[hada76]

i had one similar to that but older, first one with stick shift 5 speed (one on the left but mine was blue)

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by hada76

i had one similar to that but older, first one with stick shift 5 speed (one on the left but mine was blue)

Yours was a Fastback and it was geared more to the sports car type look and feel. It was lighter and handled better, had thinner tires with less rolling resistance, etc.

[Keith Seymore]

I've noticed all of the Schwinn advertisements show the shifter in a more "forward" position. Those are the higher gears; If you notice in my pic the shifter is pulled rearward (which is first gear).

I wonder why the ads are shown that way, because I can certainly personally attest that it is difficult to get rolling at low speeds from 3rd, 4th or 5th gear!

Sidebar: I am reminded that I used to ride wheelies on my Krate, at will. Meaning: I could ride down the driveway, all they way around the block, and back up into the garage - all on just the rear wheel....

K

[69 DAYTONA]

...I also had a blue 5-spd like the one on the left,

...earlier I had a Schwinn Drag Bike...it was a gold 3-spd with a "Cheater Slick" rear tire

...pix...my grandfather(Left), his sister and another friend

[455firebird1969]

All these schwinns bring back the memories. I never had a banana seat bike, but I did have a Varsity, and I could ride a wheelie on that ten speed forever. My brother got a cool sears bike one year for Christmas, it was "the rail". See attached pic I found on the web.

[MikeNoun]

I thought this one was pretty cool....

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

I thought this one was pretty cool....

Dang. Not sure how I missed out on one of those (...instead of the Krate bike).

Do you know what years those were made?

K

[MikeNoun]

Keith, I think it was a custom, but the Schwinn experts may be able to tell us for sure. It was at the MCACN show, in the Tiger Gold display.

[psw]

Originally Posted by hada76

i had one similar to that but older, first one with stick shift 5 speed (one on the left but mine was blue)

Yes, those Stingrays were quite popular. I had the coaster brake model in red, just like in this picture. Then in about 3rd grade (1976 for me) BMX hit my town and I converted my Stingray into a BMX machine, ditched the banana seat for a Messenger saddle, added BMX handle bars and knobby tires. I guess that was really my first hot rod!

[Jack Gifford]

One of the storefronts of my village property. The hitching post is gone now, but the cast iron grill work and column facades still exist, about a century later. No, that ain't me standin' there in the black hat...