Big wheel (tricycle)

A child on a big wheel in 1973 (Rogers Park, Chicago)

A big wheel is a brand of low-riding tricycles, made mostly of plastic, with a larger front wheel. Introduced by Louis Marx and Company in 1969 and manufactured in Girard, Pennsylvania, the big wheel was a very popular toy in the 1970s in the United States, partly because of its low cost and partly because consumer groups said it was a safer alternative to the traditional tricycle or bicycle.

Imitations[]

Trike

The design was quickly imitated, under a variety of brand names. Although "Big Wheel" was a registered trademark, it was frequently used as a generic name for any toy whose design resembled that of Marx. Following the bankruptcy and liquidation of Marx Toys in the early 1980s, the Big Wheel brand name and molds were sold to Empire Plastics, makers of the Power Cycle brand, which was Marx's biggest competitor.

Big Wheel, 2009

By the late 1990s, few manufacturers were making these toys.^{[citation needed]} Empire filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The Big Wheel brand was reintroduced under new ownership in 2003. The big wheel was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York, in 2009.

Annual races[]

Annual races are held for big wheel-style tricycles in some locations. One, the Bring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW) race, takes place on Easter Sunday in San Francisco.^[1] A big wheel race was hosted by the Tulsa Big Wheel Racers LLC as a fundraiser for the Cancer Sucks cancer research center on June 13, 2009.^[2]

DIY enhancement to the Big Wheel[]

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One the expected wear-points of the Big Wheel's design is on the front wheel. The low friction of the hard plastic combined with braking by locking the front wheel causes excessive wear on a spot of the wheel. This problem can be easily resolved with an enhancement that not only protects the wheel from wear but also makes the Big Wheels a lot more fun. Take an old bicycle tire and cut it to the length of the circumference of the front wheel. Wrap the tire around the front wheel and attach it with screws into the plastic. The extra traction of the front wheel will give the Big Wheel more acceleration, but the greatest benefit of this modification is what happens when you do a sharp turn. The hard plastic of the rear wheels will not hold in a sharp turn but will spin out in a way to guarantee a thrill for the rider. ^[3]

Some riders would replace oft-broken rear wheels with traditional rubber tricycle wheels. The result is a smoother ride and a faster Big Wheel.

See also[]

• Penny-farthing (High wheel)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Big Wheel.

• Original Big Wheel – present manufacturer