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Big Wheel
by Marx
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Read memories from others. |
This memory was added on: December 31,2005
I had 1 also lived in ne pa atop a big hill i wore mien out the front tire would wear tru & crack in 2 before it would compleatly break my mom worked at pg&w [the gas &water co] they had super duct tape it worked wonders to keep me spinning im 40 now but given the chance to do it again [it would not even require thought] I WANT ONE ... therr were about 4 of us we would spend all day on them but as in the pic of it ours did not have the seat back rest on it this made it easier to BAIL at the last posible moment this was 1 of the best toys I ever had up until today
john
1965
bbjb87@epix.net
This memory was added on: December 29,2005
I loved it. The funny part was when you got too big for it and tried convincing your parents that you could still ride it. After I got too big for it(even with the seat removed), my little brother got it. One summer we went on vacation to an RV park. I convinced him to go down this REALLY steep hill on it. He was barefoot and the pedals were spinning so fast he almost broke his ankles. He wiped out bad, gashed his forehead and nearly broke his neck. My mom was pissed.
Ahh, those childhood memories!!
John
1966
This memory was added on: December 29,2005
I still have the scar on the top of my foot from the most awesome spin-out ever!! I flew down Brill St. (in Philly) directly into Charles St. and spun out to the max! In bare feet no less!! Big Wheels rocked. Remember when you would ride on the back with one foot and push as fast as you could with the other foot and really get some good speed?? They were the days. Who needs helmets anyway? lol
Marion
1967
Mv6223@aol.com
This memory was added on: December 15,2005
I was a little older when they came out, but they looked like a lot of fun for kids. Mainly I had these cool little pedal cars and racers made my Radio Flyer, as well as the venerable old tricycle.
Here is a link to Consumer Guide, Chrysler ran a contest to power something up using a Hemi car/truck engine. The winner was an adult sized Big Wheel. Pretty cool!
http://auto.consumerguide.com/Articles/index.cfm/act/newsarticles/article/NA_HEMI.html
G
1961
gmchale2003@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: December 8,2005
I loved my Big Wheel, I rode that thing until the wheel cracked from being worn down.
Adrienne
1975
adoylelb@aol.com
This memory was added on: December 6,2005
where can i find an adult sized big wheel? i have heard that thay are being made but i cant find them anywhere? please help me e-mail me at spykid1313@yahoo.com
thank you, chris
chris
12/25/82
spykid1313@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: December 6,2005
Somehow my brothers rigged tennis shoes as breaks ( ghetto style) the big wheel takes me back to when my mother would say " come in one more time, and your in for the day."( I miss her dearly)The big wheel takes me back to the most welcomed DAY LIGHT SAVINGS!!!when there wasnt a kid in my neighborhood that I didnt know.The spills we would take while trying to achieve the longest skid.A time when Red kool-aid was the champagne on my block Thank you BIG WHEEL you were a big part of my childhood.
jennine
1969
jennine415
This memory was added on: November 24,2005
I had a Dukes of hazard big wheel which I rode in wawatosa wisconsin when I was 5. Unfortunalty the big wheel and I got into a wreck when I was 5 years old with a garbage truck. I broke my leg and the big wheel was destroyed. I would love to see a picture of a Dukes of hazard big wheel. If anyone has one or knows where I could get a picture of one please email me ryanb788@cableone.net
Ryan
1978
ryanb788@cableone.net
This memory was added on: November 12,2005
My brother had a Big Wheel with the storage box on the back of the seat. I was six years older than him & would push him as fast as I could from the top of our block to 1/2 way past the house next to ours, he would fly into our white rock diveway & activate the handbrake raining rocks across the front yard, boy was Dad mad when the lawnmower hit those rocks hidden in the grass. This was my brothers favorite outside toy, he went through at least 3 and I think my parents thought he might never give up his Big Wheel to ride a bike!
Lyle
1967
This memory was added on: November 7,2005
AAHHH yes the big wheel. I remember my mother would let me ride it around the house! I was so cool at the tender age of 5 I tried going up a hill and then roll down backwards...oopps I landed on my head scuffed up and full of dirt, but I got right back on my Big Wheel!
Dawn
1972
Dawnmarie72@sbcglobal.net
This memory was added on: November 7,2005
I loved being that close to the ground. Dont know what ever happened to MY bigwheel.
michelle
1962
michellem@mindspring.com
This memory was added on: November 6,2005
I got my big wheel when i was three it was the greatest gift i got that year i used to try and run over the other kids in my neighborhood and when i was around four years old i tried running away on my big wheel i got about 6 streets away and got picked up by a cop and brought home
Elizabeth
1988
yummymudpie02@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: October 18,2005
2 kinds of kids back then: Big Wheel Kids vs. Green Machine Kids
Big Wheel won every time...
Jeff S.
1968
jeff@sprankle.org
This memory was added on: September 28,2005
A big wheel was invented by guys who would take the handlebar/front wheel assembly apart on a tricycle. Reverse the two pieces and voila....big wheel. I had one of those modified trike/big wheels in 1963
toby
1958
tsmith@catgraph.com
This memory was added on: September 25,2005
I am just fascinated with the phenomenon of the Big Wheel-ice cream connection. Over the years I've done an informal survey of people my age, asking them if they had a Big Wheel and if so, did they flip it upside down and play something with it? I've asked people from all over the country and the answer is always "Yes, I played ice cream man." I can't figure out how you get ice cream from an upside down bike but apparently a lot of us made that connection.
I remember taking the seat off, standing up on my Big Wheel, and flying down the hill by our house. I always wanted a Green Machine, but in retrospect I think the Big Wheel was the better choice. I think the Green Machine was more for show.
Ela
1972
ela616@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: September 25,2005
hi...i never had a big wheel....but i did get the most awesome riding toy ever built around 1975 ish...it was called a " chopperoo "...not sure of the spelling...kind of like a big wheel but bigger...the pedals turned the chain driven rear wheels...if anyone knows of this or has a link to a pic...please let me know...tryin to explain to my kids..but a pic says a 1000 words...thanks..
chuck
1963
salesm6882@aol.com
This memory was added on: September 15,2005
My friends and I would pull out the back seats and run and jump on them on our knees. Thos things were great!
bob
1962
rabramson@pjax.com
This memory was added on: September 7,2005
I loved my big wheel. I broke the plastic blue brake handle off when attempting the full 180 degree skid. The beauty of the big wheel is that you can be as psychotic as you wanted but you just cannot get hurt when you are traveling 5 inches off the ground. My big wheel died when I was 9 as my sister had her learner's permit. Thank god my green machine was out of her path.
Ron Gross
1971
rgross1215@suscom.net
This memory was added on: August 21,2005
I don't know if my big wheel was an actual big wheel or not, but I loved mine. It was blue and white and had a smurf head in front of the handle bars. I was about 8 years old when my dad made me get rid of it for a new one that was pink and purple. That one never road like my smurf one and was seriously not as cool. I remember petaling as fast as I could and then turning and it would send the back end sliding side ways. Always a good time. :( I really miss it.
Leah
10-01-1979
lmills1001@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: August 9,2005
Wow, so many of us had that great toy growing up. I loved the summers with my Big Wheel. I remember a few other kids in the neighborhood having them also. Like most here, I rode my Big Wheel everyday in those precious summer months in the 70's when school was out. I wore out the middle of the front wheel so it got to a point where I was riding on the 'rims' of the wheel and there was no more meat left on the front tire. After begging my mother for another she finally bought me one, only then could my summer continue. I remember doing the 360 spinouts with the handbrake and locking the front wheel with you legs on the peddles to get more of a added spinout. Man those days were so precious and priceless looking back. What I wouldn't give to be a kid again for just one afternoon on my Big Wheel!!
Jeff
1972
zman7854@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: August 8,2005
1975. The coolest vehicle on the block was the Big Wheel. And the coolest show on television was Emergency! I would get up at the crack of dawn and pretend that I was one of the guys on Emergency! I parked my Big Wheel in the garage and lay down on the floor until I heard the alarm go off in my imagination. I then jumped onto the Big Wheel as fast as I could and tore off down the driveway to rescue someone trapped in a burning car or some such thing. When you're seven years old you can make a hell of a noise hollering like a siren and thundering down the street on your Big Wheel. I know it was loud because one of the neighbors was always begging my parents to keep me inside a little later in the morning. It seems like I did nothing but ride my Big Wheel for 3 years. It's like I got on the thing when I was 5 and didn't get off it until I was 8. That's all I remember doing. I just bought a new one of these (sans hand brake!) for my three year old daughter.
Richard
1968
richardnlinda@peoplepc.com
This memory was added on: August 4,2005
Big Wheels Rocked! I got my General Lee when i was 3 for christmas and I was still riding it when I was 9. By that time ther were flat spots all over the front wheel and rocks inside it. The hand break was the best thing to do power slides.
Matt
1980
frank_m_wright@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: July 8,2005
Oh man, did I love my Big Wheel! I had two that I can remember. The first one was a Dukes of Hazard model. As you can imagine, it was orange like the General Lee. Additionally, it had streamers coming out of the steering wheel. The next and favorite (I'm trying to find a picture of one) was my Knight Rider Big Wheel. I remember that the steering wheel was uniquely shaped and there were stickers up and down simulating the interior of K.I.T.T. Good times, good times!
John W.
1979
truewarrior_2000@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: July 5,2005
The ultimate freedom in youth is the gift of mobility. My big wheel carried me to new levels in my 4th year of life, Or at least to the end of the street. None the less, I felt unstoppable on that thing, and nothing made you more of a master big wheeler than the spin-out break! The common denominator in my neighborhood was the flat, worn-down tires and the rattle of the rocks that were always getting dropped into the holes for the back rest. I got a new big wheel when I was 5 ½ but made the mistake of leaving it out overnight. My neighborhood sucked so bad that when I went out to play the next day someone hade stolen my tires off the thing.
Grant
1972
eternaliquid@adelphia.net
This memory was added on: July 1,2005
I remember being too fat a kid to have a big wheel or sit and spin. I could sit but couldnt spin my fat ass around the handle! My uncle salvatore bought me a steel big wheel but it wasnt really abig wheel. It was great and the kids with plastic big wheels were totally jealous of me with my fat bot metal big wheel! I miss the 70's.
Mike Labriola
1971
Mikeylabriola@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 21,2005
I must admit, Big Wheels were more fun than throwing rocks. I had 5 at one time(Dad was toy dept. manager for Sears) I had the one with the tool/lunch box as well. I remember filling the body with water "gas" through the seat holes, and then riding off, leaving a trail if water down the street from the small drain hole in the back. I do also remember the "ice cream" thing, or was it popcorn?
Big Mike
1967
This memory was added on: June 7,2005
oh man, in the early 80s I had a Night Rider Big Wheel. When my brother moved to college he rented a Uhaul and he left the ramp in the back down and unattended. Being the good 4 or 5 year old that I was I decided to ride my Night Rider Big Wheel right down the thing, nearly killing myself. I guess I didn't have David Hasselhoff's skills back then.
Jon
1981
This memory was added on: May 30,2005
The Big Wheel is GOD in the land of riding toys!
I really rode that till the wheels fell off!
Tattooed Steve
1969
sales@tattooedsteve.com
This memory was added on: May 24,2005
My love of speed started with the Big Wheel. Mine was from the early 70', so no hand brake on the side.To stop it I would lock my leg straigh and slide as I was breaking. The disadvantage was that since the wheel was made of plastic it was wearing very fast. Because I was always locking the wheel in the same position, after a while I would have a wheel that had a flat part. But this is where the story gets better. In those days company were a lot better at customer support because my mom would write to the company making it and they would send us a brand new wheel! I think in the course of my Big Wheel era I had a total of 3 of them. After a couple of year, I had to learn to ride a bike. Darn, I always wandered why the concept wasn't taking up for an adult size Big Wheel...I will check on ebay. P.S. Remember the little spring in the back of the wheel to make it sound when louder! That didn't last very long with my parent ;-)
Erik Goulet
1967
erikgo@softimage.com
This memory was added on: May 23,2005
I actually found this site on accident, looking to see the address of a company called "Big Wheel" which now sponsors my friends racecar. Reading these brought back a ton of memories and as I look at these I see much hasn't changed in my life over the last 25 years.
My "Big Wheel" story goes back to the late 70's or very early 80's. My friends and I all went to a summer day camp at a recreation center. One of the events on the summer schedule was the Big Wheel 500 which was the day we all brought our Big Wheels to camp and raced on a race course inside the gym area. Being a racecar nut (even at the ago of 10) my 2 friends, my brother and I went all out for this event. We planned it for weeks.
First we all got white t-shirts and turned them into "pit crew" shirts with the help of some magic markers. They had our numbers on them as well as our name. If we're gonna be "big time" big wheel racers then we have to look the part.
Next we went to the local Ace Hardware store and asked if they would sponsor us. I can only imagine what the owner thought when he saw 4 ten year old kids come in and ask for sponsorship. It worked though and he gave us some free paint and address lable stickers so we could put numbers on our rides. The normal red color of the big wheel wouldn't do. We went white with purple stripes.
This part I remember the most (and makes me remember just how lame we were as kids) but the local racecar drivers that drove at our local track all towed their cars to the track. So you guessed it. We towed them to day camp the day of the race. Mom and dad weren't gonna be dropping us off like the other kids with their Big Wheel in the back of the trunk. We "loaded" ours on the back of wagons and pulled them to the track.
As you can imagine we got lots of looks when we rolled in with our shirts and sponsored Big Wheels on the back of red wagons.
How did we do? I can't even remember. For some reason the events leading up to the race are more clear then the actual race day. I do remember some kids not having them and the people running the camp wanted us to let other kids drive them in different age groups and we all refused. I know this, we all thought we were cool that day. 25 years later I'm still involved in racing as well as the other people in this story. And even though I hate to admit this, I too turned mine over and made ice-cream.
Steve
1970
info@racewayparkhistory.com
This memory was added on: May 9,2005
Ahh the BIG WHEEL. I was a child of the 80's. Both my Brothers grew up in the 70's; however, there were still BIG WHEELs around when I was 5 ,6, and 7. My friends and I did the same things. We Tied a rope from the back of our bikes to the front handlebars. We flipped out Big Wheel up-side down and "Made Ice Cream" (I still have no idea where that came from) There were no NEW BIG WHEELs for us, our BIG WHEELs came from Garage sales and peoples attics. Therefore all our front tires where full of flat spots. we rode and skid those suckers till the plastic ripped apart. I still enjoyed the short time we had with them. Man alive I can't believe how many time I think about having an Adult BIG WHEEL. Where would I ride it? How many times would someone call the cops on me, and How could I get sued for enjoying it in my neighborhood.
Elmo
1978
elmo_elm_69@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: May 3,2005
Ah the Big Wheel bike!!
Mine was sweet, hand brake for spin-outs, rear storage and the motorcycle noise spring on the back tire. We used to ride them after school and all day on Saturday's after cartoons.
I remember when I got too big to sit in front of the seat I'd ride it like a scooter and reach some insane speeds. One of my friends made a bike jump out of wood and some bricks and all the kids would take turns laying down in front of it to see how many kids you could jump. I'd laugh when the the last kid would get clipped or mowed over if you didn't have enough speed.
The Ice Cream thing was lame but I did it too.
Matt
1967
elmmj@earthlink.net
This memory was added on: April 20,2005
What a death trap this toy was. I have a scar on my lip from when I rode down a hill and rolled it over trying to do a spin-out. Didn't stop me from getting back on, though. It eventually developed a big flat spot on the big wheel from all the spin outs and locking my left leg forward. Thump-thump-thump...
Tony
1970
This memory was added on: April 7,2005
I remember getting a girl's pink daisy Big Wheel for Christmas when I was around three years old. I felt so cool riding around the apartment complex in that thing, but because I was a girl my Mom never let me do any neat tricks on it. I think it never even got one scratch.
April
1975
cogressional1@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: April 7,2005
Then the upgraded model came with the hand brake...spin-outs in the sand on the street!
Jim
1965
jbates@equiserve.com
This memory was added on: March 19,2005
Well, I never actually had a Big Wheel... I kept trying to convince my folks but my mom's arguement was always, "you'll outgrow it too fast". I think the real reason was b/c there were so many kids w/ those things on our block and it drove her nuts! You knew it was after school or cartoons were over on Saturday mornings when you heard the clicking of those Big Wheels outside! I had to settle for using whoever who let me ride theirs. I lived on a long hill in NYC. Kids used to race 'em, but my favorite game was playing chicken! Kids would stand down at the bottom of the hill and jump outta the way before they got creamed! But what I hated is when kids would do this to unwilling targets! They would pick someone out (and 3 times this happened to me, once right in front of my mom!) and mow them down! This, unfortunately sealed the deal of me never owning one of these beauties. But this is something I definitely miss seeing... 20 neighborhood kids on their Big Wheels!
Sharry A.
1966
Hardygirl66@aol.com
This memory was added on: March 15,2005
Great Toy!! Gave me my first (of many) crash concussions. Recently immortalized by Disney at WDW as part of the new Pop Century Resort. 30' tall and true detail to the original.
Al Abaster
1960
soylent11@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: March 9,2005
How sick were we. We race down huge hills on these death machines with no brakes man you just dont see that anymore remember how fast the front wheel went and you tried to keep up and your feet just keepet bouncing of the pedals and then you turn the wheel real fast and you sent it into a crazy 360 sick stuff we had.
Dino
This memory was added on: March 6,2005
I absolutely loved my black and orange Big Wheel bike. My sister had a Raleigh Forteen 'proper' bike but my BW was delicious! I still remember coming home from school when I was about seven or eight and seeing Andrew, my babysitters eldest son and his two younger brothers riding on it back to their house. My dad was there at the door seeing them off. I was agog to hear him say that he gave my Big Wheel and Space Hopper to them because they were boys and that he'd buy me a more girl-appropriate bike. I just wanted to die!
JIMEZSMOOT
1968
smoot1138@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: March 2,2005
OK I was a little too old and too big for one of these, but all the younger kids had them. Six hours of these things racing up and down the sidewalk all day was too much to take. It was like hearing a jackhammer from noon til night.
Curtis
1957
This memory was added on: February 24,2005
It must be close to 30 years ago, one of my fondest childhood memories. It was the spring and time for a new big wheel, my dad let me ride it from the back of the store up to the cash register. We must have been about 1/2 way to the register when I veered off to one side and mowed down a family of 3 mannequins. Needless to say dad carried it the rest of the way.
Ross
1970
RUKidding@theinter.net
This memory was added on: February 17,2005
I rode my Big Wheel so much that when the front wheel wore through and got flat spots in it my parents would buy me replacement wheels. The chassis lasted forever but I went through several front wheels.
I'm now 30 years old and I still have a scar from when when I was four years old from my Big Wheel! I often rode barefoot and one day I was sitting on the seat and pedaling so fast that my foot slipped over the pedal on the down stroke and my foot got caught over the front edge of the pedal. My foot got pinned between the pedal and the concrete sidewalk (I realize this is hard to imagine) and it ground off a nice chunk of skin. Lots of blood that scared this four-year-old. Anyway, I still have a nice scar on my right foot 26 years later!
Adam Pratt
1975
adam@adampratt.com
This memory was added on: February 10,2005
When I was in 1st grade, my elementary school had an all-school Big Wheel tournament. First I beat my classroom, then my grade, and then the entire school. I was the champ beating all the fifth graders. After I got my trophy, one of the fifth graders I beat came over and smashed my trophy into little bits. I cried like crazy and rode my Big Wheel home as fast as I could. About an hour later, the principal of the school came to my house with the trophy smashing kid, and made the kid apologize to me. And the kid handed me a pumpkin as my replacement trophy.
CB
1969
This memory was added on: February 7,2005
I was one of the many kids in my neighborhood to own a big wheel. I participated in the community big wheel race. I was so excited. The race started and we all took off - me in second place. I looked over my shoulder and someone was catching up to me so I paddled faster. I paddled so fast that my big wheel fell apart. There I was me and my big wheel sitting on the ground. That was then one of my saddest days. Now when I tell that story to my kids they get a big kick out of it. Wow - THE BIG WHEEL
Juan Sellars
1965
Jsong4u@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: February 5,2005
i had a blast on my big wheel used it so much i wore a flat spot in the front wheel from skidding so much with it i then got a chopperoo a huge big wheel that was pedal/chain driven that was even cooler you could ride 2 people on it it had a hard front tire (no flat spot) but still could skid all over with it- too cool!!
mike g
1963
mgrella63@aol.com
This memory was added on: January 24,2005
wow!!!!!!!! and i thought i was the only one who did the ice cream thing, well the kids in my nieghborhood did do, that was so long ago, what a memory.
joyce
1963
This memory was added on: January 13,2005
Well I never had one. BUT they haven't gone out of style. Gee I remember only 15 years ago my son rode them down the street. He had so much fun on them.
Judy Rae
1958
caringheart269@netzero.com
This memory was added on: December 30,2004
I loved the Big Wheel! I was in big wheel races in a couple different town festivals, and I would ride and ride forever at my grandparents. I wore the tire through so badly that my grandpa made me one out of wood (he was quite a crafty woodworker) That made my bigwheel especially unique!
Janelle
1981
J_Nells@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: December 9,2004
I did the ice cream thing, too! My co-workers think I am crazy becuase I told the story. We have to find out where this originated!!!
Wendy
1980
whicks@Beap.com
This memory was added on: December 1,2004
I loved my Big Wheel. I had envied my neighbor across the street for his Big Wheel, and eventually my parents bought me one of my own. I rode that thing all over the place. Once, I decided to take a trip on it; you know, hittin’ the road for a while and seeing where life took me. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was always looking for adventure and the Big Wheel seemed like the right vehicle to take me there. For provisions, I packed some string cheese in the blue supply box behind the seat. Sometimes I’d patrol the neighborhood, making sure everything was okay. I lived on a cul-de-sac about 2/3 the way down a steep street. Once, my frieds and I took our Big Wheels and rode them down the hill, turning blindly onto the dead-end street at top speed. When my mom caught us doing it we got yelled at. We knew it was risky, but somehow we thought we’d be able to out-maneuver the cars if we had to.
P
1969
psackett@aiaseattle.org
This memory was added on: November 27,2004
My two brothers and I had Big Wheels in the early 70's. We lived at the top of a hill and would race down it with all the other neighboorhood kids. The roar of several Big Wheels caught the attention of some of the elderly neighbors who tried to ban us from the street! When my parents saw the speeds we were attaining, they tried to get us to wear helmets. I believe my response was :"no way dad! the other kids will beat us up!" Tough crowd...
Dave
1965
This memory was added on: November 26,2004
I was the first kid in my neighborhood to have a Big Wheel in 1974 or so. We lived on a cul-de-sac that was perfect for those powerslides with the handbrake. My first Big Wheel died as I was riding it like so many other people I've read on this list (the front wheel simply broke off). I remember having a second Big Wheel with the "lunchbox" on the back. My "lunchbox" got destroyed in a rear-end collision with another big wheel. We also did the "ice cream" thing by turning our Big Wheels upside down. I remember the older kids in my neighborhood used to do the ice cream trick by turning their bicycles on their sides and cranking the pedals by hand. I think this is how that ice cream thing got started--with bicycles laying on their sides(simulating the old hand-crank way of making ice cream). I think us younger kids were just imitating the older kids with our Big Wheels since we didn't know how to ride bikes yet. My clearest childhood memory of the Big Wheel was a collision I had with my cousin. I was older by a year and on the Big Wheel, he was on a lowly tricycle. He didn't have a chance! I remember he got a bloody nose and a fat lip when we collided, but I came out without a scratch. When we grew too large for Big Wheels, we would find them out at the curb on garbage day. We'd take the seatback off and ride it around like a scooter (one foot on the seat, one foot propelling me) until they were destroyed. Up until about five years ago, my uncle (a grade school teacher) used to sponsor a Big Wheel race in a local town festival every year. There was always a huge turnout and the winners in different age classes got prizes and everything. My cousin and I would be the "wranglers"--keeping proud parents, who wanted to cheer and/or take pictures, off the street as the kids were racing. It just goes to show the everlasting appeal of the Big Wheel!
Andy
1969
ahirsch8@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: November 17,2004
I remember the handbrake...I loved slamming it and spinning out..I wore I was Evel Knievel
alex
1969
This memory was added on: November 11,2004
We would pimp out our Big Wheels by painting out names on the back. We also found that when you put bricks into the back storage area, it would really help you spin out when you turned the front wheel and pulled the hand break. Once the Big Wheel died, then you would salvage the parts to make GoCarts! These were made from the rear wheels with the axle attached to a board, side rails, rollar skates attached to a 2x4 that you steared with your feet and a rope to help. If you had really thick wood, you could nail in a new hand brake.
Dan
1968
teykldknny@aol.com
This memory was added on: November 6,2004
I loved my Big Wheel too. Even after I outgrew it and got onto the Evil Knievel bike (any one ever see one of these? It looked like a motorcycle) I went through several "flat" front tires, dad put a couple new ones on. The last year I used it I discovered that if you take the metal cap off the back tires and go tearign up the neighbors cememnt driveway, yank of the spinout handle and blow the back tire off it makes a nice scrape in the driveway.
Dan
1971
YeekDK@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: October 27,2004
That is SO weird! I thought that we were the only ones who played ice cream machine with an upsidedown Big Wheel! Where did that come from? Now I'm dying to know.
Jen
1969
This memory was added on: October 23,2004
big wheels sucks eggs
chris
08-08-1978
_o_a_o.hotmail.com
c,heer@chello.nl
This memory was added on: October 19,2004
The Big Wheel was one of THE BEST TOYS EVER INVENTED. I went through a couple of them. The front tire would always wear down because that was how it was propelled. Gotta love front wheel drive. It was always a blast to play Big Wheel smash-up derby. I remember still using it even after I had to take the seat off because I got so tall. Long live Marx and The Big Wheel!!!!
Chuck
1963
This memory was added on: October 13,2004
Oh, I LOVED MY BIG WHEEL! Me and my friends would ride them down the stairs in front of my house (we lived in a terraced town house community in Manassas, VA). All the noise, the speed, the threat of the front forks letting go at any time.. I got such a rush from it! The only thing better was doing it in a metal, saucer sled in the (highly packed) snow!
Cindy V.
1967
trixieinva@msn.com
This memory was added on: September 30,2004
Of all of the "riding" type of toys I had as a kid in the 70s, the Big Wheel was my ultimate favorite. I remember seeing the commerical for it on TV and begging my parents for it. It was one of the few toys that lived up to all the hype, at least in my kid-oriented mind. I think I got mine in 1974, when we had first moved to Georgia from Ohio. I thought I was so cool, buzzing around the driveway. Mine had the ultra-hip storage area behind the seat. And as others have said, those things made a heck of a noise coming down the road. I think the parents in my neighborhood were happy to be able to hear where we were.
Traci R.
1968
atlswan@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: September 23,2004
Okay... I loved my big wheel SO MUCH. I remember my brother and I riding around the drive way and park... and if our parents ever let us go outside when it was dark we would pretend we were night rider and go zooming around the cauldesac.... As far as icecream goes... yep, I made it too. I have no idea where this came from, but a friend of mine is working on finding it out. Apparently in the 70's big wheel was owned by the same people as popsicle and klondike bar... i have no idea if that has anything to do with it. I've also heard that big wheel was sooooo popular that it was used in all sorts of ad campaigns for various fortune 500 companies because it was a recognizable household object- everyone had one. If you know anything about this icecream thing, let me know!!!!
sarah
1984
This memory was added on: September 23,2004
TALK ABOUT BEING INVINCABLE..WHEN I WAS ON MY BIG WHEEL..IT WAS THE GREATEST FEELING...NEXT TO THE SMELL OF A BRAND NEW GI JOE RITE OUT OF THE BOX. I RODE THIS THING TILL THE PLASTIC TIRES WORE OUT.I EVEN USED TO JUMP RAMPS WITH IT. IT WAS MY BEST FREIND..NEXT TO BILLY FREDERICK WHO LIVED UP THE STREET. THANX FOR THE MEMORIES. GOD BLESS YOU ALL FELLOW BOOMERS
MIKE REGA
1963
MIKEKARREGA@AOL.COM
This memory was added on: August 25,2004
I got the first of my three big wheels at the age of four. We lived in a townhouse complex back then and all the kids had one. Mine was "special" as it was the only one of the group that had the silver (ok, it was grey) molded plastic handle bars. We used to have races around the parking lot on a daily basis!
Darin
1967
This memory was added on: August 25,2004
I got the first of my three big wheels at the age of four. We lived in a townhouse complex back then and all the kids had one. Mine was "special" as it was the only one of the group that had the silver (ok, it was grey) molded plastic handle bars. We used to have races around the parking lot on a daily basis!
Darin
1967
This memory was added on: August 9,2004
Aah, those things were fun. the fun for me wwas going down our driveway and spinning out. Oh one more thing, anybody remember the sirines you could put on them. They took a battery and there was a button you could put on one of the handlebars. That beats that mickeymouse honkahonka horn any day.
Larry g
1971
shadyarcady@aol.com
This memory was added on: July 31,2004
i lived out in the country so i didnt get to play on a paved service.but that didnt stop the big wheel fun!all of us kids would get togeather and race down this bug hill man what fun.we rode em till they fell apart then we would peice them togeather somehow .we had a big wheel junk yard man those were good times.
david
1971
skywalkerluke26@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: July 27,2004
I have to say this was one bad-ass toy. I really thought I was "all that" on my Big Wheel. It was definitely one of the best iconic toys of the decade. I had a lot longer than most toys.
Ron
1968
popart60_@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: July 25,2004
Mine had the blue seat with the storage on it. And yes, I and my cousins also made ice cream (and got some good forearm burns for free!) The lesson the Big Wheel taught me: Don't try and hit the brake to skid when you're tearing down the middle of a gravel driveway. Ouch.
I also had another toy like this, but you sat in it and the pedals were pusher type.
SnipeHunter
1968
This memory was added on: July 24,2004
I also remember making "ice cream" with my big wheel. Does anyone know how this got started? My best friend and I would spend hours on the driveway sitting on our upside down big wheels shouting "ice cream! Get your ice cream here!" Those were the days when kids had real imagination!
Dana
1973
dpatton72@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: July 14,2004
Oh The BigWheel,
I remember like it was yesterday my younger brother getting one of these at 6 or 7. Nothing gave me greater delight than to push him at the limit of my speed and yell "Spin Out" , where he would cut the wheel full lock and either:
1) Spin around out of control or, 2) Spin half-way around flip over and get wrecked.
For YEARS he would drive down a long sloping driveway towards the street at full speed and halfway he would cut the wheel and slide the last 10-15 feet completely sideways, only to have it regrip just in time to make the left turn on the sidewalk (and miss the telephone pole) rather than go into the street.
How he has made it to today I will never know.
Peter J Evans III
1961
kb5000@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: July 7,2004
I never owned one. I always had to borrow someone else's--only to have to give it back! :(
Dana
1971
danagsk8@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: July 7,2004
All the chicks preferred the neighbor guy (ages 6-11) that had one of these. It ran circles around my sisters tike bike.
Chris King
1962
This memory was added on: July 6,2004
Oh, I was so depressed when I saw these.. I was already 14 or 15 when they came out, and they looked like so much fun.
Come to think of it, just about ALL the toys on the site came out when I was too old to play with them! :-(
mje
This memory was added on: July 6,2004
Oh, I was so depressed when I saw these.. I was already 14 or 15 when they came out, and they looked like so much fun.
Come to think of it, just about ALL the toys on the site came out when I was too old to play with them! :-(
mje
1954
mje@spamcop.net
This memory was added on: July 2,2004
My friends and I once saw a part of this biker movie, a shot where all the bikers drove by taking up the entire road in a V formation. So we ran out and did the same thing with our Big Wheels. We were so bad. *snicker* Loved the sound it used to make. CRRHRKHEKKHHKHHRRHRRRHHHRR!
altoidsaddict
1976
jgoodlan@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: July 2,2004
WAS SO SAD THAT WHEN THIS FUN LOOKING TOY CAME ALONG, I WAS TOO OLD TOO BIG TO RIDE THE NOISY THING
JANIE
1964
This memory was added on: June 22,2004
This rocked. I wore it out . My friend and I called the seat holes garbage disposals. So many candy wrappers fit in there. I found a marijuana bowl and not knowing what it was I taped it to the back of my big wheel and told everyone it was a exhuast pipe.
Jim
1969
jtxexo369@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 18,2004
I rode my Big Wheel until the plastic tires got wore down and had holes. Loved it....
Micah
1967
fusionman67@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 1,2004
My best friend Dennis had a big house with a HUGE yard, that had hills and such. He had a Honda QA-50 mini-bike, and we used to play this game called "Mazurski". We would tie a rope to the back of his mini-bike, and attach it to the front of his Big Wheel. He would be a robber riding his bike, and I was the cop named "Mazurski", and when he gave it the throttle, he would pull me on the Big Wheel all around the yard! It gave the effect of me trying to catch him in hot pursuit! Anyway, sometimes he would take a corner real fast, and the Big Wheel, having just 3 wheels, would not be able to handle the curve, and WHAM! Over I would go, toppling and crashing into bushes and across his lawn! We would both laugh like hell, get up, wipe off, and do it again and again!! Of course, this was in the days befor video games. Kids today have no idea how much fun that are missing.....
DaveD
1963
dav8463aol.com
This memory was added on: May 19,2004
This memory was added on: May 10,2004
i had a blast with my big wheel. kids in the neighborhood would have races with our big wheels. i had a black and red one.
chris davis
1971
chrisdavis89@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: May 9,2004
No child raised in the 70's should have gone without one of these!!! Our neighborhood had at least 5 of them zipping up and down the street on any given day. Of course that was back when it was safe for kids to be out at night, and all the neighborhood parents would sit out front on their porches, as the Big Wheels would tear up and down the walk. I remember one night we had every big wheel in the neighborhood going at once, and all of the mothers agreed to clip of the "clicker" thing on the rear wheels, then all we had was the lovely noise of the flattened, dented, broken spot on the front tire..THUNK THUNK THUNK...ah to be young again.
Chris S.
1971
Tophersky@aol.com
This memory was added on: April 5,2004
My memory of these bad boys involved pulling them as fast as we could behind bikes. I'm still convinced that the only use for those K-mart jumpropes was to tie them onto the handlebars of the big wheel and then to the back of the bike seat. This was also my first memory of inattentive driving and tailgating when the big wheel kid wasn't really paying attention and would rear-end the bike that had stopped at the curb.
James
1974
This memory was added on: April 5,2004
Did anyone else ever turn your big wheel upside and use the handles like one of the exercise machines? The kicker was that somehow we said we were making ice cream. I don't think it made sense to me even then, and it really doesn't make sense now.
This memory was added on: March 24,2004
They had the best toys in the 70's. They don't make toys like that anymore . . . although that's what dad said about HIS childhood toys in the 40's, and they really sucked.
joe
12/24/67
This memory was added on: March 2,2004
Me and my brother ran our big wheels so hard the front tire plastic ripped apart. My ingeniuos grandfather tacked some heavy cloth to the wheel periphery to patch it and WOW! There's WAY more friction between concrete and cloth than concrete and plastic! No more spinning the wheel up to speed...you just shot forward like a rocket!
pw
1968
This memory was added on: February 13,2004
Big wheels keep on turning. I used to BURN rubber in my big wheel. I thought i was driving a rolls royce or a benz. Those big plastic wheels and the adjustable seat what a Great Memory that was.
Jaye
64
This memory was added on: January 23,2004
Loved my big wheel. We used to race them down hills playing chicken and spin out using the hand break. The only problem with the big wheel was the main wheel in the middle used to develop cracks and holes. I finally resolved that problem by substituting a bicycle wheel. I don't think mom ever found out about that.
Scott
1965
This memory was added on: January 23,2004
When I was five I got a big wheel for christmas(1972). And I loved it. The very next year though it was stolen. I never found out who stole it. It was a very traumatic experience for me, I'm still not over it.
joe
1967
This memory was added on: December 24,2003
Had on of these. Best way to get around until you got a bike. Why don't they make these any more?
Rick
1967
This memory was added on: December 20,2003
I have a vision of Utopia, and it is the mass abandonment of the automobile for the Big Wheel.
(mark69, your story sounds like a great movie plot. nicknames and all.)
maria
68
crowamonghens@aol.com
This memory was added on: December 17,2003
Cool toy! Mine died when the "big wheel' developed a hole from too much skidding...
Tom
1962
This memory was added on: November 26,2003
I remember the days quite well...we formed a gang with a bunch of kids in the 'hood who all owned Big Wheels...we all had nicknames and painted our nicknames on the back of the "cycles"- Dopie, Pissbag, Beaner, Smegma (not to memtion others)- what a bunch of hellions...the best time was once when we mixed it up with a gang of coked-up midgets on unicycles. What a freakin' mess!
mark
1969
mark1969@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: November 24,2003
My 2 brothers in I all got them and I remember the old man who lived two doors down saying, "Jesus, those things are as loud as a team of horses!" As I passed one day on my daily routine of continually riding up and down the sidewalk with by brothers from dawn to dusk. A lady appeared at the door one day with my buck-naked younger brother (who was 4). Apparently he had taken off all his clothes and stowed them in the storage compartment behind the seat and took off down the street. We talk about it to this day. The flat spot on the front wheel was achieved by using the optional "front brake" (locking your knees while at top speed and skidding on the front wheel). This made you even more out of control while stopping than the hand brake.
Rob
1970
This memory was added on: November 19,2003
Man, I thought I was hot stuff on my Big Wheel. I remember one time riding up and down the sidewalk, and I got so into it, I threw my head back and looked at the sky while I pedaled as fast as I could. Then I ran into the neighbors' mailbox and the rosebush they had next to it. Got a rose thorn in the eye. OW!
My younger sister had a Big Wheel from a yard sale, and it had the flat front tire. I always felt really sorry for her, that she didn't have a new one, but she just rode it like that THUNK THUNK THUNK.
xmelinda
1969
This memory was added on: October 11,2003
I loved this toy!I must have had at least three of them because my friends and I would be so rough with them they would break at the forks or the rear wheels would wear out.A guy i knew broke his leg on one.
alex
1968
tinky10675@earthlink.net
This memory was added on: September 23,2003
I always envied the kids on my street who had the big wheels. My mother wouldn't allow me to have one because they were "too dangerous". Nowadays I think of all the "things" that are truly dangerous! I think it was that she didn't want to part with the money for one. I had fun using other kids' but always wanted my own
Tom
1967
This memory was added on: September 12,2003
those were the days when kids actually played OUTSIDE......... what happened? now you don't see any kids playing outside anymore, they're all just hanging around inside absorbed in their computers and video games, etc. we've come a long way and not for the better. used to be in my neighborhood on any given day there would be at least 5 or 6 groups of kids hanging out, now when i go back to visit the streets are always empty. that makes me sad. i'm glad i was a kid when i was. the 70's were great. i really miss it. oh well . ..........
joe
1967
This memory was added on: September 3,2003
I was about 12yrs old and a little too big to turn the peddals. So me and my friends would tie rope from the Handle bars to the back of a stingray bike. It was very fun sliding around corners. Every kid on my block had this great toy.
Mike Robres
1959
This memory was added on: July 29,2003
I remember the very first big wheel that came out in late 1969 early 1970. It had a little spring on the back wheel. As you rolled down the street it would make contact and make a clicking noise like like a game of chance wheel at a carnival. When I out grew my Big Wheel I did the same thing with my bike when I was eight. Except I used a clothes pin and a playing card. Of course that wasn't as loud. But I got the same satisfaction.
Bill
1964
billyre@earthlink,net
This memory was added on: July 22,2003
I HATED these things! You couldn't walk down the sidewalk on my street without some hotshot speeding towards you at full speed and almost running you down! I was constantly hopping out of the way of these speed demons. The neighborhood I grew up in had to lead the world in Big Wheels! I recall several of them on the streets and sidewalks at the same time! It wasn't safe to leave the house!
Damn those things!!
Bill
1958
This memory was added on: July 9,2003
HEY DTC 1963, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR BIG WHEEL GETS A FLAT FRONT TIRE? CALL US GHETTO OR INGENIOUS,BUT WE WOULD HACK THE REAR WHEELS OFF STILL ATTACHED TO THE AXLE. NAIL THE AXLE TO A 2x4 THE LENGTH OF THE BIG WHEEL BODY'S WIDTH. STACK 4 OR 5 2x4'S THE SAME SIZE , NAIL THOSE TOGETHER TO THE REAR BIG WHEEL WHEELS .FIND A SET OF OLD WHEELS FROM GOD KNOWS WERE & USE OUR BEST CARPENTRY SKILLS TO CONSTRUCT A CHASSIS. WITH THE REAR HIGHER THAN THE FRONT,AND A ROPE WITH EACH END NAILED TO OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FRONT WHEELS SET ON A PIECE OF 2x4 WE WOULD GO RACING DOWN LOCAL HILLS RUSTY NAILS PROTRUDING FROM EVERY WERE ON OUR HOME MADE GO-CARTS .IT GOT TO THE POINT WERE NOT ONLY DID WE RACE THESE DEATH TRAPS WE WOULD SEE WHO COULD MAKE THE BEST LOOKING RIDE .SOME KIDS HAD SEATS SIDE PANELS AND OR PAINT JOBS.JUST A TYPICAL DAY GROWING UP IN THE HOOD
SWEET PRINCE OF THE GHETTO
1968
em_410@ hotmail.com
This memory was added on: July 7,2003
mine looked similar to that except it had a blue seat . Better than a bike better than a trike. BIG WHEELS. PS ruined my school jumper when i was 7 becuase it caught on the wheel and tore a huge hole in it. Mom was mad!
Leezie
1975
This memory was added on: July 3,2003
Best form of transportation since the invention of the wheel!!
John
1964
This memory was added on: July 3,2003
Wow- just today I saw a kid on a modern version of a big wheel. I always wanted one but I was a girl and girls didn't get things like this back then. I always wondered how some of the kids managed to flatten the plastic front tire...
DCT
1963
This memory was added on: June 28,2003
I had the General Lee big wheel from the Duke of Hazzard. Damn that was sweet!
Delbert
1975
This memory was added on: June 28,2003
i had one and we lived in one of those split level ranch houses so i just rode it back and forth up and down the hall. a friend of mine had a big wheel but stopped riding it after he rode it down the stairs and crashed into the front door. (he never did it again)
joe
1967
This memory was added on: June 23,2003
I never had a big wheel myself, but was riding a friends down a big hill, and ran over my hand while trying to work that stupid brake lever... Real pain that was...
Brian
1960
bviolett@maine.rr.com
This memory was added on: June 21,2003
The thing i remember most about THE BIG WHEEL , was the sound it made as you rode down the street ! In the 1 block radius , i called my territory , there was at least 8 BIG WHEELS , the sound was like thunder , as we rode in a "v" formation ! When i got my BIG WHEEL (christmas , 1970), my little brother got a LITTLE WHEEL , and w/his smaller front wheel , he could not gain the speed necessary to make the spin moves ! He was so jealous , then 2 yrs later after his LITTLE WHEEL broke ( the front wheel fell off !), he recieved for his birthday , a new , redesigned BIG WHEEL, with the spinout handbrake , and blue seat with the storage box behind it ! Now i was jealous , but by this time mine was showing its age , the once bright red body , had faded from the sun , to a dull pink (except for the area under the moveable seat !)The steering control was lost , when the weld on the metal front fork gave way , it never fell off , you could still ride it , but it was not the same ! I guess i moved on (or did i ?, hehe)
MAC
1964
BULLYMAC@HOTMAUL.COM
This memory was added on: June 20,2003
I absolutely LOVED my Big Wheel! In fact, I have a picture on my bulletin board today showing me in the living room Christmas morning of 1974, in my nightgown on the new Big Wheel Santa Claus had just brought.
I continued to ride it as I grew taller, moving the seat back until there weren't any more slots. At that point I completely took the seat off and just rode it "bareback" until I became heavy enough that it drug its belly on the ground. It was faded and completely broken before I gave it up!
Terri
1969
terrilthomas@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: June 18,2003
I remember riding mine up and down my driveway and all over the short dead-end street my gramma lived on. I used to sing the Batman theme song at the top of my lungs while doing it. Doing spin outs with the hand brake. This was also during the hey-day of the CB Radio craze, so my dad screwed a toy CB radio to the back of it behind the backrest. I rode that thing until it split at the base of the handlebars from my weight. Then I got a bicycle. Still, nothing ever matched the Big Wheel for pure riding fun.
Roy Stephens
1971
7thman@bellsouth.net
This memory was added on: June 11,2003
My Big Wheel was probably my most favorite toy I ever had. I rode it until it died. Literally. I was riding it one day and the front wheel fell off from under me. I grabbed both pieces that were left and ran home crying, begging my Mom to fix it. She said it couldn't be fixed and that I was just getting too big for Big Wheels. I was only 17! Ha ha, actually, I was about 7, and just devastated. So she got me a puppy and a bike. I felt much better.
Tracy Drane
1966
dranet66@yahoo.com
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