That kind of versatility has certainly given the iconic, fire hy‐ drant red Radio Flyer some serious staying power. The company has been around a full century, with roots stretch‐ ing back to the early 1900s when the future founder of the company, Antonio Pasin, arrived in America. Antonio was born in 1898 to a family of cabinetmakers that lived in a small town outside of Venice. Like many at the time, he dreamed of greater opportunities.
The first and only battery powered ride-on for kids with Lithium Ion Technology. The Flightspeed™ Lithium Ion Batteries are engineered to provide the best performance available with a lower impact on the environment. It can easily switch between a top speed of 6 mph (9.7 km/h) and a parent limited speed of 3 mph (4.8 km/h) with the flip of a switch located in the trunk. The Radio Flyer Tricycle features the same bright red color and graphics as the little red wagon.
Robert’s biggest challenge has been reinventing the company, which he’s done by focusing exclus‐ ively on children’s toys, expanding product development and moving manufacturing abroad. Located on Chicago’s Far West Side, Radio Flyer is the world’s leading wagon maker, manufacturing high-quality products for children since 1917. The makers of the original little red wagon, Radio Flyer is the only company to produce plastic, steel and wood wagons.
The frozen ride on toy was the unlikely brainchild of Antonio Pasin, the son of a cabinetmaker, who was born in Venice, Italy in 1898. In 1913, when Pasin was just 16 years old, the family sold off their cabinetmaking tools and bought passage on a ship bound for the United States. When business was slow, Pasin built pianos, dug ditches, and washed celery to earn extra money. Radio Chief – This classic red wagon had extended sides or rails of blue and white, similar to the wooden Highway Chief of the 1940s. It allowed kids to carry lots of stuff but with a fun 1950s style. They play a unique role at hospitals across country by providing patients unable to walk a way to move throughout the hospital and helping hospital staff deliver toys and other items to patient rooms.
The $1800 M880 is a mid-tail cargo bike, capable of hauling 300 pounds. It has five-level pedal assist, an LCD display with an odometer, a 500-watt rear hub radio flyer wagon motor, both a brake and an LED headlight, and a 48-volt, 720-watt-hour battery. It can reach 20 miles per hour, and cruise 30 to 50 miles on a charge .
It’s just as long and only a foot narrower in width, with a slide to boot. Still, it’s the Chicago wagon that holds the place of honor in the Guinness book of World Records. Pasin explained that the constellation of Radio Flyer products is meant to provide something for every family, radio flyer wagon each step of the way. Pasin’s grandfather, Antonio, first set eyes on the Statue of Liberty in April of 1914. Apparently, the statue left a deep enough impression on Antonio that, when it came time to name his first toy wagon line, he chose to call it the Liberty Coaster.
Did Radio Flyer ever market a wagon (circa 1930’s) with pictures and text “The Iron Duke”? My family has had this wagon since new and when looking at antique wagons, it most resembles one that is a Radio Flyer, but I can’t tell its make. People tend to forget that both of Chicago’s World’s Fairs—the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the Century of Progress in 1933—took place during major economic depressions. So while every participating company did its best to showcase a brave face, joining in the city’s spending splurge wasn’t always viewed as the wisest investment. By 1933, Pasin had set up his newly rechristened business, the Radio Steel & MFG Company, at a large manufacturing facility on Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money. Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals. “It’s just been this incredible partnership,” says Pasin, who’s led the company since 1997 and is the grandson of Antonio Pasin, who founded Radio Flyer in 1917.