Schwinn King Sting and Sidewinder!???

[DrRumack80]

Had the '81 King Sting out for a ride today. It's an "MR" frame, and mostly original. Tires are replacement NOS Schwinn Studded Balloons, grips are replacements and not correct, and the rear reflector was deleted when the previous owner added a gold Jim Blackburn rack. The saddle is an Avocet Touring II, which I suspect is after market. Metal clips for rear brake cable were replaced with black zip ties by the previous owner. My mistake: shooting against a black railing.

 

[Cruiserdude94]

It is pretty hard to tell if this is a factory paint job from those 3 pics. We have established that Schwinn did have a small production run in White in late 81. But since this bike pictured is far from factory original when it comes to the parts, I would question the authenticity of the paint unless I could see it in p

Had the '81 King Sting out for a ride today. It's an "MR" frame, and mostly original. Tires are replacement NOS Schwinn Studded Balloons, grips are replacements and not correct, and the rear reflector was deleted when the previous owner added a gold Jim Blackburn rack. The saddle is an Avocet Touring II, which I suspect is after market. Metal clips for rear brake cable were replaced with black zip ties by the previous owner. My mistake: shooting against a black railing.

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So freaking sweet!!!!

 

[DrRumack80]

So freaking sweet!!!!

Thanks!!! That white Sidewinder is an amazing find. There are definitely not many of those in circulation, in any condition.

 

[Cruiserdude94]

Thanks!!! That white Sidewinder is an amazing find. There are definitely not many of those in circulation, in any condition.

Thank you! The crusty one was in a pile of frames at a swap meet! Had no clue when I grabbed it. Then the creation of this thread, helped the super nice one I have now, come to the surface. The power of info on the internet is wild! But that’s what I was hoping would happen through all this inquiry. Just more and more neat and unique bikes and accessories are being discovered and that’s such a cool thing even in todays day and age.

 

[RustyHornet]

The original bike in question. Come a long way! Has been replaced recently as my favorite rider, but it’s still got it’s place. Definitely feel honored to own a piece of Schwinn history in this original white early Sidewinder!!!

 

[Xlobsterman]

It has the yellow "Caution" decal, which adds points in favor of it being factory. Sure, it could have been repainted by a shop and the decals sourced, but a lot of trouble for a bike that was not particularly valuable back in the day. Just my 2cents.

An NOS King Sting? Nice!!!!

Decals and stickers were readily available from any dealer back in the day.

 

[DrRumack80]

Decals and stickers were readily available from any dealer back in the day.

True enough.

The original bike in question. Come a long way! Has been replaced recently as my favorite rider, but it’s still got it’s place. Definitely feel honored to own a piece of Schwinn history in this original white early Sidewinder!!!

Nice build! Like the disc brakes too. Those tires are a good substitute for the original Schwinn Studded Balloons.

 

[RustyHornet]

True enough.

Nice build! Like the disc brakes too. Those tires are a good substitute for the original Schwinn Studded Balloons.

27.5” conversion. Built it how I wanted it. Very nice rider!

 

[palepainter]

Two of my favorites In the fleet

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[Cruiserdude94]

So a while ago I stumbled upon this accessory in the Schwinn catalog. I’ve never seen one anywhere else other than this blurry catalog picture. Well! One random eBay search and boom.. there it is! Does anyone have any pics of anymore? Figured they would be on sidewinders or maybe king stings too. It was advertised as a mountain bike rack and only in blue as far as I can tell.