Skyway Tuff Wheels Time-line History
This page is meant to document the evolution of the Skyway Tuff Wheel through their BMX hey days in the 1970's and 1980's. In an attempt to be as clear as possible about the dates of release and discontinutation, citations are included in subscript. If more reliable information is uncovered, please let me know and I will update this table. At times, guesses with varying degrees of certainty were made in which case, a "?" is used.
Also, keep in mind that the changes in hubs do not necessarily coincide with the changes in the outers. For example, I know that the front wheels went to the plastic hub before the rears. Or, as the 1979 catalog shows, the Tuff II's were stamped before the Tuff I's. So, there are rough edges to many of these transitions.
| Zytel Outer | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuff Wheel I (Pat. Pend.) | X | X | X | 1976 Ad, 1977 Ad, Pat 1, Pat 2, Pat 3, Pat 4 | ||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel I (unstamped) | ? | ? | ? | ? | Unstamped Tuff I appears in 1979 catalog with stamped Tuff II | |||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel I (stamped) | ? | ? | X | ? | Stamped Tuff I appears in 1982 catalog with stamped Tuff II | |||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II (rivet, no stamp, short brake area) | X | Very short run. Not even visible in 1979 catalog. No Stamp | ||||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II (rivet, brake area stamp) | X | X | X | X | Visible in 1979 and 1982 catalogs | |||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II (rivet, spoke area stamp) | ? | X | X | X | X | ? | ? | Starting 1985, used only for coaster brake. | ||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II Mongoose Stamped (rivet, brake area stamp) | ? | Available in Blk, Blu, Red, Yel. Aluminum star flange - front, rear f/w, rear coaster Advert , Mongoose tuffs | ||||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II "Andy Patterson" Stamped (rivet, spoke area stamp) | ? | Available in Blk. Aluminum star flange - front, rear f/w. AP Tuff , AP Sig | ||||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II "Made in U.K." Stamped (bolted, spoke area stamp) | ? | ? | ? | These wheels were molded in the UK but because the rivet machine was too expensive to ship, hubs were bolted in. UK TUff , UK Advertisement from the October, 986 issue of Freestyle BMX (UK) | ||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel 16 | X | X | X | X | X | ? | ? | ? | ? | Available in Blk, Blu, Red, Yel. 1982 catalog | ||||||
| Tuff Wheel 24 | X | X | X | X | X | ? | First advertised in Jan, 1984 BMXA. Seen in 1988 catalog. Available in Blk, Blu, Red, Wht, Yel | |||||||||
| Hubs | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | Notes |
| Steel Flange, Square (front, rear coaster, cassette f/w) | X | X | ? | |||||||||||||
| Steel Flange, Star (front, freewheel, cassette f/w) | ? | ? | ||||||||||||||
| Steel Flange, Star (rear coaster) | ? | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
| Aluminum Flange, Star (front, rear f/w) | X | X | X | |||||||||||||
| Plastic Hub (front, rear f/w) | X | X | X | X | X | 1985 Ad | ||||||||||
| Colors | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | Notes |
| Black | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Blue | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 1978 Ad | |||
| Red | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 1978 Ad | |||
| White | X | ? | X | X | X | X | X | X | 1978 Ad | |||||||
| Yellow | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 1978 Ad | Orange | X | X | X | X | X | 1985 Ad |
| Lavender | X | X | X | X | X | 1985 Ad | ||||||||||
| Green | X | X | X | X | X | 1985 Ad | ||||||||||
| Baby Blue | X | X | X | X | 1986 Ad | |||||||||||
| Gray | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||
| Pink | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||
| Graphites | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | Available in Blk. |
| Tuff Wheel II Graphite (stamped in braking area) | ? | Although some gold hubs were installed in other colored wheels and given to sponsored riders, these were not offered for sale and did not include graphite material. | ||||||||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II Graphite (stamped in spoke area) | X | X | X | X | X | X | ? | |||||||||
| Tuff Wheel II 24 Graphite (stamped in spoke area) | ? | X | X | X | ? | ? | Have seen square flange but suspect they were a special run. | |||||||||
| Square flange Campagnolo (front, rear f/w, rear flip-flop) | ? | Referred to as "First Gen" | ||||||||||||||
| Star flange Campagnolo (front, rear f/w) | X | Referred to as "Second Gen" | ||||||||||||||
| Star flange Sealed (front, rear f/w) | X | X | X | X | X | ? | ? | Referred to as "Third Gen" | ||||||||
| Other | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | Notes |
| Tuff Pedals | X | X | ? | ? | ? | |||||||||||
| Tuff Pads | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
| Tuff Pads Pro Model | X | X | X | X | ? | |||||||||||
| Freestyle Tuff Pads | X | X | X | X | X |
Citations:
| # | Quote | Source | Scan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Now, after one and one half years of color tests, SKYWAY offers you TUFF WHEEL in Red, White, Blue and Yellow, with the same quality as the original black." | Skyway advertisement in Nov, 1978 issue of BMX Plus! - Tuff I wheels displayed. | Article |
| 2 | "In 1975, TUFF WHEEL I was born." | Skyway promotional brochure - from approximately 1981 | Page 1 , Page 2 |
| 3 | "In the spring of 1979 came the introduction of Tuff Wheel II" | Skyway promotional brochure - from approximately 1981 | Page 1, Page 2 |
| 4 | "In 1981, Skyway introduced four new products. TUFF WHEEL '16,' a 16 inch "mini" version of Tuff Wheel I, was introduced at winter trade shows. TUFF PEDALS(tm), extremely light graphite reinforced rebuildable pedals, made their debut in the summer. Also added were TUFF PAD(tm) Pro Model, an upgraded version of the original Tuff Pad, and "BMX Racing Fever," an instructional book and cassette on all aspects of BMX." | Skyway promotional brochure - from approximately 1981 | Page 1, Page 2 |
| 5 | "Early 1982 will see the second generation of Tuff Wheel II. The new product will be lighter than the existing model and will offer hubs with replaceable bearing cups." | Skyway promotional brochure - from approximately 1981 | Page 1, Page 2 |
Image Gallery
| Description | Images |
|---|---|
| 1976 Skyway advertisement for the Patent Pending version of the Tuff I. |  |
| Early Skyway advertisement for the Patent Pending version of the Tuff I. This advertisement appeared in the August, 1977 issue of BMX Action. |  |
| Skyway advertisement for the Tuff I showing the new colors. This advertisement appeared in the June, 1978 issue of BMX Action. |  |
| This is a one page handout that was given out at the trade show of the time showing the new colors of the Tuff I. |  |
| This is a one page handout that was given out at the trade show of the time showing the Tuff 16. |  |
1979 Skyway catalog. This catalog shows the new Tuff II wheels alongside the Tuff I's. Note that the Tuff I's are not yet stamped while the new Tuff II's are. Several release dates are esatblished in the text. |
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| 1981 Skyway catalog. Shows stamped Tuff I's, alloy hub Tuff II's, star pattern cassette freewheel. | |
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| Flyer for the Mongoose Tuffs. Esablishes the available colors. |  |
| Skyway advertisement showing the return of white Tuffs and announcing the new 24" wheels. From the January, 1984 issue of BMX Action. |  |
| Advertisement showing the new Orange and Lavender wheels. Probably 1985. |  |
| Advertisement showing the new Orange and Green wheels. From the July, 1985 Issue of Freestylin'. |  |
| Advertisement showing all wheel colors and mentions wheels now made in the UK. From the October, 1986 Issue of Freestyle BMX (UK). |  |
| Story about how Skyway makes their wheels. From the November, 1986 Issue of BMX Plus! |  |
| 1986 Skyway freestyle team advertisement. Shows the new baby blue wheels. |  |
| Skyway Flange chart, showing all versions as well as the modern versions |  |