[Steve Barcak]

[QUOTE=Steve Barcak;4186968]

In the abve post I mention 'prior to late 1963' because that was the time Schwinn introduced a new type of bike that changed everything. Introducing the new Schwinn Stingray! Almost overnight, the trend in kids bikes went from somewhat blause' 26" med weights to sleek 20" Stingrays with butterfly handle bars and banana seats.


The Sting Ray was an enourmous success and soon there were variations from Schwinn including the Deluxe, the Slick Chic, etc. In 1968 the ultimate Stingray was released by Schwinn.
Known as the 'Krates" they were originally offered in 3 colors- Red "Apple Krate", Orange "Orange Krate" and yellow "Lemon Peeler".
These bikes had a smaller 16" front wheel/tire with a motorcycle style front drum brake, springer front fork, pogo type front seat post, colored ( to match the bikes indivdual color ) rear slick, 5 speed with car style shifter, 'mag' chrome front sproket, etc. These were the ultimate "muscle bikes' and were patterend after the popularity of musclecars.

If you were a kid in the '68 to '73 time frame, this was the ultimate Christmas or birthday present.



Note this early photographed version does not have the rear slick matching colored striped tire that the production versions had.

With 5 speeds they were very fast too!

[Steve Barcak]

The Schwinn Stingrays success was similar that of the GTO in that , within a short time, all other manufacturers had their own version,or copy of it.

Each year Schwinn changed something just like the car manufacturers did.

The pic in the above post is the '68 version. For '69 Schwinn changed some things on the Krates. They eliminated the pogo type front seat mount, added a front fender, changed the style of the shifter handle to a horizontal set up, went to a matching color seat, and switched to a cheater slick on the rear. There was also a new color for '69 green and that version was known as the "Pea Picker". You can remember how popular green was in the late 60s on cars, esp Pontiacs.
Here are a few '69 versions.





These were expensive bikes at around $100! I wanted one so bad but, would not even ask my parents for one because I thought it was too expensive. They were, by far, the nicest, classiest bikes of the era and they were built very well too. They combined the best of the dragster look, custom look and chopper look.

[Steve Barcak]

Here is what the Krates looked like for 1970. Schwinn changed ( just like the muscle cars did ) from a red line type tire to raised white letters, they also narrowed the handlebars which cut down on some injuries and made the bikes easier to get into narrower places. A new shifter with a vertical shifter handle and barrel shaped knob was also changed for '70. As disc brakes became more popular on cars, so did Schwinn! Some time during the '70 model year the rear caliper brake was replaced with a disc brake. Schwinn also offered a single speed coaster brake version of the Krate too. Also, a fifth color/ model was released in white known as the "Cotton Picker". Finally, Schwinn made a change to the front fender by adding a turned in edge which eliminted the sharp edge the '69s had.

The Orange Krate pictured is a 5 speed disc version. The 5 speed disc Krates are the most valuable to collectors today.

[Brian Baker]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

Here is what the Krates looked like for 1970. Schwinn changed ( just like the muscle cars did ) from a red line type tire to raised white letters, they also narrowed the handlebars which cut down on some injuries and made the bikes easier to get into narrower places. A new shifter with a vertical shifter handle and barrel shaped knob was also changed for '70. As disc brakes became more popular on cars, so did Schwinn! Some time during the '70 model year the rear caliper brake was replaced with a disc brake. Schwinn also offered a single speed coaster brake version of the Krate too. Also, a fifth color/ model was released in white known as the "Cotton Picker". Finally, Schwinn made a change to the front fender by adding a turned in edge which eliminted the sharp edge the '69s had.

The Orange Krate pictured is a 5 speed disc version. The 5 speed disc Krates are the most valuable to collectors today.

These are the ones I remember from my childhood. A buddy of mine had a yellow one.

[Bet Winner]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

I got an Apple Krate for Christmas in 1969 when I was 10 just like this one. The pamphlet attached to the bike compared the bike to to a dragster by pointing out the slick in the back, the little front wheel and the raked front. It is amazing what you can remember when you are excited about something as a kid.

That little drum brake in the front would stop you on a dime. An older friend wanted to ride it one time and went over the handle bars when he pressed the front brake way too hard. It did not take much.

I wish that I had kept it. Live and learn I guess.

I believe that my Mom and Dad still have a picture of it under the tree.

[muscle_collector]

i had to have one when they came out but they were way too expensive for my parents to buy me one. my dad said if you want one that bad save your money and buy one yourself. so i did (100.00) and i bought a cotton picker, 5 speed and disc brakes. i got the schwinn dealer to add a rear view mirror and a speedo. (i still have the speedo).
HOWEVER, i was never so disappointed with something that was so grand in my eyes. as cool as the bike was, it was not a good bike to race others. with the front and rear shock system, all of your torque of peddling was absorbed by the shocks and it kept you from accelerating as fast as a bike without the shocks. i kept it for about a year and sold it and bought a bike at tg&y that had a car steering wheel, rear spring shocks, and a console with a 3 speed shifter that had a " T " handle. the seat was supposed to be like a bucket seat and it had a 3/4 sissy bar. however again, i couldnt get the krate bike out of my system and the girls really thought they were cool so i bought a lemon peeler and hardly ever rode it. i kept it in mint condition and finally sold it to a guy about 20 years ago for at the time an unheard of price of 850.00. the guy was a bigtime bike collector and the last i heard, it was still mounted on the wall of a local bike shop. he told me that in all his collecting that it was the nicest original krate bike he had ever came across. i wish now that i had kept it.

[Keith Seymore]

Here's mine, on my 8th birthday -



Unfortunately, unlike most things, I sold that one.....to get the 10 speed that I still have.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Here's mine, on my 8th birthday -



Unfortunately, unlike most things, I sold that one.....to get the 10 speed that I still have.

Keith,
It looks like yours is a '69 model.


as for me, I ended up building my own custom "Krate". Will have to scan the pics to show you. It was based on a 20 Murray Stingray type frame, used a springer front end off of a 26" paper boy special, dual front sprockets on the front for 10 speeds, high sissy bar and more.

On the Krates, I started collecting them around 1990 when I found a '72 Pea Picker coaster Krate at a bike shop in good condition., As a kid, I did not know of, and never saw, a coaster Krate. Turns out the last year of the coaster Krate and the last year of the Pea Picker was '72 so this was a wise purchase. Then I found a somewhat restored '69 Apple Krate 5 speed. I had a custom seat made for it, added a rear disc brake and still ride it at the nostalgia drags once in awhile to this day! I do not feel weird riding it at my age. it is fun, fast, very collectable and pretty. My AppleKrate is also the mascot for my Candy Apple Red Pontiac powered AA/Fuel dragster too. "AppleKrate" is my cars nick name.
Also have collected most parts to build a '68 Lemon Peeler including NOS tires. My 4th vintage bike is a blue 5 speed delux. Schwinn never made a blue Krate.
So, have a total of 3 Krates and 1 5 speed delux. 4 is enought for me. More stuff for the Pontiac Heaven museum...

You are correct about the front springer fork absorbing some of your energy but, the look and the ride is a fair trade off.

When I bought my '69 Apple I was already in my 30s. There were some kids next door about 14-15 years old that rode the typical 20" single speed moto cross style bike. At first, they kinda made fun of my rectently aquired 'jalopy' and were confident they could easily out run me in a race.
Being twice their age and on a 20 year old bike, I offered to race them around the block. They accepted and got a bunch of friends to watch this 'slaughter'of me.

When the race started, he pulled me a bit but, less than 25% through the race around the block, he was tuckered out while I cruised past him in 5th gear! I beat him so bad that, at the finish line, I was already off of my bike and drinking a pop in front of his friends when he came around the last turn completely exhasted!

After he caught his breath I said "NEXT"! There were no takers . The kids from them on, knew the AppleKrate was the baddest bike on the block!

[Steve Barcak]

Just an outstanding photograph that captures the excitement of nitro at night!

[Steve Barcak]

Jim Wangers 1960 US Nationals winner

[Steve Barcak]

Good morning Mr Stalin and/or Mr. Khrushchev! This is your wake up call.
-SAC



During the cold war,what was the LAST thing you wanted to hear if you were playing bingo in Russia? B-52!


The photo above is actually one of the prototype B52s, not a production model. Note the inline cock pit arrangement. Production B-52s has side by side seating.

[Steve Barcak]

Sadly, a large percentage of GTOs and other musclecars ended up this way.

[Steve Barcak]

Pretty sure this is one of my heros, Neil Armstrong with one of my favorite planes. The X-15 was the ultimate hot rod reaching mach 6.7 which is 4,520 mph around the same that the 400 and 428 came out. 3 were made, 2 survive. One is in Dayton the other in DC.



The 7 original astrounauts 1959. Can you name them all?

[Steve Barcak]

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

Note this early photographed version does not have the rear slick matching colored striped tire that the production versions had.

No front fender, either - and white seat rather than orange.

K

[pmdclassics]

When football was a great sport.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

No front fender, either - and white seat rather than orange.

K

Yes, Krates did not have front fenders in '68, first year was '69. Also in '68 Krates had white speckled metalic seats with a stripe that matched the color of the frame.

[Steve Barcak]

[Steve Barcak]

Lew Arringtons Brutus '65 GTO Funny car



An honest to goodness Pontiac M/T HEMI. Blown, injected and on fuel!



A fairly rare early picture of the car before it had its well known paint job.

[Steve Barcak]

March 8, 1970 Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, Ca. The transmission explodes in Don Garlits' Top Fuel slingshot and severes his right foot.





Here is actual color video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1a8ZQxq8EE