Electric trike

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A TRIPL used for delivery service TRIPL.jpg
A TRIPL used for delivery service

An electric trike is a three-wheeled vehicle powered by an electric motor.

Contents

Overview

Definition

While the normal legal definition of motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle, in the USA a motorcycle may also be three-wheeled. [1] This classification does not depend on whether the operator is fully enclosed by a "cage" or exposed to the elements.[ citation needed ]

Configurations

Three-wheeled vehicles with one front wheel and two rear wheels are known as a delta design or the traditional trike (tricycle) design, while vehicles with two front wheels and one rear wheel are known as a tadpole design.

Electric assisted velomobiles

Some three-wheeled electric vehicles, such as the Twike and the Myers Motors NmG, enclose the rider in a cabin or cockpit. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recumbent bicycle</span> Type of bicycle

A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks. On a traditional upright bicycle, the body weight rests entirely on a small portion of the sitting bones, the feet, and the hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tricycle</span> Three-wheeled self-powered vehicle

A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velomobile</span> Human-powered vehicle

A velomobile ; velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. Velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and tricycles, but with a full fairing and are not to be confused with purpose-built mobiles for racing or speed records fully faired vehicles with two wheels, generally called streamliners. Streamliners have set many speed and distance records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cargo bike</span> Human powered vehicle to carry goods

A cargo bike is a human powered vehicle designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads. Cargo bike designs include a cargo area consisting of an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a wire basket, usually mounted over one or both wheels, low behind the front wheel, or between parallel wheels at either the front or rear of the vehicle. The frame, drivetrain and wheels must be constructed to handle loads larger than those on an ordinary bicycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidecar</span> One-wheeled device attached to a two wheeled vehicle to make the whole a three wheeled vehicle

A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a combination, an outfit, a rig or a hack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto rickshaw</span> Motorized version of the rickshaw

An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj, chand gari, lapa, tuk-tuk, tum-tum, Keke-napep, Maruwa, 3wheel, pragya, bao-bao, easy bike, cng and tukxi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quadricycle</span> Small motorized four wheeled vehicle

Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-wheeler</span> Vehicle with three wheels

A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilting three-wheeler</span> Tilting three-wheeled vehicle

A tilting three-wheeler, tilting trike, leaning trike, or even just tilter, is a three-wheeled vehicle and usually a narrow-track vehicle whose body and or wheels tilt in the direction of a turn. Such vehicles can corner without rolling over despite having a narrow axle track because they can balance some or all of the roll moment caused by centripetal acceleration with an opposite roll moment caused by gravity, as bicycles and motorcycles do. This also reduces the lateral acceleration experienced by the rider, which some find more comfortable than the alternative. The narrow profile can result in reduced aerodynamic drag and increased fuel efficiency. These types of vehicles have also been described as "man-wide vehicles" (MWV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized bicycle</span> Bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam tricycle</span> Steam-driven three-wheeled vehicle

A steam tricycle is a steam-driven three-wheeled vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handcycle</span>

A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as handbikes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasar (motorcycle)</span> Motor vehicle

The Quasar is a semi-enclosed feet forward motorcycle, created by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman, who made a number of similar vehicles. It repurposed an 850 cc four-cylinder inline engine used in the Reliant Robin three-wheeled light car and is capable of cruising at 90–100 mph (145–160 km/h) and exceeding 100 mph in favourable conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uno (dicycle)</span> Self-balancing electric motorcycle

The Uno is a novel self-balancing electric motorcycle using two wheels side by side. The Uno III adds a third wheel that allows it to transform into a tricycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooter (motorcycle)</span> Low-speed motorcycle

A scooter is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motor scooters have been made since at least 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized tricycle (Philippines)</span>

Motorized tricycles, or simply tricycles, is a type of motorized vehicle from the Philippines consisting of a motorcycle attached to a passenger cab. Along with the jeepney, it is one of the most common means of public or private transportation in the Philippines, especially in rural areas. These public utility vehicles either ply a set route or are for-hire, like taxis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized tricycle</span> Resembling a bicycle with two rear wheels and an engine

A motorized tricycle, motor trike, or motortrycle is a three-wheeled vehicle based on the same technology as a bicycle or motorcycle, and powered by an electric motor, motorcycle, scooter or car engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qooder</span>

Qooder SA is a Swiss manufacturer of street-legal vehicles. Its flagship product is the Qooder, a four-wheeled tilting street vehicle. Its other products include a three-wheeled tilting vehicle similar to the Qooder, as well as electric scooters. It operates in the United States under the subsidiary name Qooder USA.

References

  1. Daniel Sperling (1995). Future drive: electric vehicles and sustainable transportation. Island Press. p. 75.
  2. Enclosed tricycles Archived 9 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine