Hilgo in Finland

Yleistä keskustelua velomobiileista ja polkuautoista.
gutvyo
Viestit: 14
Liittynyt: 19 Helmi 2017, 11:24

Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja gutvyo »

Apologies for the English, my Finnish sucks. long post :)
After completing a bit more than 1000 km on the Hilgo I feel I can give a review here. I ride both commute (Espoo to Helsinki, 50 KM round trip) and for fun.
In the begging of 2018 I decided to order a Velo. I am riding recumbents for the last 7 years, and the main reason to get a Velo was to be able to extend the riding season, which in Finland (for me) was only Mid April to Mid October.
After a lot of thinking and reading I went for the Hilgo. I had a few reasons for that:

  • Speed was not my top priority
  • Open wheels in front
  • I was afraid of maintenance and the Hilgo seemed to have a better solution than others
  • I was promised a short ordering time.
    On January 2018 I had a business trip to Amsterdam, and used one day yo travel to test the Hilgo. it looked good and I ordered it on March, with planned delivery date on late May.
    The trouble started with delivery. To cut a very long story short, there was delay after delay, and finally I got it delivered to Finland only in November about 6 month delay!
    The Velo looked good, and I started riding. I had many issues:
  • The drive train didn't work as expected. Chain kept falling. I played with it for a long time, until I shortened the chain and made the special tentioner stronger. This solved most of the issues.
  • The battery was placed in a very strange place, with a very short cable. taking it in and out daily was very difficult. I purchased an extension cord and this mainly solved the issues.
  • Pin holding the seat got broken, and many other small issues.

During December, January and February I hardly rode. I have winter tiers, but the amount of snow was way too much.
Now in the spring I started riding again, and finally started to enjoy the Hilgo. When it is cold, the hood is great. I suffered a huge amount of flats during the time the gravel was on the roads, I think I had more than 10 flats in 3 weeks. I quickly changed to Marathon Plus in the back, in the front I have Marathon racer, and manly the front right was a pain.
During last week, the part that hold the idlers under the seat broke, and this time I had a fast reaction from Sinner bike, and replacement came within two days!

Overall:
It is relatively easy to do maintenance on the Hilgo. Once I got over the main issue with the drive train all is working relatively OK. Removing the top part is easy.
It is not very fast. It is faster than my recumbent, but not by so much.
Very comfortable to ride, well protected from the elements, and maneuverability is good.
As I wrote in the beginning - my main goal was to extend my season. This has worked fine, I've ridden longer in 2018, and started 2019 earlier.

If anyone is interested to see, or even test ride - you are welcome to contact me.
Yoav

P.S - If anyone has a good system how to press the pedestrian light buttons with the hood on - I will be happy to hear

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janx
Pistosuojattu sisällöntuottaja
Viestit: 4618
Liittynyt: 24 Elo 2008, 11:33
Paikkakunta: Pohjois-Helsinki
Viesti:

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja janx »

gutvyo kirjoitti:

...P.S - If anyone has a good system how to press the pedestrian light buttons with the hood on - I will be happy to hear

There will be a mobile app for that in Vantaa. https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/art-2000006089200.html

"The haters gonna hate and the lovers gonna love. I just lean back and ride." -janx (Kotisivut)
CLWB2008c (09-12), Nazca ePaseo (06/12-), 20/26 SWB Fenix (08/17-) & Spectri (03/19-)
Keskustelukanavat - #recumbents:matrix.org ja #nojapyorat:matrix.org

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PW
KOM
Viestit: 17765
Liittynyt: 09 Touko 2009, 21:22
Paikkakunta: Imatra

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja PW »

Thanks, nice to here about you and Hilgo.

Petri

Nojapyöräfoorumi toimii hyvin, aina saa vastauksen vaikkei kysyiskään mitään.

Puusilmä
Treenaileva sisällöntuottaja
Viestit: 662
Liittynyt: 12 Elo 2008, 07:34

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja Puusilmä »

Thank You for your detailed review. I hope everything goes better in the future.

Velomobiles are nice in that way that when they work there is little to do in maintenance and riding is fun for many thousand kilometeres. And it sounds that Hilgo is easier to repair when those long term maintenance works are at hand. And actually You have already done many big jobs once.

Enjoy! :D

VeloWagon
Sisällöntuottajakokelas
Viestit: 216
Liittynyt: 25 Maalis 2013, 23:17
Paikkakunta: Vantaa

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja VeloWagon »

Hi gutvoy! Thanks for the review! We definately have to meet up and share our Hilgo experiences!
I'm having those chain dropping issues also.
I'm expecting a delivery from Drymer including the Hood, gelcoat fix and some accoustic inside lining for the Hilgo. If the seat pin is as fragile as you mentioned maybe I'll ask for a spare just in case. ;-)

Petja

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Mango tour 2013 (kolaroitu käyttökelvottomaksi 2016), Bakfiets laatikkopyörä 2011, Basso Reef kilpapyörä 2008

David
Viestit: 60
Liittynyt: 09 Maalis 2015, 07:55

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja David »

Apologies for the English, my Finnish sucks.

I know just how you feel!

I ride both commute (Espoo to Helsinki, 50 KM round trip) and for fun.

Where abouts in Espoo are you? I am in 02200 Mankkaa with a Mango

VeloWagon
Sisällöntuottajakokelas
Viestit: 216
Liittynyt: 25 Maalis 2013, 23:17
Paikkakunta: Vantaa

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja VeloWagon »

I'm also from 02200 area. Espoo Tontunmäki. There's a fabulous bar called Gallows bird close by, favored by cyclists. Easy to park the velo next to the terrace. Maybe a Hilgo-Mango-meating? :-D

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Mango tour 2013 (kolaroitu käyttökelvottomaksi 2016), Bakfiets laatikkopyörä 2011, Basso Reef kilpapyörä 2008

VeloWagon
Sisällöntuottajakokelas
Viestit: 216
Liittynyt: 25 Maalis 2013, 23:17
Paikkakunta: Vantaa

Re: RE: Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja VeloWagon »

VeloWagon kirjoitti:

Maybe a Hilgo-Mango-meating? :-D

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

I mean who ever is interested and in the neighbourhood. This weekend perhaps? Sunday? Noonish?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Mango tour 2013 (kolaroitu käyttökelvottomaksi 2016), Bakfiets laatikkopyörä 2011, Basso Reef kilpapyörä 2008

David
Viestit: 60
Liittynyt: 09 Maalis 2015, 07:55

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja David »

fabulous bar called Gallows bird close by, favored by cyclists

Sounds good to me. I am flexible if someone prefers another time/place.

David
Viestit: 60
Liittynyt: 09 Maalis 2015, 07:55

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja David »

Just checking ... it doesn't clash with any bike week events in Helsinki does it where 'bent riders are planning on being?

gutvyo
Viestit: 14
Liittynyt: 19 Helmi 2017, 11:24

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja gutvyo »

Hi,
I am in Kauklahti, but coming to Tuntunmäki should not be an issue. Could be also nice to ride together, I normally drive to the west, were there are more open roads.
In any case, set a time and a place and I will be there!

Yoav

gutvyo
Viestit: 14
Liittynyt: 19 Helmi 2017, 11:24

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja gutvyo »

I'm having those chain dropping issues also.

The solution for me was to: 1. Shorten the chain as much as possible 2. I made the tentioner more tense, and I altered a bit the direction the tentioner is pulling the chain. this solved the issue almost completely, only few times the chain moved from the return idler under the seat, but this is a 20 seconds fix.

If the seat pin is as fragile as you mentioned

I got a new seat from them, and it looks like they did some work on enforcing the pin. I think it got broken because it moved out of place during a ride, and pressure was on the wrong spot. In my opinion the whole design of the seat need improvement.

Please note that the part that hold the idlers under the seat was changed a lot between the version I had and the version they sent last week as a replacement. It is a different design so my guess is I am not the only one that had a problem. I can send you a picture of the new and the old if you want to see.

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Wacky
Pistosuojattu sisällöntuottaja
Viestit: 3839
Liittynyt: 14 Heinä 2010, 12:38
Paikkakunta: Helsinki, Vesala

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja Wacky »

I have a couple of issues which may get for filled so I would make an appearance :mrgreen:
I would need to get my new front boom from Latvia (yes, I have a bike to ride despite needing that boom, but riding on Espoo requires suspension in my mind or with my riding style :mrgreen: ) and secondly I would really like it if it wouldn't rain heavily.
The later of those two looks a bit iffy, but maybe it'll be warm enough to get me riding over there.

VeloWagon
Sisällöntuottajakokelas
Viestit: 216
Liittynyt: 25 Maalis 2013, 23:17
Paikkakunta: Vantaa

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja VeloWagon »

I realised Sunday is Mother's Day so I hope my suggestion for that day (which now already seems popular) will not cause problems. Gallows Bird btw opens at 3pm on weekends so no refreshments before that. ;-)

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Mango tour 2013 (kolaroitu käyttökelvottomaksi 2016), Bakfiets laatikkopyörä 2011, Basso Reef kilpapyörä 2008

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Wacky
Pistosuojattu sisällöntuottaja
Viestit: 3839
Liittynyt: 14 Heinä 2010, 12:38
Paikkakunta: Helsinki, Vesala

Re: Hilgo in Finland

Viesti Kirjoittaja Wacky »

Maybe this meeting should be moved to some place which is open around noon?

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