roadsnakes

WHAT A COOL BIKE!
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blacknbluebikes 

Interesting... one of those "on the web inflation calculators" says that 1962, $49.99 is equivalent to $478 today. Today, around here, a lot would say "almost $500 for a kid's bike? WHAAA?" And that bike was a screaming success back then...

repechage

Schwinn's were never cheap and "fair-traded" too.
the dealer profit margin was meager.
the price west of the Mississippi was more also, to accounting for the added shipping.

Schwinn could do that as they were top of the heap.

they sponsored Captain Kangaroo also.
"boy, I like my Schwinn bike, Schwinn is the Finest Bike!"

t2p

there were 5 or 6 Stingrays just on my relatively short dead-end street back in the day

gave mine to a younger cousin when I was in my mid-teens

found one at a flea market around 20 years ago - and still ride it now and then (driveway / private road)

Classtime 

I built mine of a bike the neighbor found at the dump with a seat and handlebars I saved for. Dad helped me paint it lime green like my uncle had painted his Harley.

Bad Lag

$50 back then was unobtainable.

Only rich kids had Schwinn Sting Rays and there weren't many of those around..

msalvetti

Yeah, only a couple of my friends had one. My bike was a hand-me-down from my cousin. My Dad repainted it, and added a banana seat and a set of high-rise handle bars so it looked the part. I started out with training wheels on that thing. Didn't get a new bike until I was 12.

Mark

Darth Lefty 

I really believe that if it wasn’t for late 60s muscle bikes, the 1970s bike boom wouldn’t have happened either.

And yeah probably a five speed stingray would be something like 700 bucks today. Or maybe that was last year, ha ha. But grown-ups are still paying that kind of money for kids bikes. They just have to go around the bike store to do it. Around here you will see a lot of Woom and Cleary bikes, The 24 in front suspension mountain bike models are that kind of money.

By the time I was old enough to ride a bike, it was all BMX all the time and anything with a banana seat was a girl bike. And then I was exactly the right age to get a mountain bike when they were the new thing.

Deal4Fuji

$125 for a retro Sting Ray from Wal-Mart

You Tube

repechage

The 2020 version is not too bad.
could be much worse!

repechage

took me three years of hard saving to buy a Sting-Ray in October 1969.
was really hard chasing inflation, took me at least another 6 Months from my original plan because of that.

and sales tax went from 4.5% to 6%...
what an interesting education in macroeconomics for a kid in grade school.

degan

Stingrays are neat but the cult following is insane. I recently liquidated a bunch of vintage Schwinn stuff and it was like people were throwing their money at me if it was stingray related. Stuff like a sissy bar covered in rust for $250 just because it's a tall one or tires that are completely shot for significantly more than a new re-pop of the tire.

repechage

the OEM "sissy" bars were unique. Smashed flat at the point of seat attachment.
later used P brackets to attach to the dropout eyes.

Deal4Fuji

For the price I agree. I'd like to see them make one in a larger size for the adult boomers like myself that never had one growing up. I found a '75 Continental in copper ( chestnut ) that's one of my favorite bikes. I've kept it all original just as it rolled off the showroom floor from Severson Schwinn in Chicago.

Same YouTuber - Rat Rod Bikes with a renovation of a '66 five speed Stingray Fastback

nlerner

Growing up in the 1960s, in my neighborhood my friends and I all had cheap Stingray knockoffs of some sort. I can’t remember what brand—maybe Murray or Columbia? Our parents probably bought them at the local Grants department store.

repechage

too bad does not have the original Mag sprocket- the original was stamped with a form that really associated it with a "mag" automotive wheel.
I bought one to update my Sting-Ray
also needed a longer chain and slightly larger cog to keep the gear ratio useable. Was like $8.50 - found a used one that could use replating and polishing $100.

Deal4Fuji

Grant's, Cook's, Roses & Gibson's were some of the dinosaur department stores that came & went in Jacksonville NC. Other sources of cheaper than Schwinn bikes - Sears, Western Auto & K-Mart. We never had a Woolco

due ruote 

Seems like the market for old Stingrays way outshines that for vintage race bikes. You have to be an old bike nut to have an interest in race bikes, but the Stingray is a cultural touchstone for that era. I suppose that's the difference.
As close as I ever came to one was a Western Auto grasshopper green knockoff with a 3-speed top tube stick shifter. I thought I was pretty cool.

bamboobike4

Mint 5-speed recently went for $2000 at a swap meet I attended.
Cheapest I saw was $750.
Handgrips were selling $30

Centaur 3x10 Battaglin got nary a look at $900

BTinNYC

I remember seeing my first Stingray. I can see the bike, the street and half built development like it was a photograph. It was fully kitted out with the auto style shifter and Mattel Vroomm engine noise attachment.

Memories that strong make for high prices.

t2p

I had one of those bikes - because my parents thought the Stingray was too expensive

I just about destroyed the bike in a year - and the next year got a Stingray for my birthday

The Stingrays were tanks and took a beating

kermie

My parents couldn't afford the StingRay either, so I ended up getting a Huffy StingRay knock off. Single speed with the tall handlebars and banana seat. It was a candy type green, with a race slick back tire. My father was in the Army at the time, and I'm sure they got the bicycle on base at the PX. It replaced one that my grandfather had made me out of an early 60's bicycle. He got a tall sissy bar and a banana seat and tall handle bar too. But left the full rear fender, so it seemed odd to my 7 year old eyes. But what memories. One of the kids in my grandfathers neighborhood Schwinn bicycles, thou not the StingRay. All Schwinns where top of the line in my eyes.

kingsting

Sprint chainring was correct for most 66 Fastbacks. The MAG didn't come along until late 66 for the 67 model year...

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repechage

probably correct, only two kids in one local family had Fastbacks, one with the "rams horn" handlebars. They were sidelined to sidewalks.
the mag sprocket which I think was part of the Krate models, did show and set the styling standard for a short while. Then...

the krates and fastbacks both fell out of favor fast as it was "proto-bmx" that took hold.
Slick Chicks with welded in reinforcement tubes, tractor tread tires, ( the advantage of the 1 3/4" rims - lighter than the smaller, wider 2.125" rear version ) other mods - ditch the kickstand, chain guard, cut off the rear strut bar hoop, struts to the inside and fender washers on both sides. The local Schwinn shop took a picture to send to Chicago, they knew something was up but did not know how to comprehend it.
"rat trap" pedals and absolutely no reflectors.

Classtime 

Sad but these give
me hope.