A quadracycle is a four-wheeled

human-powered land vehicle Human-powered land vehicles are land vehicles propelled over ground by human power, The main ways to support the weight of a human-powered land vehicle and its contents above the ground are rolling contact; sliding contact; intermittent contact; ...

. It is also referred to as a quadricycle, quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown into several families of vehicles for a variety of purposes, including tourist rentals, pedal taxis, private touring, mountain and industrial use.

Nomenclature

There is no consensus amongst manufacturers of four-wheeled, human-powered vehicles as to what this class of vehicles should be called, although ''quadracycle'' is the most commonly used term. Manufacturers who do refer to their products by class of vehicle call them: *Quadracycle - 11 manufacturers *Four-wheel bicycle - 7 manufacturers *Quadricycle - 5 manufacturers *Quadcycle - 3 manufacturers *Pedal car - 2 manufacturers *Quad - 2 manufacturers In addition there are single manufacturers who call them Go-kart, Car, Car-Bike, Ecological car, Human Powered Vehicle, Pedal Kart, Quadribent, Quattrocycle, Surrey and Twin bike.

History

The earliest recorded pedal-powered quadracycle was exhibited in 1853 at the

Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was a World's Fair held in 1853 in what is now Bryant Park in New York City, in the wake of the highly successful 1851 Great Exhibition in London. It aimed to showcase the new industrial achievements ...

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in New York City. This was about the same time that two-wheeled bicycles started to become popular. Quadracycles were one solution to the problem of low-speed stability in early cycles and were typically multi-seat models. Both

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

(in line) and

sociable The sociable or buddy bike or side by side bicycle is a bicycle that supports two riders who sit next to one another, in contrast to a tandem bicycle, where the riders sit fore and aft. The name "sociable" alludes to the relative ease with which ...

(side-by-side) seating configurations were used. One early design that predated 1869 was the ''Andrews Quadracycle'', built by Andrews of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was made from one inch-square iron and was propelled with foot levers that moved in a long horizontal

ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

. The ''Sawyer Quadricycle'' was introduced in 1855 and featured lighter construction, wooden wheels, iron tires and front-wheel steering via a tiller. Like the Andrews Quadracycle it was moved by foot levers driving the rear axle. Starley's ''Coventry Rotary Quadracycle'' was introduced in 1885 and used conventional bicycle-style rotary pedals instead of foot levers for drive. It was developed from Starley's ''Coventry Rotary Tricycle'' design and featured tandem seating for two. The ''Rudge Quadracycle'' of 1888 is described as the first modern practical four-wheeler. It had much lighter construction than earlier models, seated three riders in tandem and was steered by levers from the front seat. Boy on Pedal Car

Early in the twentieth century, the Canadian company Massey-Harris developed the ''Canadian Royal Mail Quadracycle''. This was used for mail delivery in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

as early as 1901. The

Gendron Wheel Company Gendron, Inc. (originally Gendron Iron Wheel Company) is an American manufacturer of wheelchairs, hospital beds, stretchers, and other medical equipment based in Bryan, Ohio. Quadracycle use diminished in the late 19th century as a result of improvements in bicycle technology that made their four-wheel cousins largely obsolete, although small numbers were manufactured through the 1950s for rental use in tourist areas. A resurgence of 20th century quadracycle use occurred in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where Charles Mochet introduced his

Velocar Velocar was the name given to velomobiles made in the 1930s and 1940s by Mochet et Cie of Puteaux, France and colloquially to the company's recumbent bicycles. was the inventive maker of lightweight powered cyclecars (Le P'tit Auto) and pe ...

pedal powered two-seat quadracycle in 1924. The various models of the Velocar featured wooden aerodynamic bodies and usually a three speed transmission. Production of final pedal-powered Mochet Velocar Model H ended in 1938, but Mochet went on to become a manufacturer of automobiles. The Velocar proved quite popular, especially during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when the French population was under German occupation and gasoline was virtually unavailable for civil use. Restored Mochet Velocars are still found in France. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was a resurgence of interest in quadracycles as personal transportation, driven by the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

, environmental concerns about air pollution from automobiles and the search for emission-free alternatives. Modern quadracycles can be generally placed in six categories:

Tourist destination rental

Quadracycles can often be found at

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

s where they are available to rent by the hour or day. Modern tourist quadracycles usually feature open seating for two or more riders in a sociable configuration. They are often designed to look like early 20th century automobiles with a bench seat, rack-and-pinion steering, and a canopy top. They are commonly called "surreys", due to their resemblance to horse-drawn wagons of similar appearance and the same name. Examples of this type include: *

International Surrey Company International Surrey Company Ltd., also called "The Surrey Company", is a quadracycle manufacturer based in La Marque, Texas, United States. The company began production in the mid-1980s and specializes in providing products for the quadracycle ...

Surrey * Quadricycle International Quad-3 *

Rhoades Car Rhoades Car, founded in 1991, is located in Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States. The company was founded by David Rhoades, and he served as its president until his death in late 2009 from heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a ...

4W4P * Sirenetta

Pedal taxi

Similar to the surrey are pedal taxis or

pedicabs The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, ...

. These tend to be four or even six seaters and are used as taxis, pedaled by professional drivers. Like the rental surreys, they are often found at tourist attractions and in the downtown areas of tourist destination cities. Also like the rental surreys, pedal taxis are often constructed to resemble early 20th century cars and often feature awning coverings for protection from the sun. Examples of this type include: * International Surrey Limousine * Momentum Quadracycles MQ4 Cabbie * Quadracycle Inc QuadraCab * Delphino (Limo)

Touring

Touring quadracycles are constructed specifically for the personal ownership market and are built to be lighter and faster than rental surreys. Typically, they seat one person or two people in side-by-side seating and feature independent pedaling and gear selection. They can have up to 192 gears, giving them remarkable hill-climbing capabilities. They are used for long-distance travel as well as local use; some are used for cycle-commuting to work. Compared to touring or hybrid bicycles, touring quadracycles are more comfortable to ride, can navigate steeper hills more easily, deal with crosswinds better, and can carry a much heavier load than a bicycle. They have disadvantages compared to bicycles including that they are heavier, require more storage space, typically have slower cruise speeds, are more complex to maintain, and have a larger turning circle. Unlike bicycles (but like tricycles) they are vulnerable to being rolled over on fast corners, and a very low centre of gravity and/or weight transfer by the riders to the inside of the curve is needed to avoid this. Examples of this type of vehicle include: * Lightfoot MicroCar * Momentum Quadracycles MQ2 Leisure * Pacific Cycle 2Rider * Quadracycle International Little Deuce Coupe * Quadracycle Inc QuadraSport two-seater *

QuattroVelo The Quatrevelo (formerly QuattroVelo) is a commercial-production velomobile which is notable for using both four wheels and also a highly aerodynamic fairing. The Quatrevelo is manufactured by in the Netherlands, with the first production models ...

—a "speed"-class

velomobile 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 ...

* Rhoades Car 4W2PCP two-seater coupe * RJK Ecological Car * Steppe by Steppe Quike * Ultimate Quadracycle CC-Sportster * Utah Trikes Quad * VierBike There are also plans available as well as some amateur-designed touring quadracycles made by combining two bicycles. They have had varying degrees of success. Examples of plans built quadracycles are: * Skeldon Bike Co. Granny Bike *Atomic Zombie StreetFighter

Mountain quadracycles

Some quadracycles are designed to be the four-wheel counterparts of

mountain bicycles A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

and are optimized for strength and the ability to deal with steep and rough terrain; these are all single seat designs. An example of this type is: * Crank-It Mountain Quad

Industrial use

There are quadracycles designed for local delivery of goods, such as spare parts in a factory environment or laundry at spread-out hotel complexes. They may have two seats and a pickup box or flat bed to allow loads to be transported. Industrial use quadracycles are also capable of pulling small trailers. Some quadracycles in this category have also been designed for military applications, such as light logistics transport. Examples of this type of quadracycle include: * Momentum Quadracycles MQ1 Industrial * Rhoades Car 4W2PLF * Rhoades Car Go Boy

Racing

Pedal Car Racing can be found in many parts of the world. The UK, France and Italy all have championships and the UK and Hong Kong have a 24-hour race every year. Racing pedal cars are lightweight machines built for the sole purpose of racing and are therefore unsuitable for road use.

Performance art

The El Arbol quadracycle was built as a portable stage and sound system to make a point about the use of fossil fuels for transportation.

Security

Lacking the mass and door locks of automobiles, quadracycles are often secured in the same manner as bicycles with "U" or "D" locks,

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

or cables to convenient stout objects such as fence posts, signs or bike racks.

References

External links

List of quadracycle manufacturers

Four-Wheeled Velomobiles
{{Human-powered vehicles Quadricycles 1853 introductions sv:Quadricycle