Savas

This style of bike goes back quite a while. Did anyone else have one of these types of bikes? I loved mine during the time I had it, at around 9-11 years old. I don't know where it's gone, since moving from my parents house many years ago. Parents might have donated it somewhere. This bike was once stolen from the local YMCA; I had not had it locked, nor even thought about locking a bike at that time. It bummed me out. I had recently applied a decal of a cartoon character to the seat of the bike. Sometime later, I found two people riding on it, so I ran up and confronted them. They had paid a dime for the ride to the apparenty enterprising theif who stole my bike! Well, I got my bike back. What was bad was that the thief tried to scratch away the decal on the seat, but just scratched it up without removing it. Thinking about the bike reminds me of places I used to visit as a kid.

slagjumper

Got mine in 1970. It was a red huffy. Bannana seat, flaired rear fender, cheater slick rear tire.

This is somebody elses site:
https://bikerodnkustom3.homestead.com..._Archives.html

Bob S.

Purchased mine from Sears in about 1965 or 66. All chome version. It was the first bike I purchased myself, paid for by cutting lawns in the neghborhood.

Thinking back on it makes me wonder: How come I can't find a neighbor kid to mow my lawn? Bob

Skipper

My brother and I both had paper routes when we were 12 and 13 years old. We saved our money and each bought a Huffy "Rail". This was a slightly streched stingray style bicycle. It had a purple paint job, 20" tires, a banana seat and what we called butterfly handlebars. It also had 5 speeds with a T-handle shifter on the top tube.

We put what I am sure was hundreds of miles on those bikes. We rode them on the streets and some trails through a nearby woods. We rode them on Lake Mendota in the winter time when we got bored with ice fishing. Those huge expansion cracks in the ice made excellent jumping ramps. We even rode them in some of the larger storm drain pipes that opened near Warner Park.

We once found an army surplus parachute. It was about 10 feet in diameter when opened. That's right, we attached it to the seat tube and deployed the chute by dropping the grocery sack we had it stuffed into. This was particularly exciting when you were heading downhill into a stiff headwind. You had to get both hands back on the handlebars right quick if you wanted to stay on the bike.

Those were the days.

Savas

Skipper, the one bike did it all, it seems. Nowadays, we require special bikes for each style of riding, each of which comes with its own set of clothing and accessories. I remember when plain old do-it-all sneakers morphed into separate footwear for walking, running, basketball, aerobics, etc. I hadn't known it happened to bicycles, having come back to bikes after many years.

bikingbets

It's still my favorite bike of all time--a Schwinn Slik Chik. I got it for Christmas when I was 9 years old, and was still riding it when I outgrew it, probably moved on to my 5-speed when I was 14 or so. Metallic green frame, white seat with metallic sparkles, chrome fenders. The wide, smooth rear tire laid down the neatest rubber on skids. I could do the coolest wheelies on it, and was famous throughout the neighborhood for riding with 3 others on it with me...one behind me on the banana seat, one on the handlebars, and one on the back fender. I even added a headlight and mirror.

Great thread...great memories!!

Trekke

I think we called this bike a spider bike if memory serves me at all. I grew up riding one of these. Can't really remember having any other kind of bike. Would love to know how many miles I put on mine.

duane041

Here's a website that'll bring back some memories:

https://www.nemusclebikes.com/picoverview

slagjumper

I think about this a lot as I am getting together the 30 or so things that are "needed" for riding.


Wow! Never saw a girl do a wheelie on a spider bike. I would've been in love.

https://www.classicrays.com/images/65am26.jpg
https://mysite.verizon.net/vze26zx6/s...s/pict0146.jpg

AuntieM

Oh yes, I remember it. 1964 Lime green Schwinn Sting Ray, fixed gear. Wonder what happened to it. I'm sure mom sold it in a garage sale.

bikingbets

Great images, slagjumper! You put a smile on my face!

BK Xray

I remember when we thought stingrays looked even cooler with longer front forks. We would chop off old forks at the cross brace and shove them onto the end of the front forks without really fastening them. The weight of the bike would keep it together (in theory anyways). I tried jumping a dirt mound at the bottom of a hill one day and mine came off mid-jump. I remeber it being a particularly dramatic and painful wreck.

nedgoudy

My dad made one for me in 1958. It was an old
1 speed 20 inch bike with a regular seat and raised
chopper handlebars. I rode the hell out of that bike.
That and an old Schwinn Varsity got me into riding
and when I ride today I do so with the same sense
of freedom I had as a kid. I ain't fast but I travel alone
and if a young man or woman pass me, I let em go.

I live for the exercise and the sense of joy and freedom.

Ned Goudy

Dchiefransom

My first bike was a used 20 incher. I put a banana seat and high rise handlebars on it. Rode that thing EVERYWHERE !!!!! If a person had a paper route, the Schwinn Heavi-Duti with high rise handlebars was the bike to have.

John E

I remember the last day of summer vacation before my senior year of high school. One of my buddies and I assembled a 20-inch wheeled bike from junk bin parts. It was a fun project with which to cap a good summer.

He also had a 1960 Schwinn Continental which his father had chrome-dipped at work. It weighed a ton, but it looked sharp, with an early Campag. Record rear derailleur replacing the original Simplex bandspring POS.