Our Original paint Stingray as shown in 2012 with the Chevelle at MCACN.

Initially it was mine, then Dave had it, then it went to a friend of the family, and years later we got it back when our son was born and he rode it for a while before out growing it. Had to source some replacement bits before MCACN but mostly original and lots of patina.

Not sure if those "brick" front tires were used on any other make, but we always thought it was Schwinn only and since my oldest sister was the only one with a Schwinn, it wasn't cool. We boys had Huffy or Sears. That mentality all went caput later when they started showing up at school with gear shift levers on the top bar.....my we were embarrassingly trendy.

Yea some of us just never grew up. The Schwinn Krate was the muscle bike of our growing up and now. ( Just never grew up)

I’d like to think I’m responsible for the majority of the patina.LOL:dunno:

Stingray forks were the best for "choppers". Take the solid steel Stingray fork, slip cheesy hollow fork tubes over them, throw the front tire back, walla, chopper! Dangerous as hell but very cool looking

Only thing bent are the forks on my Rays LOL.

I distinctly remember a deal that was offered to me from my parents, that I needed to pay half.
Mowing lawns, raking lawns, whatever it took to get a New Schwinn Sting-Ray.

Mission accomplished.

‘

Sounds like the good old world, pic below a good example of so many of us here…
:beers:
~ Pete

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i fell in love with the krate bikes when they came out. a kid a couple of years older than me got the first one i ever saw in person and it was a lemon peeler. i had to have one and a couple of years later was able to buy a cotton picker with the disc brakes. i was so excited. my dad was really pissed off at me for wasting my money. he wouldnt ever buy anything for me, but would offer me the ability to work for anything i wanted. so i had to be the most excited kid on the planet and get it home jump on it run down to my best friends house 3 doors down and he has a black regular stingray. we race and he blows my pedals away. i was absolutely deflated. my dad proceeds to explain to me that not only did i waste my money but failed to research my purchase. he said you are just a show off (guess i always was) and fell for the flashy look. then explained why the bike was so much slower because all of my energy of pushing those pedals as hard and fast as i could was all absorbed in the shock system. i was really mad and parked the bike after riding it to school (to show off of course). i went back to riding my put together huffy bike until i saved enough money to buy one without the shock system. kept it for a few years and sold it to a guy for what i paid for it.

^^^^^ There's so much nuance in your story. I'd bet the majority of us, given the chance as younguns would never ask our dad's opinion before a major purchase...lol.

I had a Campus Green Stingray all through grade school. We came home for lunch each day, so it went to and from twice on the one mile trip. It had a mouse trap on the front to hold my books. What a blast. I gave it away when I was a lifeguard at Niles Park District Pool when I was in college, some kid needed a bike and I gave him my Stingray......