Go One test drive

Today we test drove a Go One velomobile. You won't find one in a bike shop. For a test drive visit go-one.us site, find an owner nearby. Call and schedule a test drive. The owner we visited, Dave, is a bike enthusiast. In addition to the Go-One, he let us test drive his Rann long wheel base recumbent bike, ,and electric powered upright road bike. He offer to let us try his Fuji carbon fiber racing bike but we didn’t want to impose too much. Dave was very knowledgeable, in his opinion, the Go One is the only well built machine available. The only well engineered machine. Every one of Dave’s bikes was a blast to ride. Each one was a unique experience.

The go-one is for the bike enthusiast. It's expensive, around $10,000 depending on the exchange rate, requires some athleticism and isn't practical for the most US streets.

Getting in and out of the Go-one , or any velomobile, requires coordination and some upper body strength. You have to step over the side and stand on the seat. Using the sides to lift your weight, step into the foot openings and lower yourself into the seat. Take care not to step on the casing, it's thin and may break. To get out requires even more upper body strength to lift yourself up as you step onto the seat, then step over the side as the bike rolls downhill.

Once inside, it's comfortable, there's enough foot room and you can put your feet in the foot holes or on the peddles. For someone with big feet it might be hard to peddle. Certainly hard to step into the flintstone holes. There's good visibility out the front through the casing. You can easily see over the sides. The bike comes with a detachable cover for riding in bad weather or to maximize aerodynamics. With the cover on it's a little claustrophobic. Opening the vent windows helps. The cover would be nice in cold weather but you'd cook in the hot summer months.

It took a little practice to get used to the steering. Upright, the 'tiller' you see works like a boat tiller. The 'tiller' can pulled close and used like a steering wheel. At first I over steered. The steering bar is so small it doesn't take much movement to turn. I also had to stretch to reach the peddles and noticed I'd turn with each stroke. The bike is set for someone 5' 10", I'm 5' 6". I had to stretch. Once I realized what I was doing I relaxed, pushed the bar away a little and I was used to the steering. It almost steers itself. It has a wide turn radius. It felt like the bike would role if you took corners too fast. You can't lean because of the 3 wheels.

We didn’t think we’d be safe on the streets. Dave felt the same way. We’ve found that drivers don’t see cyclists. Even when they do, they’ll sometimes pass within 6 inches of a cyclists. They must not realize how difficult it is to ride in a straight line when you’re terrified of being hit by a car passing you at 45 MPH just six inches away from you. The gutter of most roads is cluttered with debris, over hanging branches and with some of the worst pot holes. You’d constantly be looking over your shoulder to brace for the hit.

While fun, the test drive kind of squashed the idea of building a velomobile for the US market. Unless the US builds bike friendly pathways, the go-one is a great toy for a bike enthusiast.