Global Transport Atlas

GTA-710 Classification of bikes (1)

Series 7- Vehicles

One of the basic aspects of highway geometrics is to design for the vehicles which use the roads. One way to classify bikes is in terms of the number of wheels which the vehicle has. As an example, the figures of bikes on this page show five classes bikes with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more wheels.

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GTA-710 Classification of bikes (1) Background notes

One of the basic aspects of highway geometrics is to design for the vehicles which use the roads. To help with this, technical guidelines often include details for design vehicles - average or typical dimensions for a vehicle in a particular class (car, truck, bus, etc.). So far as bikes are concerned, the guidelines generally only refer to the standard two-wheel bicycle. However there are many different types of bike. And regarding sizes, some bikes are even wider / longer / or higher than an average car. This gives us two questions (which apply also to other vehicle types, and not just to bikes): how can bikes be classified what are the typical dimensions for each class of bike One way to classify bikes is in terms of the number of wheels which the vehicle has. As an example, the figures of bikes on the previous page show five classes - bikes with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more wheels. The table on this page lists the bike classes and bike types shown in the figures and where available includes a link to more information about the types. Table 1: bike groups and types
Bike class 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 5+ wheel bikes 4-wheel bikes 3-wheel bikes 1-wheel bikes 2-wheel bikes Bike type unicycle scooter bike tandem recumbent tagalong trike tadpole trike recumbent tadpole rickshaw bike-trailer (1) quad (2) rickshaw (3) family group (4) quad trailer Weblink Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia (example) Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia Wikipedia (example)

Global Transport Atlas Series 7 - Vehicles

Fig. 1: work trike, Albania

Notes 1 two-wheel trailer 2 referred to in Wikipedia as a quadracycle 3 one version used to be made by Surry pedicabs 4 or any group of two or more bicyclists

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GTA-710 Classification of bikes (1)

Related resources - website Global Transport Atlas, website with country pages containing weblinks related to roads and transport.
http://globaltransportatlas.wee bly.com/index.html

Global Transport Atlas Series 7 - Vehicles Related resources - blog Comparative Geometrics, a tech blog with postings related to highway design and traffic engineering in different countries.
http://comparativegeometrics. wordpress.com/

Cover notes and Disclaimer

This is a research document. The best efforts have been made to make sure the figures are correct. However no liability can be taken for any of the details, information or analysis in this document. The layout, look and feel of this document is copyright. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/

GTA documents series Global Transport Atlas is a project with two aims. One is
to encourage people around the world to share examples of how they actually use transport in their daily lives. The other is to compare and improve the design of transport infrastructure. There are the following GTA document series: Series 1 - global transport notes A collection of papers on transport infrastructure and vehicles from various countries, prepared by various authors and contributors. Typical size 2 to 3 pages. Series 3 - discussion papers first version Papers with arguments and ideas on different aspects of modern transport and transport infrastructure. Series 4 - comparative geometrics

History and Change log

GTA-710-01 September 2013

Contact
We welcome comments on this paper, and also on new developments in other countries in this field. Email: roadnotes2@gmail.com

Working papers which look at different aspects of highway infrastructure design and compare values from different countries. Series 7 - Dimensions of vehicles Transport infrastructure has to be defined with an idea of the size and types of vehicle which will use it. This series looks into the dimensions of different types of vehicle at different periods of time. Papers include technical discussion notes and example dimensions. Typical size 20 pages and more.

About the editor

Robert Bartlett, Germany - is an experienced transportation and urban development studies engineer with over 25 years of professional experience. Current engineering work: includes technical research in highway design standards and applications in areas such as urban planning and highway engineering. Interests include applied GIS.

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