Old people of Oppo!

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg) 08/29/2014 at 19:23 • Filed to: None

2

21

I know these type of bikes were all the rage back in the day. But where these shifters as...risky as they look? I happen to be sitting under this bike, which is what brings it up.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:25

3

yes, yes they were. Boys and girls riding stingrays where neutered and spayed left and right

Brian, The Life of > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:26

5

Welp, we rode them before our balls dropped, so ...

Kate's Dirty Sister > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:28

1

Theses are called wheelie bikes

"Dangerous features, such as shifters mounted on the top tube, were banned in the US in 1974."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelie_b…

Brian, The Life of > Brian, The Life of 08/29/2014 at 19:28

1

Also, we were more likely to get jabbed in the taint by the pointy end of the banana seat than break our huevos on the shifter ... at the risk of oversharing.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 08/29/2014 at 19:32

1

It's why nobody our age was ever born.

Brian, The Life of > Kate's Dirty Sister 08/29/2014 at 19:34

0

We never once referred to them as "wheelie bikes" back in the 70s. I think that moniker must have been associated later ... or was a regional thing from somewhere else.

Frank Grimes > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:36

1

Is that a schwinn fastback? Those are DOPE! and expensive/rare.

Kate's Dirty Sister > Brian, The Life of 08/29/2014 at 19:38

0

well, coming from French Canada, whatever we used to call them is irrelevant to you !

But I think we were calling them choppers, but there was only a few left, as I'm from the BMX era.

Kate's Dirty Sister > Brian, The Life of 08/29/2014 at 19:40

0

Those banana seats could fit 3, plus one on the handle bar.

Birddog > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:44

2

I had an Orange Krate. I picked it up at a garage sale for $10.

Never hurt myself. Though things were different when I was a kid..

Bret > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:46

1

looks like a Crate. I'd love to have one again to use as a pit bike. I never had a shifter equipped bike, but did have one with motorcycle styling bits. Loved that thing...

Brian, The Life of > Kate's Dirty Sister 08/29/2014 at 19:50

0

LOL, fair enough! Personally, my time straddled the banana seat and beginning of the BMX eras ... so to speak.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Frank Grimes 08/29/2014 at 19:50

0

Yup. Schwinn stingray fastback.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 19:52

2

They also had a third brake that would lock up the back tire.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Bret 08/29/2014 at 19:53

1

The one in front of it is a Grey Ghost.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Birddog 08/29/2014 at 19:55

0

Like dis?

Birddog > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 20:07

2

No, like this.

I was pimpin at 13!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Birddog 08/29/2014 at 20:17

0

The frame itself appears to be the same.

Birddog > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 20:21

1

I bet it is.

It's the Springer forks, drum brake on the front and Goodyear Grasshopper Slick that made the package though.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 08/29/2014 at 22:07

1

I had that model. Never sustained a stick shift injury that I recall. I do remember that if you did crash into it just moved towards shifting into high gear. Of course you have some natural survival instincts when you fall to try and not hit the stick shift with the wrong part of your body.

By the way, as far as stingrays go, that was a poor model. We were all taking off fenders and putting on fatter rims and tires, along with cutting down the rear seat bar. The frame for that model was much narrower than most stingrays so you couldn't put a fatter rim and a fatter tire on it.

Amazing how the same limitations can recur later in life on your cars.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > John Norris (AngryDrifter) 08/29/2014 at 22:30

0

This is pretty much what your standard stingray looked like after fatter tires, chopped rear seat bar and more motorcycle-ish handlebars.