A Brief History of the Tricycle (cont'd)
The tricycles produced from 1876 to 1884, of which Starley's Coventry Rotary is the most famous example, are considered first generation tricycles, and showed a wide variety of inventiveness as the best design was sought. There were many two track tricycles with side steering built to operate on rutted double track roads.

By 1885, the second generation of tricycles had appeared. The Humber Cripper, named for professional racer Robert Cripps, was typical. It had the modern pattern of two rear wheels with a front wheel bisecting their track. Front wheels were usually about 18 to 24 inches in diameter, the rear wheels were usually about 40 inches. The wheelbase was about 32 inches, as was the track width, and they weighed about 75 pounds, although racing models were about 40 pounds.

The third generation of tricycles are like today's, and the 1892 Starley Psycho was one of the first. All of its wheels were of equal size, in this case, 28 inches. By 1900 however, the pneumatic tired safety bicycle took away most of the tricycle business since it provided an adequate amount of stability for most riders. Except for having modern bicycle components added, the tricycle has not really evolved in any substantial way since the turn of the 19th century.

Largest tricycles: An early champion was built by the Waltham Manufacturing Co. in the US in 1895. It was 17 feet long, had huge balloon tires in the rear that were 11 feet in diameter and 18 inches wide. The front tire was six feet high and 11 inches wide. The whole thing weighed about 3,000 lbs. It was too wide to be used on a normal road with traffic, but was used often in parades for promotional purposes. One man steered, while four men with
pedals and drive chain powered each of the two driving wheels. Despite the eight-man pedaling team, the tricycle had to be geared down to move.

In 1998, the record was held by the Fumair flyer, a 2+1 tricycle for 24 people. Built in 1996 as a charitable venture by Fumair, a British medical equipment company. It took about 2,000 man hours to construct. It uses steering, wheels, an axle, springs, and shock absorbers from trucks. All 24 people pedal. The top speed is 25 mph, and it cruises at about 15 mph. It has three gears, and is 7.7 meters long and 2.04 meters wide. Without passengers, it weighs 0.707 tonnes (1,559 lbs.)

Page 1 2

Return to Retro Pedal Cars homepage

Retro Pedal Cars carries three retro-style tricycles. Road Hog Tricycle, Sky Princess Tricycle , and Sky King Tricycle

Retropedalcars.com is not responsible for any inaccuracies contained in this article.