Fitting a Speedo

Ben isn't a huge fan of speedos, and for that reason and because he wants to see what solutions us prototypers come up with, there's no standard speedo or mount for the rotovelo. Yet.
So I've bought a Knog N.E.R.D. wireless speedo and fitted it. The basic problem is that the sensor has to be close to the spokes and also point more or less at the display. With most recumbents this is tricky, but at least with velomobiles it's easy to get the two close together. My problem is that I really want the display on my dashboard, but I can't work out how to get the sensor pointing towards the dash. So I've mounted the display behind a wheel arch. I can see the speedo when I'm riding, but it's not very easy to read. Which is not really a bad thing, it'll still tell me roughly my cruising speed, my max speed and how far I go.

I cut down one end of a bit of tubing, flattened it and drilled a hole so I could attach it to a brake mount as shown. It's padded with gaffer tape and plastic to get it closer to the spokes.

Attaching the display requires a tube to imitate the handlebars they're designed to mount to, so I used a piece of hose. The metal bit is a 10mm socket and driver holding the M6 nut in place.

RotoVelo cockpit with the speedo display on the right. Yes, the speedo is also red.

There's a bolt head in the wheel arch, and in an attempt to discourage leaks I used a washer and bit of old tube as a seal.

A random photo of Phuong.

RotoVelo photos

I've ridden it to work a few times (and had my first puncture). It's a blast to ride - I'm still getting used to the way it rolls on for ages after I stop pedalling, and how headwinds are just noisy rather than show-stoppers. On the other hand, I go fast enough that bumpy bike paths are a major irritation. There's a couple of places where I used to just stand up on the pedals for bumps where now I get airborne, and I definitely have to slow down for speed bumps.
So, some photos:

RotoVelo rear 3/4 view

RotoVelo rear view

RotoVelo top view with mud

There's a theory that I'm supposed to be keeping my velo clean and shiny for more photos in a couple of weeks. But my ride to work takes me along a creek and through the occasional puddle. So it's accumulating a bit of extra weight. Hopefully I will be able to clean it all off before Ben sees it.

RotoVelo front 3/4 above

RotoVelo steering detailhttp://www.moz.net.nz/rotovelo-blog/rotovelo-moz-7.jpg

A commenter on The Recumbent Blog thread asked how the steering works, so here's a photo. Front of trike to the left, steering at full lock pushed away from the camera. Note the wee push button on the brake lever for the handbrake.

Moz's Garage (TriSled parking area)

And in my garage is a TriSled collection (I told you I'd been buying these for a while). Hanging up is the long, short-wheelbase recumbent bike I use for touring. I suspect "used to use" but you never know. You can only see the back half, and it has no wheels (there's a limit to how many Rohloff's I'm willing to buy).
Under that is my quadricycle, or quad. Four wheels, a big black plastic bin, and two wheel drive with a Rohloff and three chainrings. It'll hold 120kg reasonably easily, and more if you're careful. I've had that much soil in it with a similar bin also full of soil on my trailer. Which is why the quad also has disk brakes on all four wheels. (I'd just like to make it clear there is no connection between me doing things like that and bikes just mysteriously breaking for no reason).

Moz's bikes

And here's a couple of bikes that I built for my partner and I. Note that mine uses a Rohloff in a 406 wheel, just like the one in my RotoVelo. The other bike... doesn't have a Rohloff. The front protrusion is a rack that takes two large Ortleib panniers and is attached to the frame rather than the front wheel. That unbolts, and I have one for my bike too. The rear rack on the far bike will take another two large panniers, but the somewhat flimsy one on my bike is designed to remind me not to load it up too much. I have the quad for load carrying.
(I've uploaded larger versions of all of these to my website and clicking the images should take you to those)