1970 Schwinn Sting Ray “Orange Krate”
1970 Schwinn Orange Krate
Who says you can’t buy style? If you had one of these in 1970, you were one of the most stylish and coolest kids in the neighborhood.
Style and engineering abound. Chrome fenders to keep the road spray in check. A five-speed “Stik Shift” and derailleur to help reach the fastest speeds. Metal flake orange accents. A banana seat with racing stripes and a suspension sissy bar to support the rider and/or a passenger. A front drum brake, a front springer fork, a fat rear slick tire for massive skids, chopper handlebars and matching grips.
I am so confident in the awesomeness of the Orange Krate that I’ll just come on out and say it: If Steve McQueen ever rode a bicycle, it would have been one of these.
As you can see from the condition of this bike, the original owner liked to cruise or drag race, prefering to let the daredevils do all of the dangerous jumps and wheelies.
A good look at the Schwinn springer fork
Wow, a stick shifter… Cool!
Five speeds… all fast.
An original from Seattle, and yet no moss growing on it
The Schwinn catalogue showed us how ride in style
Drag racing, Schwinn style.
This Schwinn was first sold out of a bike shop in Seattle and has stayed in the area ever since. Funny, all those years in the Pacific Northwest and yet there is no rust or moss growing on it…