AMT 1/6 - AMTD001 

Schwinn "Orange Krate" Bike - Orange

Schwinn first introduced the Sting-Ray in 1963. The story is recounted in No Hands: The Rise And Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, an American Institution by Judith Crown and Glenn Coleman, as well as Schwinn Bicycles by Jay Pridmore & Jim Hurd.

As it says in Schwinn Bicycles, in 1962 one of Schwinn’s outside sales reps told Al Fritz—then part of Schwinn’s design department in Chicago—about a trend happening in Southern California. Kids were building “pig bikes” by adding longhorn handlebars and a polo seat (also known as a "banana seat") to a 20-inch frame.

Based on the account in No Hands, Fritz assembled his own pig bike in Chicago, then added a dash of styling inspired by Southern California’s car culture—including slick dragster-style tires—and named his creation “Sting-Ray.”

When Schwinn’s then-president, Frank V. Schwinn, laid eyes on Fritz’s prototype Sting-Ray, he was not impressed. Fritz, however, predicted it would sell 20,000 units that year (1963), which would make it the best-selling model in Schwinn’s line. The two men made a 20-dollar bet, and Frank Schwinn lost big: The company sold 45,000 Sting Rays in the last half of 1963 alone. The company could have sold more, but couldn’t make enough tires to keep up with demand. By 1968, Schwinn had sold two million Sting Rays.

Schwinn would go on to build many variations of the Sting Ray, but the Krates, produced from 1968 to 1973, are some of the most beloved.

The Krates were the boldest Sting Rays, styled after funny cars, with a wide, slick rear tire; a smaller (16-inch) front wheel with narrower tire; and features like a five-speed drivetrain with stick shift, springer suspension fork, suspended saddle, front drum brake, rear rim brake, bright paint, and clever names.

Some of the best known are the Orange Krate, Apple Krate, Pea Picker, Cotton Picker, and Lemon Peeler. In 1968, a brand new Krate sold for about $87; today an original Krate in good condition sells for thousands of dollars on the auction market.

AMT has reproduced 1/6 scale replicas for Schwinn enthusiasts.