Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Semi-monocoque velomobile

Final render of velomobile semi-monocoque to be manufactured from plywood. The render does not include a few cut-outs for other components. I hope to get the final weight of this component down to less than 5 kilograms. This final design allows a 'safety capsule' around the rider a feature that I really wanted to have. Making from plywood makes an easy build and the possibility of a true 'flat pack' kitset velomobile. I am exploring the possibility of this being a Open Source Velomobile as this may lead to faster development once the basic design has been done.

Semi-monocoque velomobile chassis
©2016 James McLeod

Semi-monocoque velomobile

Final render of velomobile semi-monocoque to be manufactured from plywood. The render does not include a few cut-outs for other components. I hope to get the final weight of this component down to less than 5 kilograms. This final design allows a 'safety capsule' around the rider a feature that I really wanted to have. Making from plywood makes an easy build and the possibility of a true 'flat pack' kitset velomobile. I am exploring the possibility of this being a Open Source Velomobile as this may lead to faster development once the basic design has been done.

Semi-monocoque velomobile chassis
©2016 James McLeod

Sunday, 4 September 2016

Velomobile front beam suspension design

Most commercially availible velomobiles feature Macpherson Strut independent front suspension. A popular choice for full monocoque designs.


Tadpole design three wheeelers require roll stiffness at the front because the single rear does not have anti-roll stiffness so suspensions have to be correspondingly stiff to reduce body roll.
I intend to have a very simple beam front suspension with the advantages being...

  • Simplicity
  • No track variance when bumps encountered (zero scrub)
  • Can be made lightweight (for velomobile applications)
  • Great roll stiffness
The beam axle can be mounted to the monocoque section using four elastomers which will be the spring and damper all in one. The benefit of this is that the elastomer will provide vibration isolation and reduce the "road buzz" to the occupant. This isolation reduces the fatigue on the occupant.

Go to this link to see a an arguement for a beam axle front Vs Macpherson Strut.

Friday, 2 September 2016

Semi-monocoque velomobile chassis


Still fine tuning the monocoque design.
Will prototype full size out of plywood to test size and rigidity of design. Enough computer work!

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Wonderful Wooden Chassis


Came across this beautiful chassis design. It is not human powered but would be easy build something similar to this for a velomobile chassis. I love the simplicity of it and of course the sustainability of building in such a way. This has inspired me to go down this route for the design of Veloci-Velo chassis. I had almost finished a more conventional aluminium frame type chassis but when I saw this I changed my mind. Stay tuned as I make up some drawings and then get to work!
More info about this design here ... https://tadpolerider2.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/electric-recumbent-trike-race-wood/