On November 29th, 2006 we ordered our quadracycle from Rhoades Car of Tennessee. It was delivered on February 8th, 2007, in lots of time for the spring cycling season here in Ottawa, Ontario.
We shopped around all the manufacturers in North America who make touring quadracycles and settled on Rhoades because they are the largest manufacturer, have great customer support and a very refined product. They have delivered thousands of quadracycles since their founding in 1992 as a division of Rhoades National Corporation, a manufacturer that has been in business since 1978.
Rhoades make touring quadracycles in single seat, two seat and four seat models, plus a line of industrial-use quadracycles called "Go Boy", as well.
Our quadracycle is a Rhoades 4W2PCP. This designation translates to "Four wheels, Two People, Coupe".
Both seats are independently adjustable fore-and-aft and both sets of pedals work independently, meaning both can be in different gears or one person can stop pedaling and coast if they like.
Here is a quick run down on the specs for our quadracycle, measured by us.
Rhoades Car 4W2PCP Coupe |
 |
| Length, overall | 87" (2.21 m) |
| Width, overall | 55" (1.40 m) |
| Height, overall (to seat tops) | 40" (1.01 m) |
| Wheel base (wheel length) | 57" (1.45 m) |
| Wheel track (wheel width) | 50" (1.27 m) |
| Base weight (plus options) | 115 lbs (52 kg) |
| Actual curb weight as delivered | 159 lbs (72 kg) |
| Actual curb weight with lights and plywood cargo deck installed | 166 lbs (75 kg) |
| Cargo area | W43" X D24" (1.09 X 0.61 m) |
| Construction | Jig welded 2" square steel tube 0.0598" wall (16 Gauge) |
| Finish | Powder coated Rhoades Blue |
| Wheels | 20" 105g spoke |
| Tires | 20" X 2.125 whitewalls, street knobby tread |
| Axles | solid steel, with keyway |
| Ground clearance | 5 inches (12.7 cm) to rear derailleurs |
| Headtube steering angle (kingpin) | 8 degrees forward rake |
| Chain size | 1/2" X 3/32" |
| Transmission | compound, two derailleurs with 42 speeds per side |
| Gear range | 15 to 77.5 gear inches |
| Reverse | "Flintstone" |
| Brakes | dual rear discs, cable actuated |
| Parking brakes | dual integral to disc brake actuator levers |
| Top speed (level ground) | 27 km/hr |
| Top speed (hill) | 40 km/hr |
| Cruising speed | 23 km/hr |
| Slope climbed | 17.2% grade (9.75°) |
| Crew height range (with two range holes) | approx 5'7" to 6'8" |
| Warrantee | 2 years parts |
We selected the following options from the long list Rhoades has available to make this the most capable street or off-road quadracycle:
Other options available that we didn't take include:
It is possible to add most of these options later, but we haven't found that we have needed them. Our aim was to keep the vehicle as light and as simple as possible.
Rhoades Cars are very easy to modify - you can bolt or weld just about anything on them. We have tried to keep ours as "stock" as possible and so have only done the following modifications to our quadracycle:
We have more information and pictures of our quadracycle in our quadracycling on-line diary and also in our photo gallery.
For pictures of the complete line of Rhoades Car quadracycles have a look at our Rhoades Gallery.
About Our Quadracycle ←
This page was last updated on: Wednesday 6 May 2009
