I will state upfront … most canopies offer very little rain protection. … just shy of worthless! And there is even less protection when the canopy sits way up too high. Ideally a canopy should be adjusted so there is minimal clearance over the rider’s head … a couple of inches at most. I see some which look like they are accommodating someone 8 foot tall. They greatly lose their effectiveness when like that … even shading the sun off of the rider.
Of course, velomobiles offer the ultimate rain protection.
I have written about canopies before.
And there was an attempt to bring to market a rather unique special weather protection trike which was unsuccessful. It was called Firefly by GeoSpace. They were translucent … that is, they let light thru. I used to have an article on these, but can’t find it to share here. It must have gotten deleted somehow.
Back to protection from the rain. Most canopies are aimed at protection from the sun not so much rain. If the rain is falling straight down they help some, but that is not usually the case. I have gotten soaked while riding under a canopy. Wind blowing rain sideways is all it takes. And that is a common occurrence when it rains.
Veltop is a pretty well known manufacturer of canopies. They are not cheap, but they offer one of the better canopies on the market. If you get their maximum protection model which is called Expedition you indeed get more protection from the rain which is nice. If it were more affordable for me I would buy one. It would however greatly reduce air movement on the rider. Most of the time I would not like that. The side protection pieces do not extend all the way back which I don’t understand. Why stop offering protection right where it is needed the most?
Now here is a video about them …
More videos by Veltop. And here is Veltop’s website.
Using such a canopy in the winter when it is snowing would result in poor visibility when it sticks to the windshield.
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
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