My Second Schwinn Stingray Return to Timeline
This would not turn out to be the first and only time I would have the same model bike twice. More on that later. And I was up to 2 bikes again. The Volkscycle and another Stingray bought from a neighbor. (That was a strange deal, because it was my friend's old bike, but I bought from his dad, not from him. His dad got the 25 bucks. Whatever, as we used to say in SoCal.)
I bought this in middle school, because all my friends had BMX bikes. Mongoose was the hot model, but they were expensive. My friend, Jeff, discouraged from buying this Stingray, because it was definitely old school. And the springer fork was totally lame, according to him. I didn't care. I wanted it. And I fixed it up well. Stipped it down to the frame and painted that jet black (that turned out to be flat and flakey, crummy spray paint...who cares) and found original white decals that were so satisfying to apply. The rims and spokes were polished to brilliance with steel wool, a material possessed of magic, and my parents gave me a set of new tires for Christmas. Best present ever. They gripped, rolled, and buzzed in wondrous harmony. Even installed a new cog on the rear hub. (Jeff turned out to be right about the spring fork. The front end was heavy and mushy, poor for stunts and acceleration, and the squish-squash when pedaling was definitely lame. Jeff was right.)
One day, the garage door was open, and someone stole my second Stingray, along with my Mom's Dutch city bike. Dang, 2 for 2 was not a good record.
Fate: Stolen
This would not turn out to be the first and only time I would have the same model bike twice. More on that later. And I was up to 2 bikes again. The Volkscycle and another Stingray bought from a neighbor. (That was a strange deal, because it was my friend's old bike, but I bought from his dad, not from him. His dad got the 25 bucks. Whatever, as we used to say in SoCal.)
I bought this in middle school, because all my friends had BMX bikes. Mongoose was the hot model, but they were expensive. My friend, Jeff, discouraged from buying this Stingray, because it was definitely old school. And the springer fork was totally lame, according to him. I didn't care. I wanted it. And I fixed it up well. Stipped it down to the frame and painted that jet black (that turned out to be flat and flakey, crummy spray paint...who cares) and found original white decals that were so satisfying to apply. The rims and spokes were polished to brilliance with steel wool, a material possessed of magic, and my parents gave me a set of new tires for Christmas. Best present ever. They gripped, rolled, and buzzed in wondrous harmony. Even installed a new cog on the rear hub. (Jeff turned out to be right about the spring fork. The front end was heavy and mushy, poor for stunts and acceleration, and the squish-squash when pedaling was definitely lame. Jeff was right.)
One day, the garage door was open, and someone stole my second Stingray, along with my Mom's Dutch city bike. Dang, 2 for 2 was not a good record.
Fate: Stolen
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| This is the nearest I can find to how my 2nd Stingray looked. By my late middle school years, I wouldn't be caught dead with a banana seat and sissy bar (unfulfilled dreams lead to evolution of spiritual uncertainty) but that spring fork was rad, as we used to say in SoCal. Or was it bitchen? Yeah, it was bitchen. I stripped it down and painted it black, applied lovely contrasting white decals, and put it back together myself. That was satisfying. No photo of mine that I can find. Image courtesy: http://www.ebay.com/cln/barbie5682/other-bikes/54494256013 |
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