-----Is the Mosquito rear steered ?

No, the mosquito is a front steer tricycle. The cyclist leans with the front wheel. The steering axis intersects the ground in front of the front wheel.

------How about the stability of the mosquito?

Trail and cast angle have been set to provide stability for all riding conditions. Because a velomobile can be faster than any other kinds of bicycles the turning radius has been increased (low cast angle) and the sensibility reduced (high trail). A mosquito will NOT steer too far and overcorrect a lean, thus weaving back and forth at increasing amplitude.

------How about bump steer, brake steer, side winds steer, cambered or banked roads steer ?

The 4 bars linkage steering eliminates bump and cambered/banked roads steer. There is no brake steer if left and right rear brakes are balanced. The mosquito can be stopped in any situation by just coordinating front and rear brakes, as you would do with a regular bicycle or a motorbike. A big plus is the extra power and endurance compare with other velomobiles making the Mosquito suitable for alpine roads long descents. Wind stability has been set to neutral. The Mosquito will tend to point into the wind. With blowing gusts above 50Km/h it is wiser to keep the mosquito speed under 40km/h.

------What is the cornering speed ?

it is higher than a usual velomobile. 0.7g acceleration can be achieved, leaving a good safety margin in any situation. The mosquito has been designed, used and tested on french mountains roads (Vercors, Massif Central, ...). it will never be as fast as a 2 wheels racing bicycle (30% slower) but it will be safe. Tight roundabouts can be cycled at 30km/h like a car. Most important, this safety is not being reduced by rear cargo luggages.

------What is the maximum speed of the mosquito ?

Depends on the engine. The Mosquito has been designed to prioritise average speed during a long journey in the range 30Km/h-40km/h, NOT racing speed records downhill. In practical life: with luggage, 1% positive slope, secondary roads network, blowing turbulent wind and passing trafic, those racing speeds can never be achieved. Average speed is increased by increasing speed up hill and free rolling down hill. In real life aerodynamics, the boundary layer around the shell is always turbulent and is being kept attached by using a wide round 3D torpedo body with a truncated tail.

------Why is the Mosquito a lot lighter than a high tech carbon fibre velomobile?

Wood is damage tolerant, fail safe, provides a natural and damping suspension. So we can use less material than any other kind of design. With wood, the science is behind the scene. The amount of R&D is huge and makes the most of what has been invented in the past. No need to re-invent the wheel. Wood as an engineering structural material has been well documented in literature for the aircraft industry. Our touch was just to use updated analytical and computational calculations methods combined with the basics contemporary state of the art engineering design.

------What does the ride feel like?

Nothing comparable to anything existing. Following the curves by leaning into them. Allthough the leaning angle is proportionnal to the radius of the curve, it feels very natural and instinctive. The mosquito is NOT like a normal tilting trike, the leaning angle is less than 20deg. In theory and forum talks it sounds bad but in practice it is working very well and it feels a lot more secure, especially with side gusts, or on slippery roads. Another too often ignored aspect is the relative silence of the front wheel drive and dampening properties of the bamboo shell. Noise is considerably reduced compared with classic velomobiles

------How is the traction on slopes?

tested on 15% slipery wet roads. For hill start, like a car by gradually applying torque . When in motion there is no loose of grip.

------How do you fix a flat tyre ?

Mosquito's front wheel cover is removable from the inside for an immediate and easy access. The front wheel can then be removed from the top. Easy access to the derailleurs.

------Do you build the mosquito to size?

The frame can accomodate a wide range of x-seams (moving crankset on a horizontal boom) combined with seat adjustements and size. it has to be made according to your size to make sure the adjusting range is within your body dimensions. The frame is built according to your weight too tomake sure the suspension is tuned correctly. If you are too small or too tall for our "standard" shell we can easily scale it to fits you for an extra cost.

------How long does it take for you to build a Mosquito?

Each mosquito is individually built. Around 3-4 months are required.

mosquitovelomobiles at gmail dot com