They made a movie about that, it was called Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Have you checked the Alamo, in the basement?
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.
In 3rd grade (or maybe second), we had a bicycle safety class...Today, when we bike...noone knows how to bike correctly...
Lookin good
That Truly Hurts.
Sorry.
Couldn’t afford Schwinns. But I could afford Murrays. So away I went. But Schwinns were so cool.
In 1966, my parents promised me a Schwinn Stingray if I advanced to the smart kids reading group in my first grade class. I did, and I got the bike. It was my pride and joy. One night, I forgot to bring it inside, left it out on the lawn. It was stolen. I have missed that bike ever since. I had to go back to riding an old one speed that had a removable top bar so it could be a boys or girls bike. I had had a wreck with that bike, and bent the frame, so the top bar wouldn’t go back in place It was thus a girls bike. I learned a valuable lesson about human nature from that theft.
They made a movie about that, it was called Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Have you checked the Alamo, in the basement?
My story is similar but different I had a full size boys bike (way too big) from sears, my grandparents gave me and my brother identical bikes one year for Christmas. I was probably 8 at the time (1966). After a time mine was stolen and since I needed a replacement I lobbied hard and heavy for a String Ray style bike. I ended up with a Ross Barracuda. This was a 3 speed bike, Maroon in color, very cool. I was 11 then.
After a time I broke the 3 speed hub, my parents had it converted to a single speed coaster brake. I rode that thing when I got my paper route a few years later but saved up my paper money and bought a Raleigh 3 speed, a regular style full size bicycle. I rod that thing to death until I got my first 10 speed bike, also from paper route money this was at the height of the 10 speed popularity I was 15 or 16 then. I put many thousands of miles on the Raleigh 3 speed but learned to love bikes on the 10 speed.
I just within the past month took my 1986 Nishiki Olympic 2x6 out of mothballs. Took it down to the frame and did a few minor upgrades, about $150.00 in total. Classic steel. Been a non-rider for about 15 years but have decided to ride in a metric century this July that is 65 miles. Got a gut to lose.
They made a movie about that, it was called Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Have you checked the Alamo, in the basement?
I could have sworn that I read somewhere that there had been controversey regarding the name "Cotton Picker". Couldn't find anything now.
LOL, don’t think I ever saw that movie. I can’t believe they stole my life!
Interestingly, from Day One, I perceived Pee Wee Herman as a pervert.
Something about him literally raised the hair on the back of my neck.
I learned early in life when that happened, run like the dickens in the opposite direction.
The fact that he rode bikes in movies doesn’t make me want to punish the bikes. LOL
Good luck with that 1986 bike. I read an article recently, talking about how much better bikes are now, even the cheap ones, than they were 20 years ago. The brakes, the gear changing, the shape of the frame that absorbs bumps better, etc. If you are going to ride those long distances, you might want one that is more modern.
I got my first 10 speed around 1973, so I could ride to junior high. It was a game changer. My friends and I roamed far and wide with those things. Mine was a C.Itoh Japanese off brand, back when Japanese bikes were considered cheap and poorly made. It was ok, but the gears were what made the difference. Of course a few years later, we were driving, and bikes didn’t matter to much to us after that. I had an old Mustang that I wish I still had, just like my Schwinn Stingray.
That’s me! Were you filming me?
No, not me. I got the footage from mall security. :)
“The Schwinn Apple Crate is my Rosebud, but you are correct about our blessings.”
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When you reference ‘Rosebud,’ it makes it a bit clearer. It’s a ‘what might have been,’ emotion.
Thank you caltaxed, for the explanation! I apologize for not seeing it in the complete experience of life. It does make a difference.
While I’m still a bit under the weather about the elections, I wake up knowing the Lord God is Above, and that Election 2016 He granted American a bit of mercy!
That type of front-end is called a girder.
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