11/23/2023 0 Comments 2017 schwinn lemon peeler bicycleI went to three Schwinn Bicycle dealers in Northwest Detroit to look at the new bike. The Schwinn Sting-Ray came out in the summer of 1963. Thanks to Scotty for the memories, now, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! :) Great find, and you never know what’s in a storage unit. Also, I think most Sting Rays had a “drag slick” rear tire, and I don’t remember that front spring, and rear seat shocks. This one featured is an early 5 speed model, most were either Sturmey/Archer 3 speed, handle bar shift,( HA! Haven’t heard THAT in a while, huh?) or 1 speed with coaster brakes, ( hand brakes only on shift models) as they went to all handlebar shift in the 70’s, for obvious reasons. We all became wheelie kings, and took many a lump, but was all in good fun. We all wanted to be bikers, and many became them, eventually. Some with fathers that had welders, some wild stretched bikes came out of that. Butterfly handlebars and a banana seat, and you were in business. 50 cents that a lot of lawns to cut) and like most, fabricated my own out of an old 20 incher. I too, never had the cash for a Sting Ray,( hey, at. It also led to the whole BMX thing, which I always thought was lame and for kids whose parents wouldn’t let them have a mini-bike. For many, me included, it was the last “pedal job” before a motorized contraption. As accurately told, the Sting Ray bike craze was huge. Once again, who else would feature something like this? I swear, this guy digs at our very souls,somehow. Have any of you owned a Schwinn Sting-Ray or similar model bike? If so, do you still have it? Our bikes were like the purple one on the bottom right of this one advertisement. If they would have sold groceries we would have had Craftsman fruit loops and Kenmore meatloaf. My brother and I had a single-speed Sears version because my dad always bought everything from Sears. The unique suspension both front and rear was a feature of these bikes, as was the big wheel in the back and a small one in front, the ape-hanger handlebars, and a banana seat. The difference in price between the single-speed/coaster brake model and the 5-speed handbrake model was just $18, but in 2021 dollars that’s a $126 difference. The engine is your two legs and if you had the single-speed version, you most likely have bigger legs now than this kid has, but you didn’t get as many dates. The seller says that some parts may not be original which is unfortunate, but still, at $1,225 I’m betting that they’re making a nice profit. This one is the 5-speed and you can tell that it has seen better days, but the price is still getting up there. A buyer could get a 5-speed version for $94.95 or a single-speed with a coaster brake for $76.95. Some of these had different names such as Cotton Picker, Pea Picker, etc. The Cotton Krate, Gray Ghost, and Pea Krate came out a bit later as did other models. The Krate series of bikes came out in 1968 under the Sting-Ray name and originally included the Apple Krate, Orange Krate, and Lemon Peeler. Which one was first? I’m guessing that Chevrolet beat them to the punch which may be the reason for the hyphen between Sting and Ray, but I couldn’t dig up that info online. The Sting-Ray series of bikes came out in 1963 and, yes, the new Corvette Stingray just happened to come out at the same time. I would never, ever pay that much for a bike today but some people spend $2,000 without blinking. This bike was $94.95 when it was new in 1970 which is $668 today. By the way, Sting-Ray really is hyphenated, in case you were won-dering. That’s why they were designed in the first place because kids were customizing their bikes and Schwinn saw a market there and went for it. The basic premise of this thing is as cool as it gets, literally. Memorieeeeeees, like the something something of your mind… misty watercolored memories, of the 1970 Schwinn Sting-Ray Apple Krate that you had as a kid… Maybe you didn’t have one back then but with this one, shown here on eBay in Yorktown, Indiana already at $1,225, I bet you wish you would have had one and kept it! Let’s check out this dope ride, as no Apple Krate owner said, ever.
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