e0richt

Hi, I noticed that they have some schwinn style orange leaves bikes for sale new. Made me think about my sting ray when I was younger. Has anyone bought one of these new bikes? Would I be able to put gears on one of these bikes? Thanks

daverup 

The new Schwinn Stingrays don't do 5 speed very easily. You can get a Internal Gear hub to work a bit easier. Fitting a caliper brake on the rear isn't easy either.
If you are skilled, it can be done. If you take it to a shop, they will laugh and send you away.

VegasTriker

The Sting ray (20" wheels) is red. What you saw is the Orange Krate (16" front, 20" rear). It is priced at $417 on Amazon . It has a drum brake in front and a Bendix type brake in the rear. You can still get the 3 speed and Bendix combination for around $75 at https://www.bicycleheaven.org but that is only the beginning. You would need to rebuild the rear wheel with new spokes. There is not enough nostalgia in the world to have me spend that kind of money on one. The reviews are mixed. It might be a fun bike to ride but there were quality and assembly issues in some reviews. Not surprising since Walmart was one of the retailers. It says. "Lightweight Frame" but at 39 pounds it is no lightweight bike considering the small wheels and small frame.

jon c. 

I remember being rather jealous when a wealthier 5th grade classmate got an original Orange Krate. I don't think WalMart existed at the time.

Reflector Guy

Same here. I am just old enough to have been around for that kind of bike, but never had one of my own. My parents used to tease us by bringing home the newest Schwinn catalogs from the Schwinn store (where they had stopped in to buy an inner tube, or some such small item) but our actual bikes were always old hand-me-downs from the neighbors.

Yeah, those old Sting Rays were heavy but they were cool!

Sangetsu

Sorry, but you should avoid the newer Schwinn bikes. I bought one, and was rather pleased with it, at least for a little while. But within weeks the chain ring, the bearing caps and metal around the pedals began to rust, something which would take decades on an old Schwinn. Then I noticed that the paint began to show orange peel, which it didn’t have when I bought the bike. The wheels were aluminum, not steel like the originals, and I found that the brake pads in the front didn’t work well with the low-quality aluminum wheels, the aluminum began to get galled, and the brakes would get noisy, and full of aluminum chips. Lastly, the quality of the welds was awful, and they are not filed smooth like the original bikes, the hardware was the cheapest quality, and rusted almost as quickly as the chain ring and pedals, and the fenders were so thin that you could push dents into them with your thumbs.

If you want a good Stingray, get the real thing, there are plenty of them out there.