Orange Krate Bicycle

This purchase represents one of the "icon" artifacts chosen by the memory team for that section in the second floor exhibit. A Stingray (actually Schwinn's brand name) bicycle was on the wish-list of many an adolescent in 1968. They were called "banana bikes," "buzz bikes," "stingrays," and even "choppers." They were modelled after chopped-frame motorcycles of the era (choppers) and were often customized with added on "sissy bars,"--long tall headrests at the back of the seat--much as motorcycles were. The Stingray style of bicycle was well-established by 1968 when Schwinn made the first of its "Krate" series. These bicycles actually featured working springs on the front forks and working hydraulic shocks on the rear forks; a front wheel smaller than the 20 inch rear wheel; and a functioning front disk brake--patented by Schwinn. All these features combined with colors possible only in the 1960s made the "Krates" the bikes that everybody wanted. And Schwinn did sell a lot of them. Schwinn had invented the Stingray style of bicycle, but other makers imitated it in many forms.