tricycle
A tricycle is a vehicle with three wheels. In Germany, however, four-wheeled vehicles are also referred to as tricycles for registration purposes if one pair of wheels is designed as a twin wheel or the distance between the center of the two tire contact areas is not greater than 465 millimeters.
definition
Three-wheeled vehicles are distinguished according to different characteristics:
- according to the number of tracks in 2-track tricycles and 3-track tricycles ,
- according to the type of drive in self- propelled tricycles and externally driven tricycles ,
- according to the type of drive in muscle-powered tricycles and motor-driven tricycles .
The most common type of motor tricycle is the variant with a combustion engine. A distinction is made between motorcycles and automobiles according to the type of registration .
Driving characteristics
By arranging the three wheel contact points in a triangle with a large area, it is possible to stabilize the vehicle against tilting across and along the direction of travel while driving - without the effect of gyroscopic forces relevant to many two-wheelers .
On the other hand, there is seldom the in-line 3 wheel configuration of motorcycles with an additional, self-steering rear wheel lined up at the rear, with only experimental use. When driving straight ahead on one level, the three wheels roll in one line.
Muscle-powered tricycles
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Muscle-powered tricycles come in many variations, forms and uses. Both two-lane and three-lane variants are known. With the three-lane three-wheelers , variants with 2 wheels at the front and 2 wheels at the rear are common, as single-seater or multiple-seater. The most common areas of application are bicycles and children's trikes.
bicycle
Tricycles are quite common for bicycles , and bicycle taxis are sometimes used as a taxi replacement in large cities. Cargo bicycles are sometimes designed as tricycles, as are bicycles for disabled people with motor impairments. Many tricycles are built as recumbent tricycles . Velomobiles are a special form of recumbent trikes , which have a casing to improve aerodynamics and protect them from the weather.
Tricycles offer greater stability against tipping over, the lower the driver's center of gravity is. Therefore, tricycles are often designed as sitting or recumbent trikes. There are the variants Tadpole ( English for tadpole ) with two wheels at the front, Delta with two wheels at the rear and sidecar combinations with an asymmetrical arrangement.
An alternative to recumbent tricycles, which are impractical in the city, are tricycles that lean into bends. In addition to a Japanese construction, there is a Feetz shopping bike and an Austrian prototype.
There is the BerkelBike (brand name) for people with limited motor skills or paraplegics. It's something in between a recumbent bike and a hand bike. In paraplegia , the leg muscles are activated by means of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and the resulting force is transmitted to the front wheel for propulsion.
Tricycle 19th century, Iran
Recumbent tricycle
Tandem recumbent tricycle in Janus arrangement "back to back"
Tricycle for two people
Prototype with tilt insert for the front fork.
Tricycle for guided tours in downtown Barcelona
Garbage collection with a tricycle in Ostend
Tricycle with a coffee machine in Bonn
wheelchair
Some variants of wheelchairs are three-wheeled, especially racing wheelchairs and “hand bikes”. Some of the handbikes are designed in such a way that the handlebars, drive mechanism and individual front wheel are mounted in front of a wheelchair and can be removed again if necessary.
Wheelchair hand bike from 1655
Lever-operated wheelchair from 1938
Wheelchair-bike combination
Disabled athletes at the 2010 company run in Koblenz
Racing handbike
Scooter
Different models of scooters and kickboards for children and adults are equipped with three wheels. A special variant is the Trikke , in which you can not only push yourself off the ground in the space between the two rear wheels, but also allow you to accelerate by shifting your weight using a swiveling technique. Trikkes are available in two variants: purely manual (HPV) and electrically operated (eV). With the latter, speeds of up to 25 km / h and a range of up to 40 kilometers are possible. The eV 6.1 model is approved for German road traffic.
Motor tricycle
history
Motor tricycles can be differentiated according to the type of drive - steam, combustion engine and electric drive.
The earliest motorized tricycle known today is the “Fardier” by Nicholas Cugnot , presented in 1769 , which was powered by a steam engine. The electrically powered Trouvé Tricycle , built by Gustave Trouvé in Paris in 1881, followed over a hundred years later . In October 1882, two English professors, William Edward Ayrton and John Perry, drove their Ayrton & Perry Electric Tricycle in London for the first time . Edward Butler presented his Petrol-Cycle, designed in 1884, in London in 1885 . In 1886, Carl Benz presented the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car number 1 with a combustion engine and electric ignition. Magnus Volk from Brighton built a three-wheeled electric carriage in 1887 .
From 1897 to 1905, the De Dion Bouton motor tricycle was one of the first mass- produced and best-selling motor vehicles in Europe. Other well-known manufacturers and inventors of the time were:
In later decades also Cycle Car Company , Ernst Bauermeister & Sons , Kover Capilla and Adi Moped .
Motor tricycles have also been used in motorsport since the turn of the 20th century .
1769: “Fardier” by Nicholas Cugnot
1881: Tricycle by Gustave Trouvé
1899: De Dion-Bouton motor tricycle
1899: De Dion-Bouton with a different axis arrangement
Agricultural tricycle
From 1936 until the Second World War, the Moorburger Treckerwerke produced an agricultural tractor with three wheels under the brand name “Ritscher”; the single wheel was ahead. After the war, production was resumed, but stopped in 1950 in favor of four-wheel tractors due to insufficient demand. The first model from 1936/37, which was followed by other versions, had a water-cooled single-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of 1115 cm³ and an output of 12 hp. Karl Ritscher got to know the three-wheel tractors in the USA and is said to have been impressed by their maneuverability. The models from 1946 had engines with a displacement of 2.2 and 2.4 liters that developed 20 hp. A much larger three-wheel tractor is, for example, the Terra Trac 250 built in the 1990s by Horsch Maschinen GmbH with a six-cylinder engine and an output of 250 hp.
motorcycle
- Main article: Motorcycle carriage
There are many different versions of motorcycle-based tricycles. One is the Harley-Davidson ServiCar, in which the single rear wheel has been exchanged for a rear axle with a differential and a box body. These ServiCars appeared in the 1930s and were built until 1973, for example, to be able to take material for craftsmen's work with them. Police ServiCars were also built. Harley-Davidson ServiCars have long been popular in the United States and are now expensive, especially among seniors and the mobility impaired .
Motorbike combinations are also considered motor tricycles, but they are built asymmetrically . Their driving characteristics differ between right and left turns, depending on the position of the attached sidecar. In right-hand traffic, the right-hand attachment of the sidecar is common; in left-hand traffic, the attachment on the left, in each case to give the driver a better view of the road.
Less common, but mechanically easier to implement, is the swivel design, in which the motorcycle swings normally with the chassis unchanged, while the sidecar is attached to a joint mounted in the longitudinal axis and its wheel always remains on the ground. Pendulum constructions , in which the sidecar wheel is also guided in an inclined position,
go one step further . This brings further advantages in terms of driving dynamics over a rigid combination.
The category of symmetrically constructed 'Tilting three-wheller' includes z. B. the Piaggio MP3 . These vehicles do not have a sidecar, while the narrow lane is advantageous in terms of driving physics - see also en: Tilting three-wheeler in Wikipedia.
Can-Am Spyder from BRP
Historic BSA racing team
Modern combination based on Suzuki Hayabusa with stub axle steering
Carver One, modern tilting three-wheeler
Piaggio MP3 in an inclined position
Scooter
As early as the 1950s, Wolfgang Trautwein experimented with three-wheeled motorcycles, which could also tilt by means of a parallelogram-like mechanism - see also pendulum carriage . In 2006 Piaggio presented the MP3 , which took up these ideas as did Peugeot with the Metropolis . The scooter has a single, conventionally powered rear wheel and two front wheels that are 42 centimeters apart and are connected by a complex parallelogram suspension. The driver sits like on a normal scooter, to which the driving dynamics - with leaning in the bends - largely correspond. If the front lane is widened to more than 46 cm, the scooter can be driven with the EU class B driving license , i.e. with the car driving license, provided the driving license was issued before January 19, 2013. Apart from this Grandfathering is since that date a motorcycle license (category AM h for up to km 45 /, class A1 for up to 15 kW or Class A for more than 15 kW motor power) for guiding a three-wheeled scooter required.
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The manufactured in the GDR Duo is a three-wheeled ambulance vehicle for people with mobility problems , the trailer construction Brandis, vehicle Robur largely (modified in part) (1981) or the company Krause in Leipzig from components of the so-called Samson - bird series , mainly those of the Swallow , was constructed. Around 1,000 to 1,100 of these were built each year.
Trike
A “trike” is generally an open, motorized road vehicle with one front wheel and two driven rear wheels. The front wheel is guided by a fork similar to a chopper motorcycle . Originally, the rear axle construction including the engine from the VW Beetle was used. In the meantime, in-house designs from various manufacturers have been added, and models with an eight-cylinder V-engine are also available.
Well-known trike brands are Fecht, WK, CCS-Trike, TRIKetec, Rassler, rewaco , Easy Trike and Boom. In 1979 Dietrich Fecht brought the first trike to Germany from a trip to America, and in 1980 the first registration was achieved.
In the European Union, since January 19, 2013, it has been necessary to have a motorcycle license to drive a trike ; Older Class B driving licenses are grandfathered within the EU.
- Class A: over 15 kW power.
- Class A1: maximum 15 kW power
- Class AM: maximum 45 km / h top speed and maximum 4 kW power
However, trikes can still be driven in Germany with a class B driving license, as Germany has introduced a special national regulation. A minimum age of 21 years is only required to drive trikes over 15 kW. ( Section 6 (3a) FeV)
In Switzerland, a trike is considered a three-wheeled motor vehicle, so category B holders are entitled to drive ( Art. 3 Para. 1 VZV).
Depending on the design or year of construction of the trike, there are either officially approved or prescribed belts, or there is a requirement to wear protective helmets. Depending on the above classification, children can either be taken using a suitable child seat, or if the child is wearing a helmet and can use footrests or grab handles.
In addition to the chopper trikes, off-road trikes (e.g. Yamaha Tri-Z, Kawasaki Tecate or Honda ATC) were also built in the 1980s and 1990s. These largely corresponded to an off-road motorcycle with a rear axle instead of a single wheel. Because of the high number of accidents in the United States, these all terrain vehicles were banned there. In Germany there are still some models that can even be driven with road approval.
In the field of electromobility, for example, the manufacturer ARI Motors offers the ARI 145, a three-wheeled "cargo moped" that is purely electrically powered and can be driven with an AM driving license.
Three wheelers and cabin scooters
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Tricycles are also open vehicles with two front wheels and only one rear wheel like the Morgan Threewheeler and the Lomax 223, in which a motorcycle engine drives the single rear wheel through a chain.
In 1986 VW showed the prototype "Scooter" with three wheels, which however did not go into series production. The body of the scooter was 3175 mm long, 1235 mm high and 1498 mm wide, drag coefficient (c w ) of 0.25; Empty weight 550 kg. Tire size: front wheels 175/60 VR 13, rear wheel 235/55 VR 15. With a 66 kW (90 PS) four-cylinder engine (transversely installed at the front) and front-wheel drive, the two-seater vehicle reached a top speed of 201 km / h.
Tricycles were particularly popular in Great Britain since the 1930s, because they were treated as motorcycles for tax purposes until the 1970s - in some cases they could even be driven without a license - and were therefore relatively cheap to maintain. Well-known manufacturers included Bond and Reliant . In addition, the lightweight construction enabled good driving performance and successful use in motorsport .
The beginnings of German three-wheeler production in the 1920s lie with Diabolo Kleinauto AG in Bruchsal, which produced the Diabolo model , and the Zaschka three-wheeler (folding car), which could be dismantled or folded and was invented by Engelbert Zaschka in Berlin in 1929 .
In the former Czechoslovakia, tricycles inspired by the Morgan Threewheeler were manufactured from 1945 to 1973 under the name Oskar and Velorex .
In terms of approval, the BMW Isetta and the HEINKEL cabin are basically tricycle like the Messerschmitt cabin scooter , although there are two rear wheels, but mounted close together and (without differential) on a fixed drive shaft. In order to meet the approval requirements of some exporting countries, BMW also built the Isetta as a real tricycle with only one rear wheel.
Usually such vehicles are now offered by small series manufacturers, for example JZR, Triking or TWR, who sell kits and finished vehicles. The Morgan Threeweeler, on the other hand, was revived in 2012 by Morgan Motor , its original manufacturer, and a new edition came onto the market two years later.
Morgan Threewheeler , built in 1932, in the south bend of the Nürburgring
Morgan Threewheeler Super Sport
BMW Isetta with four ...
... and also with three wheels
Messerschmitt KR 200
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Passenger cars
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Another class of three-wheeled vehicles are those based on car chassis with two driven rear wheels and one steered front wheel (as opposed to cabin scooters , see above). This concept was shaped less by technical than by legislative requirements: in many countries, three-wheeled vehicles were tax-privileged and therefore much cheaper to maintain. The Robin type from the British manufacturer Reliant is a prime example of this vehicle concept. It was manufactured as a passenger car and station wagon and also built and sold in other countries under license. As a vehicle in various "Mr. Bean" episodes ( Rowan Atkinson ), the Regal , another Reliant three-wheeled car, gained worldwide attention.
In Germany, cars that have been converted to tricycles and throttled are allowed B. on the basis of the Fiat 500 or Seat as a 3-wheeled vehicle ( EC class L5e) with a maximum of 15 kW and a maximum speed of 90 km / h from 16 years of age with the A1 driver's license. One example is the Ellenator , which was built on the basis of a Seat Ibiza and other models from the VW Group. In the meantime, the manufacturer is only converting the Fiat 500 to a three-wheeled vehicle.
Vans
In 1907, the Zittau manufacturer Phenomenon produced one of the first three-wheeled motorized load carts under the namephenomobile . From the 1920s to the 1950s, motor cargo tricycles were very popular. In these vehicles, the single wheel was usually in front. The drive was different. In the Tempo Hanseat, for example, a chain drove the individual front wheel, the Goliath three-wheelers had cardan drive on the rear wheels with differential . In addition to these well-known brands, the company built. Rollfix-diligence in Hamburg in the 1920s, the diligence and the Agria-Werke in Möckmühl in the 1950s the Triro .
While the production of three-wheeled delivery vans in Germany ended in the early 1960s ( Goliath Goli was the last in 1961), vehicles from the English manufacturer Reliant remained in production until the 1980s due to special regulations in Great Britain.
Not only in Italy are Piaggio cargo tricycles still part of the street scene. While the Vespa Ape is still being built, the three-wheelers of the former competitors Moto Guzzi or Innocenti are now sought-after rarities.
In Greece there are still many types of cargo tricycles in use. The slow tricycles, mostly used in the agricultural sector, do not require a license or permit. The range of types extends from completely self-made to Greek small series production or Moto Guzzi Ercole imported in the 1950s . Well-known Greek manufacturers include Alta or MEBEA . The technically simple but robust vehicles are mostly powered by a single-cylinder diesel or gasoline engine. BMW motorcycle boxer engines were also installed in heavier models . The unusually high taxation of newly acquired four-wheeled vehicles ( luxury tax ) in the past led to a very high number of three-wheeled vehicles of all kinds on the Greek streets in the 1960s to 1980s.
In many Asian countries, three-wheeled vans are an indispensable means of transport. In India, the manufacturer Bajaj Tempo produced the Tempo Hanseat under license from 1962 to 2000 . Other important Indian manufacturers of three-wheeled motor vehicles include Mahindra & Mahindra , Kumar Motors, Kerala Automobiles and Piaggio Ape .
In the Gaza Strip , donkey carts have been increasingly replaced by three-wheel motorized carts since 2010. Since the importation of vehicles is largely prohibited by the Israeli authorities, they are smuggled in parts through tunnels under the barriers around the Gaza Strip or under the Philadelphi Passage and reassembled in Gaza.
Goliath Goli , built in 1959
Model (1:43) of the Reliant Regal Supervan III
Motorized Gazelle transport tricycle
Greek cargo tricycle
Piaggio Ape box car
Triro flatbed truck
Spanish Delfín three-wheeler
Moto Guzzi Ercole from 1959 also with cabin
Rollfix express car , built in 1926
See also
Web links
- Manufacturer's website TRIKKE electric tricycles
- Moto Guzzi Ercole cargo tricycle
- German three-wheeled vehicles on the track
- The unicum conquered the big cities
Individual evidence
- ^ "Dreirad" Street-Ray with four wheels ( Memento from July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (on street-ray.de on May 8, 2007)
- ↑ Dynamics Design Studio IL3: In-Line Three Wheel Motorcycle on YouTube , April 29, 2009, accessed October 31, 2019.
- ↑ Rivista Motociclismo: Rondinaud deisgn three wheels motorcycle concept video 1 on YouTube , April 9, 2009, accessed on October 31, 2019.
- ↑ TRIKKE eV receives TÜV approval
- ^ Vehicleseiten.de . Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Traktordaten.de . Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Agrarheute.com . Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ kalich.de: Schwenker , accessed January 29, 2020
- ↑ Poelgeest, A., Edge, KA and Darling, J., 2007. Development of a Steer Tilt Controller for a Three Wheeled Tilting Vehicle . In : ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition , 2007-11-01, Seattle, Washington.
- ↑ Directive 2006/126 / EC (PDF) (Driving License Directive ): Information on driving license classes in Article 4, Paragraphs 2 to 3
- ↑ http://www.smt-trike.de/ Website of a supplier of trikes with eight-cylinder V-engines. Accessed March 26, 2012.
- ↑ Trike Introduction , PDF
- ↑ auto, motor und sport, issue 19/1986
- ↑ Three-wheeler history. (No longer available online.) In: maxworks.de. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005 ; accessed on May 23, 2014 .
- ↑ Morgan 3 Wheeler updated for 2014 . In: Autocar . November 20, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
- ↑ Homepage of Ellenator
- ^ Kumar Motors. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
- ^ Kerala Automobiles Limited. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
- ↑ tuk tuks replace mules on Gaza streets, . Maan News Agency. September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2012.