RIP Al Fritz Creator of the Sting-Ray Bicycle

シュウィン　スティングレー　発明者アル　フリッツ死亡

Anyone alive in the 1960s or 1970s in the US either had or wanted a Schwinn Sting-Ray bike.

The inventor of that classic bike Al Fritz recently passed away at age 88.

The high handlebars, banana seat, bright colors made the Sting-Ray the most popular bicycle of the era.

Engineer and tinkerer Fritz designed the bike in the early 1960s.

After serving in World War II, he worked at Schwinn for 40 years.

According to the Washington Post, "...from 1963 to 1968, Schwinn sold nearly 2 million Sting-Rays. At one point, bikes in the Sting-Ray style — competitors were quick to pick up on its success — accounted for more than 60 percent of all bike sales in the United States."

In recognition, he was inducted in 2010 into the BMX Hall of Fame.

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Old Schwinn Bicycle in Kyoto

京都にあるシュウイン自転車

This really brings us back.

Our first bike - the one under the Christmas tree circa 1971 in the old Victorian pile we lived in in Philadelphia - was a blue Schwinn.

Big wheels. Big fenders. Big tires. Thick cables. Heavy.

It must have weighed more than our six-year-old body did.

That sucker is still in mom and dad's basement, a bit rusty, but still street worthy.

This Schwinn was leaning against an old Kyoto home just north of City Hall. The only concession to the 21st century was a Cat Eye light.

Otherwise, it is nearly the same bike - three times bigger, of course - as the one we terrorized the old neighborhood with in the early 1970s.

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