There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheels — typically two, three, or four — and by their specific use. Adjectives used to describe the tasks to which the bicycles, dicycles, tricycles, or quadracycles are put include cargo cycles, freight cycles, box cycles, carrier cycles, and so on. Sometimes they are also called cycletrucks, which uses a sense of the word 'truck' predating the automobile.
The Birdy is a folding bicycle designed by Riese und Müller in Germany and produced by Pacific Cycles in Taiwan. As of 2010 over 100,000 had been sold. Three distinct models have been marketed, in addition to some specialist variations, with the third (Mk3) introduced in July 2015.
Riese & Müller is a bicycle manufacturer in Mühltal, Germany. Founded by Markus Riese and Heiko Müller, it designs and makes suspended bicycles. Frames are produced by companies such as Triangle's, Portugal. All of their bikes are assembled by hand in Germany.
Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China and Hungary. They have future plans for Vietnam to be the fifth location.
SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders. The company produces a range of cycling components, including Grip Shift, and separate gravel, road, and mountain drivetrains from 7 to 12 speed. SRAM developed the Eagle line of mountain bike specific drivetrain components intended to improve shifting performance. SRAM was also the first to release a dedicated "one by" drivetrain with a single front chainring for road bikes.
A belt-driven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a flexible belt, typically a synchronous toothed design, in order to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel.
The A-bike is a folding bicycle released by Sir Clive Sinclair in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2006. It was designed by Hong Kong design agency Daka, in collaboration with Sinclair Research, over a 5-year period. It was announced to the public in 2004. Clive Sinclair envisioned the A-bike, and Alex Kalogroulis was the main designer. It weighs 5.7 kilograms (13 lb) and folds to 67×30×16 centimetres (26.4×11.8×6.3 in), small enough to fit in a rucksack. The first version had 6-inch (15 cm) wheels, which was increased to 8 inches (20 cm) in later models. In 2015, an electric version, the A-Bike Electric, was introduced to the public as part of a Kickstarter campaign.
Dahon is the world's largest manufacturer of folding bicycles with a two-thirds marketshare in 2006. The company was founded in 1982 by David T. Hon, a former laser physicist, and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with assembly factories in China, Macau and Bulgaria. Dahon markets bicycles under its own name as well as other brand names, including the affiliated Yeah and Biceco Brands, and Novara for REI in the U.S. The company is a member of the Global Alliance for EcoMobility. Dahon holds over 200 patents, some having become industry standards.
Montague Corporation is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells full-size folding bicycles. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The YikeBike mini-farthing is a type of folding electric motorbike released on 2 September 2009 at Eurobike, going into production mid 2010. It weighs 11.2 kilograms (24.7 lb) and when folded, it is small enough to fit in a carry bag, so it can be transported in an urban bus. The YikeBike was invented by Grant Ryan and designed by a team in New Zealand over 5 years.
Eurobike is an international bicycle trade fair held annually since 1991 in the first week of September, on the grounds of Messe Friedrichshafen, one of the largest and most modern exhibition centres in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. The bike show is open to trade visitors from Wednesday to Friday, and to trade and the general public on Saturday.
Pacific Cycles is a Taiwanese bicycle designing and manufacturing company headquartered in Xinwu District, Taoyuan City. The company manufactures its self designed cycles including folding bicycles, electric bicycles, tricycles and other supportive cycles. It has an in-house research and development studio known as "Section Zero" for new product development and also provides original design manufacturing services for over 40 bicycle brands and original equipment manufacturers worldwide from this facility. The company has a bicycle museum in Taoyuan City known as "Pacific Cycles Museum".
A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation, and more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane.
Tern is a privately held company that designs, manufactures, markets, and sells bicycles for everyday use. The company is based in Taipei, Taiwan and has offices in the US, China, Finland, and the UK. The company's primary products include folding bicycles, electric bicycles, and cycling accessories which are currently sold in 65 countries.
Bay Wheels is a regional public bicycle sharing system in California's San Francisco Bay Area. It is operated by Motivate in a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Bay Wheels is the first regional and large-scale bicycle sharing system deployed in California and on the West Coast of the United States. It was established as Bay Area Bike Share in August 2013. As of January 2018, the Bay Wheels system had over 2,600 bicycles in 262 stations across San Francisco, East Bay and San Jose.
Velocite Bikes is a Taiwanese manufacturer of racing bicycle, mountain bike frames, bicycle wheels and other bicycle components. Notable collaboration partners include the National Cheng Kung University, National Center for High-Performance Computing, Oxeon and Acer Inc. Velocite specializes in carbon fiber composite products, but also manufactures bicycle frames and components using aluminium alloys. Its core bicycle frame models include the road bike frames "Magnus", "Geos", "Selene" and mountain bike frames "Flux", and "Flux Alloy". The firm is also one of the few manufacturers of full carbon road tubeless wheels, the "Velocite RT50". The firm have been sponsoring the UK based Matrix Fitness Racing Academy women's cycling team since 2012.
A2B is a brand of electric bicycles owned by Hero Eco Group. They have offices in the United Kingdom and the United States. Established in 2008, A2B designs and manufactures bespoke internal motor systems, and is a pioneering creator of eBikes. Their German design team has crafted a range of 11 electric bike models, each of which is named after a prominent technical innovator, engineer or scientist. Primarily tailored for urban/commuting users, A2B have produced bikes that exude a combination of comfort, picked up speed and stylish design. Their motors range from 250w up to 500w in capacities and there is a choice of pedal assistance or throttle power options. To complement the collection, A2B develops custom accessories including carriers and bags.
Markus Storck is a German bicycle designer and developer, known for creating the lightest racing bike fork in the world, made of carbon fiber, and the first ever carbon fiber bicycle crank. He is the managing director and founder of Storck Bicycle, designer, and innovator, and his current developments hold the world record lightness and stiffness to weight ratios.
Benno Bikes is a bicycle brand and manufacturer of electric bicycles, cargo bikes, and comfort bikes, as well as cargo accessories and bicycle parts. It was founded in 2015 by Benno Baenziger — who made a name and reputation by co-founding with Jeano Erforth, Electra Bicycle company, a modern electric bike manufacturer, in Del Mar, California. These electric bicycles are a crossover between comfort bikes and cargo bikes. A sobriquet for the concept of these bikes has been described and trademarked as "etility" by Benno.
SUPER73 is an American lifestyle adventure brand and manufacturer of electric bicycles based in Irvine, California. It is best known for its product line of motorcycle styled electric bicycles, custom bicycle builds for celebrities, and high-profile e-bike collaborations.
