Skyway Recreation
Skyway is a company based in Redding, California best known for its BMX Bicycle products. The company was a leading name in BMX during the 1980s thanks to its composite mag-type wheels, which are still produced today.
Company Beginnings
The company began in 1963 with a small workshop in Van Nuys, California. After originally supplying specialist parts to Disney, the company concentrated in its early years on Motocross components. It also made parts for use in space vehicles. [1] As its business expanded, the company relocated to San Fernando in 1967.
BMX and the Tuff Wheel
In 1971 Skyway Recreation was formed. After an abandoned attempt to manufacture a composite wheel for motorcycle use, the company decided to redesign the wheel for use on the then new BMX bicycle. The result was the Skyway Tuff Wheel, which was introduced in 1974. This was the world's first composite bicycle wheel [2] made from glass reinforced nylon. The problem of heat build up in the metal hub, which delayed the initial project release, was much less of a problem for bicycle applications, making BMX the company's target market. The wheel initially was available only with a coaster (back pedal) brake hub, and only in one color, black. Then in 1977, the Schwinn bicycle company requested a yellow wheel from Skyway for Original Equipment fitting on their "scrambler" model. Skyway began supplying the yellow wheel and other colours, red and blue, followed soon after for general sale. After the success of the original Tuff Wheel, Skyway began redesigning it in 1978, with the primary goal being a reduction in weight. [3] The result was the 1979 Tuff Wheel 2 which was not only lighter, but also could carry 30% greater load. A new hub designed to combat heat build up known as the Kool hub, employed a star shaped flange which attached to the composite wheel at five points, effectively leaving the hub itself floating in the centre with a gap around it, which virtually eradicated heat build up in the composite material. A freewheel hub was then introduced by association with Suntour, and later a special racing version called the Skyway Graphite was introduced which was designed for the new Skyway BMX racing team. This wheel had a special hub made by Campagnolo and had a gold anodised finish. [4]
New Products and the Skyway TA
After a brief foray into bicycle front fork manufacture in 1976 with the Tuff fork, and the introduction of Tuff pedals in 1981, Skyway were now moving slowly into expanding their range of BMX products. 16" Tuff wheels and wheels for wheelchairs followed. Then in late 1982 the company began selling a complete frame and fork called the T.A. which stood for Totally Aerodynamic. This referred to the special teardrop shaped tubing used, which necessitated production of the frame by a Japanese company. Once the frame and fork were shipped back to the USA, Skyway then heat treated the freshly built frames. This new frame and fork was comparatively very light. With a Mongoose Supergoose frame and fork tipping the scales at over 7lbs, the Skyway offering weighed just 5lbs 9 1/2 oz. [5] The TA frame and fork would go on to become one of the icons of BMX in the 1980s. An XL derivative appeared in late 1984 which was an inch longer for the taller rider, and a 24" version with wheels to match for the "cruiser" riders. In 1985 the Tuff 2 wheel was revised with a new integral hub, where the alloy shell was unnecessary, instead having the centre of the composite wheel redesigned with fins to create airflow when in use. This version of the wheel was reintroduced in 2005, and it is possible to purchase special covers which give the modern wheel the illusion of being the alloy hub version, such is the prestige and value of the original 1979 design in today's enthusiast market.
Freestyle and Market decline
1986 saw Skyway concentrate on the growing Freestyle sub culture of BMX, which was becoming dominant. New products included Stunt Pegs, handlebars and a bolt on Stunt Platform for the TA frame. In addition, new colours were offered in the Tuff 2 wheel range, such as lavender, grey, pink, green, orange and light blue. White had already been available since 1984. This period also saw Skyway finally offer complete bicycles for sale, such as the Street Beat, Street Styler and Street Scene, plus a version of the new BMX invention, the Giro, which allowed a rider to spin the handlebars 360 degrees without the brake cables being in the way. This Skyway product was called the Spin Master. In 1988 two new bikes were offered, the 280TA and the 300TA which were designed for racing. By now, the BMX scene was in decline however, giving way especially to the new Mountain Bike Boom. When BMX made a comeback in the 1990s Skyway were not to feature prominently, especially as composite mag wheels were largely shunned in favor of spoked wheels by this new generation.
Return to prominence
2005 saw Skyway making the Tuff 2 wheel again and capitalized on the demand from restorers and enthusiasts of early 1980s machines. By now the company was also supplying wheels to other applications. Today, Skyway BMX products can be found again on the high street [6] and have also reintroduced the original TA frameset, made from surplus tubing left over from its original run in the 1980s.