International Velomobile-Meeting 2005

 6. International Velomobile Meeting “Biebertal 2005“

                                                                   by Jürgen Eick, Rüsselsheim

A record number of participants came together for this year’s Meeting of Velomobilists from the 23rd to 25th of September 2005 in the Old Forest Lodge near Giessen, Germany (Picture 1). As in previous years, the Dutch again constituted the largest group. The journey to the meeting has been well-organized by the manufacturers of Quest and Mango (<velomobiel.nl>). Problems with orientation are nonexistent, because for several years they have chosen the same 325 kilometer route from Winterswijk with an overnight in the Winterberg area in Hochsauerland. Near Winterberg they had a brief, unplanned interruption, when they were ordered by a loudspeaker from a police cruiser to pull over. A lorry driver had notified the authorities by telephone that there were “very dangerous vehicles traveling on the road.” After a brief inspection, however, the officers determined that there were no regulations in the Permitted Road Traffic Rules (StVO) under which velomobiles could ge excluded from road traffic, as long as their equipment didn’t violate the applicable requirements for bicycles.



                      Picture 1: Arrival at the Old Forest Lodge in the woods on the Duensberg

 The last to arrive, late in the evening, was Herbert Schwarzer from Bavaria. He had, as it happens, also put in the longest day-ride. Having started with his Quest at 6 in the morning, he reached Biebertal at 9:30 in the evening, after riding 425 kilometers, including having to stop to repair a flat tyre. His fitness didn’t just happen by chance: he commutes with his velomobile to work daily, year-around between Munich-Garching (60 km) and Augsburg.

The longest journey, however, was that of husband and wife Mary Arneson/Dale Hammerschmidt. The two enthusiastic Cab-Bike-riders from the Minnesota Human Powered Vehicle Association made a special flight across the “big pond” to the meeting in Biebertal. Chen Dingwu from Shanghai, who is spending some time in Europe to assess the European development of Pedelecs, visited the meeting, to learn more about velomobiles.

Margitta Hoffmann of the Cab-Bike-Team (<cab-bike.com>) along with some assistants, again took on the major organizational burdens and made sure that the nearly 50 participants were provided with delicious meals. The participants didn’t need any formal entertainment. Many were already acquainted from previous meetings. The evening flew by with stories and exchange of ideas about everything of interest to the velomobile community.

Velomobiel.NL has undertaken some modifications of the Quest that will be effective immediately. The rear wheel has been changed to 26“ and the wheelwell has been enlarged accordingly. That has made it possible to eliminate the mid-drive and thus to slightly increase the drivetrain efficiency. In addition, they have made some modifications in the adjustment of the seat, so that not only the tilt but also the elevation can be adjusted. The one-sided rear fork allows quick tyre changes.

The new Leitra-Sport (<leitra.dk>), a slightly longer version in comparison with the Normal-Leitra, was also closely examined. The aerodynamically-more-advantageous form was developed through wind tunnel experiments with models.

 

                         Picture 2: Velomobile Dragon-Parade on the ride to Giessen

A chilly fog had not yet yielded to the Saturday morning sun, as a roughly 200-meter velomobile dragon-parade snaked its way toward Giessen. (Picture 2). The mass-start was, as always, the first item on the agenda. 19 Quests, 11 Cab-Bikes, 5 Alleweders (<alleweder.de>), 3 Mangos, 3 Leitras, 1 Versatile (<flevobike.nl>), 1 Leiba (<leiba.de>) and 4 un-enclosed trikes made an impressive demonstration of relaxed muscle-powered propulsion. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room to assemble so many velomobiles in the central square in Giessen, so they had to be put on display in the square in front of the admittedly very lovely, but for the public not particularly accessible, old arsenal. (Picture 3).



                    Picture 3: Assembly of all 47 participants in front of the Old Arsenal in Giessen

After a brief reception with snacks and drinks in the Old Castle, the ride proceeded to the foot of the Dünsberg, where Reinhold Schwemmer from Cab-Bike had once again sought out a course for an uphill sprint. In comparison with the previous year, the course was somewhat longer (at 1.4 km) and also offered (with a 77 meter rise) a greater altitude difference. Two especially steep segments of up to 20% with a slightly loose surface were particularly difficult points.

With 4.36 minutes, Ymte Sijbrandij in his Quest was again the undisputed victor (Picture 4). Gerd Janß with his Leitra pushed himself into second place with 4.58 minutes. Theo van Andel in a Quest took the third place with 5.07 minutes. The two Dutch women, Danielle van de Waart (7.00 minutes) and Swanette Tempelman (7.19 minutes), both with Quests, placed in the middle of the field, ahead of many of the male participants.


Picture 4: After his victory in the uphill sprint, Ymte Sijbrandij covers the stretch again, this time with two little passengers

After this tiring strenuous sporting endeavor, the coffee in the Old Forest Lodge tasted all the better. But before supper, there was still the third traditional part of the agenda, the lectures.

German Eslava of Cab-Bike was able to secure the husband-and-wife team from Rohloff (<rohloff.de>) for a lecture on the theme: "Efficiency of the Drive-Train in Bicycles.“ Bernhard Rohloff reported in brief on the development of the 14-speed hub, Speedhub, and its introduction into the market in the middle of the 90s, and then to the main topic, the interaction of maximum muscular effort and gearing. The essential points of his presentation are available as internet publications. (http://www.rohloff.de/index.php?lang=en&p=TECHNIK/WIRKUNGSGRAD&d=). However, it is entirely different, when the listeners can discuss their questions and critical comments directly with the manufacturer. And there was extensive discussion in which Mrs. Rohloff, already well-known to many of those present from their phone contacts as a competent technical service advisor, repeatedly stepped in with comments and clarifications.

Hannes Neupert, Founder and President of ExtraEnergy, had taken on the second lecture of the day. He introduced his society, founded in 1993, which serves as an international “motor” for the promotion of light electric vehicles and tries to bring users, dealers, manufacturers, local governments, and companies with strong social engagement into discussions. He also reported on some projects, such as the development of a new bicycle for post-office delivery personnel, to be driven with an electric assist motor. This concerns not only the development of the bicycle itself and its assist-drive, but also the deployment of the necessary infrastructure such as batteries and charging facilities for batteries.

In the third lecture, Mary Arneson reported on the state of development of daily-use velomobiles in the US and Canada. According to her report, there are many reasons why Europe is significantly ahead. In addition to the low energy prices in her homeland, there is the one-sided transportation infrastructure which scarcely takes into account the possibility of getting around by muscle power. Cyclists and velomobilists are almost exclusively dependent on streets dominated by cars.

After a pleasant (and for some participants fairly extended) time socializing, everyone said their farewells on Sunday after breakfast hoping as always that Cab-Bike would organize another such meeting again next year.