700

The Schwinn Stingray was very popular in my youth. It inspired dozens of copycats and together they sold thousands of examples. The banana seat and ape hanger handlebars were made for easy riding around neighborhoods and cities in America. I rebuilt my first bike into a copy back in the 1970s and when it was stolen, I bought a used clone to replace it. I never understood why the BMX style saddle was ascendant in popularity, but that was when I left bikes for cars anyway. Stingray copies could be found in yardsales and on curbsides until they couldn't. Now, when one is on Craigslist or ebay, they are asking Beaucoup Bucks for them.
Robin Williams rode one in "RV", but it was too small for him - a prop for laughs.


So, I got the idea to build one for myself. I like the 'idea' of mountain bikes, but flat bars, for me, - while great for motocross motorcycles - don't get along on bicycles.
The handlebars were a straight fit.


The 'sissy bar' would require some modification.


I used flat aluminum stock to adapt them to the frame fender/rack mounts.Plus I added lock nuts - except one where it interfered with the chain.


All the hardware and aluminum came from Home Depot.


The 26" banana seat, handlebars and new cabling came from Amazon. The sissy bar came from ebay when the Amazon seller cancelled the order


The worst part was replacing the cables. RJ makes it look 10-minutes-easy. I'm a little less experienced.

Bikerider007

Nice work on personalizing. Could be the next hip thing to do to a MTB like drop bar and commuters.

repechage

Salamandrine 

Kool man. Yeah, Stingrays loom large over a certain generation. First bike I ever rode was a Stingray. Within 5 minutes I was doing jumps.

Google low rider bike if you want to see you are not alone. I guess it's kind of cheesy folk art but I like them.

A few years back someone was making cantilever frame style MTB frames from titanium. I think Fisher did a high end 'klunker' for a while too. It'd be fun to convert one of these high performance cruiser frames to an adult size 'Stingray' with ape hangers etc.

Lascauxcaveman 

I came this close to doing just the same thing with a very swoopy-curvy-tubed Next 3-peed beach cruiser I picked up at a garage sale for $40. Then I asked myself the critical question: Would I actually ride the thing?

I couldn't see it, so I flipped it for $80.

Now go out and pop some more wheelies, OP.

Hudson308 

A group of us codgers do a weekly 18-mile cruise around the lakes with some similar bikes during the summer. The organizer is the owner of a local bike shop that has a niche in cruiser bikes. We always get smiles and thumbs-up. Mine (second photo) is a '64 Western Flyer that I bought in pieces, rebuilt the coaster hub and reassembled. Seat and sissy bar were bought from the shop. I'm 10 years old again every time I ride it. The last bike shown is a custom one-off made from titanium.

700

Wow. It's cool to be compared to some of those bikes. Thanks for the complements!
My wife was laughing at the bike (or me?) while I was building it, but when I took it out to the driveway - she was like,"Can I ride it?!?"

This was the bike I bought from the neighbor when my first bike got stolen. That's an AM radio on the handlebars.