page_title: Tricycle
section_title: Freight trike
hierarchical_section_title: Tricycle / Types / Special purposes / Freight trike
caption_attribution_description: English: Tricycles in Hailar Svenska: Trehjulig paketcykel i Hailar 中文: 海拉尔市三轮车
context_page_description: A tricycle, often abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.
  Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws and freight trikes, are used for commercial purposes, especially in the developing world, particularly Africa and Asia.
  In the West, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily for recreation, shopping, and exercise. Tricycles are favoured by children and senior adults for their apparent stability versus a bicycle; however a conventional trike has poor dynamic lateral stability, and the rider must take care when cornering to avoid tipping the trike over. Unconventional designs such as recumbents have a lower centre of gravity so require less care.
context_section_description: Urban delivery trikes are designed and constructed for transporting large loads. These trikes include a cargo area consisting of a steel tube carrier, an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a large, heavy-duty wire basket. These are 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, to keep the center of gravity low. The frame and drivetrain must be constructed to handle loads several times that of an ordinary bicycle; as such, extra low gears may be added. Other specific design considerations include operator visibility and load suspension. Many, but not all, cycles used for the purpose of vending goods such as ice cream cart trikes or hot dog vending trikes are cargo bicycles.
  Many freight trikes are of the tadpole configuration, with the cargo box (platform, etc.) mounted between the front wheels. India and China are significant strongholds of the rear-loading "delta" carrier trike. Freight trikes are also designed for indoor use in large warehouses or industrial plants. The advantage of using freight trikes rather than a motor vehicle is that there is no exhaust, which means that the trike can be used inside warehouses. While another option is electric golf cart-style vehicles, freight trikes are human-powered, so they do not have the maintenance required to keep batteries on golf carts charged up.
  Common uses include:
  Delivery services in dense urban environments
  Food vending in high foot traffic areas (including specialist ice cream bikes)
  Transporting trade tools, including around large installations such as power stations and CERN
  Airport cargo handling
  Recycling collections
  Warehouse inventory transportation
  Mail
  Food collection
  Child transport (in Amsterdam, freight trikes are used primarily to carry children)
caption: High-mass counter-direction tricycle
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