Quadricycles

Quadricycle, circa 1886, in front of the White House



Imagine having a backseat driver....on your BIKE!! During the Victorian era, bikes were beginning to move away from the often murderous "High Wheelers" and more to the current style. Known as a "Safety Cycle" the current idea was to bring the rider closer to the ground and increase steering stability. One such design, known as the Quadricycle (pictured above) had some fairly amazing features for it's day.
Quadricycles were made with such advances as dual steering devices (for both front and rear passengers,) odometers, speedometers, and pneumatic tires. One such Quad actually could be seperated into two different tricycles! By removing a couple of bolts at the center section, one could have a rear wheel dive trike, or a front wheel drive, rear steer trike! The Quad pictured above was photographed in 1886. Quads even went on to greater fame with the help of the great industrial mind of Henry Ford.
In 1889, Henry Ford's very first car was created from a Quadricycle that he converted with a small motor! Even with a motor, it still couldn't outrun or out last Bert Blanchette, but was still a great leap for bikedom. Now extremely rare, Quadricycles can only be seen in a handful of museums world wide. Average price for a collector's Quadricycle? Thirty to fifty thousand dollars! Not bad for somethong that sold for less than fifty in 1886.

Chris