Swing bike
03-26-20, 02:32 AM
#1
Barred @ Velocipedesalon
Thread Starter
Swing bike
Anyone have any knowledge of this marque? Just saw it on CL and I was intrigued. I have never seen one; has anyone ridden this type of bike?
03-26-20, 04:19 AM
#2
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Remember riding a mates one when I was a kid. Bit of a novelty for a little while, then something broke.
03-26-20, 07:11 AM
#3
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Jimmy Osmond endorsed it, so it must be good,right?
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03-26-20, 07:13 AM
#4
Bikes are okay, I guess.
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It works best when you wear those huge bellbottoms. No chainguard, no problem.
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03-26-20, 08:59 AM
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03-26-20, 09:14 AM
#6
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Whenever I see one of those things, it reminds me of Seinfeld's Kramer steering the back of the fire truck.
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WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
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03-27-20, 03:43 AM
#7
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Ralph Nader Special
Unsafe at any speed... seriously! Tried one out a few times back in the 70's... Great for circus acts and orthodontists, neurosurgeons too! 
If you must, get some "stackies" to go along with the elephant bells....
verktyg
If you must, get some "stackies" to go along with the elephant bells....
verktyg
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Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
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Chas. ;-)
03-27-20, 06:22 AM
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This.
The shop I worked for considered being a dealer, ordered one in to test. We all rode it around the shop and the parking lot, the novelty wore off in mere minutes.
The shop I worked for considered being a dealer, ordered one in to test. We all rode it around the shop and the parking lot, the novelty wore off in mere minutes.
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03-27-20, 07:21 AM
#9
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Ive spent some time on one -- great fun for a while . Will sharpen your bike handling skills
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03-29-20, 08:17 AM
#11
Barred @ Velocipedesalon
Thread Starter
Thanks for the replies and first hand accounts of riding this bike. T-Mar, thanks for the link; some interesting "homemade" versions on it. I was not planning on buying the bike (seller asking $1200) even if it was being "given away". I never recalled this bike as a kid; I didn't follow the "Osmonds", but I do remember the show. If I recall correctly, Jimmy was at the bottom of the totem pole both in age and talent, not surprised he was used as the face for marketing.
03-29-20, 08:26 PM
#12
Senior Member
Had an orange one for a while, but like others have said, the novelty wore off when I broke my collarbone crashing the dang thing. Tried to ride it one wheel on the curb, one wheel in the gutter. Or tried straddling a parking barrier, the spring made it difficult to keep the wheels misaligned.
03-31-20, 07:56 AM
#13
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I had a orange one, loved it, put a lot of miles on mine before a low life stole it, now can't afford the money they want for them. Spent a lot of time Trying to ride wheelies while the frame was unlocked (Swing mode)
Glenn
Glenn
04-04-20, 11:40 AM
#14
Barred @ Velocipedesalon
Thread Starter
Had an orange one for a while, but like others have said, the novelty wore off when I broke my collarbone crashing the dang thing. Tried to ride it one wheel on the curb, one wheel in the gutter. Or tried straddling a parking barrier, the spring made it difficult to keep the wheels misaligned.
I am personally amazed that folks are asking over $1000 for these bikes. As something mass produced you would think that there are still a lot out there in basements, garages, etc.; and probably in decent shape considering from the comments here that they weren't used for very long in most cases. From what I could see from the photos on one ad, the build quality was nothing special. I did see a "standard"/"beach cruiser" version with larger wheels and short saddle that looked fairly normal, but utilized a separate pivot structure offset from the seat tube unlike the "stingray" style where the pivot is integrated within the seat tube. Also, I didn't see those springs along the top tube. I'm curious if there were springs internal to the "hinge". I wonder which rode better in "normal" and "trick" configurations. I'm trying to get permission from the seller to post their photo of that variant. I did not see a reference, written or photo, on the Swing Bike link provided by T-Mar relating to the cruiser style frame.
04-04-20, 02:30 PM
#15
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A friend of mine had one in middle/high school. It was fun and cool... he was experienced in the ways of the swing bike and did all kinds of cool tricks and didn't wipe out. I got a certain amount of proficiency and thought I was good. And then I went down a hill with the bike unlocked. I bit it hard. No more swing bike for me.
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Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
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Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
04-04-20, 02:34 PM
#16
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awesome bike but the vintage ones are expensive, lookup swingbike videos to see the tricks you can do. I always wanted one but too expensive
04-05-20, 08:57 AM
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Somewhere on my PC I have plans for building your own Swing bike that I want to try and build, I found them when searching info on the bike. They did re release them, not sure if it was in the 90's or early 00's when they did.
Glenn
Glenn
