Customer Reviews

Radio Flyer: Ultimate Family Trike

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I bought this bike in March for my son's second birthday. Ever since putting it together, the handlebars seem "stripped". I was hesitant on tightening it too much so I had my husband and father look at it. This is before we even had my son riding it. 4 months later, he is finally taking an interest in it but the handle bars are still "stripped". I am not at all happy with the fact that this bike does not have any breaks. I understand why the pedals don't move, so he can put his feet on them and coast, but there should be a mechanism to snap where it would enable to connect so he can use them to go backwards/stop,etc. Last week, I ran into a neighbor in the park who was pushing her toddler on the very same bike when I noticed that her handle bars were also stripped! I was so infuriated that I went back to Toys R Us and complained. Unfotunately, I did not keep the receipt and it is past warranty (the bike has sat in the garage up until now) so there was nothing they could do. An intersting observation was that they no longer carried this product in the store and I mentioned it to the clerk and he said they had many returns and it was not, in fact, a good product. He suggested I call Radio Flyer, which I will later, and see what they can do. In the meantime, I bought another trike I found in the store. Note, there was another Radio Flyer regular tricycle on the stand, already assembled, and the steering wheel on that one had also been "stripped".

Too bad, I belived a little more in the Radio Flyer name. Hopefully customer service will give me some kind of restitution.

Frustrated in Illinois.....

I saw this in the store and it was exactly what I was looking for in a trike for my son. Brought it home, assembled it, and within a week the steering mecanism broke - basically my son wanted to steer one way and my wife wanted to go in a another, battle ensued and the wheel went in one direction and the handlebar went in another. Keep in mind a 2 1/2 year old stuggled and won against his mother. Tore it apart and found that a cheap plastic ring around on the frame connected it with the cables and the plastic ring got stripped in the tug-o-war. Only way to fix is to replace frame!! Manufacturer offered no assistance - a total loss for the purpose it was purchased for.

We bought this for our son when he was 18 months old! The Stroller option lasted all but 3 months and snapped! We are not even able to get any replacement or a way to fix it! To use as a trike it is not all that convenient either! The wheel has some kind of system that will let the pedals go freely and when my son tries to pedal backwards, nothing will happen. It is not easy to explain to a 2 and a half year old that if we wants to back up he needs to get off the bike and turn the bike around! I would not recommend it, it is expensive and does not hold what it seems to promise!

My child got this for his second b-day, at first I was a little nervous about using it on long walks because of all of the bad reviews it got. Well most of them turned out to be true as far as the cables snapping, but as it turns out all you need to do is call or email radio flyer and they send you an upgraded replacement part for free and I received it within a week. Since we replaced the part we have had no problems. The trike is easy to steer once you get the hang of it, it's kind of frustrating though when your 2 year old is moving the handle in the opposite way but at least I can stop him from running in to something or someone. It also has been great exercise for his little legs and now he can peddle without me pushing him. I would definitely recommend this trike/bike to any of my family or friends.

Our 16 month old son and dad were very excited to get the trike. With such wonderful weather I was excited, too. I found the trike somewhat difficult to steer as the steering was very "touchy" and I found myself overcompensating in my steering. Within a week one steering cable broke and it had to be returned to Toys R Us. They have not had it in stock since.

Shortly after purchase, the cable steering mechanism that allows an adult to control the tricycle's steering while a toddler becomes familiar with pedaling, broke. This left the steering in control of the child who did not yet know how to keep the tricycle from leaving a safe path or how to avoid possibly striking an obstacle or driving into traffic.

I had had to repair the cable steering mechanism twice before, disassembling a manufacturer assembled portion of the toy that contained the steel cables' terminal anchor points. The steel anchors were housed in a flimsy plastic housing that could not withstand any degree of oversteering or the tension that occurs when a child ties to steer in one direction while an adult tried to correct the child's steering with the pushbar. After using Superglue to try to cement the cable anchors permanently in their housings, the final breakage occured on when the cable itself failed (while a child was riding it and an adult was steering) and broke near it's rear terminal anchor point (NOT the point where previous repairs had been made), leaving frayed sharp threads of steel exposed.

This toy in unsafe and poorly designed. Though it looks great, you will discover your child is hugely disappointed when you have to explain that they can't use it anymore because it is broken.

Update 3/05: More bad news! Though the replacement cables sent by RF stayed intact until my now three year old was ready to steer on his own, the tires soon went flat for no perceivable reason.While attempting to refill the tires the valve on the front tire fell down inside and the entire wheel assembly had to be disassembled (including yet another manufacturer preassembled part) so that I could get to the valve. This thing really is a piece of junk. Only through constant maintenance (more than my car needs, really) have I been able to keep it patched together enough to be usable. It really is more trouble than it is worth. Please note that most of the positive reviews for this item have come from people who owned it for a VERY short time. If I could give this a negative durability rating, I would.

I bought this trike for my 15 month old daughter, and she loves it so much. She will go outside and just sit on it until I take her for a walk. I love the fact that the handle is detachable and I can put it in the trunk of the car for shopping days. She loves the fact that she can be big like her brothers and not be in the stroller. I don't love the fact that it breaks all the time. The first one I had for 1 week and it broke. I took it back to the store and they fixed it, but after another week it broke again. The handle is supposed to turn the front wheel, but something kept coming unhooked or something so it wouldn't work. I took it back again thinking I got a lemon and traded it for another. This one has lasted about a month, and now the metal part that turns the front wheel is completely broken off and I am returning it to the store. I hate to do it, because it is such a great idea. If you are buying this as just a trike it is great, but if you want something you can push buy something else.

I would not recommend this bike if your child cannot yet pedal and steer on his own. My two year old got this trike for his birthday in September. We are on his second bike going on his third since it has broken two times. I agree with most of the other reviewers that this is a great tricycle but a terrible "stroller" bike. The turning handle is what keeps breaking. Even when it was working, it was hard to steer. When I bring this bike back, I am asking for my money back and getting a different bike altogether. It's been great when it worked but it's a pain of a purchase. I would have expected something more durable from Radio Flyer.

I had been looking at the Kettler trikes online and was very impressed with their features and reviews, but thought it was alot of money, so did not purchase one. I was so excited when I saw this trike at TRU, I couldn't wait to get it home and assembled so my son could use it. It seemed like it had all of the features of the Kettler, but for half the price. What a deal - right? WRONG!

What a waste of money. We put it together, and took my son to the park. What a horrible experience. The freewheel of the pedals did not work, so the pedals kept hitting my son's feet. He ended up with black and blue marks on his feet. Then, half way to the park it started making this terrible squeaking sound. Very loud. Everyone would turn and look to see what was making that terrible sound. This trike is made very cheaply. Very poor engineering. Also, it is very small. My son is 20 months old and barely fit on this trike.

We immediately returned this to the store to get our money back, and ordered a Kettler. This may seem like a bargin compared to the Kettler trikes, but it is a waste of money. Save your money for a Kettler, which is a far, far superior product.

As another person stated, I also requested a new set of cables for the trike after the first set broke. They were great about it. But the new cable lasted only about 4 rides before it snapped, too. It took my husband over and hour to get the new cable in, and we were very careful to do it correctly. Very disappointing that they used such a cheap part for an otherwise well made, and expensive toy. Don't buy it: it's not worth the tears of your tyke when it breaks!