Radio Flyer Classic Red Dual Deck Tricycle Decide Now

If possible, I would RATE THIS ITEM 3.25 STARS


The Radio Flyer Classic Red Dual Deck Tricycle was not double boxed when shipped. Instead, the factory box arrived heavily worn (see photo) with both ends showed signs of having been compressed by a heavy object(s).

1) When I picked up the box, I was a disappointed to hear parts in the box moving about. Once opened, I was surprised to see that Radio Flyer chose not to use an engineered packing solution that would kept the heavy parts in the box secure and in place during transit. Because of that, some of the parts for the Radio Flyer tricycle arrived damaged, and from what I could tell were caused by the unsecured parts in the box. This sort of packaging is unacceptable for items bulk shipped from China and a quality control process that Radio Flyer was unwisely to ignore.

2) The fender for the front tire fork assembly was twisted and bent out of alignment with respects to the tire and fork (see photo). This happened because the heavy double step assembly was free to move about and damaged the fork assembly. I was able to straighten out some of the damage to the fender, but not all. I was concerned that if I over flexed the steel fender that I risked breaking off the fender mounting point. This sort of damage, a result of skimpy packaging, negatively impacts the end users experience.

3) The front lip on the steel fender for the front tire appears as though the part was not properly prepped and or cleaned in manufacturing, prior to chrome plating. Because of that, portions of the front fender arrived with sections of chrome plating already flaked off (see photo) with the surrounding areas showing signs of blistering. Such cosmetic blemishes are an indication of very poor manufacturing processes.

4) Although I suspect the minor damage was caused by rubbing with another part in the box, a portion of the paint on the peddle crank arm (see photo) had already rubbed off. This sort of damage was completely avoidable and from the nature of the product, size and shape of the parts, should have been anticipated to happen.

5) The main steel tube for the tricycle was placed in the box under the tricycle double step assembly and the front tire fork assembly. During transit, one of these two items hit with some force, the steel tubing for the frame, and produced a 5/16 inch long gouge (see photo) in the tricycle frame. Again, minor, but avoidable.

6) The bell that comes with the Radio Flyer tricycle is a large full size bicycle bell (see photo) and not at all what I was expecting for a child's tricycle. With this full size bicycle bell, it takes 5 pounds (measured) of force to move and rotate the bell thumb level. Five pounds is allot of force for a small child's thumb. Also, since the bell is full size, the distance from the handle bar to the bell thumb lever is a bit large for a small child's hand to reach.

On the positive side, it's possible to assemble the Radio Flyer tricycle and keep all of the factory bubble wrapping in place to preserve that new gift look and feel.

In conclusion, given all of the small shipping related defects and damage issues with this product, all of which were avoidable, I feel Radio Flyer needs to reexamine their current packaging and make the time and effort to design an engineered packing solution. The chrome plating on the front tire fender is below average in workmanship and does not help with first appearance. I wonder if the tricycle I was shipped is the sort of tricycle the President of Radio Flyer would like to proudly gift to a child?

Minus 0.50 for insufficient product packaging
Minus 0.25 for damaged front tire fork assemble
Minus 0.25 for low quality chrome plating
Minus 0.25 for rubbed off paint from peddle crank arm
Minus 0.25 for rouge damage to the steel frame tube
Minus 0.25 for bell being too large for a small child
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