Each year Lindsay has been building a bike for the Detriot AutoRama.  Her mom is an Engineer at GM, so that helps, but she's been building some Kool "Theme Bikes" that rival Orange County Choppers work. Watch for her on an upcoming Chip Foose program that he hasn't thought of yet...watch out George & Chip, Lindsay might be your competition soon!  Pete

Write-up by her Mom, Denise:

Our daughter Lindsay put together a judges book with pictures and comments on the work that was done on her bike this year.  She stripped the frame, did some grinding on the metal flames, determined where each of the flames would go and even tried her hand at welding.  After full primer the flames were "can airbrushed" as we call it.  We decided we need to learn how to air brush for real this year.  Then the flames were masked off and the frame was sprayed satin black.  She did the assembly with little guidance this year!  The tires even have flames on them.  She had to make sure they were going in the same direction as the frame flames.  The Bing Bong Bell has a little picture of what else, the Jonas Brothers.

Lindsay won 1st Place in "Old School Girls" against some stiff competition.  She also won a Cool Award for the "Coolest use of Flames" .  The Cool Award  recognizes an exceptional attribute of the bike and she highly covets it. We even caught Chip Foose taking a look at her bike after he signed Lindsay's Foose Mustang the day before.  I didn't realize it but she took a picture of her bike to show him.  Pretty Cool guy to do that for a kid! After the show, she got to spend some time with one of the LEGENDS of custom cars, George Barris! Lindsay is also becoming a really talented balloon artist and work a few hours of the show and earned a pocket full of money toward the next project.

WHEELIE BARS!!
Out of stock, no ETA :-(

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Clik above for REAL Kool Video!!!

Wham-O Wheelie-Bars are made in VERY limited quantities.

Incredible detail! Assorted wheel colors, call for availability. These will fit just about any Sting-Ray except for Krates. (I'm sure someone could figure out how to mount them on a Krate...) 

A 1966-up "Period" accessory. Super-Kool! 

Story of the "Scout Krate"

 Our Schwinn Krate obsession started last fall (2007). I am a 45 year old father and recall the first krate I saw when I was 6 years old. My son Christopher was turning eight on October 9, 2007. Through investigating eBay and bike stores, I was able to find him a 1971 Orange Krate in good shape. We gave the bike to Christopher for his birthday. He was beside himself and totally acknowledged the bike as a really special bike and not "just another bike". His brother Benjamin found the bike just as special and asked non-stop for an Orange Krate. We found another 1970 Orange Krate in good shape and gave it to Benjamin for his sixth birthday on December 21. The seat upholstery kits and paint which you have sold to us enabled us to make the bikes quite presentable.  

My two sons are now Cub Scouts. In February, I was asked to become Cubmaster of Rockton, Illinois Pack 619. We have approximately 90 boys in the pack. In late Spring, my sons and I thought it would be really cool to create a Krate with a cub scout theme. We would then use this bike in parades as well a for events where we set-up a table to recruit new scouts. In order to avoid ruining an original Krate we decided that parts in need of new paint, cleaning, and restoration would be the right way to go. 

As soon as we had all of the parts, we began stripping, cleaning and polishing. We decided to do the bike frame in metallic blue with yellow accents in the form of the grips and chainguard. My sons and I took our time to make sure that the result would be a hit. I am providing you with a few of the approximate 60 before-during-and after pictures we took of the bike. Various scout themes can found on the bike such as a "Be Prepared" emblem on top of the polished Schwinn head badge, "On my Honor, Timeless Values" on the frame where the seat post goes into the frame. The bike was completed in early August of this year. The bike has far exceeded the reactions we anticipated. Young boys think the bike is really cool. Middle-age fathers and mothers are in disbelief when they see the bike. I continually hear stories of the Sting-Rays and Krates they had as a child. In most cases, it has been decades since the parents last saw one. Last week during a parent orientation night at the grade school, we set-up a "Join Cub Scouts" table in the hallway and had the bike next to the table. The crowd of parents around the bike was unbelievable. We also handed out a record number of new Scout applications.   

As I observe the fun that the bike has brought my boys, and the memories that the bike has re-opened in adults' minds, I am so glad that we did this project. I wish the originators at Schwinn could see how they touched our lives and the importance we placed on having the Krate being associated with Cub Scouting. I felt that this story would interest someone like you. My younger son Benjamin would like to have his own Scout bike. I think this time, I will base the bike on a Schwinn Fastback in order that we can call the bike "Scoutback".  

Sincerely,
Max Golter

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Just a Pic of Hyper-Formance Cam & Lee Ann

I Love Squash!