A Faired Suspended Trike Under 30lbs Would Rule the World!
…That’s what I think it will take to get the perfect HPV.
Right now it seems to me that faired HPVs are somewhat heavy and unstable for casual use in certain conditions (mine).
On my local rolling hills, if I’m not going hard, I *STALL OUT* on uphills. That is a sad feeling. If I go hard, I win, I’m well into the aerozone of big speed, but who goes hard all the time?
The trouble is the weight. My rig is very simple, cost only $900 (see it at my site), but weighs 50lbs with proper spares, etc.
That’s stall weight. Get it down to 30lbs and medium effort will let me smile over hills. Hills matter—lots of time and effort spent there.
They better feel and flow nicely.
More trouble: crosswinds. Strong gusty conditions are a handful. Who wants the fuss? Also, in slippery conditions, who wants the torque on the tires? Thus my next solution: trike. Easy to stop while loaded at traffic lights.
Much reduced ‘slip’n’fall’ risk in bad weather/visibility–double your riding season in icy areas. Plus conquest of the crosswind problem.
The problem is that trikes weigh a little more yet. Also I find that their small wheels and low position (I’d like a Speedy but have only tried Eurotrice) create big speed ‘scuff’ on rough roads. I feel the friction mount quickly. Thus the niceness of sus. I want dirt-road worthiness—smooth/quiet on dirt: great design goal.
I hear the lowness of trikes allows for great aero, another plus.
You know, trikes also seem to allow greater crash pro than bikes. Add a rollbar and seatbelt and you can ward off a lot of trouble, relatively.
So let’s find an affordable faired sus trike under 30lbs and rule the world.
