At Low-Riders.org the Lowrider bikes have been around for years, although nobody has ever really pinpointed when the actual first lowrider bike hit the boulevard. Maybe the closest thing that has ever been documented was the Eddie Munster bike from the '60s TV show The Munsters, a George Barris-customized Schwinn Sting-Ray. The Sting-Ray has been the bike of choice for most lowrider bike builders ever since its introduction in the '60s. The popularity of the Schwinn and similar bikes remained strong throughout the '70s. Despite of Hibernation Schwinn and other manufacturers had discontinued their cantilever frames and started specializing in BMX bikes, there was still a market for the old classics. When Lowrider Magazine busted back out in 1988, people started to build cars as well as bikes. There were a few bikes still out there during this hibernation period, but they were cruisers and not show bikes. Slowly but surely, classic Sting-Rays started to become more and more popular. By the beginning of the '90s, the competition started to become intense. Lowrider bikes, one of the most splendid and unique products of Chicano Americans culture, are a cross between the Harley and the cruiser bike, decorated with paint and chrome and streamers, found in any all-American hometown parade.
As you might surmise, lowriding bikes hug the ground.The highest points on a lowrider bike are almost always its two hand grips, just like you might find on its motorized cousin, the Harley motorcycle. The seat of a lowrider bike is down at wheel level and its pedals are sometimes higher than the seat! These bikes are typically a highly individualized creation. Most of them are ridden with enormous pride by their creators, although you can buy some standard models and a few elaborate models in a good bike store, especially in cities of the American West. This is all about history of Low Rider Bikes, for more click on to Low-Riders.org. |