The Huffy Penguin was
Released in March of 1963 and
was the first Production
High Rise muscle Bike.
They called the bike the
Penguin due to its Black and
White paint scheme. The bike
later became known as the
Dragster!
Evolution of the High Rise Bicycle 1963
In 1962 Pete Mole contacted Huffy about putting together a new kind of bicycle. High Rise
Type bike were being built by kids in California and where the latest craze! Kid's adding
banana(polo) seats and Tall handle bars were the inspiration needed to get a factory
backing and start actual Production of their version of the Cali fad. It took nearly a year to
get the program going but after a lot of hard work they made their bike public by March
1963. This makes the Huffy Penguin the first Factory Produced High Rise Bicycles.
In 1963 Al Fritz started receiving
phone calls from a business
associate in California about a new
bicycle fad that was taking place.

The associate told Fritz that kids were
removing their handle bars and seat
and adding taller handle bars and
longer polo type seats.

Fritz looked into the fad a little further
and decided the bikes had a financial
future if marketed correctly. The rest
is History!
Schwinn used major ad
campaigns to advertise in
every place possible. Their
marketing gave the early
High Rise movement a
major push for all brands.
Here are few more bikes made in 1963 after the High Rise Bicycle
explosion started to hit stores. It Seems Everyone was hoping to
get in on the money machine! It looked like Tall Handle Bars, Polo
Banana Seats, and Fat rear tires were here to stay!
I would like to thank John
Brain, and Bike Rod and
Kustom for all their hard
work. I appreciate all the
info you have put out here
for us to enjoy!
1964 Huffy Dragster below was
basically the same as the 1963 Penguin
High Riser.
This model had a single speed and
came in 5 colors including
Flamboyant Lime, Flamboyant Red,
Sky Blue, Violet, and Radiant
Coppertone
Schwinn was able to put together a
Stingray with mostly existing part
within a few short weeks. The official
date was June 1963 (or 1963 1/2) The
earliest Stingray found so far has
been May 1963.
Welcome to the "Evolution of the Bicycle" for 1963-1973. In these pages you will be taken on a journey
down Memory lane. We plan to document every High Rise bicycle made in the 60's and early 70's
according to year. We will provide factory Ad's and in many cases pictures of the bicycles themselves
for everyone to view. If you have a bike that you think might be of help, please email us at
raleighrons@aol.com
Click Pictures to enlarge them!
The first Production High Rise Bicycle's: 1963