The seller doesn’t say whether this fantastic Orange Krate 5-speed bike is original or if it has been restored, or a combination of the two. Whatever its current condition is the result of, it looks outstanding and, as weird as it sounds, seems a bit cheaper than usual. This 1969 Schwinn Sting-Ray Orange Krate is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Banks, Oregon, and they’re asking $3,250, firm. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
Somehow, after 47 years of Barn Finds being a website (well, not that long), we’ve only seen eight articles on Schwinn bikes. It sure seems like there should be more than that, doesn’t it? Maybe because so many of us grew up with Schwinns, or Schwinn knockoffs, as in the case of my brother and me, who had somewhat similar-looking “Sting-Ray” bikes, but were made by Sears. In our case, that shifter-looking lever was a parking brake, and the bikes were single-speed.
The rear derailleur on this Orange Krate lets us know this is not a mere single-speed economy bike for economy-minded parents to buy their kids, but a true five-speed. The details are great on this bike. The rear tire isn’t exactly a “gripper-slik” tire like this, but it’s close enough. A white-letter tire would be nice if a person owned Amazon or Tesla or were otherwise a devil-may-care billionaire with enough time and money to either search the globe for one or have one custom-made. Speaking of money, this bike was $93.95 brand new in 1969, and the asking price is about 35 times that. Above inflation for sure, but not that much more than the rise in Hemi Cuda values, or other similar muscle cars.
Schwinn introduced the Sting-Ray in 1963, and we know not all Sting-Ray models were made every year of Schwinn’s Sting-Ray Krate series, which ran from 1968 through 1973 and then came back in 2020 for some retro production. For 1969, the models were the Apple Krate, Lemon Peeler, Pea Picker, and the Orange Krate, as seen here. Other models were available later, such as the Grey Ghost, Cotton Picker, Crotch Catcher, and… hey, wait a minute. We’ve all heard the stories about that shifter location not being the best during abrupt stops or landing after jumps.
We saw one almost a year ago here, and that was about $1,500 more than this bike. As always, there are no engine photos! COME ON!! That was lame, sorry. Pedal power provided all the forward momentum required to have fun as a kid, and a lot of us still remember riding our bikes like it was yesterday. For some of us, it literally was just yesterday, I just topped off the air in my ’66 Mattel Stallion and rode it around a bit. $3,250 almost seems too cheap for a bike this nice in 2025, given some of the prices we’ve seen recently. Let’s hear those bike stories!
A kid in the subdivision got one exactly like this new-slick back tire, the whole Marianne. Suddenly he was the talk of the block and then all the boys were suddenly sporting ape hangers with banana seats to be cool..
This one looks good though you’re right Scotty it’s GOT to have a slick on the back!
Sweet!! If we only knew back in the day. The seller has nothing but bicycles for sale.
The memories! Mine was green, older brother had a red one, little brother’s was blue, I think. They were stolen while we were at the park and replaced by an English bicycle brand…Raleigh maybe?
Hall of Fame shifter. 🏅
Wow. It looks great in all the photos. I completely agree about the rear slick, but this one will do. I knew a kid who had a green one like this one and I just loved that thing. He used it for his paper route. I dont remember how many miles he had on it ( it had an odometer, Schwinn Approved of course!!!) But it may have been a couple thousand miles. It was clean always polished. These were indeed the Cadillacs ( or Lincolns, or Packards, or Imperials…… Well, whatever floats your boat) of the neighborhood. ( Maybe more like GTO, or Mustang, or Cougar or……. Well…… You know……)
When I saw this on Fast Finds I was really hoping Scotty would write it up. And you didn’t disappoint!!! And T.J., thank you for finding this gem too. Hope it goes to a good new home.
Looks like a mish mash… The seat is wrong, but, the pedals are right. Handgrips look to be right. Rear seat shocks look new. The paint and chrome look to shiny for 57 year old bike. PS Still got my Apple Krate from back in the day.
Actually the handgrips and brake handle covers are wrong….and the Orange Krate would be the one without the front fender when introduced.
This is also not equipped with the rare disk brake option – yes they had them – so not sure the price is right. Should also be running a reproduction slick at least.
maybe you guys can tell me what this was. A kid in our town when growing up, late 60’s early 70’s, had a green bike with a shifter like this and a steering wheel on it. I rode it a couple of times and thought the steering wheel made the bike hard to ride. Don’t know what the name of the bike was.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1250525-ithe-wheeln-huffy.html
Apologies for not posting a picture-haven’t been able to figure it out…
I remember seeing one with a steering wheel in the Sears Wish Book, back in the day. They had a version of everything.
Its a “The Huffy Wheel”, one of my neighbor’s had one too. Was very cool looking but a horrible idea
I looked that up and that is what it was. Very bad to ride
I wonder if this was a committee project or if one Schwinn designer had a gift for understanding the Psych of a kid back then?
They just blew up the gotta have it vibe, but the price put it totally in dreamland with my parents income.
When you see one fully dressed out and looking like new like this I can easily recall the wonder of the first time I saw one of the neighbor kids with one.
But man, we beat the snot out of our bikes and they didn’t really stand up to that kind of abuse. Regular Sting Rays were better.
Anyways, fun to see the write up. I guess my shock over prices has worn thin as I can’t be bothered to even mention it.
I know nothing about these bikes. But they do look cool. I don’t remember anyone in my small rural blue collar Ohio home town having one. After seeing their 1969 price of $93.95, which equates to about $830 today, that explains why.
I drooled over a friends Sting Ray, until my parents bought me a 3 month old Honda Z 50 for $200. Seemed like a bargain for so much more. I still have it today
Great comments, folks! Thanks for the seat info, Rogue1, good eye! I didn’t mention that it should have an orange seat with a white stripe (or two?) down the center than the one on there now, I think?
Our little single-speed Sears bikes were $63.95, according to the old catalog advertisement that I posted on the link in the second paragraph, which is around $535 today. That was an absolutely crazy amount of money for our parents at the time, and they bought both my brother and I one, so over $1,000 in 2025 dollars. Still, they were about 50% cheaper than the ultimate 5-speed Sting-Ray bikes.
BF articles on these Krates always being the most comments! Most of us grew up with these – had one or wanted one – so they bring back great memories.
My parents purchased a new 1968 Orange Krate for me at Bob’s Bicycle Shop in downtown Nashville TN.
I don’t remember this however my mother told me the story of going to pickup the bike.
When we walked in to pickup the bike a man was sitting on my bike! He looked at me and asked me if this was my bike? I said yes! The man told is was a nice bike and he was going to buy one for his grandson.
That man was Roy Acuff!
King of the Grand Ole Opry!
Brings back many memories. That banana seat was much more comfortable than my Schwin ten speed.
1969 was the only year that the shift lever was bent over at a 90 degree angle. I still have my 1969 Fastback Stingray, one owner bike. A kid in the neighborhood named Joe had a Krate and couldn’t ride a wheelie, we always blamed the heavy front end. Maybe Joe just sucked at wheelies?
By the time the Sting-Rays came out, I already had my learner’s permit and my Schwinn bike with the Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub had already been relegated to a corner of the garage behind some garden tools. But I thought these bikes were cool and I knew all the younger kids in the neighborhood were lusting after them.
Todd, I remember that, as oldest child, I was the recipient of an “English Racer” bike that my parents won at a drive in theatre contest. It had the Sturmey Acher three speed hub as well. And it too got passed down to my younger brother as I received my driver permit. At 77 I do have a neglected Raleigh three speed in the garage. They’re pretty simple if kept somewhat clean and lubricated, though I would not want to work on the hub that contains the gears.
To sweeten the deal, the owner needs to throw in a few circa 1969 Baseball trading cards for the wheels.
Lol, can’t believe my mom paid 100 bucks for mine!
A friend of mine had a Schwinn dealership, Schwinn had a problem with those shifters, they removed them after a number of boys were Impaled on them.
I loved that we referred to the bars as “Ape Hangars” :) Couldnt do that today! Might offend an Ape!
A kid down the block had a Lemon Peeler and I was stuck with a rusted out older Sting Ray with a broken stick shift! As I was a short couple of years from a drivers license I didnt really care as my attention was already turning to 4 wheels. But as we all know the Sting Rays were and remain Sui Generis as the Romans used to say…….nothing else like them! :)
My ape’s on my first built Scwhinn BMX with knobies front and back…
$3,250 is what I paid for a brand new 1973 Mercury Capri in 1972!! Let me see….. a new car or an antique 5 spd bike??? I’d have to think long and hard on this purchase!!
Mike, your ’73 Capri was 35 times more expensive than this Sting-Ray was brand new in 1969. Your car would be $23,714 in 2025 dollars. Sadly, a #1 Concours-condition 1973 Mercury Capri is only worth $13,600 today, so if you had bought 35 Schwinn Sting-Ray bikes, you would have been much better off today! ($113,750)
You could also get a disk brake rear wheel set up for the Krates back in the day, Scotty.
At my 5th grade, it was every boy’s dream, then after Christmas break, three rich kid boys each showed up riding shinny new one. A lemon crate, an orange crate and apple? crate, we were all crazy green with envy and they had the big head. After much begging, for Christmas 1970, I received a Montgomery Ward “Hawthorne” knock off, candy apple red, trimmed in gold metallic. It was about $40.00 cheaper than the Schwinn, which was a lot for my parents then. I was proud of it and I thought of it like they had 327 Cameros and I got a base Javelin. Still cool, right?
Same here, all the rich kids had these, and I got an imitation, which I loved and still remember how excited I was on that Christmas day.
I can’t remember what model mine was, but went searching the last time a Krate article was posted here and this is the closest I could find.
I was given a 24″Schwinn unicycle for my 12th birthday. I used to deliver the daily Tribune on it. Another carrier had a pea picker like this and we used to have wheelie contests, but he never bested me! I remember it cost $39.99 and yes I can still ride it at 69.
This is the bike that everyone wanted but only the spoiled kids got.
I guess I was spoiled and liked it!
I guess I was spoiled and I liked it!
So, does the 65 or 70-yr old guy who buys this try to ride it around the neighborhood or just stare at it in the garage?
Stare at it!
Relive old times trying to impress that 3rd or 4th grade girl you liked!
Always wanted one.mine was a stingray.i taped a transistor radio to my handle bars.man I was cool!
That is a pretty high price for such a non original bike, but some restored Krates sold for up to $20k on an auction lately.
The Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange is a great resource for all things old bikes. https://thecabe.com/forum/
My brother had an Apple Krate, it was stolen and the perp had to buy my bro a bike, which wasn’t a Krate since they were sold out. He ended up with a 16 inch 3 speed Stingray Runabout ‘folding bike’, quite a let down. I made a replica Apple years ago, collected and restored some bikes, my collection includes an original rough Orange Krate, a Lemon Peeler Coaster Krate, a Stingray Runabout, a 1972 Apple Krate with disc brake,(My bestie) and a reproduction Pea Picker.I also have other balloon tire older bikes, the highlight being an original 1958 Schwinn Black Phantom. Oh, also a Raleigh Chopper 3 spd Mk II, and a very rusted Mattel Stallion.