A child's tricycle having a generally U-shaped frame member mounting a steerable front wheel at its center and a pair of caster-mounted rear wheels at its open ends. The tricycle has a seat which mounts to the rear of the frame and depends therefrom so that the tricycle has an extremely low center of gravity and provides protection for the child on all sides.

The child's bumper cycle is similar to a conventional child's tricycle except that a 360.degree. bumper ring lying in a horizontal plane completely surrounds the single main wheel of the cycle to replace the normal smaller rear wheels. The ring itself has four caster wheels spaced at 90.degree. to prevent the cycle from tipping over. The 360.degree. ring also serves as a bumper ring for the cycle.

A recumbent bicycle, the manufacture thereof, and apparatus for forming same, is provided. The recumbent bicycle generally includes a frame having joined forward and rearward frame portions. The forward frame portion is a sit-up bicycle frame adpated to support a steerable front ground engaging wheel. The rearward frame portion is adapted to support a suspension assembly and substantially bear a rider thereon. Preferably, the sit-up bicycle frame includes a head tube, down tube, bottom bracket, seat tube, chainstay, seatstay, and dropouts, and the rearward frame portion includes a supplemental chainstay. The rearward frame portion is joined to the forward frame portion such that the supplemental chainstay rearwardly extends from the dropouts as a substantial continuation of the chainstay of the forward frame portion. The apparatus of the subject invention permits transformation of a sit-up bicycle into a recumbent bicycle, and generally includes a frame extension appliance for affixation to the frame of the sit-up bicycle so as to rearwardly extend therefrom. The extension appliance is adapted to support a suspension assembly, and substantially bear a rider thereon.

A recumbent vehicle including parallel paired recumbent bicycles operatively and reversibly joined by a bracing assembly having less than four brace members, is provided. The parallel paired recumbent bicycles are easily separable, without the need for tools, for individual riding. A conversion kit for reversibly uniting a pair of recumbent bicycles so as to form a recumbent quad is similarly provided. The kit generally includes a bracing assembly including a pair of braces, and brackets adapted to reversibly receive portions of the braces therein. One of the brackets is a front bracket with another of the brackets being a rear bracket. The front bracket is supported by a front triangle of a diamond frame of the recumbent bicycle, with the rear bracket being supported by a rear triangle of the diamond frame.

A vehicle includes a load-bearing body having a front end and a rear end, at least one carrier supporting the body on a surface on which the vehicle is positioned, and a steering device. The steering device includes at least one wheel and at least one castor-type wheel attached to the body and tiltable about a longitudinal axis of the body. In use, the at least one wheel and the at least one castor-type wheel contact a support surface and the vehicle is steerable by tilting the at least one castor-type wheel and the at least one wheel about the longitudinal axis.