A rear steered vehicle with improved handling and stability described by having a single front driven wheel and a pair of steered rear wheels. Cornering ability is improved while maintaining a narrow overall width by allowing the rider, front wheel, and frame to lean "into" turns thereby shifting the vehicle's center of gravity to the inside of a turn. Stability at all speeds is improved over other rear steered vehicles by the steering design which rotates the two rear wheels on separate steering axes and the lack of mechanical connection between "leaning" and "steering." This allows the correct ratio of steering and leaning at all speeds. In practice, the rider will "lean" into a turn at any speed and the rear steering geometry will react to the weight transfer and steer the correct amount to maintain stability without additional input from the rider. For extremely low speed maneuvering, the rider still has precise control of the steering due to the design of the handlebars which allow the rider to use them either for leverage to control the amount of "lean" as they remain level independent of the degree of rider/frame "lean", or to steer the rear wheels directly by rotating the handlebars as a unit around a vertical axis.
A recreational and exercise cycle characterized by a propulsion system which derives it transmission force from the coordinated rowing action of the occupant's body weight, arm force, and foot-leg action comprising rotatable cranks, treadle and seat levers connected to and cranks, and a handle bar-power lever combination connected to a seat.
A recumbent cycle with improved steering and drive assemblies is provided. The recumbent cycle is of the tricycle type having two rear wheels spaced-apart and rotatably supported on an axle and a single front wheel. A frame assembly, including a seat disposed in a recumbent position and fixed to a tubular frame, is pivotally attached to the axle, and includes a forward mount for rotatably supporting the front wheel. A pedal/crank drive is included for rotating the front wheel and, therefore, propel the cycle. A steering assembly is also provided for pivoting and tilting the frame assembly with respect to the rear axle. The frame and the seat tilt into the turn as the frame is pivoted relative to the rear axle. The front wheel being carried on the frame assembly, pivots along with the frame assembly to effectively point the front wheel in the intended direction of travel, and therefore steer the cycle.
A marine propeller equipped drive unit is provided for support from the transom of a boat in generally the same manner an outboard motor is supported from a boat transom and a pedal crank assembly is provided for mounting within a boat forward of a transverse seat thereof to be operated by the legs of a person supported from the seat, the pedal crank assembly including an output shaft and the drive unit including an upper end input shaft and there being provided an open drive shaft assembly extending between and operably connecting the output shaft to the input shaft.
A tandem bicycle is disclosed which comprises a frame in part, like that of a tandem bicycle with the rear like that of an adult tricycle particularly adapted to allow two people to propel the vehicle while offering the riders stability so that both occupants experience the physical benefits of propelling the vehicle. Upon an elongated frame, like that of a tandem bicycle, there are two seats, each one mounted behind a pair of handle members, one behind the other. There are also two pairs of pedals in position to be engaged by each rider. In the present invention, the mechanisms associated with the second or rear seat are operable and influence the propulsion and stopping of the vehicle, except for the rear handle members which may not be moved and do not influence steering.
A three wheeled vehicle comprises a front subframe having a front wheel journaled thereto and a seat for a rider mounted thereon, and a rear subframe having a pair of rear wheels journaled thereto. The front subframe is journaled to the rear subframe at a kingpin axis, which defines a caster angle with respect to the vertical. The kingpin axis is spaced by a trail dimension from the rear axle axis. The caster angle and trail dimension, together with the wheelbase dimension between the front and rear axle axes and the track dimension across the rear wheels, are chosen cooperatively to define the desired handling characteristics of the vehicle.
