A wheelie bike, also called a dragster, muscle bike, high-riser, spyder bike or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a chopper motorcycle and characterized by ape hanger handlebars, a banana seat with sissy bar, and small (16-to-20-inch (410 to 510 mm)) wheels.[1][2][3] Notable examples include the Schwinn Sting-Ray and Krate lines and the Raleigh Chopper line. Other notable manufacturers and retailers that offered models include AMF, CCM, Columbia, Huffy, Iverson, J. C. Penney, Malvern Star, Monark, Murray, Ross, Sears, and Vindec.
In modern usage, "wheelie bike" can refer to a large-frame BMX bike.[4]
- ^ Brown, Sheldon. "Wheelie Bike". Sheldon Brown. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
Wheelie Bike. Also known as a "high-riser", "Stingray", "polo bike", "banana bike", "Chopper".
- ^ Herlihy, David V. (2004). Bicycle, The History. Yale University Press. pp. 363. ISBN 0-300-10418-9.
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.
- ^ John Jurgensen (June 12, 2005). "Muscle Bike Still Spins Magic Spell. Cool Bicycle Spoke Volumes to Ageless Kids, Who Still Get a Kick from Wheelies, Burning Rubber". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
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.
- ^ "Haro Bikes Wheelie Bikes". Haro Bikes. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
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