Customer Reviews

Big Wheels 16 inch The Original

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I purchased this item for my 2 year old's birthday. Unfortunately he is not quite big enough to reach the pedals, but his older brother (almost 4) loves it. He is zipping around the driveway and we even put out pieces of plywood for 'jumps'. He has used it all summer with zero problems.

I read the complaints about the durability and was concerned about purchasing the big wheel, but there is not alternative product out there in the same price range. I decided to go for it and I'm glad I did. Make no mistake - assembly is a pain. Everything went smooth except getting the pedals on. I ended up taking it into my shop and bracing it on my work bench while I tapped the pedal into position with a hammer. I was worried about breaking the plastic with the hammer, but using extra caution I was able to get the pedal COMPLETELY into place. I suspect that anyone who had problems with the pedals falling off only got the pedal on partway. It took 10-15 minutes to get these pedals on and I couldn't pull them off if I tried.

If you're looking at the big wheel for your little one, I say go for it. Instructions should say 'patience required', but take a deep breath, do it right the first time, and then sit back and enjoy watching your kids have a blast zipping up and down the driveway.

I also was a owner of the original big wheel and bought two of these for my grandchildren. They are of poor quality--nothing like the original and they do not hold up for little rough boys. I had two sons and they did everything possible to the original and it just kept rolling---NOT so with this one

The is a classic toy. I remember mine as a kid, and recently bought one for my two year old daughter. While assembling it Christmas Eve, I was extremely disappointed with the quality of the parts that are included to put the bike together. Two flimsy "cap nuts" are supposed to be hammered onto the end of the rear axle to hold the tires on. These simply keep falling off, along with the wheels. Real fun. Also, the pedals are supposed to be hammered on and held in place with "lock washers". One of the washers snapped and so the pedal fall offs too. The manufacturer could easily throw a couple extra of these fragile parts in the box--especially when the design is so poor.

I ended up going to Lowes last night to get parts to fix my son's Big Wheel pedal problem. The parts that came with it were awful and the pedals would not stay on. I ended up getting Hillman 3/8" Axle/Push Nuts. I had to remove the white plastic cap that it was encased in to fit it in the pedal slots. Also my dad had to grind down the edges to get an exact fit. I know that sounds like a lot of trouble to go through, but it was worth it to have his big wheel in working order.

My son got this for his 3rd birthday. He received it as a gift already assembled. The pedal fell off within 15 minutes. We tried using a hammer to pound it back on, but no matter what we did it wouldn't stay on. Called customer service and left a message on their machine. Just when we were thinking they were never going to return our call, a package arrived with 2 new pedals. We haven't even put the new pedals on yet, because at 39" tall, my son still can't reach the pedals enough to really ride it. Instead of saying age 3 and up, I wish they would list a recommended height in the info section.

We bought a similar big wheel (same manufacturer) for my 3 year old and he had an issue with the pedal length. We solved by just sliding the seat forward and drilling our own hole and have had no problems since.



Our biggest complaint is the durability of the front wheel. The pedal axle has a rectangular block that engages the "big wheel" and that keeps popping out. This is very frustrating because I recall wearing holes in the plastic tires as a kid.



We have had about 3 months of fairly good use which is not really what I expected. I would not suggest a this toy. We, as consumers, need to be less concerned with how inexpensive something is and more concerned with quality.



The quality of this toy does not make the grade.

I purchase a Big Wheels for my grandson, it arrived needing assembly, the instructions were easy to follow, the product is of the same fine quality as the one purchased for my sons, 25 years ago, I did have to order 2 parts that did not seem to want to be assembled, the replacement parts came very quickly by mail and a phone call from the company alerting us the part was on the way, over all very satisfied,

EDIT To Original Review: FYI I bought this Big Wheel elsewhere for a fraction of what some of these sellers are trying to scalp it for.


I bought this for my son last Christmas and he has had a blast with it! I remembered the big wheel from when I was a kid. My little brother had one that he would ride constantly. I was too big by then to have one myself...rats! Anyway, I guess that is why I bought one for my son. It was simple to put together. You just have to make sure you put the end caps on properly. That part was kind of tricky, but I learned that if you hold the cap with a pair of pliers and give it a good whack with a hammer, it pops right on--no problem. I was just thinking about that because I read a couple of poor reviews about this toy. The other review said they got an Orange County Chopper instead of an original Big Wheel. I don't think you can really apply a review to an item you never even received.

The hub of one of the rear wheels was defective and will not last very long. The peddles are very difficult to put on their shafts and then don't turn freely. This makes the Big Wheel very difficult to ride. The mfr is lacking in quality control.

We bought this for our daughter and she loves it. I wasn't sure how she would react to it, but she was really pretty excited. It was easy to put together and has held up well over the past few months. These big wheels have always been kind of loud going over the sidewalk cracks. But, I figure that's a good thing as it helps warn people that there's a big wheel on the way!