peter n, a user of the German velomobilforum.de was tired of the same returning questions regarding his velomobil.
- How much does it cost?
- How fast is it?
- Isn’t it dangerous?
So Peter prepared a business card, which he now gives to folks whose interest does not go beyond these questions.It is written in German, hence I’ll translate it briefly:
How much does it cost?
about 0,- Euro per month – nothing! or less
Assumptions were:
Purchasing price: approx. 6000Euro probable gain at resale: approx. 2100
Kilometrage: approx. 40000 or approx. 1000km/month
From the costs/month I reduced fuel costs/month which I would have to pay using my 1988 VW Passat for these 1000km per month (commuting to work).
I did not estimate repair costs, both velomobile and car need to be repaired.
I did not estimate higher retail prices, or more or less km/month
How fast is it?
uphill: 7km/h
downhill: 70km/h
no precise answer? no precise question!
it depends on wind, slope, weight, road, fitness, motivation, duration of trip
on the plain significantly faster than racing bike in racing position.
uphill rather as fast as a children’s bike
Isn’t it dangerous?
No, you can pet it!
honestly: in contrast to my upright-bike, I did not have an accident on several tenthousands of km and I have not been overlooked.
More info: www.velomobilforum.de
The card:
I was a bit surprised about the car centric view of this spoof business card. The zero€ calculation only makes sense if you compare it with a car. Many people don’t have a car and tend to compare recumbents with uprights. And even if you accept the car presumption then it is still a misleading calculation as it implies that you need no initial resources to finance a HPV (or a recumbent or a upright for that matter). For me this 0€ calculation is the product of a recumbent rider who’s more on the delusional side of life.
Well the guy who created the card did this as a reaction on re-appearing questions. Hence I can only say: he must have had his reasons…
In general, you are right. Germany is very much car-oriented…