I Went to Walmart :-0

[equality72521]

Screw the krate, you need an Electra:

[Racerbvd]

I assumed were restored Stingrays and Crates at fairly high prices in their showroom when I happened upon the place recently....Maybe they were just these same bikes Walmart is selling for cheap?

I just checked the site, and they are offering the walfard bikes for $225
The seat strut is a give-a-way. Schwinn also offer a few retro Krates back in 99, slightly nice than this.

Byron, did you stop my the ammo counter? I hear it's getting expensive now.

not too bad around here, we buy in volume

. Then I started driving out to Orange County to visit with my 83 year old mother every Tuesday evening and guess where she just HAS to go every Tuesday? Yup, Walmart.

Dan, we have to make them happy, I use to take my Grandmother shopping & late my Great Aunt, but I didn't have to go to walfart There is one good thing about the place, they have some very cool 1/87 scale Porsche models



id10t, SWEET!!!

[Dixie]

heard that the front door to WalMart is actually a teleporter to the 1980's deep South.

Akin to saying a trip to a gay bar is like a visit to California...

[ronin]

equality72521, now that's a cool bobber. ah, the good ole days...

damn! am I that old???

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by equality72521

Screw the krate, you need an Electra:

Cool bike, but one of the reasons I wanted a Krate though, was that as a child I had a Lemon Krate and I do have a 70s Muscle Bike chopper to build up

[WI wide body]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

I Went to Walmart

Well, we all pretty much know that the only thing I like about the place is the people are funny to joke about. Well, I was on one of the Schwinn forums I hang out on, and saw a thing about $59 Krates
Well, this I had to check out as I have been wanting something to take to the track as a pit bike that I wouldn't worry about like when I bring one of my 70s Scramblers or AZUSAs.
Well, I walked in and sure enough, there it was, a green Schwinn Sting-Ray Krate. Not great, much cheaper built than the Lemon Peeler I had as a child. And sure enough, $59
Now all I need is some Tuffs for it. At that price, one could build a Scrambler clone too

It doesn't ride bad, I was getting kinda funny looks, a big gray haired guy walking this bike though the store and then riding it to my car.

One of my boys kept his '70s vintage Apple Krate (in exc. original condition) and I can gaurantee you that anything for $59 bucks at Chinaland...er...WalMart is nothing even resembling one of the old Schwinn Apple or Orange Krates.

[bigchillcar]

i had one of those heavy, yellow 'shock absorber' bikes called 'emmex' i think back in about '75. any pic of one of those byron? had a molded plastic gas tank and racing decal ziptied to the front as i recall. also, back in the early 70's, another kid in the neighborhood had a bike with a really wide chainguard with i think a 'viper' or some kind of snake on the side of it..i liked its looks..another kid had a bike with a round steering wheel..not sure if it was a handmade deal or not though. man, i've been away from bikes for like 28-29 years i think. i never learned tricks though, other than the occasional wheelie or ramping through the air across a sheet of plywood.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by WI wide body

One of my boys kept his '70s vintage Apple Krate (in exc. original condition) and I can gaurantee you that anything for $59 bucks at Chinaland...er...WalMart is nothing even resembling one of the old Schwinn Apple or Orange Krates.

And you have that right, other that slight resemblance it is nothing like the real thing, but, for a beater that I can play with & not worry about any one stealing it or damaging it. I also collect vintage bikes and love to ride, but am very careful with my 30+ year olds. Knowing the value of a mint krate, I wouldn't take one as a rider to a DE or race, not because I'm worried about them being stolen, but more because most people look at them as a nothing more than a kids bike and might hop on it and do something stupid & break something. I learned this the hard way, BTW, and these parts (not re-pops) are getting harder to find. Is your son interested in getting rid of his Apple Krate??? What year is it??? Disc brake or not??

BTW, we can thank that ****** ralph nader for killing off the Schwinn 3 & 5 speed krates, he was worried that the stick shifter would hurt is dating pool

[WI wide body]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

And you have that right, other that slight resemblance it is nothing like the real thing, but, for a beater that I can play with & not worry about any one stealing it or damaging it. I also collect vintage bikes and love to ride, but am very careful with my 30+ year olds. Knowing the value of a mint krate, I wouldn't take one as a rider to a DE or race, not because I'm worried about them being stolen, but more because most people look at them as a nothing more than a kids bike and might hop on it and do something stupid & break something. I learned this the hard way, BTW, and these parts (not re-pops) are getting harder to find. Is your son interested in getting rid of his Apple Krate??? What year is it??? Disc brake or not??

BTW, we can thank that ****** ralph nader for killing off the Schwinn 3 & 5 speed krates, he was worried that the stick shifter would hurt is dating pool

You collect bikes...what exactly is our old Krate worth? A guy offered my kid $700 for it so I imagine it's far above that by now.

We also almost bought one of the replicas a few years back. What I noticed was the difference in weight. Gosh but that old Krate was heavy!

I do have all the info on the serial and how to read the year and month code but I can't say for certain right off hand. It is totally stock original per the brakes, the seat, the springer front end, the rear shocks, speedomemter, monkey bars, etc. It did have a light unit on it, I'm not sure if it was original now that I think about it...but we removed it the last time I cleaned it up.

The seat has a small tear and the wide rear tire needs to be replaced. I was looking for an exact replacement on eBay and the prices were incredible and then we relocated up here and it's in storage now.

I highly doubt that my kid would sell it but ya never know. He took apart a 1960 H-D Sportster about 15 years ago and the engine is still in a box somewhere among his stuff so that indicates how he gets rid of anything.

I will not let him even get close to my 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R that has 5361 miles on it!

[williecoyote]

Originally Posted by equality72521

Screw the krate, you need an Electra:

My daughter has that same bike, but minus the ape hangers. She is proud of herself!

Byron, do the WallyWorld krates come in other flavors? Or just green.

[Racerbvd]

i had one of those heavy, yellow 'shock absorber' bikes called 'emmex' i think back in about '75. any pic of one of those byron? had a molded plastic gas tank and racing decal ziptied to the front as i recall. also, back in the early 70's, another kid in the neighborhood had a bike with a really wide chainguard with i think a 'viper' or some kind of snake on the side of it..i liked its looks..another kid had a bike with a round steering wheel..not sure if it was a handmade deal or not though. man, i've been away from bikes for like 28-29 years i think. i never learned tricks though, other than the occasional wheelie or ramping through the air across a sheet of plywood.

At first, it sounded like a Yamaha, but they didn't have the tank, Rampars did, but they were black with red tank & fenders. There was a bunch of chopper style bikes back then, and every chain store (Sears, Monkey Wards) had one, mostly the same bike witth a different name
Yes, you use to be able to buy a steering wheel for your bike, I had one, but traded it off as I couldn't jump ramps with a steering wheel
See, I have been trading parts since the early 70s and one day will get all my bikes built/ restored

Originally Posted by WI wide body

You collect bikes...what exactly is our old Krate worth? A guy offered my kid $700 for it so I imagine it's far above that by now.
The seat has a small tear and the wide rear tire needs to be replaced. I was looking for an exact replacement on eBay and the prices were incredible and then we relocated up here and it's in storage now.
!

If it is as nice as you say, good bet would be over $1000, and if it is a RED LINE slick, I have seen those NOS tires sell for over a $1,000 Please send me pictures if you can, me911bvd@aol.com, I'm sure that there may be some Porsche parts you may need/want that normally I wouldn't offer up

Byron, do the WallyWorld krates come in other flavors? Or just green

Yes, a few others, black & blue.

[WI wide body]

[QUOTE=Racerbvd;3710847]At first, it sounded like a Yamaha, but they didn't have the tank, Rampars did, but they were black with red tank & fenders. There was a bunch of chopper style bikes back then, and every chain store (Sears, Monkey Wards) had one, mostly the same bike witth a different name

If it is as nice as you say, good bet would be over $1000, and if it is a RED LINE slick, I have seen those NOS tires sell for over a $1,000 Please send me pictures if you can, me911bvd@aol.com, I'm sure that there may be some Porsche parts you may need/want that normally I wouldn't offer up

I'll send you a pic when we get it out of storage but I doubt that my kid would sell it unless the offer was ridiculous. As for the tire, it is the wide slick. Can't recall if it was a whitewall but I don't think it was.

My former company's Tech Center was located in Perrysburg, OH. One day during a visit instead of turning onto Rte. 25 (I think) on my way out I went straight and lo and behold was one of the biggest vintage bike stores that I have ever seen. Actually the only one. Can't recall the name right now but I ended up buying an owner manual, a repair/reference book, and a few small items. I wonder if it's still there.

[Racerbvd]

[QUOTE=WI wide body;3710881]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

I'll send you a pic when we get it out of storage but I doubt that my kid would sell it unless the offer was ridiculous. As for the tire, it is the wide slick. Can't recall if it was a whitewall but I don't think it was.

My former company's Tech Center was located in Perrysburg, OH. One day during a visit instead of turning onto Rte. 25 (I think) on my way out I went straight and lo and behold was one of the biggest vintage bike stores that I have ever seen. Actually the only one. Can't recall the name right now but I ended up buying an owner manual, a repair/reference book, and a few small items. I wonder if it's still there.

I understand not wanting to sell it, as I have a few that you couldn't pry out of my hands, and I have had some pretty good offers. But I still want to see some pix

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Cr@p Paul, you're old! Hell, you're older than me and that's OLD!

I'm kidding of course. My mother worked in the "stockroom" for JC Penney so she got a 10 or 15% discount. On Christmas morning, there was a new Foremost 3 speed - my first new bike. It looked like the bike "Maria" (Julie Andrews) rode in 'The Sound of Music"! Very upright, completely uncool. I remember being embarassed because all my buddies had new Sting-Ray's. I am now embarassed to say I almost never rode it, ingrate jackass kid that I was.

LOL! The old Huffy radio bike? Balloon tires...weighed a ton! One speed, what they called a "coaster brake"...pedal backwards to stop the bike. Hell, the battery for the radio must have been 5 pounds...listen as you ride? Nope...even the local (AM only) station would fade in and out as you rode aound the block.

But...nostalgia is nostalgia. That's why people are foolish enough to pay big bucks for old vehicles...pedal powered or not.

(edit)...a sad word of my times....back then, bikes were okay, but only for "kids" in grade school. No "middle schools" back then. Grade School was 1-8. High school 9-12. Once in High School? Only nerds rode bikes...so, you either bussed, (if you lived outside the city limits), walked, or the ulimate in "cool"...drove to High School. Man, I was so envious of an upper class guy back in '58, my freshman year...his daddy bought him a new Corvette the day he got his license to drive. Took me a few years after high school to realize just how screwed up this really was...

Uh...I walked to High School. All 4 years. I survived...but to this day, I don't attend reunions. I didn't turn 16, the legal age to drive then, until my 16th year, which was also my senior year.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

LOL! The old Huffy radio bike? Balloon tires...weighed a ton! One speed, what they called a "coaster brake"...pedal backwards to stop the bike. Hell, the battery for the radio must have been 5 pounds...listen as you ride? Nope...even the local (AM only) station would fade in and out as you rode aound the block.

But...nostalgia is nostalgia. That's why people are foolish enough to pay big bucks for old vehicles...pedal powered or not.

I also own a Schwinn Cycle Truck

You want to talk HEAVY

[Moneyguy1]

racer:

My 7 YO grandson is into BMX. We have him all decked out with the proper gear, and he has been at it for over a year now and is Intermediate. Nice track out here "Desert Sunset" Has a great website. I enjoy watching the kids (and a few adults) race on Thursday (practice night) and Friday (race) night. Working right now to get them a proper sign.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

racer:

My 7 YO grandson is into BMX. We have him all decked out with the proper gear, and he has been at it for over a year now and is Intermediate. Nice track out here "Desert Sunset" Has a great website. I enjoy watching the kids (and a few adults) race on Thursday (practice night) and Friday (race) night. Working right now to get them a proper sign.

Very cool Bob, you should post some pix, it mght be a good sport for you to get into as well, there are more than a FEW OF US OVER 40 THAT STILL PLAY (we did start the sport, and we still enjoy it). Are they ABA or NBL?? Tracks always need taled help, you are a organized guy, help them out so they can grow.

[WI wide body]

[QUOTE=Racerbvd;3710916]

Originally Posted by WI wide body

I understand not wanting to sell it, as I have a few that you couldn't pry out of my hands, and I have had some pretty good offers. But I still want to see some pix

Will do. I'll also include the production date.

[Moneyguy1]

racer:

My son-in-law wants to get into it (he just had his 40th). He and I discussed the sport and came up with the conclusion that he might get hurt, but I would disintegrate.

[Joeaksa]

You guys are bringing back a lot of memories!