Nice! Love the wheelie wheel in back.
Western Auto 2 + 1 "Buzz" wheelie bike
Posted on 11/18/2018 10:53:43 AM PST by ETL
A Nod to the Man Who Changed It All
Al Fritz took a risk and created a bike that had a huge ripple effect ..."
After getting nearly taken out by a Japanese mortar in World War II, Al Fritz came home to the states and got a job at Schwinn as a welder. Fritz eventually worked his way off the floor and into management.
In the early 60s, word spread from Los Angeles that kids were modifying old Schwinn frames—bolting on Ape Hanger bars and adding other accouterments from early choppers.
Fritz made the kind of leap of logic which seems so obvious in retrospect, but is often overlooked at the time.
The logic goes like this: "If my customers are busting their asses to modify my product, wouldn't it just be easier if I sold them what they wanted?"
Thus, in 1963, Schwinn cranked out a run of Sting-Rays, despite the fact that no one at Schwinn, aside from Fritz, thought the homely children's chopper would be a success.
The Sting-Rays flew out of bike shops—46.630 of them at fifty bucks a pop. For comparison's sake, at the time the Sting-Ray debuted, Schwinn generally moved about 10,000 units of their best selling models each year.
Schwinn would have actually sold more Sting-Rays that first year, but they couldn't get enough 20-inch rubber tires from Uniroyal (their tire supplier) to slap on the things.
They rectified that problem in short order. Within two years Sting-Ray-esque bikes (other companies quickly followed Schwinn's lead) accounted for a staggering 60 percent of bike sales in the United States.
How many Schwinn Sting-Rays eventually wound up in people's homes? At the time of Fritz' passing, the LA Times reported that two million Sting-Rays were sold during the first five years of the bike's 15-year model run.
Millions and millions of the things prowled America’s cul de sacs and dirt lots. No matter how you slice it, it's a hell of a lot of banana seats and ape hangers.
None of this probably comes as a shock if you are anywhere between the ages of 30 and 60. If you fit within that demographic, you've probably ridden one of these things at some point in your life.
The ridiculously-easy-to-wheelie Sting-Ray also laid the foundation for BMX. As the sixties gave way to the `70s, modified Sting-Rays served as some of the first BMX bikes.
Clearly, it was only a matter of time before someone realized that there had to be a better mule for flogging on dirt, but still, when you look at a Sting-Ray, you're looking at the foundation for dirt riding.
A lot of those kids on Sting-Rays became BMX riders and, in short order, went on to become the first generation of mountain bikers.
From the Sting Ray to your mountain bike. Full circle…in a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of way.
Happy 50th to the Sting-Ray and a nod of respect to the recently-departed Al Fritz. You may not have met, much less known, Al Fritz, but the man had an impact on anyone who rides the dirt today.
Nice! Love the wheelie wheel in back.
The "Fritz Fifty" special 50th anniversary edition.
Which one, Schwinn Stingrays in general?
The first photo is what I was familiar with.
It’s a fun show; especially if you’re like me and have a fondness for old stuff/junque.
My dad refused to get me one for years....claimed they were for the handicapped
Then I got one around aged 11 and a guy dressed in a genuine sailor suit stole it at Halloween
I saw him ten years later when I was at Ole Miss and he was at law schoo and confronted him in front of his girl friend
At least I got an affair with a law school coed out of the deal ten years after...y’all saw what I did there right
He lied and denied
But she knew him and knew he was lying
A week or so later I saw her at a bar....Ole Miss no shortage of clubs ...anyhow she was sweet
Yes, I used to watch it when I had cable. But like with most of these so-called “reality” shows, I suspect there’s a good deal of “fudging” going on. ie, spicing up of the various stories to make it more entertaining for viewers.
What I liked even more were the hot rod and chopper motorcycle restoration shows. Gas Monkeys, Orange County Choppers, etc.
Lol! You ended up dating the thief’s girlfriend 10 years later?
Hated the Krate’s. Had 2 Sting-Ray’s. Yellow and took the banana seat off and put a single seat on. Those handle bars were the best ever but they kept breaking/bending from the big jumps we used to go off.
Memphis weekends baby....I was 19 or so she was about four years older
It was fun to be me back then
Girls kinda fell outta the sky
Like in Animal House
“Saw what you did there”
Reminds me of one time in a movie theater in gangville Long Beach when two homies get into a huge fight mid showing. I was scared guns were gonna go off but they were just yelling. And the one guy kept responding, “I’ll f*** your b****! I’ll f*** your b****!” Referring no doubt to the lovely young lady beside the other gentleman.
It’s true. But if you take it with a grain of salt, the fact that all these shows are choreographed, there’s still a nugget to learn something.
Orange County is such a pretty part of NY state. That fam is cray-cray.
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