Joost has laminated the heavy loaded parts of the wheel box on both sides. He used 160 grams glass fabric ('keper') and epoxy resign. By applying glass on both sides of the plywood Joost has created a sandwich panel: Very strong stiff, and light. I like the idea that we can reinforce heavy loaded parts of the body in this very simple and effective way.
I think Joost will get the plywood velomobile on the road next week! I have bought a QuestXS and we plan to compare the aerodynamics of both velomobiles. For me the QuestXS is a very nice alternative for commuting. The shape is very nice but she is rather heavy (34 kg). I wonder how much less the aerodynamics of the plywood velomobile is. The plywood velomobile weighs 23 kg only.
Developing the plywood velomobile is a lot of work. I try to involve others into the project. Let me know if you are interested.
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| sanded |
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| making a pattern |
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| one hardly sees the laminated portion |
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| here you also see there is no connection along the chain: the body is strong and (almost) stiff enough without it |
It's nice to see some photos of the body construction; I'd love it if you could post more about that. How is the plywood attached to the aluminum tubing?
ReplyDeleteWe should have used a primer on the alu tube before we glued the plywood to it. The plywood is glued with the same thixotrope epoxy we use everywhere. With filets...
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