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Sting Ray bikes a Euro conspiracy?

Old 05-26-21, 07:36 AM
  #1  
Lakerat
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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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Old 05-26-21, 07:42 AM
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Well, Schwinn was also making Paramounts during that time, sooo...
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Old 05-26-21, 07:47 AM
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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.
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Old 05-26-21, 08:05 AM
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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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Old 05-26-21, 08:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Charliekeet
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"...
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and I used to get hand-me-downs from the much larger and mostly-older family next door, and their "50s-era" bikes were outdated and pokey compared to the various Schwinns in the catalog our parents brought home one day to torment us with.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!
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Old 05-26-21, 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
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.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory

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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Old 05-26-21, 08:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Lakerat
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.
On the other hand, the Stingray may have brought millions of American kids into cycling. What someone rides as a kid does not define what they ride as an adult.

But it may have had more of an influence as a precursor to riding motorcycles.

John
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Old 05-26-21, 08:38 AM
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Well, I went from a muscle bike to a three speed (for a short time) and then a ten speed. It did not lead to a pro racing career.
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Old 05-26-21, 08:44 AM
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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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Old 05-26-21, 08:46 AM
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At least it’s not another disc brake or steering thread.
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Old 05-26-21, 08:47 AM
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What about Lance and Greg etc?
gm
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Old 05-26-21, 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by bikecrate
Well, I went from a muscle bike to a three speed (for a short time) and then a ten speed. It did not lead to a pro racing career.
So it was the 3 speed that wrecked your shot at a racing career!
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Old 05-26-21, 08:49 AM
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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.
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Old 05-26-21, 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
Never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory

Perhaps the OP is thinking of the Raleigh Chopper? Again, the British don't consider themselves European but what the heck... run with it.
Maybe, but I think the Schwinn Stingray was around before the Raleigh Chopper.

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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Old 05-26-21, 08:52 AM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by gringomojado
What about Lance and Greg etc?
gm
Lance spent his youth watching Dracula movies!
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Old 05-26-21, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
Never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory

Perhaps the OP is thinking of the Raleigh Chopper? Again, the British don't consider themselves European but what the heck... run with it.
The British don’t consider themselves European? I had no idea. The Romans crossed that canal easily enough.
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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Old 05-26-21, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
So it was the 3 speed that wrecked your shot at a racing career!
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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Old 05-26-21, 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Lakerat
Sting Ray bikes had to have kept a generation of American cyclists from becoming racers.
What about the genre of kid's bikes that came afterward - the BMX bike?
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Old 05-26-21, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
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!
Yeah, maybe the real issue was not encouraging kids to go from those bikes to the next level once they outgrew them. But I can't help but think the unnecessarily heavy, bechromed, style over substance retro style was carried on for too long. It for sure affected the way bikes were made in the US into the 80s, anyway.
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Old 05-26-21, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
What about the genre of kid's bikes that came afterward - the BMX bike?
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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Old 05-26-21, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by SkinGriz
The British don’t consider themselves European? I had no idea.
See Also: BREXIT
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Old 05-26-21, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
What about the genre of kid's bikes that came afterward - the BMX bike?

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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Old 05-26-21, 10:17 AM
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Coming from only knowing about BMX I used to think crank arms 175mm and shorter were for really short people.
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Old 05-26-21, 11:02 AM
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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.


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Old 05-26-21, 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Reflector Guy
What about the genre of kid's bikes that came afterward - the BMX bike?
Stripped down Stingrays were our BMX bikes.

Last edited by curbtender; 05-26-21 at 12:54 PM.
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