As you’ve no doubt guessed, today’s Ask has sprung from the current Cozy Coupe kerfuffle. David’s own little tike has one of the Little Tikes cars – in the traditional mustard and ketchup scheme, thank you – but I do wonder if Delmar (not his real name) will remember it, being a toddler at all. I’m quite certain he’ll remember the ride-ons that follow (certainly this one), however, as the tools of kid-mobility are core memories for most of us, I believe.
Great swathes of us had some form of Marx Big Wheel, I’m sure, or one of the many knock-offs of the original blow-molded trike. Older readers may have been first-owners of metal pedal cars, and many 70s’ kids logged plenty of wheel time in hand-me-down genuine sheet-metal machines.
I bet far, far fewer of you inherited your ride from Russia. Antti Kautonen:
My dad brought this as a souvenir from post-Soviet Russia, probably in 1993 based on the plates. It’s a relatively popular pedal car, often seen in worse nick than ours. You can hook up a battery to power the headlights, but I can’t remember if we ever did. The original steering wheel broke off at some point and got replaced with a random red one. I’d like to fix it up for my kid, but OEM steering wheels for these are hard to get. Maybe it needs a wooden Nardi wheel in kid size.
I love that! The ride-ons of my youth included exactly one pressed-steel pedal vehicle, but it was a tractor, not a car. And it was not as fun as the plastic machines in the stable I shared with my sister. We each had our own Big Wheels, but we split seat time in one of the craziest kid-powered contraptions of the 1970s: the Marx Wild Rider.
This six-wheeler was hand-cranked, and was a reasonable facsimile for both the moon buggies of Space:1999 and the daily driver of The Banana Splits. Each crank drove the middle wheel via a chain, and by varying the speed of each crank, the Wild Rider would turn as tight or wide as you like, or even pirouette. What a machine.
A much later arrival on the scene was the Green Machine, which later became a Huffy product. It was the bigger, badder, but ultimately (to me) less satisfying follow-up to the Big Wheel. It was very cool with its rear-steer setup, but not very comfortable to ride, nor as efficient as the Big Wheel at putting power into the pedals. So, not a favorite.
Definitely favorites: the Sears go-kart and mini bike that came later when I was nine or so. I had a single-seater kart, and later the yellow bike above. It was absolutely miserable to ride off-road with that rigid frame and fork, but it was a blast to hot-foot around the oval I wore into the backyard.
What Were Your Favorite Ride-On Toys As A Kid?
Top graphic images: Marx
The Cheetah! Trike layout, rubber front tire on a chopper fork. Some sort of cord-pull pedal power? Way cooler than a big wheel. I would get it going down hill at a good clip and then crank the handles over and see how many circles of spin-out I could pull off. There are 8mm films of this full of proof!
I had the traditional big wheel, and my other favorite was an old school steel “Fire Chief” pedal car.
My brother and I also got power wheel atv’s (3 wheelers!) on Xmas, but we destroyed them pretty quickly (stripped out the gearboxes) then just used gravity or pushed each other.
Fun fact: I knew a guy with a shop that made the prototypes for Razor scooters. I never liked them as much as the classic kind with pneumatic tires, but it was neat riding around a handmade aluminum folding scooter before they became the universal product they are today. Looking back, I suppose he probably wasn’t supposed to show them to us.
Santa brought me a blue peddle-powered articulating dump truck for Christmas back in ’95 when I was 3. I still remember walking down the stairs and seeing it sitting in the living room. I spent so many countless hours moving rocks and dirt all over the yard, transporting sticks to the fire pit, picking up leaves, etc.
I had a cozy coupe, but my favorite was a Power Wheels that looked like the 80s and 90s Bigfoot monster trucks
The classic hollow wheeled yellow/red big wheel with hand brake. The drifting goodness was awesome at 5-6 years old. I didn’t have any other ride on toys other than bicycles. I remember wanting a powerwheels …but that was never in the budget. I do have dreams of getting one for my granddaughter and souping it up when she masters it. She is only 2 so I got some time to scope out the market.
Had a pretty badass metal bodied rear drive pedal car. It was still drivable for my kid sister, and we made the (questionable?) choice to give it a fresh coat of rattle can pink paint. I’m pretty sure she ran the rubber down to the rims.
It had a good run.
I remember having a Green Machine. And a battery powered Corvette. That one was a garage sale special, and not much use on the grass and gravel of the farm! Had a basic gas Go-Kart. My sister and Dad still argue over who was actually steering when it went over the retaining wall and into the drainage ditch! Mom put her foot down after that, and it went away.
As it goes with all generations, the next one gets spoiled! Dad kept a pair of golf carts around for my and my sister’s kids. He drove them around for a while, then let them steer, then when they could reach the pedals, they were turned loose. So many bent wheels, cracked frames and busted fiberglass bodies! But he always got them running again.
I’m continuing the tradition. My grandson got a Mustang walker as his first wheels. He has a Power Wheels Mustang now, painted to match my real one. It’s getting upgrades this winter before he outgrows it. Working on a gas powered, wheelbarrow body “T-bucket” for him now.
I had a Green Machine after my Big Wheel. Then a series of bikes. Nothing fancy since we didn’t have that kind of money. Then it was in to motorized stuff starting with my dad’s old Honda SL 100 when my feet could touch the ground.
Honda CT70, Italjet M5B, and a 8hp rear-engine riding mower that I stripped the body off of, dad lengthened the frame, and we did some pulley swapping for higher speed.
I’d always wanted a Power Wheels Bigfoot as a kid but never had one, so strike that one up as jealousy. That said, the one I’d actually had – and still have! – was the ’71 Schwinn Stingray I now call the “Moldy Banana”.
Another is a big kart my grandfather built out of parts from a garden tractor. It retained the transmission so you could make it go slowly for young kids or faster for grown-ups, since the shift lever was out of reach. It also had a “front wing” that was actually a sprung bumper covered in rubber. The steering wheel was even a VW piece out of a Bug, and the rear wing was one my dad had on his before the family sold it.
No question at all-the Big Wheel. My Dad was notoriously cheap, but he never complained when me and my siblings totally wore them out. Likely it had something to do with the fact that we were playing outside, getting exercise, and most importantly, allowing him to watch TV without interruptions. The 80’s were certainly a time with almost neglectful parenting.
Where’s your son…who knows? He’ll be back by dinner time.
I loved my big wheel but probably my favorite was always my bike, especially when I was about 4 or 5 and had the police motorcycle handlebar light and sound block
The Racer and the red pickup bike. Great memories!
My own kids got two wheeled Pukys early, so they have much better balance 😀
I had a recycled Tricycle my mother repainted rust red when I was like two. I remember “helping” her repaint it. Otherwise it was just actual bikes at home; they were already a stretch on the family budget. I did get to play with Cozy Coupes and Big Wheels, but never owned one myself.
My own kids got a hand-me-down Coupe when they were tiny, as they outgrew it; the roof came off and we repainted it blue with orange flames. It eventually went the way of all things.
I have a picture of my boy lying under it, on a piece of carboard after they shoved it up onto my rhino ramps.
I think it was called the Big Wheel.It had a handbrake to do 360s.
Don’t forget the hollow wheels that still worked with a hole in them
For Antti; I could model and 3D print a steering wheel for you, would that work? Do you have a picture of the original steering wheel, how it was supposed to look like?
Back in the 80’s I had a one called the Stomper that was pretty much a big wheel with a halloween costume over of a monster truck over it. There were castered wheels hanging off the sides that didn’t do anything but make it look more real. I don’t have any memories of riding in it, though I have a photo of me in it. I just know that the pedal powered wheel assembly broke and it was hanging in up my grandpa’s detached garage until my family sold his house around 2010 and every time I’d go in there I’d see it almost mocking me for the memories I never made.
While that had the potential of being by favorite, the big wheel that I had holds that honor. I used to do laps in our basement and actually wore a groove in the floor thinking I was racing a nascar, trying to get my laps down as quickly as possible. I rode that until the seat was as far back as it could go and the plastic wheel was worn down and full of holes and flat spots.
I always wanted a Power Wheel or even a Cosy Coupe but I think had a fairly enjoyable childhood with those toys.
I had a big wheel with a rear hand brake called the Sidewinder. Loved that thing. I remember wearing the tires off of a few of them. Later my grandfather bought me a briggs and straton powered go cart to ride around his big 2.5 acre back yard, like a lot of other people here. What kid wouldn’t love one of those.
1987 Yo! Scooter
I had a CHiPs plastic tricycle that was definitely a piece of crap, but the neighbor kid had a matching one so at least we could properly perform live recreations of the latest episodes. I don’t remember who was Ponch and who was John.
It was a tie between my Green Machine and my Cheetah:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1970s-cheetah-tricycle-riding-291062391
Very, very 1970s
As an adult however I think it would be a radio controlled ride on top so I could convince the kid their car was sentient and angry with them.
I grew up with Airedales. My dad loved them so much he decided he might try breeding a pair so he bought “Poco” and “Judy” Judy was a largish dog but Poco was the size of a small horse. My favorite ride on? Poco of course.
Later in my preteen years my best friend and I shared his Honda mini trail. Awesome mini motorcycle
Airedales were the model for the standard preschool ride-on toy in mid-twentieth century UK, to the extent that my mum called Airedales “push-along dogs”.
https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/82/A-Tri-ang-mohair-push-along-dog-on-a-steel-frame-and-tyres-together-with-a-Merrythought-mohair-dog_1629490837_179.jpg
Thanks. I didn’t know that – very cool. Airedales are an amazing breed (shhhh.. don’t tell our beagle I said that).
The green machine was harder to get up to speed than a big wheel thanks to less weight on the front wheel but the drifting was to die for. Those solid wheels and rear steering were so much fun. I had a big wheel but my friend across the street had a green machine. I could not wait to swap rides.
Lazy old comment repost:
One of my first high-speed driving experiences was in my cousin’s old yellow AA (UK Automobile Association) pedal Jeep. It was FWD through crank pedals. Steering was also rudimentary: the steering shaft bent 90 degrees for the last inch or so: the bent shaft engaged with a hole in a crossbar that joined bell cranks attached to the left and right front wheels. No brakes.
As young teenagers, my cousin, my elder brother and I invented a rally challenge: you sat in the Jeep with your legs outside on the fenders, and sent yourself careering down between the trees in the steep woods across the road from my cousin’s house. At the bottom of the woods, there was an almost vertical drop of six or seven feet to a private road to the local golf links. In lieu of brakes, the challenge was to execute a spectacular sideways drift to stop the Jeep, preferably with the minimum possible distance remaining to the cutaway for the road. Points were awarded for speed and style.
Of course, on one of my bigger, heavier, and blessed-with-iffy-luck brother’s runs, the rusty split pin in the steering shaft failed, it popped out of its hole, and he went straight over the edge, down the steep earth cutaway and onto the road. His luck held to the extent that no cars were approaching, and he got away with a good banging about.