HUMAN POWERED VEHICLES PROJECTSimon CURLIS

When all fuel runs out or becomes redundant due to both the environmental and eco-nomic cost, the vehicles that everyone relies on will change immensley. Burning unneces-sary resources to sur�ice per-sonal needs will be a thing of the past. Majority of industries will be effected, especially

the building and services indus-try where skilled workers with specialised areas require a utility vehicle to transport their individual tools and equipe-ment. In the city of Hume , in particular the suburb of Broad-meadows, the most ef�icient form of transport is cycling due to the existing infrastructure of

roads which will be vacant once people become less dependant on them, as well as the lack of steep hills. In turn, the most ef�icient form of cycling is in the recumbent position where all of the cyclists muscle power pushes against the backrest of the seat and power goes straight through the pedals.

As a replacement for a utility vehicle, stowing space for equiptment during transit is a necessity. The 1 metre squared tray at the front of the vehicle provides ample space for a variety of toolboxes, power tools, step ladder and other supplies such as bricks and sand that a tradesperson may need on a particular job. Larger equiptment may be dropped off by a truck kept in a site safe as it is not nessecary to transport it to and from the drivers home daily.

The steel chassis provides strength to the overall struc-ture whilst keeping unnesse-cary weight to a minimum. The beni�its of steel are its durabil-ity, strength, weight and ease of manufacture, maintain and repair, thus extending the HPV’s life and lessening its environmental impact. Steel usually contains around 50% recycled content and can be fully recycled using existing infrastructure. Other features of this, the util-ity vehicle of the not to distant

future, are the drop down gate to make loading and unloading easier. Using a simple hinge mechanism, the gate can with-stand the knocks and shocks that come with being a utility vehicle. The vehicle is also designed to �it components from most major cycling manu-facturers so upgrading wheels, cranksets and gearsets is a possibility, although it comes standard with Shimano Tiagra parts.This human powered vehicle is built tough, a breeze to ride and will not kill the earth.

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