Associated Press
Schwinn Vice Presidents Skip Hess, left, Gregg Bagni,
center, and President Tom Mason show off the Orange and
Apple Krate bikes the company is putting
back in to production.
Schwinn
straddling retro
The bike maker is reintroducing
By Sandy Shore
models calculated to kindle
nostalgia for the ’70s
Associated PressDENVER -- With a banana seat and long, shiny chrome handlebars, the Schwinn Krate bikes made children of the early '70s feel like they could outrun the wind. The company hopes they'll feel the same as adults.
Schwinn Cycling and Fitness Inc. is putting the popular Orange Krate and Apple Krate bikes back into limited production, targeting buyers from their 20s to their mid-40s.
The bikes should reach stores by early July.
"This is the Schwinn equivalent of the Volkswagen Beetle," said Tom Mason, Schwinn president and chief executive officer.
The Beetle, reintroduced earlier this year, joins movies such as "Godzilla," cameras, capri pants and other products on the market aimed at capitalizing on memories.
Krates are part of Schwinn's popular Sting Ray line, conceived in 1963 by engineer Al Fritz.
He spotted children rebuilding bikes to resemble motorcycles with chopper-style seats and extra long handlebars.
Introduced in 1968, the Orange Krate was the first true "off-road" bicycle, featuring full suspension and advanced technology such as rear shocks. It retailed for $86.95.
Mason, who joined the company last year, says he had a Sting Ray bike as a youngster that made him feel "just totally cool."
"I fancied myself a bit of a hot rodder," he said.
The Boulder-based company introduced several variations, including the Apple, Lemon, Diamond Jubilee Cottonpicker and Grey Ghost. The series sold 150,000 a year at its peak but was phased out in 1973.
Gregg Bagni, Schwinn marketing vice president, said the new Orange and Apple Krate bicycles will cost about $459.
"The '70s retro thing is still on fire," he said.
"We've been talking about a Krate for the last two seasons. . . . This particular bike meant so much to so many people."
Schwinn has done this before. In 1996, the company offered a recycled edition of its old Black Phantom bike.
Bridgette Braig, an assistant marketing professor at the University of Colorado, said the nostalgia trend has grown in popularity as baby boomers try to cope with increasingly cluttered lives.
"Nostalgia is often a note of this introspective, reflective thinking," she said. "I think marketing of certain brands and products is always successful when it can tap something that is resonant with large groups of people."
