Figures, someone else has beaten me to another one of my farfetched ideas. Let me explain. I have been repairing my own bikes for years. I have never really needed to take my bike to the shop. However, I always wanted to do more. Wouldn't it be cool to build my own bike? Absolutely!! As I considered the possibilities I never really saw myself producing the run of the mill mountain bikes of today. Instead, I always saw myself custom designing chopper bikes. The 'Jesse James of bicycles', if you will. I've had in mind something along the lines of a cross between the old Schwinn Sting-Rays (minus the banana seat) and cruiser bikes. I can just picture myself tooling around town; sitting back, arms and legs outstretched... [fade to fuzzy dreamlike state]
Then, Gizmod informs me that Schwinn is bringing the Sting-Ray back and asks: "who will it appeal to?" The answer to that question would be: Me! Or would it? After a little research I find that it is only available as a 20" kids bike. A little large for my 6'4", 200+lbs. frame. Even so, it's available for a measly $180 at a popular department store near you. The perfect gift for some kid, I'm sure.
Even so, I wasn't going to let that hamper my enthusiasm. In further searching I found a Schwinn dealer no more than an hour and a half drive from here that has a collection of Krate bikes (a popular Sting-Ray model) and even some custom low riders. While the low riders pictured are not exactly what I had in mind, I like the concept and will have to check them out someday.
So, I guess there is room for my ideas after all. Now, to find the time and money to attend bicycle frame building school. Ok, maybe not. But I can dream!
