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December 3, 2008
The Hostel Shoppe is now the proud owner of the Greenspeed Glyde prototype that was at Interbike this fall in Las Vegas. The Greenspeed U.S. distributor, in Illinois, had the Glyde and Rolf drove down in October to test it out. Here are his impressions.
The day, in October, that we picked to test the Glyde turned out to be a cool, windy day with east winds of about 20 mph. The test ride crew consisted of Greenspeed US Distributor, Jerome Hediger, Drew Sullivan from LaCrosse, WI and myself. Jerome rode with us to give us directions. Drew and I frequently ride together and are well matched for speed. However, in our mid sixties, we are both slower than we used to be. We both ride Volae Teams and we are so close in size that we can switch bikes without making an adjustment. (A handy situation for product testing.)
My first thought when I saw the actual machine, was, “This is really an elegant, well thought out, professionally finished machine that looks wicked fast just sitting there.” It’s impossible not to be impressed by a close up look.
Compared to Wisconsin, the terrain around Highland, Illinois is mostly flat with some smaller hills. The road in and out of the distribution center is a somewhat rough combination of gravel and marginal pavement. Thus, the first few miles were a mix of rough roads, back alleys and “sneak streets” that got us around the busier traffic and out of town. This turned out to be a good test of the full suspension, which performed very well in these adverse conditions. Eventually we got out in the country and quickly got comfortable with the handling on what was now smoother pavement. Since we were no longer turning every block or so I decided to pull out in front and see what it would do with a tailwind. I quickly left Jerome and Drew “in the dust”, was hitting speeds of 30mph and climbing small hills at about 16 mph. I waited at the next intersection for them to catch up and get directions on where to go next. We were to head south into a small town and had instructions to stop at the stoplight and wait. The ride south, with a strong crosswind was easy and fast and when I arrived at the stoplight two miles later, they were nowhere in sight. I pulled into the parking lot of an automotive service center to wait. The employees came out of the building like there was a fire drill. Except they were all heading straight towards me. These were some serious “motor heads” and even they were amazed by this “contraption”. It turned out to be a great experience with a group of super friendly Illinois folks.
When Drew and Jerome arrived, Drew and I switched places and it was now Drew’s turn to put the hurt on Jerome and Me. We continued south and eventually turned east into the wind. Drew and I took turns in the Glyde into the headwind. Whoever was in the Glyde was effortlessly pulling away from the rest of us at a surprising rate. It was about 55 degrees, cloudy and windy. In the Glyde I was extremely comfortable while on my Team, I was a bit cold. What a fantastic way to extend the riding season. This is the ultimate tool for cool or windy riding conditions. Jerome assured me that, with the vents (yet to be installed in the Prototype) it will very comfortable in hot weather as well.
Before we started, Jerome told me that he was surprised at how well the 80 lb prototype (production models should be around 65 lbs) climbed. I thought - - - Yeah right! I was imagining the excessive effort required to go up even the smallest grades. However, during the course of the eighteen to twenty mile ride, I had the opportunity to ride it up several hills and was surprised at how easily it climbed. It took some effort but the aerodynamic advantage tended to offset some of the weight disadvantage resulting in the feeling that it climbed much better than expected; at least on those hills. All velomobiles are noisy and the Glide is no exception. All the chain line and gear noise is trapped inside where the you are. This took a short time to get used too. However, I quickly found myself not even thinking about it.
A word of caution: Don’t take a close look at this and a test ride unless you want to add another item to the top of your wish list. My first words to Jerome when we finished the test ride were, “I want this one, how much?”
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