Tricycles

A tricycle (often abbreviated to trike) is a three-wheeled vehicle. more...

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Tricycles generally follow one of two layouts:

delta, with two wheels at the back (of which one or both may be driven) and one steered wheel at the front; and; tadpole, with two steered wheels at the front and one (usually driven) wheel at the back.;

Not all trikes fall into one of these two classes. For example, some early pedal tricycles used two wheels in tandem on one side and a larger driving wheel on the other. It is common for tricycles to have front and rear wheels of different sizes.

History

The word tricycle has been in use since the early 19th century and stems from the Greek tri (treia), meaning three, and kyklos, meaning a circle or wheel. The first recorded usage is apparently in 1828, signifying a "three-wheeled horse-drawn carriage." Tricycles have evolved to include various forms of propulsion including pedals, steam and internal combustion engines. The abbreviation trike has been in use since 1883.

The most common type of tricycle today is the child's toy pedal tricycle, but advanced forms exist. Early tricycles were mostly for adults. Adult pedal tricycles are known to have existed from 1868.

Pedal tricycles

Small tricycles are often used by children who have not yet learned to balance a bicycle. Adult tricycles are much less common than bicycles. These may be upright or (increasingly) recumbent. Upright tricycles are often favoured by those with mobility problems. Recumbent tricycles are particularly suitable for long-distance use, including cycle touring and Audax riding. Upright trikes are usually deltas, although the Newton tadpole upright conversion is well regarded. Either type can be made low and large enough to be difficult to overturn on dry pavement, but usually the centre of gravity is high enough that tipping is possible, especially if the rider does not lean into the corners.

Adults may find upright tricycles difficult to ride due to familiarity with the counter-steering required to balance a bicycle. The variation in the camber of the road is the principal difficulty to be overcome once basic tricycle handling is mastered. Recumbent trikes are less affected by camber and, depending on the riding position, capable of very fast cornering. A few trikes are designed to tilt into the corners much as a bicycle does, and this also renders them more comfortable on cambered roads. They are discussed as tilting three wheelers (TTW's).

In the case of delta tricycles, the drive is often to just one of the rear wheels, though in some cases both wheels are driven through a differential. A double freewheel, preferably using no-backlash roller clutches, is considered superior. A jackshaft drive permits either single or two-wheel drive. Tadpoles are generally rear wheel drive.

Read more at Wikipedia.org