Beach Cruisers

[OldHoss]

http://images.yuku.com/image/pjpeg/0d3251298187f1b0f50a02f99c0a1f1d9ea8a9f.pjpg

 

Anyone have one?

 

 

I've rented one at the Jersey Shore a number of years ago and really enjoyed it. I'm thinking about getting one to follow my young kids around (they're still on training wheels). I don't forsee us going more than 2-3 miles at a time. But I've been calling around to a number of bike stores in the area and asking about the single speed, coaster brake cruisers and have been met either by silence or laughter. Apparently, these stores seem to think that the cruisers aren't enjoyable because they're to hard to pedal, too heavy, etc. (Of course, they then go on to tell me about the $700-$1000 options).

 

Does anyone here have any experience with beach cruisers? And if so, how are they to ride?

 

From my research so far, the following brands are available here in Milwaukee:

 

Trek, Schwinn, Giant, Hampton, Nirve and Electra.

 

If you have any brand-specific comments, I'd love to hear those as well.

 

Thanks in advance for the input,

 

OldHoss

[Teatoe993]

Dude. Just find yourself an old Chicago built Schwinn from the 50s or 60s. I used to have a fleet of them until I started buying cars instead. But I still have a few choice Schwinns that I ride all the time. Here in Neenah, we have a new bike shop that opened up called Cranked Bike Studio. The owner is a huge classic bike enthusiast and they could set you straight with the prefect classic Schwinn or something new. They also will custom build something for you.

[TheRealMattKain]

Beach cruisers are absurdly popular out here in Santa Cruz. They came into vogue about 3 years ago and are still all the rage (along with fixed gear bikes for tight pants hipsters). They seem to mostly appeal to High Schoolers, surfers (I've seen several models with surf board side-mount attachments), families (similar to your sitation), people with tattoos (not sure why), and tourists looking for something to roll around the neighborhood and down to the beach on (there are several places that rent them near where I live). They're not as heavy as they look and really offer a smooth ride (sort of like a laid back mountain bike). If you pedal hard, you can actually get them going pretty fast over a short distance - don't think of them as big, lumbering beasts. I've seen people on beach cruisers keeping up with road bikes. Since most of them are single gear with coaster brakes you can expect minimal maintenance. Keep air in the tires and maybe toss some grease on the chain every couple weeks and you should be good. Everyone I know that owns one seems to be pleased with the investment (although $700 - $1000 seems absurd! Just get a single gear Bianchi or Trek for that price). On the other hand, they're probably not great for long commutes. I'm not sure that the seating position would be good for the back if you're going over 5 miles, and they don't really handle hills well. Still, if you're looking for something nice and easy to enjoy with the kids, this might be a safe bet. Plus, they seem to handle well in flip-flops (it's the only bike out here that it seems to be the norm to ride barefoot or in flip-flops).

 

Of the brands you listed, Trek has a really great overall reputation (although I'm no expert on beach cruisers specifically). Plus, if you bought Trek, you'd be supporting a Wisconsin company.

 

Good luck!