Case Study: Aerovelo achieves record-breaking 144.17 km/h human-powered speed with SOLIDWORKS

Pushing Limits of What Human Power Can Do With SOLIDWORKS Solutions

Aerovelo, co‑founded by Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson, is a design team that invents, designs, and builds human-powered vehicles (including a bike, helicopter, and ornithopter) to push the limits of speed and flight. To meet tight timelines and complex aerodynamic challenges, Aerovelo used SolidWorks Premium design/analysis and SolidWorks Flow Simulation CFD analysis software.

Using SolidWorks, Aerovelo rapidly iterated designs, optimized composite fairings and component placement, and combined CFD results with hands‑on testing to improve aerodynamics. The SolidWorks tools helped them break the previous human-powered bike speed record (133.78 km/h) in 2015 and set four additional records, culminating in a 144.17 km/h (89.59 mph) run in 2016, demonstrating clear, measurable performance gains.

Aerovelo

Cameron Robertson

Vice President & Structures