April 1, 200620 yr Not exactly bike trials, but...... Just come across a reference to the 'Wheel King" bike, from the mid 70's (I know - a long time back!). Anyway, I had a new one, must have been in about '76/77. It has a plastic 'fake petrol tank' (red), MX seat, number plates, suspension front and rear, Drum brakes etc etc. Looked all the world like a 'crosser, and boy for a 10 year old it was cool !! Anyone remember them, or even a photo ??? cheers John.
April 1, 200620 yr I had one too!! Exactly as you described, got a picture of it somewhere in the attic!
April 2, 200620 yr i remember them aiways wanted one but never got one just spent ages( looking at a picture of one in my mums catolouge (great mills)
April 2, 200620 yr Author t-shock 250 Class if you can get a photo ! Remember at the time that Grifter's had just come out, but that Wheel king showed em Heavy as owt - great for downhill, but nightmare to ride back up again.......... Wheel King and a Suzuki A100 field bike (with knobblies and an upswept exhaust!) - boy those were the days !!! cheers John.
April 2, 200620 yr Yep, I remember em ! I remember unwrapping it on Christmas day and thought I'd got a motorbike didn't notice there wasn't an engine They were really high geared and as you say bloody heavy,so we geared it down by making a smaller front sprocket and putting a massive free-wheel on the back, after that it was brilliant for 'tracking' and the seat was big enough for two so you could take you mates on the back !!!! Happy days Did Bill Wilk sell em? No designer gear back then boys and girls,just wellies,jeans and off you go! (photo pre gearing mod) Edited April 2, 200620 yr by 2fargone
April 2, 200620 yr Author Class!!! What a memory jogger......... Thats the one!! Like you day, wellies and snorkel parka and you were the business!! Glad someone has unearthed a photo....... now my wife will believe (but not understand) what I've been going on about!! happy days.... thanks mate! cheers John.
April 2, 200620 yr No problem,just got to put 30 years worth of photos away now! I think I've got lower trials bars on too,did they not have high bars originally?
April 2, 200620 yr Author Yeah, mine had high MX bars, and a front number plate (square). made the grifter's of the day look like a real girls bike !!!! I'm sure I got mine from an advert in (a very early) TMX !!!! cheers John.
April 2, 200620 yr Ahhh yes, it's all coming back now! They were high geared, i remember wheelying the entire length of our road pretty fast to keep in the "powerband" There was some issue with the front brake though, i managed to snap the spindle 3 or 4 times after riding though sand, no idea how that would contribute to the breakages but my Dad kept bollocking me after having to fix it time and again. Eventually i got the message and stayed away from the sand, hence no more snapped spindles. Yes they were bloody heavy too, about 4 times the weight of my first BMX a few years later (that was a revelation when i first got on that after wrestling with the beast!)
April 3, 200620 yr If it makes you feel any better I snapped my front spindle too, and I was no where near any sand,so I'm with you it was a design fault!!!!!!
December 13, 20187 yr Hi all, i had a wheelking push bike and yes I was the dogs at the time, very heavy and with a single fixed gear but fab for carting your mates on !!! im looking for the manufacturer of this wheel king push bike I have been told it was a Spanish company but that’s all I have at the moment. i would love to track on down and purchase one thanks all, Viv
August 10, 20233 yr Got a wheel king bicycle from goodwill yesterday. Can't find out anything about it. Can you help? Thank you 😊
December 27, 20232 yr On 4/3/2006 at 11:14 AM, 2fargone said: If it makes you feel any better I snapped my front spindle too, and I was no where near any sand,so I'm with you it was a design fault!!!!!! I got one for Christmas in 1977. We weighed mine and it topped the scales at 48 pounds. A basic Raleigh Burner with steel wheels weighed 32 pounds and my Ammaco Team Sprint weighed 27.5 pounds. Part of the issue with the front axle was that it was only 5/16" diameter. The rear axle was 3/8" like most 80s BMX bikes were. I broke dozens of front axles and eventually did a rear one. The last front axle I recall doing was just taking off on a jump. It broke on the ramp and I was straight over the bars. No gloves or helmets in those days! We even had a front axle made from T45 aerospace steel by BAE Systems at Brough and it didn't last as long as the ones from the bicycle shop. The main issue with axles was that one of the wheel bearings was mid axle span instead of up against the the fork leg or swinging arm mounting - something to do with accommodating the drum brake paraphernalia. The brakes were awesome for the weight of the bike and I could get the back wheel up on the brakes. First bike I got my knee down on - skateboard pads on the knees. Edited December 27, 20232 yr by JasonMHall
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