Barrynof

I am currently on the lookout for the bike I had as a kid. It was a 1972 Schwinn Continental in burgundy. I loved that bike. I rode it everywhere. I have attached a picture that was in the catalog.

norcalmike

Black 1985 schwinn world I got for Christmas.
I'd pay just about any ting to find its twin in mint condition. Mine got stolen

GTBruiser

1973 Schwinn Continental that my stepdad purchased new, then, sold to a teenage me in the late '70s. I've changed the saddle, brake handles, denim bar tape, and, stem, but, have the original parts in storage.

USAZorro

I lived in Rochester, NY while growing up during the 1970's. Had 3 stolen from 1975 - 1977. My Super Course was stolen about 6 days before I left to go to the Navy in 1981. (also in Rochester) So... no. The good thing is that I got over it.

johnnyspaghetti

The first bike was a AMF handed down 3rd time to me. Maybe a 1960.
The horizontal frame bar would swing down so it could be both a girls or boys bike.
The hard tires don't go flat even if only the sidewalls are left.

noglider 

My first bike (after my tricycle) was a red Schwinn with non-pneumatic tires on 16" wheels. It looked somewhat like this but I'm sure it didn't have wheel reflectors. For some reason, I remember that when we moved, my mother had our building superintendent reassemble the bike, and he put the front fender on backwards, and we left it that way.

fietsbob

Had a Puch made JC Higgins 3 spreed in 1957, later modified as a 3 by 3 by 3 speed.

dweenk

My first bike that was bought just for me was a Rollfast middle weight. I got it for Christmas just after the Cuban missile crisis. A couple of older kids forced me to trade it for one of heir broken bikes. When my grandmother found out about the deal, she went to their grandmother to protest.

In about 30 minutes, I had my bike back.

For the next two years I had to fight one of them or their friends nearly every day at school recess or in the bathroom. I can't say that I won those fights, but I didn't quit either. I would come home in kind of a mess and my grandmother would ask how my day was. "Pretty good" was my usual reply. Thankfully she never asked for details.

When I got to junior high, the twins were in high school. the bike was forgotten and I was dreaming of cars.

Susannav

My first bike was a Peugeot road bike. I was four years old.
The bike still is in the family, it's at my moms now. Planning on getting it home soon. I want to clean and if needed fix it and than hang it at the wall as decoration.
It's very, very small but a real road bike with gears, dropped bars, double brake levers, water bottle and so. Also it has chrome fenders, a rack and lights.

Colnago Mixte

Is it something like this one, or smaller?



Your parents must have been die hard cyclists to get you something that nice at age 4. I guess they were pretty certain that you would ride it.

ciclimeacci

I cant seem to find an actual pictures to scan, they are somewhere in a box, but here are a few I found online that represent the first 3. The Chiorda and Concord stuck with me until the 90's.


#1, A Huffy, my very first. Started mods on this early!


#2 Chiorda, but mine was gold. A hand-me-down from an Uncle.


#3 Concord De Luxe, same yellow, another hand-me-down from another Uncle.

thumpism 

I had one of these that I finally sold after I got my driver's license to a friend who wanted a town bike to ride to college. It was stolen, of course. Years later when repping I walked into a shop and there stood a nearly mint one that the owner had just bought from a random guy for thirty bucks. I figured it would kill me to keep missing deals like that so I got over it.

KraneXL

I first learned how to ride on a similar vintage bike ^^ my sisters hand-me-down that she abandoned to the storage closet a year after she got it. Lucky for me she taught me how to ride (I still have the knee scars), before she retired it completely. The rest is history. With all the gadgets I had on my banana seat bike I don't think I took a single picture of it.

Also, great photo Slightspeed

Susannav

@Colnago Mixte: It was smaller. I just found it thanks to another thread called "Peugeot project". There was a link there to the old Peugeot catalogue. Found it in the French catalogue.
It is a Peugeot C 32 C (32 cm with 400 wheels).

My parents never rode a bike. My brother, sister and I got the bikes from our grandfather. My parents just went to the Peugeot dealer to get us bikes and the story goes that I cried for this one. This was the only one I wanted.
All that drama for nothing because I learned to ride a bike when I was 10... On the Peugeot my sister got years earlier.

2cam16

Post some pics when you do get it!

branko_76 

My first 10-Speed, at the age of 12, looked just like this one, a Raleigh Record that I bought from my friend Freddy for $10.00.

canyoneagle

Sadly, I don't have any of my original bikes. Too many moves and "downsizing" efforts with each.
My first bike that got me into cycling was a U-08 mixte. To me it was like having wings - I rode that bike everywhere, and did many long rides and races on it.
The one that got away, though (the one I'd love to have now) was my '82 Raleigh Super Course. I put Campy a NR rear derailleur and downtube shifters on it, and Fiamme red-label tubulars. Loved that bike.

in 1991 I ended up gifting the bike to a neighbor's kid who was just getting into cycling.

Here's a shot of me with it (skinny kid in yellow), circa 1982 - Austin, TX

.

Susannav

Chris Chicago

Holy *hit, that is awesome! Age 5 Jan Heine's dream girl. really cool bike and pic.

Stormsedge

Long gone and never fully appreciated:

--non-descript 20" bike with convertible bar...blue
--26" Schwinn, 2 spd hub, skinny tires and swept back bars...rear baskets for school stuff...black**
--26" Robin Hood, 3 spd hub, skinny tires and swept back bars...rear baskets for school stuff...originally gold, finally red with drop bars(a recipient of several early bike mod efforts)**
--26" Unknown, 3 spd hub, twist gear shift, skinny tires and swept back bars...gold

...and the bikes I have today.


**wish I still had these.

2cam16

Sweet and cute!

ollo_ollo

Couple of bikes stick in my memory: My best friend & I both received Raleigh Sports 3 spd bikes one Christmas. Bikes with gears expanded our riding range greatly. Compared to our old bikes, they were like a Rolls Royce.

Don't remember details of our prior bikes, but they were J C Higgins (Sears brand) whose performance was greatly improved when we removed their tanks/horns/batteries, fenders, head lights, & chain guards. Don

brandenjs

noglider 

@Susannav wins the internet for the WEEK.

Susannav

Three Peugeots in a row