Schwinn Orange Krate

Schwinn Bicycle Co

Chicago, Illinois

(c. 1968  1973) Of all the Schwinn Sting Rays, the Krates were the hottest and the most heavily outfitted for the imaginary drag strip. It had a ``mag" sprocket, chrome-plated fenders, stick-shift lever, spring-suspension front fork, and front aluminum drum expander brake. Schwinn called this the ``world's most exciting concept in bicycles." It was a great seller, though the true race-worthy machines were coming from much smaller companies with a better understanding of the BMX phenomenon.