Sorcerer

The Tri-Sled Sorcerer is Australia’s first production velomobile, resulting from over six years of development, racing and record setting. Designed and tested in tough Australian conditions, this machine was developed to respond to challenging surroundings and distances.

Tri-Sled has placed priority on minimising the frontal area and weight without compromising usability. The Sorcerer is available in both a sport version with a head fairing (an extension of the fibre-glass body), and a soft-topped street version (as shown above)

Dimensions

  • Length: 2680mm
  • Width: 6500mm
  • Height: 880mm
  • Wheelbase: 1050mm
  • Track width: 620mm
  • Ground clearance: 100mm
  • Turning circle: 9.5m
  • Weight (street basic spec): 26kg

Specifications

  • Frame: 4130 chromoly
  • Fairing: e-glass/polyester
  • Wheels: 20 inch all round
  • Brakes: Shimano Deore cable operated
  • Gears: Rohloff speedhub, 14speed
  • Seat: Composite with open-cell foam
  • Load space: 60 litres

Ben Goodall, Tri-Sled director, addresses some of the most common questions associated with the Sorcerer velomobile.

Heat and Breathing

Assessing just how fast a faired HPV can go generally spurs an eager first-time rider to jump inside and pedal down the road as fast as they can. Once they’ve exhausted all their energy reserves they get out remarking that it’s too hot and needs ventilation. Ventilating the fairing to a level that would satisfy this type of activity would forfeit most of the advantages of faired HPVs, due to the creation of excessive drag. The rider should be getting a little more than enough air for essential cooling and breathing, but not enough for short bursts of flat out aerobic pedaling. This is a restriction that he or she may not be familiar with at first.

Riding in a full fairing is as different to riding a normal recumbent as a recumbent is to riding a conventional bike. Your speed and endurance are governed by thermo- regulation and breathing to a greater extent. Undisciplined sudden increases in pedaling output can result in a build-up of heat inside the fairing that cannot be dissipated quickly. This in turn leads to a claustrophobic discomfort that makes the rider want to get out. A good aerodynamic fairing will see significant increases in speed even with a possible decrease in rider efficiencies due to internal conditions. Having said that, high-end sprints are possible through careful use of incoming air. Acceleration is based not just on how your legs feel but also how the cabin air feels. The main thing is not to pedal really hard at low speed when there is no cabin airflow to compensate for this burst of energy.

Given the relationship between airflow, high intensity pedaling and internal temperature, the soft-topped street version, where the head sits outside the fairing, is a much more practical choice for the every day commute where there are intersections and short steep hills. However, if you want to do a fast day ride or light tour on open road with limited stops and starts, you would be far better off with the head fairing, because maintaining cabin airflow will be easy.

Hills

Riding up hills is probably the most tender subject when it comes to fairings. The one place where all HPVs (faired or otherwise) are equal is from a stationary starting point at the bottom of a steep rise. Due to the weight of a faired machine it will come up second best at low speed climbing. However, when you consider that an average trip consists of many ups and downs, the faired vehicle has a far greater advantage over other HPVs due to its aerodynamics. One of the best things about fairings is the remarkable conservation of momentum. You can roll for literally kilometres on the runoff from one downhill slope. This is often overlooked when discussing hill climbing and HPVs.

One of my favourite roads to go testing on is a windy coastal esplanade nearby. Besides being a nice place to ride, it is a smooth road that undulates up and down with a few challenging climbs. In the fairing the climbs feel like little bumps in the road due to the speed accumulated and saved from the previous descent. Speed is both faster and more consistent than if you were riding the same road on a conventional trike.

Having said that, a faired machine needs to be at least under 30kg for it to perform at an acceptable level. As with all HPVs, weight is always an area for constant improvement, but I am confident that my latest models are at the point where they perform better on both flat and hilly roads.

Download footage of a Tri-Sled Sorcerer (4MB) reaching a 200m trial speed of 78 kph at the Broadford Raceway.