The Valentina is an impressively styled velomobile from South America.
I first became aware of the design several months ago but I was reminded by a comment from a reader in Argentina. Both Velomobile production and use is concentrated in Europe with rapid growth starting to appear in the US but what about other parts of the world? Australia & New Zealand have an established industry but what about other countries and particularly South America? Brazil is no longer an emerging economy – it has emerged – so it is perhaps little surprise to see the beginnings of a velomobile industry there, but what of other neighbouring countries? If you know of any others please let us know in the comments below.
The Valentina is produced by David Bevilacqua in Florianópolis Brazil. There is a website in Portuguese (not Spanish) but there appears to be little technical information at present. The Valentina appears to be mounted on a regular recumbent trike and features a sophisticated lighting system and electric assist.
If anyone can offer more information please comment below.
The website is in Portuguese and it seems to me that the velomobile, which has electrical assistance, was built for his own use.
Thanks Petrônio, I have updated the post with your corrections. Sorry about my ignorance of the language! Your comment and corrections are appreciated.
Hello Kenneth.
This velomobile is a shell on a trike. Also would like more information about it, but there is no further than this site.
I’m in the process of construction using the same technique, but I’m having trouble with the weight, which I suppose will be in a 33 kg. I almost finished the trike, the shell is an aluminum frame, Dacron and polyester resin.
Hello Petrônio,
Is that 33 kg for the complete velomobile or just the fairing? 33 kg is not light-weight but is respectable for an everyday velomobile. Saving weight by mounting a fairing onto a frame seems to be a challenge, though not impossible if you have access to light-weight materials. By the time you have added enough material to the fairing to make it robust for everyday use you are well on the way to making the fairing strong enough to replace the frame.
Fan
Soapbox Derby has much in common with velomobile development. I’m not sure the VW campers would qualify as velomobiles under our definition but they look like fun. Are they pedal powered or just free wheeling?
It would be impossible to use those vehicles in Argentina, because of Law limitations.
Quad bikes are only allowed as off road vehicles for example.