# Disc brake Manta ray advice



## Jpcdds (Jun 17, 2021)

Have a quick question. I am looking to buy a January 1971 manta ray that’s had a rear disc brake added to it recently. Does the “aftermarket” add on affect the value of the bike? Is it worth less than or is it worth equal to say a January 1972 manta ray that came from the schwinn factory with an original disc brake? Or is it too hard to answer because there have been a lot of piecing together or replacing parts on these bikes over the years to know which are actually all original?  Obviously being made in early 1971 tells you it’s not factory.


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## sworley (Jun 17, 2021)

Pics would help. Is it all Schwinn and period/correct parts? A lot of Mantas are cobbled together because the Collegiate/camelback 24” frames are common.


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## Jpcdds (Jun 17, 2021)

sworley said:


> Pics would help. Is it all Schwinn and period/correct parts? A lot of Mantas are cobbled together because the Collegiate/camelback 24” frames are common.



Yes it’s all original schwinn


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## sworley (Jun 17, 2021)

Kool Lemon, nice! Sell off that disc stuff and buy the non disc parts. You’d probably come out well ahead.


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## kostnerave (Jun 19, 2021)

Does the disc hub have a '71 date stamp?


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## Jpcdds (Jun 19, 2021)

kostnerave said:


> Does the disc hub have a '71 date stamp?



The earliest would be December 1971 correct?


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## kostnerave (Jun 20, 2021)

Hi, I'm not sure, I drifted from Stingray bikes some time ago. I do remember running across some '71 dated hubs, though. Schwinn did have stamping to build gaps, I'd just hate to see you lose a disc brake that might be original to your bike! Does the brake cable housing match the patina of the rest of the bike? It may have been a swap the original owners did decades ago.


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## rfeagleye (Jun 30, 2021)

Schwinn frames and dated parts tend to "lag" behind in the build of the subsequent year bikes. So, it is possible that a December 1971 dated frame, with an undated, or 1971 dated, disc brake caliper and hub could exist. These early bikes are _technically_ a 1972 model year bikes, but were made with frames made and stamped in 1971, etc.

That bike sort of looks original, if the disc caliper is undated, or dated 1971, you have an early disc brake Manta Ray.


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