Sting Ray bikes a Euro conspiracy?
#1
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Sting Ray bikes a Euro conspiracy?
Discounting my paranoid tendencies requiring me to have a chin strap on my tin foil hat, Sting Ray bikes had to have kept a generation of American cyclists from becoming racers. Imagine what could have happened had the ten speed craze occurred ten years earlier.
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I always thought Schwinn made Stingrays. From the early 60's almost till who knows when.
You're going to have to fill some of us in on the European Stingray conspiracy theory.
You're going to have to fill some of us in on the European Stingray conspiracy theory.
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LOL,amusing idea. I like it, but I gotta say as an American, we did it to ourselves. Just like our automakers used to produce utter pieces of junk for decades vs. ever more efficient, ergonomic, reliable, and sophisticated products from "overseas"...
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#5
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My brother and I used to get hand-me-downs from the much larger and mostly-older family next door, and their "50s-era" bikes were outdated and pokey compared to the various Schwinns in the catalog our parents brought home one day to torment us with. I'd have been the happiest kid on the block if I had a new Sting-Ray... It looked like a motorcycle!
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Perhaps the OP is thinking of the Raleigh Chopper? Again, the British don't consider themselves European but what the heck... run with it.
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But it may have had more of an influence as a precursor to riding motorcycles.
John
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Stingrays were made for kids who wouldn't even fit on a standard road bike. Once I turned 14 or 15, (mid 70's) my Stingray was literally traded in to the Raleigh shop for a new 27 inch wheel road bike. All my friends had road bikes in their teens. No other way to keep up with your buddies!
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At least it’s not another disc brake or steering thread.
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I'm sure that the OP was trying to be clever, but …
Start with 60s muscle cars, like the GTO. Add a sprinkling of tricked out American chopper motorcycles. Add a boom of kids who come into bike riding age, while admiring the rides of their older siblings. What you get is an opportunity for genius in marketing/product design, the muscle bike. Make it with chrome fenders, a wide slick rear tire, a cantilevered sprung front suspension and even a beefy stick shift.
Europe had little understanding for what was happening in America other than to be jealous of it.
Start with 60s muscle cars, like the GTO. Add a sprinkling of tricked out American chopper motorcycles. Add a boom of kids who come into bike riding age, while admiring the rides of their older siblings. What you get is an opportunity for genius in marketing/product design, the muscle bike. Make it with chrome fenders, a wide slick rear tire, a cantilevered sprung front suspension and even a beefy stick shift.
Europe had little understanding for what was happening in America other than to be jealous of it.
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I guess we need to start googling and maybe pop some more corn for the OP? Though I think the OP needs to give us a little more direction where they want to go.
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I did have a friend from Rhodesia who said he thought the British were the most evil people on earth. Slight tangent, but the thread started off with a conspiracy.
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Probably my least favorite bike I've ever owned. I felt super dorky on it. When I got taller I went through a series of used and heavy 10 speeds. Finally got a really nice Fuji in high school. There are many things that kept me from my "pro career". I can't blame the bikes.
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As far as kid's bikes go, they probably weren't bad bikes. They were hugely popular when I was a kid. Probably weighed less than the mountain bikes kids ride nowadays.
My brother and I used to get hand-me-downs from the much larger and mostly-older family next door, and their "50s-era" bikes were outdated and pokey compared to the various Schwinns in the catalog our parents brought home one day to torment us with. I'd have been the happiest kid on the block if I had a new Sting-Ray... It looked like a motorcycle!
My brother and I used to get hand-me-downs from the much larger and mostly-older family next door, and their "50s-era" bikes were outdated and pokey compared to the various Schwinns in the catalog our parents brought home one day to torment us with. I'd have been the happiest kid on the block if I had a new Sting-Ray... It looked like a motorcycle!
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Right, cause those kids actually wanted to race/valued a bike that had solid function, performance (though different from the road bike notion of performance) rather than just style. Same with the next thing, the mountain bike.
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I think this qualifies as racing. I raced BMX when I was a teenager. Was not super good, but I had fun.
Had no idea a road bike wasn’t a “10 speed” and all the differences until I joined BF a couple months ago.
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Most BMX and mountain bikes were not used for racing, (or riding in the mountains) but were used for putting around town, sometimes with friends. Just like Stingrays.
And yes, Stingrays were the first production Muscle bike. Here's a '68 Orange Krate (first year for the Krate) I restored and had a lot of fun with. I sold it in 2019 at substantial profit thanks to the vehement following these bikes still have today.
And yes, Stingrays were the first production Muscle bike. Here's a '68 Orange Krate (first year for the Krate) I restored and had a lot of fun with. I sold it in 2019 at substantial profit thanks to the vehement following these bikes still have today.
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