# StingRay oddities I have seen



## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 6, 2021)

The debate on black Stingrays got me thinking on a few oddities I have seen, which I attribute to warranty claims.
Both bikes were for sale on eBay, and I contacted the sellers to question them since they should not have existed.
The first was a 1974 Cotton Picker. (Not a typo). Schwinn says they did not paint any Stingrays white after 1971. But the bike was white, and looked like it had been stored in a rotting garage for 40+ years. Scratches almost outnumbered the paint, had all the evidence of being thrashed to within an inch of its life. The guy didn't try to make up some wild story, he said he bought the bike to restore but has too many and it was going to a new home. It was actually very reasonably priced so he wasn't trying to sell the only 1974 Cotton Picker on the planet. I spoke to a friend that worked at the local Schwinn dealer from the 1970s until they closed in the1990s, and he told me something I believe emails the bike and for all intents and purposes verifies it as well.
As bad as it looked, it was conceivable that it was the victim of a broken frame. If the frame broke in 1974, the Schwinn dealer would put in a warranty order and the factory would send out a replacement frame in the correct color, but it would've been dated 1974 since the order came out of production  frames. 
The same answer explains the patina of the 1978 Pea Picker I saw another time, that seller believed but did not claim that it was a warranty bike as well.
I know there are others who may have seen similar bikes. That is why I posted this thread. I know some debate will occur as to the validity of my belief on these frames, that is your right. However,  I do not expect the kind of attacks that just occurred on the Black Stingray thread. If you cannot respond in a civil and respectful manner it is my humble request that you move on, there is nothing to see here.
In the words of Mohammed Ali, "Can't we all just get along"?
Thanks, Rob


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 6, 2021)

Oh, I looked at my profile page. Still on training wheels. Hahahaha.
In the real world I never had training wheels, my dad taught me to ride a 26" men's bike at 5 years old. My tippy toes couldn't both touch the ground at the same. Needless to say the first couple times hurt, but it made me learn to ride quickly. So he stick me on a girl's 26" ballooned which was much more embarrassing.
 When I was 10 we lived on a farm, he had a ton of bike parts. There was a purple StingRay, but for some reason he would not let me have it. Still don't have one unless you count the frame someone sandblasted, but missed the fork stem and a spot on the bottom bracket.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Dec 6, 2021)

Those are very interesting stories and the bikes would be highly prized for their rarity. I would imagine there are a few more stories like those. Schwinn did however produce a white Stingray in 1976 not that  has anything to do with the '74 picker


Oldbikeguy1960 said:


> I do not expect the kind of attacks that just occurred on the Black Stingray thread.




No one was attacked. Some have chosen not to get along, Sorry Cassius . They took  their toys and went  home when everybody didn't want to play by their rules.


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## TWDay (Dec 6, 2021)

Oddities are in everything manufactured. Sometimes things happen during production to create an oddity. I’ve had cars, trucks, vans an bikes that were not supposed to be the way they were yet they actually came from the factory that way.
I have what was once a purple Stingray Deluxe. It is a 1967. I rode the heck out of it and it showed. I recently had it sandblasted in preparation to restore it. I deliberately had them not sandblast the fork stem so that it retained the original color. One day it will look like it did when I rode it out the door if that Schwinn dealer  in 1967 when I was 9 years old, a gift from my uncle who passed away in 1974.


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## kostnerave (Dec 6, 2021)

I have a friend who used to have an extensive Sting-ray collection and he had a n.o.s. Coppertone Fastback frame that was date stamped '74 on the headtube. It was in a Schwinn box with the paper label intact. I'm sure it was a warranty frame to replace one that cracked.


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## 1motime (Dec 6, 2021)

It was the famous Rodney King that asked that question.  May 1 1992.    I don't think he ever got his answer


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 6, 2021)

coasterbrakejunkie1969 said:


> Those are very interesting stories and the bikes would be highly prized for their rarity. I would imagine there are a few more stories like those. Schwinn did however produce a white Stingray in 1976 not that  has anything to do with the '74 picker
> 
> 
> No one was attacked. Some have chosen not to get along, Sorry Cassius . They took  their toys and went  home when everybody didn't want to play by their rules.



Yes, the Bicentennial bike. The 5 speed version was my favorite, too bad the Stik Shift was gone by then. That would've been an awesome bike.


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 6, 2021)

coasterbrakejunkie1969 said:


> Those are very interesting stories and the bikes would be highly prized for their rarity. I would imagine there are a few more stories like those. Schwinn did however produce a white Stingray in 1976 not that  has anything to do with the '74 picker
> 
> 
> No one was attacked. Some have chosen not to get along, Sorry Cassius . They took  their toys and went  home when everybody didn't want to play by their rules.



I had seen one member post that the thread was dangerously close to being locked, I figured that qualified as attacks. One member said another told him to STFU so he didn't need to respond to his posts. Glad it wasn't as serious as I thought.


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 6, 2021)

Here is one I owned back in high school 1974. It was a late 1971 Disc Brake Orange Krate. I remember that because I had the serial number written down for years (lost a long time ago) because it was stolen 3 times. I recovered it mostly intact twice but not the 3rd time.
The hub was dated 6-71, I wish I had the rest of the info I used to have on it, the was most of my life ago. I have owned one other 6-71 hub about 10 years ago and saw one on eBay last summer.


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## GTs58 (Dec 6, 2021)

Oldbikeguy1960 said:


> I had seen one member post that the thread was dangerously close to being locked, I figured that qualified as attacks. One member said another told him to STFU so he didn't need to respond to his posts. Glad it wasn't as serious as I thought.




It wasn't very serious at all. 🤣 And I did not tell him to STFU. He was asked by the threads originator to not post in his thread any longer so after he continued I reminded him of that request, and then said "so maybe it's time for you to STFU." It was a suggestion. 😉

By the way, welcome to the Cabe!


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## kingsting (Dec 7, 2021)

A while back I saw a coppertone Sting Ray with a 70's serial number on the BMX  Museum forums. The warranty frame thing makes sense there.


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 7, 2021)

I wasn't chucking blame man, I just get way out of hand during conflicts and I don't want to end up with a boot up my @$$!
I was being gang flogged on VW Vortex (there because I wanted a part for my built from piles of parts 1.6 VW diesel powered Samurai). Apparently I said something back after I had enough that got me banned for life. All I could find was when I called them a swamp full of scrotum toads, so I took that out of my dictionary on Auto Correct so I have to select it before it is approved. Hopefully that cuts back on the problem.
I have been building bikes since I was 14, I took a break here and there but never gave up. About 10 years ago I was going to open a bicycle museum where anyone could come free of charge (donations accepted, but nobody would be turned away. That is how we can keep this passion alive for future generations) and view the displays, complete with period toys and mannequins dressed in clothing of the day. I had over 2000 bikes, and was hoping to start as soon as I saved enough money to be able to run it for awhile until it could keep itself afloat. The owner of the property I leased filed bankruptcy, and I was told he was signing back on the contract for the building as soon as it was finalized. He didn't, and I found out when the noteholder on the contract came to evict me.
 I held him off for a week, since my agreement with the other person was paid up for 3 more months. I had to sell most of the bikes to a guy near here for pennies on the dollar to save them from the scrap yard, and still lost a lot of stuff when the POS that held the note came in and started throwing stuff in rolloffs for scrap and to take to the dump (where he worked, and his family owned for 3 generations before selling it to the Landfill Mafia. I had to sell a couple bikes to help my brother pay for his dad's funeral, (my December 1968 Pea Picker 1,000,000th Schwinn Tribute and my December 1971 Disc Brake Orange Krate I built to reach the one stolen when I was in high school. I lost on both but my family had to come first, although I cannot replace the rear wheel assembly for what the bike brought. The buyer could tell I was selling out of need and used that. 
Enough whining, just wanted to say thanks for welcoming me. VW Vortex never sent me a hi, bye or p¡$$ up a rope except to tell me I had to wait 10 days and send 10 posts AFTER I joined. I would've understood if they would've said it up front but a moderator there was approving exceptions for people if they bought the Premium membership, even though the site rules did not allow that. I said something about that, probably the real reason I was banned.
Looking forward to a long and happy time here. Thanks, Rob


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 7, 2021)

I wasn't chucking blame man, I just get way out of hand during conflicts and I don't want to end up with a boot up my @$$!
I was being gang flogged on VW Vortex (there because I wanted a part for my built from piles of parts 1.6 VW diesel powered Samurai). Apparently I said something back after I had enough that got me banned for life. All I could find was when I called them a swamp full of scrotum toads, so I took that out of my dictionary on Auto Correct so I have to select it before it is approved. Hopefully that cuts back on the problem.
I have been building bikes since I was 14, I took a break here and there but never gave up. About 10 years ago I was going to open a bicycle museum where anyone could come free of charge (donations accepted, but nobody would be turned away. That is how we can keep this passion alive for future generations) and view the displays, complete with period toys and mannequins dressed in clothing of the day. I had over 2000 bikes, and was hoping to start as soon as I saved enough money to be able to run it for awhile until it could keep itself afloat. The owner of the property I leased filed bankruptcy, and I was told he was signing back on the contract for the building as soon as it was finalized. He didn't, and I found out when the noteholder on the contract came to evict me.
 I held him off for a week, since my agreement with the other person was paid up for 3 more months. I had to sell most of the bikes to a guy near here for pennies on the dollar to save them from the scrap yard, and still lost a lot of stuff when the POS that held the note came in and started throwing stuff in roll for scrap and to take to the dump (where he worked, and his family owned for 3 generations before selling it to the Landfill Mafia. I had to sell a couple bikes to help my brother pay for his dad's funeral, (my December 1968 Pea Picker 1,000,000th Schwinn Tribute and my December 1971 Disc Brake Orange Krate I built to reach the one stolen when I was in high school. I lost on both but my family had to come first, although I cannot replace the rear wheel assembly for what the bike brought. The buyer could tell I was selling out of need and used that.
Enough whining, just wanted to say thanks for welcoming me. VW Vortex never sent me a hi, bye or p¡$$ up a rope except to tell me I had to wait 10 days and send 10 posts AFTER I joined. I would've understood if they would've said it up front but a moderator there was approving exceptions for people if they bought the Premium membership, even though the site rules did not allow that. I said something about that, probably the real reason I was banned.
Looking forward to a long and happy time here. Thanks, Rob


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## razinhellcustomz (Dec 8, 2021)

Oldbikeguy1960 said:


> I had seen one member post that the thread was dangerously close to being locked, I figured that qualified as attacks. One member said another told him to STFU so he didn't need to respond to his posts. Glad it wasn't as serious as I thought.



That's just somebody POKIN THe BEAR... It happens some times...


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## RustyHornet (Dec 9, 2021)

razinhellcustomz said:


> That's just somebody POKIN THe BEAR... It happens some times...



Sometimes the bear needs poked… especially when the bear calls himself an expert and gets proven wrong, but won’t admit to it. 🤣


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## Real1 (Dec 11, 2021)

Lots of rare one-of-a-kind items out there that shouldn't be. Harder in bikes to see that than in autos. In autos you could order something weird/different from a dealer that would come from the factory that way. I don't think you had those kinda options from a bike dealer, although a bike dealer could put about anything optional *on* a bike to sell it. 

I guess there's the rub except for painting. I can't see bike dealers of lore repainting new bikes to make something unusual or one-of-a-kind unless it was a display only model.

Kevin


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 13, 2021)

RustyHornet said:


> Sometimes the bear needs poked… especially when the bear calls himself an expert and gets proven wrong, but won’t admit to it. 🤣



I sometimes call myself an expert, sometimes I get proven wrong in which case my best move is to say "Sorry, I was wwwwwwwwwnggg.
I learned that from the great late 20th century philosopher Arthur J Fonzarelli.
I was told this by a friend once;
"I am never wrong. Once I thought I was wrong, but fortunately I found I was only mistaken".


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## Oldbikeguy1960 (Dec 13, 2021)

Real1 said:


> Lots of rare one-of-a-kind items out there that shouldn't be. Harder in bikes to see that than in autos. In autos you could order something weird/different from a dealer that would come from the factory that way. I don't think you had those kinda options from a bike dealer, although a bike dealer could put about anything optional *on* a bike to sell it.
> 
> I guess there's the rub except for painting. I can't see bike dealers of lore repainting new bikes to make something unusual or one-of-a-kind unless it was a display only model.
> 
> Kevin



No, but I suppose they could've purchased a shipment of black 20" frames and screened black stingray chainguards and built them from stock bikes, especially if most of the ones found seem to come from a couple areas and not around the whole country.
I could see Schwinn having less trouble doing this than building whole bikes, and a couple dealers could have basically a signature line of StingRay bikes and a lot of NOS frames and chainguards they could sell or use for warranty work if needed.


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## Real1 (Dec 13, 2021)

Oldbikeguy1960 said:


> No, but I suppose they could've purchased a shipment of black 20" frames and screened black stingray chainguards and built them from stock bikes, especially if most of the ones found seem to come from a couple areas and not around the whole country.
> I could see Schwinn having less trouble doing this than building whole bikes, and a couple dealers could have basically a signature line of StingRay bikes and a lot of NOS frames and chainguards they could sell or use for warranty work if needed.



Absolutely, good point! A big dealer could have had enough clout and foresight to do something like this. And if the bikes keep turning up in the same general vicinity...that would be even more evidence.

Kevin


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## Coyote (Dec 13, 2021)

This is classic!
Direct from the official Schwinnbikes.com website regarding the Grape Krate:


> The Grape Krate has been rumored to have originally been made back in the 1970s, but the jury is still out as to whether it ever happened. The story goes that back in 1969, Schwinn came out with two Grape Krates as samples, but those bikes never made it to showroom floors. Internet sleuths say that in 1976, Schwinn built 15 Grape Krates as Christmas gifts for certain employees. Is it true? Only 15 people know for sure. In 1999, Schwinn finally brought the Grape Krate to production with a limited amount of units.



"Rumored to"?
Come on, man!
I guess the company's historical documentation didn't get transferred over to China.


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## razinhellcustomz (Dec 13, 2021)

Coyote said:


> This is classic!
> Direct from the official Schwinnbikes.com website regarding the Grape Krate:
> 
> "Rumored to"?
> ...



Or at the very least to Pacific cycle or who ever the heck owns the Schwinn name?


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## Xlobsterman (Dec 16, 2021)

GTs58 said:


> It wasn't very serious at all. 🤣 And I did not tell him to STFU. He was asked by the threads originator to not post in his thread any longer so after he continued I reminded him of that request, and then said "so maybe it's time for you to STFU." It was a suggestion. 😉
> 
> By the way, welcome to the Cabe!




Well Gary, you are blinded by your own arrogance! What you fail to realize, is you or anyone else (except the moderators) has no right to tell someone stop posting in a public forum, and/or suggest that they STFU because you don't like what they post when it contradicts the narrative that is trying to be portrayed!







And here is another one of your arrogant posts where you are laughing because one of your posts on Facebook was deleted when you told me to Go F#&k Myself when I asked a simple question about something you posted.


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