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Last update : december 2015
This site is dedicated to the tilting three-wheelers - motorized or not - and is aimed at all those passionate about these vehicles or who simply want to know more about the subject. The three-wheelers have been existing for a long time. One could even assert that they were born before the motorcars since the famous Fardier built by Nicolas - Joseph Cugnot in 1770 (and sponsored by King Louis XV), was designed on this principle. This may be because it crashed in a wall during its first tests that since that time the three-wheelers do not have good reputation! ...
Although they were much more of them on the roads than motorcars at the end of the 19th century, their development has very quickly decreased because of their doubtful dynamic behavior. Nevertheless the three-wheelers sometimes re-appeared on the roads. This is the case of the famous post-war Messerschmidt or the equally famous Reliant that has long sailed the English countryside. Today, a few British or North American specialists for the most part, propose three-wheelers sold more or less confidential. Generally lowered or very wide to improve the handling, it is mainly vehicles having sporting or recreational uses.
			The current need to have energy-efficient vehicles and, if possible, have a good ability to move in the traffic gave a second chance to the three-wheelers or, to be more precise, to a new generation of them: the “Tilting Three Wheelers” (TTWs). Closer to the motorcycle’s operating dynamics than to the motorcar’s one, these efficient machines don’t suffer of the weaknesses of the conventional three-wheelers and offer a better compromise - comfort, safety, maneuverability, ability to move in traffic and driving pleasure – than a two-wheeler.
There are some of us in the world to be passionated for a long time by this new alternative. The Forum of Mitch Casto (Hi Mitch !) in the United States has been the scene of lively debates by enthusiasts from all the countries since the early 2000s. Some big industrial companies have also begun to have a look on this phenomenon at that moment. Mercedes, Aprilia, Italjet and Renault have presented vehicle concepts based on this principle. A Dutch company has sold an avant-garde machine between 2002 and 2010: the Carver. In 2006, the Clever and the Piaggio Mp3 have also been presented to the press. Since that time, the Piaggio has become a great commercial success, particularly on the French market. Competitors like Peugeot and Yamaha are trying to find a place in this segment dominated by the Italian manufacturer.
Toyota has also joined the game by presenting the i-Road which is being tested in an experiment of car sharing in Grenoble (France) since the end of 2014, and more recently in Tokyo. This new way of thinking "three-wheeler" can also be applied to non-motorized vehicles, bicycles or "commuters" of all sorts.
			As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been spending much of my free time to conduct a thinking on this subject for about three decades. This led me to develop a number of motorized prototypes (Pulsar Projects, Torga and RC Three wheelers) and human powered ones (Sweeler Project). My goal: to contribute to solving the mobility problems of our era and looking for a "sustainable pleasure on two wheels" by offering solutions that help reduce the loss of bikers and other users of this type of vehicles*, while preserving the well-known and appreciated advantages of this mode of transport. It is the synthesis of this adventure that I propose you to discover in “troisroues.com”.
Philippe Girardi
* According to the WHO, 23% of road deaths in the world in 2013 are users of motorized two or three-wheelers. It represents 287,000 victims. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/en/