Are velomobiles practical on Indian roads?

An unusual cycle hit the roads of Bengaluru’s East End Circle early this month, bringing traffic to a standstill and sending the Internet into a tizzy as photos went out. It may be a toy racing car, some thought. The frenzy gave way to pertinent questions: Is it practical or even safe to ride on Indian roads? Where will you park it, in the cycle lane or the car zone?

. The cycle in question is a velomobile, a popular sight in Europe but arguably a first in India. It is a tricycle that comes with an outer shell and a hood, offering protection from heat, rain and dust, providing baggage space, and aiding the speed of up to 55 km/hour. These cycles are knee-high like a go-kart, for one needs to pedal it in a reclined position.

. This blue-and-white crowd magnet belongs to 41-year-old software engineer Phaneesh Nagaraja, a cyclist and collector of unique cycles. He got it custom-made by a Romanian company and Cadence90, a bike store in Bengaluru, supplied it to him as the exclusive dealer.

. The bike cost him Rs 18 lakh inclusive of customs fee. Does Phaneesh think his velomobile can substitute his bicycle to do grocery runs or go on long weekend rides? The J P Nagar resident says he would surely like to do these, but he needs to “learn to ride it confidently”. “The steering mechanism is different. Like an armed tank, it has two levers, one on the right and the other on the left side,” explains Phaneesh, who received his velomobile, a model called Alpha 7, towards March-end.

. He has taken his velomobile for short-distance rides a dozen times — to his office, where the security let him park it in the two-wheeler area, and for quick errands that “don’t require parking on the road for long”. Inside his gated community, he parks it in the common basement but secured “under a foldable bike tent and with a lock”.

. The “unscientifically-done speed-breakers” in Bengaluru are his biggest pet peeve. “I can negotiate speed-breakers of 3 inches height but not anything above that,” he says. A few times, he has had to get out and drag the 21 kg velomobile over the speed-breaker. He does this for reverse turns too because “in normal bicycles, you can just land your feet on the ground and turn around.” In this, you have to step out.

. He plans to install a flagpole on his velomobile so the vehicle drivers behind him can spot his tiny “tricycle-car”. “Otherwise, I find it quite safe. It has got a horn, indicators, headlight, rear light, and air duct. It is a different world inside,” he says.

. “Human-powered vehicles don’t require a separate licence, we were told at the road transport,” he claims.

. Exclusively built

. Phaneesh says his colleagues and apartment residents click photos with his velomobile. But they can neither ride it because it is custom-built as per his height, weight and build nor can they sit as a pillion because it is made for one. “I am 170 cm tall, so people of my height or shorter than me can squeeze in and out of it. My daughter (five years old) loves to sit inside. She has asked me to pass the velomobile to her when she grows up,” he laughs.

. ‘It is a collector’s item in India’

. Chethan Ram, founder of the bike store that supplied Phaneesh’s velomobile in Bengaluru, has received a few enquiries about the tricycle-car since the news broke out. But he paints the real picture: “It is not practical to ride a velomobile for regular commutes in India given our road infrastructure, speed breakers, in particular. Velomobiles are short, so BMTC bus drivers may not be able to spot them. If you are moving places, you need big trucks to transport it. Phaneesh knows all this. But just like people like to own Lamborghinis in India out of their love for it, out of hobby, velomobile is also a collector’s item.”

. He says it can’t replace your car or scooter even though it can hit 55-60 km/h on a nice stretch because of its aerodynamic design as compared to 35-40 km/h that cycles can achieve.

Are velomobiles practical on Indian roads?

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