My son's new "classic" vehicle

[cometcougar]

On the Cougar forum I frequent, someone started a thread about our "other" classics. I figured it might be fun to see if anybody here still has their first set of wheels! This is my Schwinn Manta-Ray that I got for Christmas when I was about 6 or 7. My son just loves it! (Which is good since his other bike - see it in the background? - is out of commission.)

[Sedanman]

That's in really nice shape - and cool that you still have it after all these years. I recently discovered some old photos of my brothers bike ( it was a Sears product but looked like an Orange Krate) that was passed down to me. If you take lots of photos, you should join Flickr and post this in the Vintage Bikes pool at http://www.flickr.com/groups/vintagebikes/

[redfalken]

Very cool! And is that the metallic vinyl banana seat? I can't even remember my first bike specifically but I do recall ones similar to yours. I had one with a transistor radio on the handlebars and thought that was pretty high tech!

A few years ago I bought a pair of matching men's/women's 1971 Schwinns. They need some new tires really bad before I would want to ride them very far but they sure are fun.

[Sedanman]

That's the exact same bike my brother had, Kenny. Here's his first bike, and then later when it was handed down to me and turned into a BMX. The first photo just got chosen by a Bicycle Safety organization for their flyer in New Hampshire - I'm awaiting a copy in the mail.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...57594458137266

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...57594458137266

[MacDee]

I still have a PIECE of my "first" bike. It wasn't really my first, but it was the first 10-speed in town...back in 1960. I think I was the first owner of the then-new Schwinn Continental in Orange, CA, when I got it for my 10th birthday. I had the bike all the way until shortly after I got married. I built up a bike for my wife using some of the pieces from that old Continental. We still have that bike, and it's still using the original drop-down handlebars from the Continental.

[Luva65wagon]

In 1966 I got my first bike, which was a metallic blue Stingray with the sissy bar (who named that thing that?). My sisters got pink girls versions of the same bike, but I had the big bars and they had the small bars. They were older than me and stopped riding them about 2 or 3 years later. I then stole the short bars and rebuilt the bike from the ground up (which I did about 3 more times). I kept that bike until I was 17 when I rebuilt it and repainted it again and sold it in 1977 for $65. It was far from original, so it's value today would not have been as high as that yellow Manta-Ray up there is today. And speaking of which... you better get insurance on that thing 'cause it's worth about $500-600 these days.

[Cutman]

A couple winters back I got stir crazy and built this bike for my 13 year old nephew. It started as a Goodwill mountain bike I got for $7. It has a generator at the rear wheel that powers a tail light. The wiring is routed inside the frame. The bike is about seven feet long and the seat is 22 inches off the ground. I rode it on the local bike path one Saturday in the summer and it took forever due to folks stopping me and wanting to look at it. That was fun. The best part is when they asked where they could buy one. My wife says I can't leave anything original... nope.

[Sedanman]

Neat bike, Cutman - but you must have some l o n g arms! I look forward to seeing the after pics of your wagon.

[Cutman]

Thanks for the cudos on the bike and I can't wait to see the wagon done also. I put some pictures in my intro... paint colors and some of the suspension/motor swap stuff I've done.
Check it out,
Rob

[cometcougar]

That is a cool bike. You are an artist!

[Cutman]

Thanks... I really like adding my own personal touch to my projects. Best part is my nephew though I was just fixin' up a Goodwill bike for him. Neeless to say, he wasn't real excited. When that bike rolled out of the garage he was tickled to death. Worth all the work. Building one for my daugher now that it slicker than the spidee bike.
Thanks for lookin'
Rob

[RetroSpeed]

There are some very nice bikes posted. I had a Schwinn Apple Krate as a kid and built this "Retro Krate" as a Christmas gift for my son in 2007. Some new tires and tubes made it roadworthy again after hanging in the garage rafters for 10 years.

BFK.jpg