I
want
to ride my bicycle…page
5
Another
highly collectible bicycle is the very unusual Bowden Spacelander. It was
designed in 1946 by Ben Bowden, but not introduced in America until 1960, when,
as mentioned before, minimalist lines were the norm for bicycles. Although it
had the thinner middleweight tires, its voluminous fiberglass fenders and frame
made it look like a rolling cloud from another planet. Though interesting, by
the time the machine was introduced it looked 20 years out of date and at $89.95
it competed with the Phantom on
price. It was a bike that not many kids could afford or, unfortunately, want.
The Spacelander would have to wait until the public was ready.
Two decades passed and the
Spacelander was "rediscovered" by collectors. They saw the bike as
unusual, unique and this time, they wanted
it. Values shot up overnight since
only a handful were known to exist. Eventually the number rose to around 300 and
the price stabilized. Since this is one of the top collectible bikes, John
Howland of Lawrence, Kansas, was led to form Bowden Industries in 1992. He now
reproduces a nearly identical version of the original. Minor changes made from
the original have strengthened the frame. Another
notable reproduction was Columbia's 5-Star Deluxe. In 1985, the company
reissued the model using some of the surviving examples as patterns. Production
was limited causing the price to escalate from the original $400 to $700-$1,000
and more. Fortunately for those wanting to restore an original Columbia today,
almost every part is now reproduced and an overrun of extra parts were made.
We’re
Gonna Start a Revolution
If you grew up in the 60s you rode a banana-seat, high-rise handle bar bike with
20" tires. These are known today as "muscle bikes" and they are
some of the hottest collectible bikes on the market. Schwinn, the company that
introduced the balloon-tire bike 30 years previous, introduced a new concept
in kids' bikes in 1963. They had heard stories of kids in California jazzing up
little 20" frames with wild colors, long polo ,seats and ape hanger bars.
The company decided the time was right to market a version of their own. The
Stingray took the younger market by storm. Hot looks and a name that matched
gave kids their first street rod before legal driving age. The only problem was
trying to keep up with demand. The company underestimated the popularity of
the new machines and demand was greater than what could be manufactured with
then-current tooling. A worldwide search for 20" tires was necessary to
meet demand.
The
Schwinn Company elaborated on the basic Stingray by offering multiple speeds,
hand brakes and shock-absorbing front ends. By 1966, they had the Fastback, a model with five speeds and a stick shift mounted on the
top tube.
By 1968, the
ultimate bad bike - the "Krate" – was
rolled out. Pea Picker Green, Lemon Peeler Yellow, Orange Krate Orange -
these bikes screamed for attention. They got it with their chrome springer front
end, wide racing-slick 20" back tire, smaller 16"front
tire and rear shocks
on the seat. The modified
cantilever Stingray frame looked basically
the same as the design available for decades. But add a flared rear fender, mag-style
front sprocket and a front drum brake and you had a bike turned hot rod. A
sparkle seat that matched the paint color had a cool racing stripe offset to one
side. Owning a Krate was the goal of any kid with legs long enough to reach the
pedals. Unfortunately, Schwinn quality came at a
premium price and not every kid that wanted one could afford it. And every
parent wasn't willing to spend the extra just to have the kid trash it in a few
months. This just made the Krate all the more desirable to those with the means
to buy and the others even greener with
envy.
The
Schwinn Company had done a good job of creating the desire for a Krate with its marketing. Some of its magazine
ads depicted a boy on a racetrack outpacing a: top-fuel dragster. The
same successful marketing tactic used on balloon-tire bikes was used here again
- playing on fantasy.
This is why they were popular then and so collectible today. Eventually the
company added other Krate models. The candy red Apple Krate, white Cotton
Picker; and for one year (1972) the Grey Ghost. Original Grey Ghosts
'are the most rare and naturally the most valuable. Available in 1972 and 1973
was the rear disk brake and today ifs the hardest item to find. With the
additional expense of the disk brake, the bike sold for around $130
with the company barely breaking
even. This price was really more than the market could bare and coupled with the
rising competition from other manufacturers, the line was discontinued in 1974.
Competing manufactures made
Krate-style models of their own but with a more attractive price. These models
had radical frame designs, suspension variations, and multiple speeds. Though
non-Schwinn muscle bikes in general, are not sought after as much today, a
growing number of enthusiasts are collecting “anything but Schwinn.” Some of
these are pretty unusual.