passes. That said, Velomobiles may not be for everyone. I know I certainly enjoy riding mine and have found routes over time where I live that are very suitable for velomobile. Typically where there is a will, there is a way.