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I'm going to talk about how to identify a muscle bike. Generally they have smaller frames
than a balloon tire bike or a middle weight bike. Some people call them kids' bikes, but
adults do ride them. They have a smaller frame. They're going to have, generally, twenty inch
wheels front and rear. Some of them have a twenty inch wheel in the back and a sixteen
inch wheel in the front. The diameter of the tire is generally one point seven five inches
which is like a middle weight tire, although there are many variations to that. Some have
a big back tire with a slick on it and a little front tire, or this, a Schwinn Stingray Fastback,
has got a very narrow tire. Generally a muscle bike is going to have a cantilever-style frame.
This is semi-cantilever. The top tube and seat stays are arch, but the down tube is
straight. That's what's unique about this Fastback. It's got a banana seat. This is
the wrong banana seat. This bike actually has a number of things that are incorrect
about it which we'll go over. It's got the nice, high monkey handlebars. Monkey handlebars
were great. It gave you a nice upright riding position and it was very handy when you wanted
to pull a wheelie on your bike. These are very popular. This particular cycle was built
in 1972.