De Dion, 1885, racing tricycle

De Dion “Racing Tricycle”, France, 1885  

The  De Dion Racing Tricycle, Raleigh type was made in France in 1885.

Big commercial success for this tricycle, characterized by two rear wheels with the same diameter, sold as the “family tricycle that wins the races!”.

From 1893 to 1898 it seemed like customers loved tricycles much more, so much so that many English companies started adding more tricycle models than bicycles.
Today this kind of vehicle makes us smile, but they wrote an important chapter on the book of cycling history.

Since then, bicycle evolution became unstoppable and the 2-wheelers became a daily vehicle

QUIRK : The tricycles was a beloved model by women, since the large skirts they wore often prevented them to ride bicycles.

Technical notes:
Racing Raleigh Tricycle with a pseudo-differential, fixed gear and linking axle between the wheels (sort of a De Dion tube)
Spoon brake on the front wheel
Footrest on the fork when you didn’t want to pedal (since it’s fixed-gear)
Lamp pod on the handlebar stem
Original solid rubber tires
Racing handlebar