One-off Tilt4orce velocar leans into turns like nobody's business

Pedal-powered "velocars" certainly are fun, eco-friendly, fitness-boosting and even practical, but they can also be rather tippy. Canadian builder Wally Swarchuk has addressed that shortcoming in his one-off Tilt4orce, which uses a clever tilting system to lean into turns.

A 78-year-old retired high school teacher and curriculum writer living in the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Swarchuk started work on the vehicle 16 years ago. In fact, Tilt4orce originally took the form of a recumbent tadpole trike (two wheels in front, one in the back), but was switched to a four-wheeled "quad" in order to better facilitate the tilting mechanism.

That said, the vehicle can be temporarily converted into a delta trike (one wheel in front, two in the back) in less than 40 minutes. This should come in handy when Wally soon adds and wishes to utilize an electric-assist motor, as government regulations restrict the use of such motors to two- and three-wheelers.

Built by Swarchuk from scratch, Tilt4orce features a 6061 T6 aluminum alloy frame and body, 4-mm Coropast corrugated plastic panels, a plexiglass windshield, custom fiberglass nose and tail sections, and even custom fiberglass wheels. The tail section sports turn indicators, brake/tail lights and an exterior-accessible 130-liter cargo compartment, while the nose section will soon have a headlight. A smaller 35-liter cargo box is located inside the cabin.

Tilt4orce previously utilized a 21-speed chain-drive drivetrain running from the crankset to the right rear wheel, although the gearing has been reduced in anticipation of adding the electric motor. Stopping power is supplied by cable-actuated hydraulic disc brakes.

The whole thing reportedly weighs in at 51 kg (112 lb), is just 75 cm (29.5 in) wide – so it can fit through doorways – and has a seat height of 45 cm (17.7 in), which puts Wally high enough to "see and be seen" in traffic. In order to get in and out of the vehicle, he tilts the hinged canopy forward so that it rests on two of the front swingarms.

Speaking of swingarms, Tilt4orce utilizes a total of six of the things. Four in the front provide suspension and proper wheel alignment when tilting and steering are combined. Two in the rear, together with the tilt control system, allow the vehicle to maintain stability by leaning into turns, and keep it level on off-camber surfaces and when rolling over obstacles.

"The tilting mechanism is always engaged, and is manually activated by shifting my body weight on the pivoting seat bottom and with a push/pull force on the reciprocating hand levers," Swarchuk tells us. "This proved to be the most intuitive and robust of the countless tilt control mechanisms I experimented with over the years."

Wally has no plans to commercialize the technology, as he is content to just keep using the Tilt4orce for fitness/recreational riding on the local cycle lanes and paved pathways … and for getting a lean on, whenever possible.

"Tilting with this vehicle is great fun – especially when I use the tilt apparatus to first lean into the corner, and then apply manual steering when coming out of the corner," he says. "At this point the velo wants to return back upright under its own steam – it's a really neat feeling."

You can see Tilt4orce in action, and hear much more about all the technical stuff, in the video below.