Kidhood. Adolescence?Best times? Favorite times? Photos?

[rogruth]

...I got a Schwinn with fat tires, nice sprung seat and a coaster brake. It cost @ $50.00 in 1946. My grandfather showed me how to take care of it. I later put a three speed
hub on it and a front wheel brake and actually putseveral thousand miles on it. A three speed Schwinn at that time was in the hundreds of dollars. I sold that bike in 1952 when I went to college for $75.00.

Roger, did your three speed hub have a coaster brake? I was under the impression that only single speed bikes had coaster brakes.

My first bike was a single speed Schwinn Stingray. We lived at the top of a hill, though - which sucked, for bike riding.

Yes it had a coaster brake. I think it was made by New Departure. The shifting was internal in the brake and was actuated by a chain link connection
to the shift lever mounted on the handlebars. Since I haven't seen that bike for 65 years some of the detail might be wrong such as where the
shifter was located. I remember that it worked very well and needed about the same level of maintenance as a regular coaster brake.
The front wheel brake was similar to auto brakes at that time. Brake shoes pressed out against the drum and needed replacement at least once a year
which I did with hand tools. I also replaced the front sproket with a larger one to get more speed. In the end probably the only Schwinn parts left were the frame, rims and seat post.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Wow, that's amazing what you were able to do on your bike, Roger. If I washed and Simonized mine, that was tiptop work as far as I was concerned and able to do. Wow. Nice to learn even more good stuff about you!
Murph

[Mitch]

Never owned a brand new bike, but my first one was a 24" with thick sides. Thick sides were the tits when I was a kid. Kinda looked like a gas tank. First wreck I lost control and went head first into a stone wall. Bent the front forks back far enough that the back of the front fender wouldn't clear the frame down tubes. Dad beat my *** 'til I couldn't sit down.
By age 13, my older brother and I built our first, (and only) bicycle built for two. The front tire was shot on my bike, and my brother's bike didn't have any fenders, so we loosened his rear axle nuts, spread the forks on mine a little wider, and slipped the fork down over his rear axle and tightened the nuts. 'Though it took a little practice for both of us to get goin' reliably, we were the hit of the town for the single year we lived in Freeport. Nobody had ever seen two kids on a three-wheeled inline bicycle before.

[rogruth]

Mitch,
That type was even harder to ride than a true bicycle-built-for-two.
Experience speaking.

[Roy]

First wreck I lost control and went head first into a stone wall. Bent the front forks back far enough that the back of the front fender wouldn't clear the frame down tubes. Dad beat my *** 'til I couldn't sit down.

I had one really good wreck. Two of us were riding downhill, looking for a friend. We were both riding ten speeds, me behind Tom. Tom spotted our friend, and started braking first. He also weighed less than I did. I hit his rear wheel, flipped completely over him, and found myself being ridden by my upside-down bike, until my back finally came to a stop. Neither of us was hurt, but my front rim was seriously bent out of shape. Fortunately Paul, the guy we were looking for, knew how to straighten the rim by adjusting the spokes. Never laughed so hard!

[Roy]

The front wheel brake was similar to auto brakes at that time. Brake shoes pressed out against the drum and needed replacement at least once a year which I did with hand tools.

Interesting. In the '60s, any bike that came with more than one speed had caliper brakes that grabbed the rim. They were activated by handlebar levers, one for the front, the other for the rear wheel. I think the Schwinn Orange Krate may have had a drum brake as you described. Stingrays only had about 20" wheels normally, but the Orange Krate's front wheels were even smaller.

[robert.]

That bike has an external gear cluster. Roger mentioned a bike with an internal 3 speed. Internal 3 speeds have one gear for the chain to drive.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Bikes spoke to the deep-seated thirst for adventure and discovery every kid I ever knew had. Even if a particular journey went only around a couple blocks in the neighborhood, a guy never knew what discoveries lay ahead of each turn of the wheels. Sometimes, untethered dogs became a part of that adventure, and they had to be handled in careful and special ways. Right guys?

[Roy]

That bike has an external gear cluster. Roger mentioned a bike with an internal 3 speed. Internal 3 speeds have one gear for the chain to drive.

Yes, it had a five speed rear derailleur. Roger's gears were all inside the rear hub, connected to a single rear sprocket.

Note the lever on the top frame bar. It was the shifter for the derailleur. The Orange Krate was the coolest Stingray you could buy. Note the front fork shocks, and the shocks on the rear seat struts. Also the front sprocket, styled like a five-spoke mag wheel, the ducktailed rear fender, and the white-lettered slick on the rear wheel.

[rogruth]

This is about the time bikes lost their utility and became toys.
That has pretty much turned around now.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

This is about the time bikes lost their utility and became toys.
That has pretty much turned around now.

An interesting observation and viewpoint. Would you explain what you mean, Roger? I am curious to see if we have the same perspective about this.
Murph

[rogruth]

This is about the time bikes lost their utility and became toys.
That has pretty much turned around now.

An interesting observation and viewpoint. Would you explain what you mean, Roger? I am curious to see if we have the same perspective about this.
Murph

For the many who did not have autos of some kind a bike was a form of transportation that many could afford. I recall mill workers who used a
bike instead of a car. A bridge across the Ohio River could be crossed free on foot or bike but a car was ten cents one way. Pay was twehty five to thirty cents an hour. Street car/bus fair in our town was five cents.Bike riding was free except for repairs. In my town as already stated many adults would ride bikes for various reasons.
The bike pictured above with the smaller front wheel and the "banana" seat was a play-thing and no longer transportation. Cute and pretty.
Does this help? And it is only my opinion.

[Roy]

The bike pictured above with the smaller front wheel and the "banana" seat was a play-thing and no longer transportation.

They were transportation for kids who had them, but Stingrays are too small for adults. Schwinn and other makers made even smaller bicycles for even smaller children. That doesn't mean bikes for adults stopped being made.

As I got older, I sold my Stingray and bought a Schwinn Varsity ten speed. This was a full-sized bike that adults could, and did, ride.

[rogruth]

IMHO most adults today use riding their many speed multi dollar bikes as more of a status symbol. Of course there are exceptions.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

This is about the time bikes lost their utility and became toys.
That has pretty much turned around now.

An interesting observation and viewpoint. Would you explain what you mean, Roger? I am curious to see if we have the same perspective about this.
Murph

For the many who did not have autos of some kind a bike was a form of transportation that many could afford. I recall mill workers who used a
bike instead of a car. A bridge across the Ohio River could be crossed free on foot or bike but a car was ten cents one way. Pay was twehty five to thirty cents an hour. Street car/bus fair in our town was five cents.Bike riding was free except for repairs. In my town as already stated many adults would ride bikes for various reasons.
The bike pictured above with the smaller front wheel and the "banana" seat was a play-thing and no longer transportation. Cute and pretty.
Does this help? And it is only my opinion.

Very interesting. Thanks.