Dunedin mental health support worker Peter Williamson is getting used to stares as he goes about his day.
His bright yellow velomobile, or tricycle car, has been cutting a dash around town since he bought it a month ago.
"It's not a car and it's not a bike. It's basically a recumbent trike with a shell on it," he said yesterday.
"It's really an incredible feeling to ride it. You get a slipstream effect, so they go through the air like an arrow.
The dynamic slipstream effect is just phenomenal."
Mr Williamson said the Australian-made Trisled trike had heads turning around his North Dunedin home.
"People see it and don't know what it is. I pulled up at home after a ride in the weekend and realised I was surrounded by a group of four cyclists checking it out," he said.
"It was designed to ride in sub-20 temperatures, in countries like Germany, Sweden and Holland. You can ride it in the snow, although it's best for moderate hills and flat terrain.
It doesn't like the heavy hills very much.
"It's worth about as much as a top-line carbon fibre bike - between $4000 and $6000. I like to profile alternative vehicles, as I have an environmental interest in promoting non-fossil fuel transport."
Recumbent designs are usually faster than their upright cousins, as the smaller aerodynamic profile of the rider reduces wind resistance.
The Union Cycliste Internationale banned recumbents from international racing in 1934, under pressure from manufacturers of upright bicycles, when they started rewriting world speed records.
The world speed record of 132.5kmh for human-powered vehicles was set by Canadian Sam Whittingham on a fully faired recumbent bicycle on September 18, 2008.
