Date: 1 July 2013
CD 1001
Issue: 1.0
Vélo Cargo Owner’s Manual
Page 20 of 34
TIP:
Tip:
•
GO SLOW AROUND CORNERS UNTIL YOU ARE CONFIDENT AT
RIDING THE BIKE.
•
Always lean into your turn.
•
Do not accelerate whilst in a turn.
7.4 Braking
The Vélo Cargo has three strong brakes which can pull the cycle up very quickly in the event of an
emergency stop. As with a car, the front brakes deliver the most stopping power as the inertia of the
trike ‘pins’ the front of the bike down to the road.
It is possible to lock up all three wheels in the wet or get the rear wheel off the ground in an
emergency stop situation, if this is the case you will have to ‘dab’ the brakes as you would in a car to
stop them from locking up.
The brakes should be applied in the following way, back brake first to decrease speed and then bring
in the fronts slowly until you stop. There is no hard and fast rule, you will just notice that this is the
same thing you do on a bicycle because it delivers the best results.
If you are riding on muddy ground with one front wheel in the mud and the other on a hard surface,
the wheel in the mud may skid before the other does causing uneven braking and potentially causing
a swerve. Hence caution should be applied when using the front brakes when the wheels are on
different surfaces
7.5 Parking the Vélo Cargo.
The Vélo Cargo has a handbrake which can keep it from moving on level ground or on slopes only. It
should be noted that the handbrake can be released quite easily by children fiddling with it. Hence,
never leave your Vélo with the handbrake on without it being near to or up against a wall/barrier of
some kind so that if the brake is released it won’t roll anywhere far and cause damage to the trike,
occupants and parked cars for example.
7.6 Locking the Vélo
It is best to lock your Vélo Electrique Cargo Trike by using a flexible heavy duty chain or cable lock. It
is best to pass the lock through one of the front wheels, the front frame corner and a fixed object like
railings or a bike rail. It is much better to lock the front rather than the back wheel as it makes it much
harder to manhandle if a thief were to try and steal it. For overnight storage in a street Velo
recommends that you remove the battery, the saddle and uses locks front and rear.
7.7 Using the seatbelts
There are four three-point seatbelts for children provided as standard. These are fully adjustable and
can also be remounted to provide further adjustment. The seatbelts are adjusted by pulling the
adjustment buckles up or down the strap to lengthen or shorten them.
