All weather utility bikes and trikes

Riders of the Roxy recumbent bike and the Greenway recumbent trikes who live in regions which seasonally experience near-freezing or sub-freezing temperatures, or which experience frequent and prolonged cool and rainy weather, can maximize their comfort and extend their cycling season by building and installing an Aerojacket. Both you and your school books or brief case can arrive dry and clean at your destination.

This is not a sleek, rounded, refined streamliner shell of the sort used to break speed records. It is instead utilitarian to the max and as low-cost as practicable. Its hard-chine flat-panel construction achieves modestly enhanced speed, acceptable side-wind stability, and absolute ease-of-build by virtue of its no-compound-curves, wedge-nosed, modified-Steinmetz-body geometry. The shell can be used seasonally, requiring perhaps an hour for installation or removal.

Strong riders will enjoy noticeably higher cruising speeds any time they exceed 15kph/10mph, the range at which "wind resistance" begins to compound and aerodynamic advantage really begins to pay for itself. Slower riders will enjoy the aerodynamic efficiency benefits of an Aerojacket anytime they ride into headwinds.

Aerojackets are designed to combine with and integrate multifunctional canopies (not shown) which shelter the rider's head and shoulders from sun and rain. The canopies are convertible, and thereby preserve the breeze-in-your-face outdoor experience to the extent you desire.

We have built a handful of prototypes, but the Aerojacket remains in Research and Development at this time. Plans are not yet available. A challenge for continued development has been the sourcing of a lightweight, durable, affordable and recyclable sheet-stock from which to cut panels. At this time, the Correx/Coroplast panels we have used and facilities for recycling the material are available only in large metropolitan areas. We will be testing other panels that are low-cost/homemade, as well as recyclable/reusable/biodegradable. 

The multifunctional all-weather Solarwind trailer design combines structure that will support a photovoltaic solar array together with the framework of a pop-up camper. While folded down and traveling it will present a low profile, functioning as a streamlined, weather-tight cargo trailer. When popped-up at camp it will take the form of an A-frame semi-hard-sided shelter. 

At all times when the sun is up, it will be charging batteries and powering electric-assist motors.

Building a Solarwind will not be a low-cost project. 

The Solarwind is in the concept stage of Research and Development. We have not yet built the vehicle described here, only elements of it. We introduce the concept now because it promises to fill a performance gap in the cyclotouring world. 

We are familiar with each of the various sub-systems and materials that this design utilizes. We have established the weight of materials. We have not confirmed that the simplest and lightest structure we have envisioned will have the stiffness required. We are confident that -- overall -- it will perform as we predict. We are less confident that its folding mechanisms will immediately perform flawlessly; we know that, as with all product development, some initial design details will need improvement.

When on the road, the solar array is oriented horizontally, providing power when the sun is high in the sky, and achieving this regardless of direction of travel. When parked and popped up, the then-tilted array can be aimed at the morning and evening sun for maximum battery charging while camping.

The pop-up/fold-down form of the low-profile Solarwind avoids the very substantial aerodynamic drag of a boxy caravan. If you are traveling with a bike camper/caravan on roads across the Great Plains of North America, the Kazakhstan steppe, or the Nullarbor, you eventually will have to deal with strong and implacable headwinds which can bring progress to a crawl and a cyclist to tears. The Solarwind is designed for those times. It is also designed to resist the overturning force of strong sidewinds and 'truck-suck'.

Virtually any type of cycle will be able to pull the Solarwind trailer.  Its solar electric power can be routed to charge the batteries of a towing electric cycle. Alternatively, power can be used to charge the batteries of a power system fully self-contained within what then becomes a self-propelled trailer. Self-propelling can be achieved with either hub motor(s) or chain-drive. Certain battery management systems do not accommodate solar charging; you must identify this restriction in advance.

On the standard 1-person/bike-lane-width/exterior-residential-doorway-width version, the photovoltaic array has room for about 300 peak watts of pv modules. PV is not inexpensive. The materials specified for the 'hard-shell' body are available in industrialized economies; they also are not cheap. This vehicle will be owner-buildable, though a level more challenging than our 'simpler' and 'simplest' cycles.

Many regions experience seasonal flooding over roads. We have applied lessons learned during our several forays into amphibian operation to the design concept of a Simple-specific owner-buildable flotation system made from local and waste materials. 

Plans are in the concept stage of development. Flotation volumes have been measured and load limits estimated. Attachment points for flotation have been identified on appropriate Simple models. Clearance requirements and stability under load have been estimated. Quick-deployment mechanisms have been sketched up. Methods of propulsion have progressed through initial proof of concept. 

All waters in which our various amphibian prototype vehicles have operated have been still or very slow moving; quiet waters will likely remain the limit to safe operation.