The tricycle originated in Germany in 1680. It was a sophisticated machine designed for an adult paraplegic, and used hand cranks and gears to move on three wheels. About 100 years later, the French inventors Maguier and Blanchard developed an adult tricycle which was distinctly different from the bicycle. Two wheels on one side and one on the other became the norm for adult tricycles in that time period.
It is during the 1860s that kids tricycles began to appear in photographs. In the 1870s, kids wood trikes started popping up in American culture and photographs. The wooden versions came first and resembled carts found on the farm.
Late in the decade, steel tricycle became an option for kids' tricycles and grew in popularity. For children, the iron and steel-based models had larger front wheels and smaller back wheels. The seat gradually evolved back toward the double wheels to provide better stability. Just before the turn of the century, children's tricycles grew in popularity and were part of the growing trend in mass production in factories.
By the late 1960s and early '70s, plastic became a fundamental material for making kids' tricycles in the U.S. Built lower to the ground, the weight distribution evolved to a more stable design. The emergence of children's ride-on toys reminiscent of TV show characters had a strong influence on their popularity with kids during this time.
The fundamental design of today's trikes has changed very little since the 1970s. While some products have a more advanced design than others, the basic concept of a large child seat with pedals on the front wheel and a bar between the back wheels is still the same.