| I was just a little kid in the late 1960s, when the TV | | | | to "see and be seen in style." |
| show The Munsters was on the air in Prime Time | | | | Lowriders are usually considered to be among the |
| TV, young enough to feel that Eddie Munster (the | | | | most comfortable of bikes. The "apehanger" |
| werewolf son) was my favorite character on the | | | | handlebars extend up so high that riders are perforce |
| show. I don't remember him riding the "converted | | | | forced to sit up straight - reducing the stress on the |
| Schwinn Stingray" which was apparently the first | | | | back which is one of the chief causes of biking |
| lowrider bike featured on TV, and which started the | | | | discomfort. The tires are cushiony, the seat, whether |
| craze for the lowriders during the late 60s and 70s. | | | | banana or some other kind, are roomy and |
| I do remember that I wanted to sleep in a bureau | | | | comfortable. Most of them have only one speed and |
| drawer as he did - I felt that would be nice and snug! | | | | a simple coaster break, so they don't break down |
| What I most remember about the show, in the | | | | that often. |
| technology department, was the car they drove - | | | | With the new space age materials of which bikes are |
| the converted hearse. Now that was a car! | | | | made, these bikes aren't as heavy as you might |
| Anyway, that's just a bit of historical interest. Most | | | | think, so if you're thinking of getting a new bike, and |
| kids today have never even heard of the Munsters - | | | | like to indulge in your creativity, you might want to |
| or if they have it's the remake done in the 1980s | | | | consider getting a low rider. (Even if you don't want |
| which had none of the charm of the original - give | | | | to trick it out, or "pimp it" as the slang goes, it is still |
| me Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo and Al Lewis any | | | | a classic "retro" design and a fun ride.) |
| day of the week! | | | | But if you do want to trick it out (a term I prefer to |
| It wasn't a TV show that brought the lowrider back | | | | "pimp" frankly, as I would think that word would |
| into favor in the late 1980s, however, but merely the | | | | have unpleasant connotations) there are plenty of |
| concerted creativity of people in the Chicano | | | | stores, both bricks and mortar and online, where you |
| neighborhoods of Los Angeles, who began exercising | | | | can purchase practically any accessory you can think |
| their creativity by tricking out their bikes with | | | | of - from gold and chrome mirrors, rims and spokes, |
| chrome, paint, and all sorts of accessories. The hobby | | | | to hand-painted murals on the frame, to rows of |
| caught on and has spread through urban areas | | | | mirrors on each side, to a baby spare tire mounted |
| throughout the United States. | | | | on the back! |
| Lowrider bikes are not built for speed - they are built | | | | So check out your local store or surf the web, and |
| for leisurely rides along the beach (hence the fat | | | | have some fun! |
| tires), or through the neighborhood. The riders want | | | | |