Does anyone own one of these, or know a kid who has owned one? Have they stayed happy with it, and are they has hard to ride as I think they are?
Last week, I took the kids to Target. While we were there, we made a casual walk past the bikes. When my eleven year old saw the OCC Stingray his eyes got as big as pie plates and his jaw dropped open. I think he was a little afraid to ask for it for Christmas. Sure enough, when I mentioned that it couldn’t be used off road (we have a BMX track nearby) he got dejected and said that he didn’t want a bike after all.
Point taken. We are Bad Parents if we don’t buy this bike for our kid. OK, we aren’t necessarily bad parents, but he really wants it.
I’m worried though that it won’t be a good bike for a kid. Sure it’s flashy, but I’m afraid that the newness will quickly wear off. Also, he can be sensitive to criticism and, kids being kids, somebody will say something about his bike. That said, he should be able to be himself no matter what people say, and this could be a chance to learn that lesson.
A bigger problem is that the bike may be a RPITA to ride. I used to ride a chopper. While it was great at highways speeds, the steering was twitchy at anything below twenty miles per hour, and this bike is a chopper. I measured nine inches of trail at the store. Has anyone owned or known somebody who owned one? Was it hard to ride? I don’t think that he will want to ride offroad, but I don’t want him to have a bike that is unrideable on the street.
Personally, I’m trying not to groan about the whole thing. I hate the whole Orange County Choppers thing, but I can see why my son wants the bike. I’d want one myself if I was his age.
I only have 2nd- and 3rd-hand information, but I hear the bike is incredibly heavy and doesn’t handle very well. The fat rear tire has very low air pressure which translates to high rolling resistance, and it’s a single-speed bike (no gear shifts). Also, I don’t think the bike has any adjustment for seat/pedal distance. It’s purely a show-off bike. Of course if that’s what he wants, and realizes the limitations, maybe it’s OK.
Perhaps you can show him the Evox and see if he likes the look. It’s a bit more expensive than the Stingray ($399 for adult size model, I think the child size is $300) but I hear it’s a well-designed bike.
Thanks. It sounds like it handles like a chopper (I bet it’s rock-solid at eighty mph… :rolleyes: ) It has a seat adjustment, which is a good thing considering that the crank length is about that of an adult’s bicycle. The pedals pass within inches of the seat with the seat dropped all the way down.
If you don’t mind, I may show him this thread. As much as I’d like to surprise him with what’s under the tree, it might be best if he makes the final decision.
Does this really look like it handles that much worse, or is that much heavier, than the Schwinn Stingrays we all loved to ride as kids? On the other hand, we had lawn darts, too.
Why don’t you give your son a promise for Christmas? A card with a bicycle on it, or maybe even a miniature toy bike under the tree to get the idea across, and a trip to go with you to pick one out together? That way you get the excitement on Christmas morning, the “ohboyohboyohboy” anticipation of the shopping trip, and hopefully a better shot at picking out the perfect bike.
If you go with the card idea (A good one I think) I suggest that you include a real bike shop where he can test ride several bikes. What looks cool in the store, might ride like a truck.
Even if it handled all right steering-wise, is it going to give him what a kid his age wants?
I mean, the kid isn’t rolling around town in leather jacket with a pack of smokes rolled up in his sleeve is he?
11 years old sounds old enough to enjoy a bike that can take jumps, do wheelies, crash, etc. It’s your job to convince your kid not to get sucked in by shiny chrome and look-of-the-week marketing fads.
Key thing is, you want a bike for your kid that he’s most going to enjoy riding. The appeal of that chopper will die off pretty quick.
If kidflakes is interested in a retro bike, see what he thinks of the PT Cruiser Turbo 7. Marshall’s them or at least similar models for a hundred bucks.
On second thought, maybe you should just buy the Stingray. If there are immediately obvious problems you can return it. Heck, I’m 30 yrs old and I’m not above buying bikes just for the looks… (This bike, the top one, is my latest acquisition. I already had a similar but better bike, so I have no justification other than “it looks cool.”)
Junky novelty bikes. Right now they are the fad of the moment. Interbike was loaded with them (this years scooter). The OCC version is an especially cheaply made low quality version. Remember, the high markup required by Target/Walmart et al before they will carry an item, so their real cost is suprisingly low (so is the resulting quality). As a serious bike, the thing is a very heavy, poorly handling failure, not even remotely close to an original Stingray (which were built in the US back in the day by Schwinn, back when they made everything in the US, and are quite valuable now). They went bankrupt and eventually the name was bought for use in selling Huffy quality bikes to Walmart et al. This “stingray” will be gathering dust in most garages come summer as most of these “chopper” bikes are really not much fun to ride over any decent distance.
Honestly, you would be better off buying a decent quality mountain bike. But, I don’t have a kid- if I did I would probably just buy it for him anyways. I guess I our parents indulged us as kids buying us stuff they probably regarded as crap but knew we wanted, so its hard to deny your kids now I guess. Mixed message for sure, but at least your kid is into a bike instead of just TV and X-Box. Just remember that you may have to pony up for a decent quality mountain bike down the line, to go with this street only playtoy.
The new Sting Ray looks really uncomfortable to ride. Not only is the top part of the rider bent way forward like on a conventional multispeed road bike, but the pedals are way forward, too. Think of the folded position of a sit-up, and consider trying to pedal in that position.
The old Sting Ray had an upright posture, and it was easy to ride.
Well, I think we are going to go for it. He really wants it and I’m a soft touch at Christmas. I’ll hold off on marking the bike for theft protection until I’m sure that he can ride it.
SuperNelson, it does handle worse than my Stingray (at least I remember that it handled ok), though I don’t know how it would compare to an Orange Krate, with its pressed-steel springer front end. I’m not too worried about image either. We live in a fairly diverse, liberal neighborhood, basically a 1950s subdivision populated with middle-aged hippies, where it’s ok to be a little different. Don’t worry, Trunk, I don’t see him getting a patch on his vest any time soon.
elf6c, my sentiments exactly. I’d like to buy him something that functions well, but I think that he’s too young to appreciate functionality. I’d like to buy him a good bike (Shimano, etc.) from a reputable shop, but I’m probably going to wait until he’s a couple of years older. The bike doesn’t handle well, but I doubt that it is dangerous.
I think I’d also take him by a junk yard , get an old frame, and let him start designing and building his own bike. This is just a personal prejudice of mine. Whenever I meet someone with a really good looking bike or car my first question is usually, “Did you build it or buy it?” I tend to have a lot more respect for the folks that built it themselves ( and they tend to have a lot more pride ).
Just my .02 worth. I’m not a parent, I only play one on message boards
I got to look at one up close in the local Wal-Mart a while back, and that OCC-Stingray is heavy. As in, like, 50% heavier than the kids’ BMX bikes they had. It weighs a fucking ton. If you live in a hilly area, either your kid will hate it, or get really strong legs fast.
On the other hand, it really doesn’t cost a whole lot; it’s about the cheapest style of chopper-bike out there. The most well-known chopper bike among adult riders is probably the Giant Stiletto [ http://www.giant-bicycles.com/ ], but it costs up around $500, but then, it’s an adult-quality 7-speed bike. Two other places that sell chopper style bikes (mail-order) are http://www.streetlowrider.com/ and http://www.phatcycles.com/ , but they start in the $300 range and don’t have anything quite like the Stingray. In particular, no other bike comes with that huge rear tire–they made that wide tire and rim just for that one model of bike. If you notice, it’s way too wide to fit into any normal bike frame. I don’t think the wide tire is really the source of any problem, it’s the frame that is made way too heavy–but there’s really no way you would be able to “fix” that.
I would skip the recumbent idea totally–recumbents really only shine for riding very long distances, and what kid is going to do that?
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…And this is why I hate OC Choppers. A chop is something you build and it’s your bike. These OCC things are just Redneck Lexuxes, a bunch of dollar bills on two wheels.
Who knows, we may take the Stingray and make something out of it later. It’s likely though that we won’t. He’s not the type, and I’d rather that he didn’t follow his dad on this one.
I think that scr4 mentioned a recumbent as something that he wanted just because it looks cool, much like my son and the OCC, and that that was reason enough to buy one. I agree with his point, but didn’t think he would mind a little friendly ribbing about it.
If you don’t mind throwing away the money, it will probably make him happy for a while. But don’t expect it to last more than a year or two. By middle school he’s probably going to want a “real” bike. I seem to remember having a silly fashionable bike when I was 11. It made the transition from “kids bike” to “adult” bike alright.
If you’re referring to my suggestion of the Evox, that’s not a recumbent. It’s a semi-recumbent comfort bike. The only one available in child size, I might add. I mentioned it because it has a chopper-like look that seem to appeal to some children. And from what I hear, it’s a well-engineered and well-built bike, far better than the Schwinn toy.
I’m not going to claim recumbents are better than uprights for children, but I think it can be a good choice. And they are safer than standard bicycles in many ways - namely, there’s very little risk of a “header” (hitting an obstacle or locking the front wheel, being thrown over the handlebars and landing on your head).
Hey, it was a big hit at the holiday parade! Kids are impressed by carbon wheels and disc brakes.
Anyway looks was the reason for choosing that particular recumbent only. I have other recumbents I chose purely for practicality and/or performance. My titanium performance bike is shown here - I’m the guy in the red shirt.
