The 600 hour Groovy Velomobile – Trike by Dave Langkamp

velomobile 1

If you saw Dave Langkamp riding down the street in his Radius T-T velomobile, you might think he’s reliving the Duck Soup running gag glory days (and well, maybe he is). One  goal is certian: Langkamp is serious about biking. Why else would he spend 600 hours designing a stellar body for his recumbent tricycle? Only he knows the real answer, but check it out for yourself.

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It all started with a TerraTrike recumbent tricycle and a dream – to be the coolest middle-aged man in the neighborhood. Langkamp decided upon a rounded design (from which the name Radius comes) and got to work.

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The first step was making the velo, or the frame. Once that was done, the fun began. Langkamp got to design every aspect of the form and function of his cruisermobile, from the rearview mirrors to the integrated turning signals and flashers (all controllable within the cockpit). The frame itself was made by laying fiberglass atop a foam mold to make one lightweight but sturdy 70s chick magnet.

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(all images courtesy of The Tinkers Workshop)

 

The 80-lb structure was hand-painted (believe it or not) and sits at 8.5ft long, 37 inches tall and 36 inches wide. There’s no word yet on how fast it can ride but Langkamp is excited to finally take his pet project for a spin – it took him one full year and 600 hours of loving labor to complete. It’s simply groovy baby, groovy.

Or just a well made homage?

YouTube player

 

0 thoughts on “The 600 hour Groovy Velomobile – Trike by Dave Langkamp

  1. toyotaboy says:

    Maybe this is the norm for a velomobile, but 45lbs just for the body seems like a LOT of extra weight for anything pedal powered. I would think it would be much lighter considering it’s made from foam and fiberglass.

    1. KentonS says:

      My thoughts too. Also curious about top speed.

    2. Jazzenjohn says:

      I agree, also, why is it that a project that took 600 hours to build is published before even a 10 minute shake out ride? How about a comparison between the trike with and without the shell?

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