We’ve only seen Schwinn bicycles 10 times here on Barn Finds; that’s crazy. I would have bet anything that we had seen many more than that, but if nothing else, this is the very first single-speed Sting-Ray that we’ve seen. I’m guessing that most of us over the age of 30 or 40 grew up with a single-speed bike as our first one. This 1970s Schwinn Sting-Ray single-speed bike can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in De Pere, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Reportedly, the first time a Schwinn Sting-Ray showed up for sale was way back in 1963, or more particularly, 1963 1/2, as it is said to not have quite made the 1963 Schwinn catalog, but here’s a 1963 1/2 ad for it. It’s basically the same bike as this example, which the seller says is from the 1970s. They don’t give any numbers or show any stampings or anything like that, unfortunately. A serial number would make it easy to nail the exact year of production. The chain guard says Schwinn De-Luxe Sting-Ray, but there doesn’t appear to be a Schwinn decal on the top bar. Maybe this one has been touched up over the decades.
Schwinn Sting-Rays are all over. I ran across another one here on eBay that appears to be in better condition with factory decals that are missing on this one. It also has a front fender, which is missing from the one shown here. The clincher is that the eBay one is also cheaper, and it’s only about an hour away from this example. Plus, it’s also Lemon Yellow. That shows that all is not lost if you’re looking for a particular Sting-Ray; they’re still out there. Parts are also available, and front fenders are all over on eBay, as are replacement decals. Here’s a great website showing the Schwinn Sting-Rays for each year.
“The bike with the sports car look,” the Sting-Ray was Schwinn’s answer to custom bikes that kids in Southern California and elsewhere were creating on their own. 1971 is the first year a Lemon yellow Sting-Ray showed up in a Schwinn catalog, but the De-Luxe would have had “narrow-line” tires (a thin whitewall) and a yellow banana seat rather than white or silver as this one has. I’m guessing this is a 1972 or ’73 De-Luxe Sting-Ray, which by then was called Kool Lemon. A 1971 De-Luxe Sting-Ray coaster (single-speed) would have been $67.95, which is $554 today. Whatever year it is, it’s kool whether it’s a single-speed or not. Have any of you owned a single-speed Sting-Ray? What year do you think this one is?
I would have replied to this sooner, but went down a rabbit hole with the link Scotty posted and before I knew it I was looking at catalogs. My older brother had a ’78 Varsity and the catalog and I had my ’84 and had that catalog too. This Stingray brings back many, many, memories. I didn’t have one, but a number of other kids in my neighborhood did. ( I was jealous I had my older brothers hand-me-down Vista Lil’Giant) I can’t wait to see some of the recollections on this one. Thank you very much Scotty for jogging my rusty memory.
I have a good one well it wasn’t good for my friend. We were about 12 years old when the three of us got the idea to cut the forks off of junk bikes we would find and add the forks on our stingrays and make choppers. That is until we all going fast down a hill and my friends hammered on forks came off wheel and all. Well his forks dug into the road and he went flying over the handlebars he hit the road hard and rolled about 20 feet in shorts. He had road rash head to toe i still remember how scared we were for him and how that ruined about 3 weeks of his summer vacation. Sometimes the lessons learned as kids can be quite painful.
Have to add the idea came from my friends older brother who came up with the idea. He would cut them off and use a torch to heat and bend them up.
While in about 4th grade I had made my own chopper by putting a 26 inch fork on a 20 inch frame, adding a slick rear tire, a sissy bar and a banana seat (with a racing stripe!). I couldn’t afford a Schwinn and probably had $15.00 in it through the help of the old guy on town who fixed bikes out of an old chicken barn.
One day while doing stunts, I tried jumping a pile of asphalt chunks and planted my face into the pile. I knocked out a front tooth and ended up with a silver tooth through high school. I didn’t necessarily learn anything, but other than a few minor scars I’ve almost made it through childhood 60 years later. Almost.
Love it. Wonder if any cool 😎 80s BMX bikes will show up..
Kool beans, Scotty!
This is my single-speed Bicentennial Sting-Ray, Scotty. I also have a red single-speed ’77 Sting-Ray that was assembled nine days after I was born, and I was able to buy it from the original owner back in 2013.
Really nice Aaron. Is that all original?
It is! The paint had a lot of rash, but I went to the local hardware store and had a quart of paint matched to touch everything up. It doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny, but it looks fine from a couple feet away.
I think it looks fantastic. If only kids took better care of their bikes years ago. But we didn’t really think our Schwinns would be collectors items… But here we are. Really nice Aaron.
-Dave
That’s a keeper, Aaron! Man, we seriously need a “What’s in Aaron’s Garage?” edition ASAP!
Streamers and all Toth 🥳
A “DE”-luxe,( whistles) who was sportin’ that kind of cash? To be clear, Schwinns were not very popular in my neighborhood. Mostly lower-middle class working stiffs, SEVENTY DOLLARS,,,man, you’d be a fool even asking for that. What most of us did, was off to Woolworths, ( Gambles or KMart) use our hard earned grass cutting money( no rider mowers) get the “banana seat” and “butterfly” handlebars, maybe $8 bucks, grab the sisters old 20 incher( that usually broke in half with no top bar) and viola! We made our own rear slick tire. I think it took 2 AMT car model spray cans( .59 cents) for the color, and that’s what we did when not building a model, or playing with the train or road race set. Great find.
yup.
That is really groovy man, far out.
Wanted one so bad as a kid. My parents bought me a Pee-Wee Herman bike. No wonder I’m scarred as an adult. 😂
I don’t remember a Schwinn 1 speed. On Christmas ’64,I got a stingray,banana seat,5 speed crotch buster shifter,fabulous metal flake gold paint.I don’t really remember,but I bet the neiborhood kids were dam jealous.I felt like a million bucks.The next week, I felt like 2 million.8 y.o. me went to work with Mom at the Jersey deli,and I told her I needed a vroom motor for my bike.from PepBoys. I had to make 5 bucks.Ma said sweep the floor for a dollar.Okay.While sweeping I found a 5 dollar bill.Thrilled.That day I got a Vroom motor for my new bike,a crack up car that snapped back together after hitting the wall and an Italian hoagie with hot red peppers.Life was really great back then.Too much to edit. I hope it’s write.
Long story short,Good ol Ma put the 5 on the floor. She must have been having a good year for a single Mother. She bought a brand new Old Delta 88 conv.She was the greatest.Would have turned 100 y.o on 4-18-26
I bought the same bike at a local motorcycle show in my neighborhood, got it for 200 bucks. Still got my Apple Krate from when I was a wee pup. I had to give seller my paper route, my stingray, 50 bucks, and 2 6 packs of beer… I was 13, he was 15… Biggest deal I ever made at the time… Lol
Bigger-wheeled bikes probably had gears; that looks like a 20″ wheel, so a small bike.
I was just this afternoon telling someone about my Stingray. Two speed kickback hub. Coaster brake with one hand brake. Mom thought I needed training with hand brakes otherwise it would have been a 5 speed Orange Crate. Oh well, it’s still a nice bike and I still have it. I went through it about 5 years ago and everything still worked like new, but it was a cramped ride. Somehow I remember it being much bigger. 🤔
If I remember correctly the Schwinn 20” rim was a proprietary 20” and a true 20” tire was too small to actually go on the rim.
There are – at least! – 3 different 20″ bicycle tyre sizes! Find the ETRTO number and check Sheldon Brown…
Met a serious collector who told me the amount of fake Schwinn Krates out there is rampant. Apparently, the profit to be made off passing a retro or common Stingray as a true classic Krate can be huge.
I acquired one in the summer of ’63 from a friend of mine, and to prove just how badly I wanted one I present this. My mother had given me a top of the line Schwinn 5 speed Corvette for Christmas that year and I traded George straight across. To say that my mother was less than pleased would be a gross understatement.
As a matter of fact, when I was 18 and needed her to co-sign for my first real Stingray, she made the comment that she hoped that I wouldn’t “trade it for a Volkswagen”.
Yup,my 1st year Sting Ray was a single speed,there at least a dozen Sting Rays and other brands on Phoenix FB Marketplace
people paying anywhere from 3k-7k for these Schwinn bikes are on crack. how do justify spending that much money on bike your too big to ride?
I had this same bike!!! Yellow, Schwinn but it was a five speed with a stick shift and the rear tire was a slick. I had asked for the orange krate but my dad didnt like the prospects of me going over the handlebars due to the small front wheel. Add this to a couple of cars I wish I had back… Never see Banana seats anymore.
kool
On the high side for a single speed and in the condition it’s in. Lots of these in my area cheaper in this condition and with more speeds. My deluxe is a two speed kick back…..
Only thing I see that it is missing are the baseball cards clipped against the spokes!
I had a red one I ended up chopping it up to try to put a lawn mower engine in it to make a moped
My Stingray was a metallic dark green. Man, that was a long time ago.