The Tyco Wheelie Cycle is a motorcycle like radio controlled toy, released by Mattel under their Tyco brand across the US ,UK, Australia, and many other countries worldwide in 2002.
With the once independent Tyco Industries purchased by Mattel and operating out of Mattel HQ, and the designer of all original Tyco RC in Taiyo Toys Japan also being purchased by a competitor (Sega Toys), the Golden Age of Tyco had come to an end by the early 2000s.
Now focused on real toy toys, Tyco would produce a range of interesting new designs while still maintaining their collaboration with Taiyo who was now focusing on smaller "Canned Cars" (amongst other toys) which would prove to be a hit with collectors.
Features and Performance
This 2002 Tyco / Mattel design was aimed at younger children (3+) while still being an interesting play for older kids. A two channel motorbike with a forward-wheelie mode, and a reverse-turn mode, it looks fun to play around with.
It came in Black and Red, both 27Mhz so there's no racing side-by-side.
The controller is atypical, stylized like a regular car's keyfob remote, with a single button. Since I've never driven one of these, I can't work out whether that causes it to launch, wheelie, or reverse-turn! Have you tried one? Let us know in the comments below!
and appears to have just 1 button.
Collectability and Availability
Very much in the 'toy' category of Tyco RC, and well after the Golden Age of their best Taiyo-based toys, this Wheelie Cycle isn't in high demand, and is very easy to find boxed in as-new or new condition at the time of writing. While it may seem like this means it's not valuable, consider that almost all Tyco RC, including the Tyco Bandit were selling for approx. $50 USD about 10 years ago, where now it's closer to $400 USD.
If this was a childhood toy of yours, and/or if you know how the controller works, I've love to hear from you, please leave a comment below!
