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When you say tricycle be careful what kind of race of people you are talking to and what countries you are currently in, for tricycle has different usage on different part of the world.

The word “tricycle” has many connotations and cannot be fixed in one perception, for sure an American or a non-Asian people who was used to refer to it as a mere children’s bike or a recreation three-wheeler vehicle, will be surprise that in Asian it refers to an auto rickshaw-like commercial transportation vehicle. And the Asian people who have a perception of it to be a commercial transportation vehicle will be surprise to hear a children’s bike be called tricycle or Asian’s recreational three-wheeler or pedicab vehicle to called tricycle. No consensus of thought will met in terms of defining the word tricycle.

Tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle mostly used for commercial transportation in Asia and Africa, but in United States and other countries, it was just a playing toy for children (like the blue tricycle, the kettler tricycle, purple tricycle, et cetera) and recreation vehicles for adults. Though Asians have this playing vehicle or children’s bike or trike, as they called it in their Markets, never have a perception that it is a Tricycle, however though some has it. It is not a general or well accepted Asian term and definition.

First Tricycle

The first tricycle come into existence through a German paraplegic named Stephan Farffler at 1680 for his physical infirmity. It was then later developed by the two Frenchman named Blanchard and Maguier at 1789 and calls it “tricycle”.

However, the first who invented motor or auto tricycle is Nicolas Joseph Cugnot or rather the first motorized tricycle or so-called steam tricycle was invented by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot. This motorized or steam tricycle came to be the similitude of the commercial transportation tricycle in Asia and Africa.

Tricycles was then created not only for paraplegic individual like Stephan Farffler, but also for children and women who could not or have difficulty riding high wheeler bike or type of vehicle.

The Philippine Tricycle

Tricycles have been cheap easy way transportation in the Philippines aside from bus and cars, however, the Philippine tricycle is not the tricycle which the children play or the so-called blue tricycle. The word tricycle in the Philippines have different connotation and meaning, it means a vehicle for transportation not a children’s trike tricycle.

Actually, in the Philippines, there are many tricycle associations because the Philippine tricycle is the bull of the road or “siga ng lansangan” in the streets of every Philippine streets and corners.

However, not only in the Philippines but also the rest of Asia have similar type of tricycle. But the recreational tricycle was not called tricycle in Asia or in the Philippines rather “three-wheeler” or pedicab. 

Unsettled Usage?

The usage of the word “tricycle” both in definition and physical usage differs from both different side of the world, though it was first invented in France or in Europe and has first perceived to be a recreational vehicle or children’s blue tricycle toy or the industrial tricycle (three-wheeled bicycle). But the patent and copyright for its usage both definition and physical usage, has not yet somewhat registered I guess. For both different parts of the world has use it on their own definition and connotation.