Velocar was the name given to

velomobile A velomobile (); velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for Aerodynamics, aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. Velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and ...

s made in the 1930s and 1940s by Mochet et Cie of

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and colloquially to the company's

recumbent bicycle A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position, and often called a Human-powered_land_vehicle, human-powered vehicle or HPV, especially if it has an aerodynamic fairing. Recumbents are available in a w ...

s. was the inventive maker of lightweight powered cyclecars (Le P'tit Auto) and pedal-powered cars (

quadricycle The Quadricycle was an early form of automobile. Earliest models were propelled by a small steam engine, then designers switched to early internal combustion engines as they became available. The word is derived from the fact that it had four ...

s), mainly two-seaters, built on a tubular-steel chassis with bicycle-sized wheels, variable gears, and aerodynamic bodywork, in effect a faired-in "sociable". The popularity of the little cars declined in the late 1930s as cheaper, powered cars became available, only to rise rapidly when petrol became almost unobtainable during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 1939–1945. However, Mochet's stroke of genius was to make what was the first performance

, or ''vélo couché'', using a design that was based on half of his four-wheeled Velocar. This machine, called by the factory the "Velo-Velocar", or "V-V" for short, broke many world cycling records in 1933. Although Mochet had verified with the

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

(UCI) and the (UVF) that his recumbents were completely legal for competition, they were declared ineligible at a later hearing and permanently banned from competition by cycling's governing body, the UCI, it is thought at the behest of the makers of standard upright cycles. Mochet had perhaps also broken an unspoken rule that only "First-Category" riders could attempt records, his rider, Francis Faure, being only a second-category rider. Competition use was carried on in a limited fashion in UVF-governed events. Although road and track versions of the recumbents were built in small numbers between 1933 and 1945, as well as, in 1935, a simplified version called the "Velorizontal", and record-breaking continued in non-UCI categories, the Recumbent impetus was lost after the war, the last Mochet model being the 1940 version of the "Vélorizontal". Around 35 Mochet recumbents survive (2011) in museums and private collections. Re-discovery of the Mochet concept in California in the late 1970s led to the subsequent development of recumbent cycles that took place in the US in the 1980s. Mochet had died suddenly in 1934 just after the UCI ban and the business was carried on by his widow and his son Georges. After the war, Georges continued making mainly powered microcars in the "Sans Permis" category from 1945 to 1957. Georges Mochet died in 2008.

References

* *'Mochet: Minimalisme sur roues' Hermann Bruning, Editions Cépadues, Toulouse, 2000. *'Bicycle of the Future, The Cycles of the Rue Roque de Fillol.' Bob Cordon Champ, 'The Boneshaker' (Journal of the Veteran-Cycle Club) 2004.

External links

Mochet.orgVELOCAR ROAD RACING IN THE 1930s by Arnfried Schmitz, Lioux, Provence, FranceCurrent velomobiles in North America
Cycle manufacturers of France Companies based in Île-de-France {{cycle-manufacturer-stub

See also

References

External links