mirrors and grip

When I first bought the Alleweder, it had only an original left mirror, that aerodynamic one. The view was way too limited and one sided only, so I removed it quickly. I asked the guys from Velomobiel.nl to put 2 new mirrors on my Alleweder, the same they use for their velomobiles. The hole that was left after removing the original mirror, was covered with reflective white foil. I put the reflective foil both on the left and the right side, to keep things symmetrical. Although the new mirrors are likely to be less aerodynamic than the original one, rear view on both sides has improved dramatically !

I also soon discovered that you ‘re not only supposed to ride your velomobile, but also you have to manoeuver it from time to time. In the beginning I used to lift the Alleweder by the tail just above the tail light, but that was not practical at all.

I remembered that I once saw a picture on the internet showing an other Alleweder which had a grip attached at the back. So I shopped for a nice grip which would not look like it is used for furniture en found a stainless steel one. I still think its shape fits the Alleweder well and it comes in handy many times. Not only for parking when arriving at home or at work, but also when a mechanical breakdown prevents you from riding it. This happened to me once in wintertime when the snow piled up so high that I could not drive my Alleweder anymore and I had to walk and push it.

Another big benefit of the grip is that it is providing me an “eye” to lock up the velomobile. Since the grip is attached very solid to the Alleweder, I can use it to secure my Alleweder to almost anything. Not that I feel comfortable leaving my velomobile behind unattended, but just in case I have to, I have the opportunity to do so.