Awheelie bike, also called adragster,[1]muscle bike,high-riser,spyder bike orbanana bike, is a type of stylized children'sbicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble achopper motorcycle and characterized byape hanger handlebars, abanana seat withsissy bar, and small (16-to-20-inch (410 to 510 mm))wheels.[2][3][4] Notable examples include theHuffy Dragster series,[1]Schwinn Sting-Ray and Krate lines, and theRaleigh Chopper line. Other notable manufacturers and retailers that offered models includeAMF,CCM,Columbia,Iverson,J. C. Penney,Malvern Star,Monark,Murray,Ross,Sears, andVindec.
In modern usage, "wheelie bike" can refer to a large-frameBMX bike.[5]
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 abanana seat with strut and tallerhandlebars. 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 thePenguin, was finally being sold in stores by March 1963 and was the first of this type to market.[6][7][8]Also in 1963, Schwinn's designerAl Fritz heard about a new youth trend centered in California for retrofitting bicycles with the accoutrements of motorcycles customized in theBobber orChopper style.[9] Inspired, he designed a mass-production bike for the youth market asProject J-38, and the result was introduced to the public as the SchwinnSting-Ray in 1963.[10] Sales were initially slow, but eventually took off. By 1965, several other American and foreign manufacturers were offering their own version of the Sting-Ray.
BMX bikes began to supersede wheelie bikes in the mid-1970s, though Schwinn continued to offer them until 1982 and Raleigh until 1984.[11] Original wheelie bikes are popularcollector's items now,[2][12] and some manufacturers have reintroduced updated versions.[11][13]
The seating position nearly over the rear tire facilitated performingwheelies. Styling cues were also taken frommuscle cars,[citation needed] and features included different sized wheels, with the smaller in the front, and square-profiledtires. Small, chromedfenders, a style borrowed frombobber motorcycles, were also popular.
Besides the original ape hanger handlebars, several models sportedram horn style handlebars that contained loops.[14] Huffy even introduced a model, calledThe Wheel, with a steering wheel in place of handlebars.[15][16]
Common examples were two-speed or three-speed rearhubs (which required the rider to engage the new gear shift by back-pedalling), while some models featured externalrear derailleurs with 3 or 5 gear ratios. Styles ofgear-shifter included an automotive-like gear lever (T-bar or knob) mounted on thetop tube, as well as a motorcycle-style twist-grip.[1]
Coaster brakes andrim brakes were common. The 1968 SchwinnKrate models had a frontdrum brake.[10] The 1972 SchwinnPea Picker included a reardisc brake.[10]
The 1968 SchwinnKrate models included a spring suspension frontfork. At least one model, the Murray Kingkat, came from the factory with long forks resembling a chopper motorcycle.[17]
Besides making wheelies easier,[2] the banana seats facilitated carrying passengers.[3]
Several manufacturers madetandem versions, including Schwinn,[18][19] Raleigh,[20][21] and Rollfast.[22]
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.
The Raleigh Chopper was the best selling children's bicycle in the UK.[13] The wheelie bike fad drove bicycle sales to over 4 million units in the US,[3] and accounted for 75% of total US bicycle sales in 1968,[23] but it also helped contribute to the impression in the US that bicycles are merely children's toys.[2] Dangerous features, such as shifters mounted on the top tube, were banned in the US in 1974.[4][12] The wheelie bike fad even attracted the attention of non-bicycle manufacturers that developed and sold add-on products, such as theWham-Owheelie bar.[24]
Though initially a US fad, wheelie bikes also became popular in the UK, Canada, Germany,[25] New Zealand,[26] and South Africa.[27] Australia had its own Malvern Star Dragster,[28] Brazil had its own Monark Tigrão,[29] and in Norway, Øglænd made the DBS Tomahawk.
Dot Wiggin, formerly ofThe 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.
Part of the appeal of these bikes was their colorful and evocative names. Besides the Schwinn Sting-Ray and Raleigh Chopper, examples include:
|
The brand new Dragster II, above, is the bike most kids want for Christmas. It is finished in brilliant gold and white, has 3-speed gears with motorcycle twist-grip,... ...Other models include the popular Dragster I and the Dragster Jr. ...
Wheelie Bike. Also known as a "high-riser", "Stingray", "polo bike", "banana bike", "Chopper".
Meanwhile, a new juvenile craze broke out and propelled domestic bicycle sales past the four million mark for the first time. This time around, the demand was for new-fangled "high-risers" like Schwinn's Sting-Ray.
By today's standards, they are heavy, clumsy and laden with odd and dangerous accessories. But at a time when the Rolling Stones ruled the airwaves and helmets were unheard of, muscle bikes were the coolest things on two wheels.
John T. Bill introduced the Penguin to their many So-Cal dealers on March 3rd 1963, at the open house of their new corporate facilities in Glendale CA.
Leon Dixon of the National Bicycle History Archive of America notes: "This is a very serious myth. First, Schwinn merely copied the Huffy Penguin which existed BEFORE the Sting-Ray.
It was the KIDS in Southern California who came up with different ways to fit out 20-inch bicycles that resulted in the Penguin, Sting-Ray and so-called musclebikes.
Raleigh Choppers were sold all over the world, and sometimes re-badged, BSA in Europe, Eaton Fastback in Canada, Dominator in Australia, Raleigh in South Africa.
