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A velomobile, or bicycle car, is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and protection from weather and collisions.〔Frederik Van De Walle. ''(The Velomobile as a Vehicle for more Sustainable Transportation )'' , Retrieved on 23 November 2007.〕 They are derived from recumbent bicycles and tricycles, with the addition of a full fairing (aerodynamic shell). Pedal powered faired vehicles intended primarily for racing are usually called streamliners. Streamliners have set many speed and distance records.〔(International Human Powered Vehicle Association ). Retrieved on Dec 31, 2012〕 There are few velomobile manufacturers; some are home-built. Some models have the operator's head exposed; this has the advantage of giving the operator unobstructed vision, hearing, and some cooling, with the disadvantage of being more exposed to weather and less aerodynamic. Hybrid vehicles exist which can use both human power and assistance by an electric motor. Small three- and four-wheeled motor vehicles are called microcars. ==History== ] Before World War I, Charles Mochet built a small four-wheeled 'bike'-car for his son. Mochet built many models of small vehicles called "Velocar". Some models had two seats, most were pedal powered, but as the years went by, many were fitted with small engines.〔(The Real History of the Recumbent Bicycle ) Retrieved on 26 March 2008.〕 In the 1970s, the People Powered Vehicle was produced. It was a two-seat, "sociable" tandem with a steel sub frame and molded plastic body. It was actually well designed and relatively light, though weighing over (a recently restored version weighs ) but had flaws in the execution that doomed it as a practical, everyday vehicle. Positive features, such as easily adjustable and comfortable seats, independent pedalling for both passenger and driver, adequate cargo space and relatively good weather protection, could not overcome the negative features, such as a complex, heavy and badly spaced three-speed gear box, ineffective brakes, and pedals that slid on sleeve bearings on steel shafts, which made it difficult to use as an everyday vehicle. In Sweden, a two-seeat design called Fantom was sold as blueprints and became very popular; over 100,000 copies of the blueprints were sold, but few were actually completed. In the 1980s, ''Fantomen'' was rediscovered by Carl-Georg Rasmussen, who built a redesigned version called Leitra. The downfall of the 'bicycle' car came when the economy improved and people chose motorised transport. All current velomobiles are produced in low volume. The only attempt at a mass-produced velomobile, which was in the mid-1980s, flopped. This was the Sinclair C5. The C5 was a delta trike (one front, two rear wheels) with electric assist designed to be mass-produced and sold for a low price. The C5 was poorly designed; it was heavy, had only one gear and had no adjustment for the distance between the pedals and the seat, which is important to get a comfortable pedaling position. A concept and a potential assessment concerning low-cost velomobiles for daily short trips as well as strategies for reaching a critical lot size for mass production was the subject of a research project called RegInnoMobil.〔(Research project "RegInnoMobil" about low-cost velomobiles for short daily trips ) Retrieved on 19 January 2010.〕 Velomobiles have also been used in Australian HPV Super Series since 1985. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Velomobile」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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