Children's pedal car was a pipe dream of any child living in the USSR. Such units were a big deficit, and for many even an impermissible luxury. Time passed, the children grew up, but many of them still remember this wonderful transport. In modern stores, there is a huge selection of wheelchairs for every taste, color and wallet - from elementary tolokars to cool cars with a built-in electric motor, opening doors and other bells and whistles. Nevertheless, since the days of the USSR, the pedal car in its original form has been and is a unique thing, interesting not only for tomboy boys, but also for their parents.
Non-childish dream
The first models of pedal cars in the Land of Soviets began to appear in the distant thirties of the last century, but they were launched into mass production only in the sixties. There were several options for cars, each of which was made by different plants. As a rule, the lines for the production of these products were organized on the basis of large enterprises of republican significance, they were not the main activity of the factories, although they worked quite seriously on the design and construction of cars for kids.
Most of the cars were exported to friendly socialist countries, a smaller one was supplied as game equipment, to parks of culture and recreation, pioneer camps and kindergartens. And only a very small fraction of toys fell on store shelves. Despite the fact that one pedal car was very expensive by the standards of the Soviet worker - 25-35 rubles, for a long time such goods did not get stuck among sellers. The cars were of pretty good quality, almost "indestructible", and therefore several generations of children rode on them. Perhaps many of them would have reached our times, but in the hungry nineties, most of these toys went to scrap.
Specifications
In the Soviet Union, there were two versions of pedal cars. The first is the actual cars, prototypes of real cars of that time, their reduced copies or the collective image of several vehicles. They possessed impressive dimensions and weight - sometimes up to 20 kg. The control was carried out using the steering wheel and the reciprocating pedal type. Those who remember what it feels like to ride this type of transport know how imperfect it was.
The machine rolled well only on a flat and firm road, and you can call it an “SUV” only with a stretch of the imagination. Although there were daredevils who dragged their four-wheeled friend to various hills and heights and dashingly went downstairs with their legs bent under themselves. Not observing this precaution, it was great to bruise the limbs.
The car body was made of sheet metal, the internal filling was also Soviet-made solid and weighty, and therefore it was difficult for children to accelerate strongly on them and ride with the breeze. However, real pros squeezed amazing results out of their vehicles and legs. So, at the All-Union cycling competition in 1935, one of the participants became their champion due to the fact that the speed of the pedal car he controlled during the ride exceeded 16 km / h.
The second type of children's transport is cycle cars with a classic bicycle drive. They are equipped with a carriage assembly and chain, and therefore were more maneuverable and convenient.
Velomobiles of the USSR
This type of cars can not be called a car in the traditional sense of the word. Its technical design did not allow covering the driving mechanism with a heavy body. It was usually decorated with plastic panels. By design, velomobiles lost to ordinary pedal cars, but despite this, they were very loved by children due to the fact that they rode well on different roads and easily overcome elevations. One of the most conspicuous models of that time was the luxurious “Rocket”, the so-called “thin tractor”, and the more modern “Sport” product, which is still being produced in Belarus.
Children's cycle cars and pedal cars were equally inaccessible to children from simple working families. To ride the much-desired miracle of technology, you had to visit the park or find in the courtyard a more “lucky” friend to whom parents could buy personal vehicles.
Moskvich - the hero of the Soviet court
The most popular pedal car in the Union is Moskvich. Its production was established at the Lenin Komsomol plant around the sixties. The height of the release took place in the seventies, so in 1972 100 thousand copies of small Muscovites went off the assembly line, a year later even more - 130 thousand.
Such a children's pedal car was single, its length - only 110 cm, width - 51.5 cm, height - 49 cm, weight - 13 kg. Over the years of production, the design of this model has changed, and more than once, but its features were still recognizable. She was so popular among the inhabitants of the country that many noted her appearance in several films ("Ivan Vasilyevich Changes the Profession" and "We, Two Men").
That "Muscovites" is now easiest to see in toy museums and private collections of antique dealers. Almost every children's pedal car of this brand is now restored and looks a little like the old one. Craftsmen even manage to connect several cars, creating such masterpieces.
Other popular cars from the USSR
In addition to the "Moskvich" described above, several more types of pedal cars went on sale:
- "Ori" - a rather funny model, reminiscent of the "Lada";
- "Rainbow" - this machine, on the contrary, had a very modern design, as for that time, which was even noted at one of the exhibitions held within the walls of VDNH;
- children's pedal car "Neva" - a rare model, it was possible to ride on it only in the park or in the pioneer camp;
- the Orlyonok tractor is simply an amazing pedal car, one of the best developments for children of that time.
There were also quite rare cars that were produced in very limited quantities, and therefore they did not go on sale throughout the country. Among them, the very beautiful Ural, ZIM and Pobeda stand out.
Not for fun
Well, of course, you can not ignore another wonderful invention of Soviet engineers - a pedal horse. Although this is not a car, this vehicle was also driven by a pedal mechanism. Arranged "horses" were very cool. The young driver was seated in an elevated seat, with a gig behind him, and the horse in front. It is curious that the mechanical animal was not a sham pad, while pedaling the special levers “forced” the horse to move, and he rode quite briskly along the road, which led to the irrepressible delight of all the kids.
Unfortunately, not so many cars made in the USSR have survived to this day. Most of them were simply thrown out as unnecessary by short-sighted parents whose children had already grown up. But still, many families preserved these rarities, and it is thanks to them that modern children can not only see for themselves that their parents had cool toys, but also run them around on their own.