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Old Veltop Test (english version)

dimanche 26 août 2007, par VéloCoqué


Clic ici pour version française

As we ride our bikes every day, I bought 2 Veltops for my girlfriend and I in July 2007 (as a result, I managed to negotiate a good price for the pair :o) ).

Choice

After a long research on the Internet, this system seemed to be the most accomplished accessory on the market according to our criteria :
-  protection against bad weather
-  adaptable on any classic bike
-  light
-  moderate price
-  that can be dismantled.

We hesitated a lot because Veltop seemed (on photos) to have the following defects :
- weak protection against the rain and cold
- fragile
- resisting to the wind

Presentation of the Veltop

I am not going to make a long presentation : get some idea about it with the link towards the inventor’s website : Commercial

Does it keep its promises ?

I’ve been looking for a solution to cycle every day (whatever the weather) for 4 years ; including 3 years studying which compromises (protection, overall dimension, weight, cost,…) would be optimal. While developing the VéloCoqué (bike with a shell), I had put complete protection first. The result was a heavy, cumbersome accessory that could not be dismantled.

On the video, I had detected something suspicious : have you noticed that we can’t see the lady’s trousers when she cycles in the rain ? :o)

Assembling / Dismantling

Assembling the Veltop on the bike was easy : a user manual including about twenty colour photos explains everything. And even easier here

Testing the Veltop in the sun

Very manageable.

The windscreen protects from wasps and other bugs which until now got into the habit of landing up into my eyes (it’s surely already happened to you !?)

Our 1st guinea-pig looks satisfied (and poses for us) :o)

Then, I ask my father to test its reliability : sharp turns, speed and jump onto pavement.

With each turn, the windscreen/roof unit get out of shape (that’s normal, I can assure you), without too much resistance. As it’s very light, one doesn’t even feel the “sway” (heaviness with each tilt of the bike). Very little noise during jolts. The materials that were used seem strong, and designed to resist to the wind and especially to corrosion (stainless steel screws and bolts, aluminium parts, and Plexiglas).

So light that it doesn’t make my bike fall (yet parked on a side stand). Careful to keep it tied all the same if you move away : a strong gale could make the unit fall.

From now on I go into Toulouse town centre (France) with it, and I must confess that it arouses curiosities…

Testing the Veltop in the rain

The much-awaited test !! Yes, I’ve taken a long time testing the Veltop in the bad weather, because of… persistent good weather :o) But luckily for all the Net surfers who refer to my website to decide whether to buy a Veltop or not, July’s weather is changeable.

What happens after an hour spent in the rain ? ? I unfolded the side protections, and used the expanders (if it is too technical, I’ll explain the equipment in another article).

RESULT :

Wet below the knees and at the forearms.

But I am very astonished at the protection of the body’s upper-part : almost perfect ! Who would have thought so ?

Comparison VéloCoqué/Veltop

To summarize :

VéloCoqué – Positive :
- almost complete protection against the rain
- great capacity for storage

VéloCoqué – Negative :
- heavy, cumbersome
- bad drag coefficient (electric bike necessary)
- can’t be dismantled
- expensive (should it be on the market in its present state, it would cost 2000€…)
- noisy (inside)

Veltop – Positive :
- clear user manual
- light
- can be dismantled
- economical (less than 250€ today)
- good drag coefficient (Cx)
- little noise

Veltop – Negative :
- protection against the rain for 2/3 of the body

Conclusion

I love Veltop !

If you want to form your own opinion about the product, and you come through Toulouse (France), I can let you try it, and even place an order as a group to the price fall…

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