| Come on in and kick your shoes off
and I'll tell ya about it.
IN THE BEGINNING SugaRae’s Attic began in 2003 as
an Ebay store. We reopened SugaRae’s Attic Inc. as a
web business in April of 2004. Although SugaRae’s
Attic is the parent company of the StealthWheel, the
story of the wheel dates back to 2001. I originally
made my first two wheels in the fall of 2001. It was
a very simple design, but I was so proud of them. I
made use of some gutter guard with some trim glued
to the outside, two bucket lids that I found laying
around the house and some caulk to form the barrel.
I inserted a bolt through the middle of the bucket
lids and drilled a hole in a PVC stand. No matter
what anyone said they were beautiful in my eyes. And
much to my surprise it worked and my pets loved
them. But with the constant running, I soon realized
there was a problem with my little homemade wheel.
The bolt going through the stand was wearing the
hole bigger which allowed the barrel to sag and rub,
and rub, and rub, aaaaalll night long. For awhile I
was happy to just replace the PVC about once a
month. Replacing that PVC had to be done just to get
any sleep. At this point I have to give credit where
credit is due to a man named Gary who created the
original Haba Pro-Flex. He inspired me to make those
first two wheels. He was a visionary and a true
inventor.
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ALONG CAME CHARLIE: The design years
- OK, these were years of trying new
things, tossing them out, trying
something else, arguing just a
little, sending to testers and going
back to the drawing board to try
something new. It was also a time of
much research into patent laws to
making sure we weren’t stepping on
any toes and deciding what public
domain was and what wasn’t. I wish
someone would have told me that
there is no glue that will permantly
bond to plastic. Trust me we tried
them all. We tried pouring the bases
out of resin. Just when we thought
we had it, one of them accidentally
got tapped against the side of a
table and shattered into a million
pieces…back to the drawing board. We
also tried molding our own hubs. It
would come out thicker on one side
than the other, or it would have
bubbles in it, or it would stick to
the mold. So we built different
molds, and special tables for
leveling, and we stirred slower.
Anybody want to buy a gallon of that
liquid plastic? Just kidding, but I
do still have one.
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Original Stealth
Red White and Blue
Photo December 2003

This was one of our test models. It was used
in our cage until November 2006 |
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ALMOST THERE: At the SGGA in 2003, the Stealth
got its first public viewing. It was a prototype of
all our work and we promised to send the winner
(Sheila) the first final draft. We did send it... It
fell apart; She sent it back and said try again. And
try again we did! We ordered more stuff, tossed some
out, tried some new things, argued just a little,
sent to testers and went back to the drawing board.
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Xtreme
Photo August 2005
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FINALLY: We
were scheduled to open in March 2004 when we
realized one of our competitors was using a
bushing that was similar to the one we were
using. Just weeks before opening we switched
to a ball bearing and developed the "Stealth
Quiet Hub". This unique design was the first
time a ball bearing had been attached to
this type wheel. So we opened with the red
(stand), white (bucket lid) and blue
(diamond net) SteatlhWheel. Soon we began to
offer the Stealth kit with a PVC stand, the
Stealth Junior, the Stealth Flex and the
Stealth Flyer with the semi open front, and
color choices. Somewhere along the line we
changed to a sealed ball bearing, the square
net, and we modified the hub. IN JUNE OF
2005: We introduced the StealthXtreme with
its powder coated steel stand. |
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Currently we are working on a new design that
incorporates all the years of Research and
Development. We are working closely with various
professionals to bring you the best and safest pet
running wheel available. Soon, you will see
Stealth’s commercially made and marketed through
your favorite web store and pet store.
Oh yeah, and we recently changed our name from
SugaRae's Attic to AtticWorx. But I'm sure you have
already figured that out. |