Aramid fiber / Crash protection: the sequel, part II

Some pics of the repaired WAW284. 

Famously also known as WAW[horse]. 

(see this blog post). 

Nieuw telefoonnummer / New phone number

Het atelier (Ben) is voortaan rechtstreeks bereikbaar op nummer +32 468 / 10 10 13 (woensdag tot vrijdag).
Het vaste nummer +32 9 330 49 12 is in transit en zal binnen een paar dagen terug actief zijn. Dit nummer wordt doorgeschakeld naar één van de mobiele lijnen.
Natuurlijk kan u indien noodzakelijk nog steeds terecht op Brechts privénummer +32 476 / 238 000.

The shop has a new direct phone line at +32 468 / 10 10 13 (Wednesdays to Fridays). 
The land line +32 9 330 49 12 is in between providers and will be active in a few days. This line redirects to one of the mobile lines so it can take a few seconds.
Of course you can still reach me on my private phone at +32 476 238 000.

Groeten, Regards,
Brecht.

2016 Holidays

We're taking a week or two off until august 3rd /
Wij gaan er even tussenuit tot 3 augustus.

Meanwhile enjoy your Future Fueled Freedom:

https://vimeo.com/13002588

Fietscongres Gent

A joint venture with University Leuven / campus Ghent is emerging, to develop a new solarvelo based on our eWAW.

In 2013 a solar WAW was disqualified for speeding (!) on the Suntrip race to Kazachstan ( http://www.solarbiketour.com). Participating again would be nice, setting things straight.

Prijslijst update: WAW Configurator 2016

De WAW Configurator is aangepast.

Prijzen blijven globaal gelijk: 5.450 € exBTW voor de basisWAW, 6.595 € BTWin.

Er zijn een paar nieuwe, of toch minder bekende opties:

• Actieve luchtvering achteraan
• Neus met gestroomlijnde schijnwerpers
• De instelbare winddeflector 
• 3 x 10 versnellingen ipv. 3 x 9 
• USB-lader op boordelektriciteitsnet

Om uw hoogstpersoonlijke WAW Configurator aan te maken maakt u een kopietje (Mijn bestanden > Een kopie maken...) of stuur een emailtje.
Een printervriendelijke WAW Configurator 2016 NL Compact.pdf kan u hier dowloaden.

For sale!

Terug van Spezi: een koepel voor de Quattrovelo en een luchtvering voor de WAW.

De dertiende keer Spezi?  Deze keer was ik er niet zelf aan het werk dus kon ik het wat rustiger aan doen.

Persoonlijke hoogtepunten:

- Stephane van Katanga presenteerde de nieuwe luchtvering op de WAW. Ze blijkt zeer goed te werken. Ik schrijf er nog wel eens een artikel over wanneer we de eerste exemplaren in Gent hebben en langduriger kunnen uittesten.
Ik denk dat vooral de eWAW met deze luchtvering over de concurrentie springt en aan de top komt van de functionele fietsen, in het goede gezelschap van de:

- Quattrovelo. Allert sculpteerde een prachtige koepel, en presenteerde alvast de plug. Dit wordt een uitstekende vierseizoenenfiets. Je kan de QV trouwens nu al voorbestellen bij Fietser: onderdak tegen de herfst.

- Kabelsturing / drive by wire blijkt nu eindelijk door te breken, en wel in de bakfietsen. Dat doet mijn ontwerpershart deugd: als zoiets sociotechnisch kan doorbreken worden de mogelijkheden voor ons weer een stuk ruimer.

Aramid fiber / Crash protection: the sequel

It's been a bit frustrating at times to build speed bikes for road use and then see the majority buy machines designed for the races. Ha! Sometimes fate throws you an occasion to prove your point.

At the very moment I was writing the former blog post about an aramid fibre crash protection zone on an ultralight carbon velomobile, something amazing happened:

Yes that's the same WAW284, on it's maiden trip... According to the owner, he was out on his first try-out ride, on a remote cycle path, accelerating to well over 40 km/h, when he noticed a horse had started running alongside. Then suddenly the horse was in front or on top of him. It isn't exactly clear what happened but considering the damage on top of the nose, canopy AND the top of the tail he must have scooped up the horse and it must have rolled on top of the WAW from front to back.

The rider was completely unharmed. So was the horse. The owner was soon found and well covered. The carbon tail was scattered and a total loss. The aramid fibre cover and canopy had minor damage, the right cover hinge was bent. We don't know exactly how large the load exercised by the horse was, but any amount of horse is better taken by a roof than a head. The bulk of the shock was absorbed, as it should, by the shock absorbing nose, which had crumpled like a well behaved crumple zone would.


The really astonishing thing was that after the accident, the rider just popped out the nose again with his foot, to this result:

The above picture was sent to me by another customer the day after. I couldn't believe it myself. Later on the WAW came in and we just exchanged the cover hinge, some white tape was applied to the mirror cap and the small damage to the left wheel well. Otherwise the carbon semi-monocoque of the WAW was undamaged. While a new nose, tail, cover, wheel cap and cover are on order from CZ, the owner has been doing his 45 km commute every day since, without further incidents.

WAW284: Pairing carbon bliss with sensible crash protection.

This WAW is made for a fast and long daily commute: light where it was possible, tough where needed. Part of the commute is through heavy traffic. The client is an experienced cycle commuter who knows accidents do happen someday if you're on the road long enough. Thanks to the modular architecture of the WAW, we were able to differentiate and optimize the WAW further according to the different materials' properties.

The semi-monocoque body (i.e. skin and beams working together to create the lightest possible enclosed structure) and tail are all carbon. Carbon is strong but brittle, and each broken fibre puts a load on the next one so you get long rips. Last year we saw in a growing number of cases that using a one peace carbon shell in traffic has serious drawbacks, i.e. total loss from even minor accidents. This is a carbon velo after hitting a pedestrian at 20km/h. I'd say 90% of the trouble happens to the front of a velomobile, so it's really a fantastic design feature of the WAW that you can exchange the nose. About every part of the WAW has been copied by now but I'm amazed no one thinks of a replaceable crumple zone in their design.

Oh, and another thing: it doesn't hurt aerodynamics. Tripping the laminar layer at the widest diameter is a basic aerodynamic rule.

Many carbon WAW owners have been very lucky they could get away with replacing a damaged nose. But the best velo for traffic is not only separable but also in a tough (and light!) material. As far as I know only the Rotovelo and the kevlar Milan offer this kind of protection for the rider.

The yellow stuff is Aramid fiber.

Kevlar is incredibly tough and does not rip in a catastrophical way as carbon tends to do. In case of a heavy frontal accident the nose folds up and absorbs most of the impact, leaving the rider unharmed. One customer reported she hit a concrete bridge pillar in heavy wind at 50 km/h, came out unscathed, pushed out the nose and rode on. If some of the 135 million euro that our government throws at Audi would come our way, we would like to do some dedicated crash tests. For now it's unquantified experience. 

the recent vertical SPAI

Most of our customers are 'professional' cyclists, to the extent that they're often on the road, in all weather, in all kinds of traffic, in a very fast machine. So the majority of WAWs we specify are the tough Kevlar version. 
This customer however was sold on the responsive ride of our 26 kg demo carbon WAW (the black one, fastest velo I've ever fit into).

It's just great we can combine the best of the two branches of WAW.

 

PS: one of the interesting reactions I got to this article was from John Highet. They built a styrofoam shock absorber into a carbon Quest XS. Worth a look:

My latest (4th) Quest XS is a heavily modified Carbon QXS with many mods designed to protect me as much as possible (after 3 serious crashes!) Lee Wakefield did the work and although heavier it's also (arguably)the strongest Quest in the world. Some of the mods are as follows: Full seat belts with support structure, Bonded one-piece shell (with access panel like DF) Nose crumple Zone, Strengthened seat mounts and shoulder fairings to protect from sharp cockpit edge. Some photos here--- 
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1xkh2k7p0jrnjpk/AAAJf3laFDp42JarwbAM8lj2a?dl=0

 

Jahaa de nieuwe Orca!

Wat staat daar te blinken?
Onze nieuwe scheursofa: de e-Orca!

Ik had 'm toch gemist. Komt dat zien!