Human powered speed records broken (+video)

I've been baffled by the lack of interest in velomobiles in the UK to date. I think the UCI has a lot to answer for!

I think the reason they are much more popular on the continent than here is that they aren't great at going up hills, due to being quite a lot heavier than bikes. E-versions are available, however.

I did look into it as a potential all-weather commuter a while back, (wet bike, helmet, shoes and clothing is a bit of a hassle even though I don't  actually mind riding in the rain) effectively instead of considering a second car. However, buying one in the UK seems to be a major hassle and the choice very limited. They're also pretty pricey (no doubt due to small production runs!)

Surely there is a market for these things - I'd like to be able to cruise to work at 30mph whatever the weather, but without all the negatives of cars.

From I Love My Bike's link:

A human powered velomobile is thus 15 to 62 times more energy efficient than a Nissan Leaf. Not just 6 to 25 times, because we are comparing primary energy here. The 15 kWh that is consumed by the Nissan equates to around 37.5 kWh primary energy since electricity plants (in Europe) have an efficiency of 40 percent.

That's amazing, really.

Needs marketed cleverly. Maybe made by BMW or Apple and less vulnerable looking. Doors on side. But yes, that Sinclair is too ahead of it's time. We need a transition vehicle to get people from cars to bikes/recumbents. Preferably 4 wheels on it, drivetrain hidden out of the way, and yes, it would need to be tech'd out - people in cars are used to that. GPS, radio, electric everything. Cushion like suspension. Space for shopping, a kid. Lights, horn (they love beeping those). 

They can bring out faster, stripped back models like the Sinclair after as a 'sport' model. Go faster stripes. BMW M badge on it. Then they'll buy it. Have to manipulate people like babies.

Maybe a roomier, tech'd out version of this could be the future of transport. E-versions to get the less able up hills. Covered in super-efficient solar glass to recharge.

Makes much more sense than bicycles as the main mode of transport - you do have limiting factors there because of fitness and weather, with weather likely to get more dramatic in future, and the bridge of going from a massively safe pram to an incredibly vulnerable bicycle is too unimaginable a leap for lesser folk. 

You could be nice and safe feeling in something like this. Have all your tech gadgets too. 

The car is probably the best part of 2 tonnes heavier than the bikes and a lot less aerodynamic. It takes a lot of power to accelerate a heavy motor vehicle to top speed at a reasonable rate. The drag coefficients on these bikes are incredibly low. It's difficult to believe someone could be pedalling inside some of them when you look at the tiny frontal profiles.

Impressive stuff!

To think that you can achieve such speeds with human power alone! Makes you wonder why cars are so slow compared to the horsepower they produce. My car is 90kW, so about 150 to 200 times more power, but it achieves only 10mph faster!