Big Wheel (tricycle)

Big Wheel (tricycle)

A Big Wheel is a type of tricycle, usually made of plastic, with an oversized front wheel, that rides very low to the ground. Introduced by Louis Marx and Company in 1969, 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.

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.

By the late 1990s, few manufacturers were making these toys, and Empire, too, 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.