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My friend had the orange krate, the one w a smaller front wheel and some kind of springer like front suspension.
looking at pics they apparenly had a rear suspension too and some versions had a shifter on the crossbar his did not have the shifter. Here is an internet pic.
At six years old I felt like the king of the world riding that thing, still to this day don’t know how my middle class parents afforded it - both worked hard (that’s how!) - my sister and I were latchkey kids til mom got home from work at 5pm. Thank you mom and dad - the best, most loving and hardest working parents ever.
Ten years later at 16 my ‘72 big block 4 speed 4-4-2 gave me that same feeling, albeit on a grander scale. Saved up all summer for the down payment, and my father cosigned a loan to help me establish credit, $88/month at American Bank and trust!
I’m sure each of us can relate: the freedom we experience from our first bike - or our first Oldsmobile.... great memories!
Fastback? They were called Stingrays in my area. A couple of kids had the 5-speed version with the shifter on the cross bar (don't slide off the front of the banana seat!). One kid, whose father was some insurance executive, had an Orange Krate (or maybe it was the Pea Picker). I recall how effective that front brake was. You could easily lock that front tire and take a spill through the handle bars. Did it just once.
Yea, stingrays were nice. My Typhoon was my older brother's then I got it. Stingrays were popular so my father did the retrofit. Schwinn was a very rugged bike. My only brand new bike my parents bought me was a brand new Schwinn speedster 3 speed. It was metallic blue with beautiful chrome fenders. I kept that thing spotless and shinny, it was my Cadillac that I drove from around 7th grade till graduation.
The Fastback was the light weight addition of the Sting-Ray, it had the narrower tires and different frame. I found one at the curb a number of years ago. It was a nice find!
Fastback? They were called Stingrays in my area. A couple of kids had the 5-speed version with the shifter on the cross bar (don't slide off the front of the banana seat!). One kid, whose father was some insurance executive, had an Orange Krate (or maybe it was the Pea Picker). I recall how effective that front brake was. You could easily lock that front tire and take a spill through the handle bars. Did it just once.
I had a Sears brand wanna be Stingray. I got it for Christmas one year. My older brother got the cool version with the shifter. In the past few years I have bought a Sears like the one I had as a kid, a 68 Schwinn Stingray and recently a Schwinn Spitfire. I plan to make the Spitfire into a full size Stingray.
You think car guys can be picky, the Schwinn guys are just as bad. They like them original.
When I picked out my 1966 J38-6 Sting-Ray, coaster brake, Radiant Coppertone ..........$51.95
my mom said BUT THERE'S NO FRONT FENDER !
That bike was the coolest bike in the neighborhood / but was like 2 times the cost of a regular bike - at 10 years old it was my best toy to date !
It also had the shorty rear chrome fender with the flip up like spoiler look !
TIRES: Silk black rear tire...same style as used on racing cars, more road surface than any other tire...standard middleweight front tire.
Last edited by Cosmic Charlie; Nov 23, 2020 at 04:47 PM.
I had the Schwinn Stingray, 5 speed, fastback in gold! Moved on to a Rupp Continental Deluxe "Electra" after the Schwinn. I removed the governor to increase the speed. Sold the Rupp and bought a much faster Benelli ,4 speed, mini bike.
I got my driver's license and my first car was a slightly used '65 GTO 389 factory tri-power, factory air, 4 speed, convertible, factory console. The car was red,.red buckets, and a white convertible top. , (i even had the tri-power tub).
I never liked the GTO.
In 1970, I went to the Oldsmobile dealer and ordered a 442 convertible W30 automatic, factory air convertible. (My favorite)
I was always attracted to nice looking bikes, fast cars and fast women!! ...lol..always my weakness.
Last edited by twilightblue28A; Nov 23, 2020 at 07:59 PM.
