Wheelie bike

History

In 1962, Peter Mole of John T Bill & Co contacted Huffy Corp about making a new bicycle called High Rise. The bikes had a long seat called a banana seat with strut and taller handlebars. Huffy hesitated for several months before agreeing to make the bike with the stipulation that if it was a flop, Peter Mole would buy all the left-over parts and bikes. The new bike, called the Penguin, was finally being sold in stores by March 1963 and was the first of this type to market.{{cite web | access-date = 2012-01-16}} Also in 1963, Schwinn's designer Al Fritz heard about a new youth trend centered in California for retrofitting bicycles with the accoutrements of motorcycles customized in the Bobber or Chopper style.{{cite web | access-date = 2012-01-16}} Inspired, he designed a mass-production bike for the youth market as Project J-38, and the result was introduced to the public as the Schwinn Sting-Ray in 1963.{{cite book

BMX bikes began to supersede wheelie bikes in the mid-1970s, though Schwinn continued to offer them until 1982 and Raleigh until 1984.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01}} Original wheelie bikes are popular collector's items now,{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01}} and some manufacturers have reintroduced updated versions.{{cite news | access-date = 2010-06-27}}

Features

The seating position nearly over the rear tire facilitated performing wheelies. Styling cues were also taken from muscle cars, and features included different sized wheels, with the smaller in the front, and square-profiled tires. Small, chromed fenders, a style borrowed from bobber motorcycles, were also popular.

;Handlebars Besides the original ape hanger handlebars, several models sported ram horn style handlebars that contained loops.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01}} Huffy even introduced a model, called The Wheel, with a steering wheel in place of handlebars.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01 | archive-date = 2012-03-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120323002814/http://media.photobucket.com/image/Huffy%20%2522the%20wheel%2522/batcarman/Wheel7.jpg | url-status = dead | access-date = 2010-07-01 | archive-date = 2012-04-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405083511/http://media.photobucket.com/image/Huffy%20%2522the%20wheel%2522/batcarman/Wheel1.jpg | url-status = dead

;Gears Common examples were two-speed or three-speed rear hubs (which required the rider to engage the new gear shift by back-pedalling), while some models featured external rear derailleurs with 3 or 5 gear ratios. Styles of gear-shifter included an automotive-like gear lever (T-bar or knob) mounted on the top tube, as well as a motorcycle-style twist-grip.

;Brakes Coaster brakes and rim brakes were common. The 1968 Schwinn Krate models had a front drum brake. The 1972 Schwinn Pea Picker included a rear disc brake.

;Forks The 1968 Schwinn Krate models included a spring suspension front fork. At least one model, the Murray Kingkat, came from the factory with long forks resembling a chopper motorcycle.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01}}

;Seating Besides making wheelies easier, the banana seats facilitated carrying passengers.

Several manufacturers made tandem versions, including Schwinn,{{cite web | access-date = 2010-06-30}}{{cite web | access-date = 2010-06-30}} Raleigh,{{cite web | access-date = 2010-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013060617/http://www.rnlawrence.btinternet.co.uk/|archive-date=2006-10-13}}{{cite web | access-date = 2010-06-30}} and Rollfast.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-06-30}}

Accessories

Many after-market accessories were available for muscle bikes including wheelie bars, drag chutes, "slick" tires, speedometers, windshields, hand grip streamers, headlights, taller sissy bars, axle spinners, and back rests.

Impact

The Raleigh Chopper was the best selling children's bicycle in the UK. The wheelie bike fad drove bicycle sales to over 4 million units in the US, and accounted for 75% of total US bicycle sales in 1968,{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01}} but it also helped contribute to the impression in the US that bicycles are merely children's toys. Dangerous features, such as shifters mounted on the top tube, were banned in the US in 1974. The wheelie bike fad even attracted the attention of non-bicycle manufacturers that developed and sold add-on products, such as the Wham-O wheelie bar.{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120305084828/http://skateandannoy.com/aa-sna-uploads/2008/06/whamo-wheelie.jpg | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-03-05 | access-date = 2010-06-30}}

Though initially a US fad, wheelie bikes also became popular in the UK, Canada, Germany,{{cite news | url = https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/bonanza-raeder-a-946668.html | access-date = 2024-04-07 | access-date = 2010-07-06 | access-date = 2010-07-06}} Australia had its own Malvern Star Dragster,{{cite web | access-date = 2010-07-01 | access-date = 2010-07-06}} and in Norway, Øglænd made the DBS Tomahawk.

Dot Wiggin, formerly of The Shaggs, recorded the song "Banana Bike" in 2013 as a tribute to her sister Helen, who died in 2006. Helen owned a yellow imported Raleigh Chopper that she used to keep fit with, that Dot found amusing that a grown woman should be using a children's bike. Helen explained that it was far more comfortable for her than a normal bike.

Names

Part of the appeal of these bikes was their colorful and evocative names. Besides the Schwinn Sting-Ray and Raleigh Chopper, examples include:

References

References

1. (10 February 2020). "Haro Bikes Wheelie Bikes". Haro Bikes.
2. (13 November 1964). "WHAT'S THIS NEW HUFFY-OF-CALIFORNIA BIKE GOT THAT OTHERS HAVEN'T?". Time Inc..