General Cycling Discussion - Official Beach Cruiser Thread

I have been an avid cyclist for all of my life and have currently been lurking on this forum. Throughout the excitement of seeing your awesome bikes, and hearing everyone's stories I noticed there really is no place here for fellow riders of the classic beach cruiser.

So, from now on, this is a place to share about these amazing bikes and post a picture of yours. Lets show off these beauties and start something new!

I'll be back later to post pictures of some of mine.

-A fellow cruiser


(yes I've used the search haha)

There is a 'Where is the Crusier forum?' thread stickied here to use. It is mispelled. It needs more life. =) NWelcome!

There is a 'Where is the Crusier forum?' thread stickied here to use. It is mispelled. It needs more life. =) NWelcome!

I saw that, but it is really dead! Last post was August 1st!

The only cruisers I ever see for sale are those from the Wally Mart. I had the misfortune to ride one once but the rear wheel tacoed when I put the power to it. Where does one locate a double butted chro-mo framed beach cruiser, something under, say, oh, 50 pounds?

There is a 'Where is the Crusier forum?' thread stickied here to use. It is mispelled. It needs more life. =) NWelcome!

The spelling is fixed. :)

Most major bike makers seem to have a cruiser or two in their catalog these days, and they usually have pretty tolerable weights.

Welcome aboard BC22. I also recommend posting to the stickied thread. Even though traffic has been light, at least it's always there at the top of page one. Unfortunately, I doubt making a new thread will increase interest, and it will soon fade into the back pages.

My cruisers are posted in the sticky thread. Let's see what you got!

I saw that, but it is really dead! Last post was August 1st!

You will find , as I did, that Cruisers are not well thought of here at BF.

In fact, this forum ,while having a good rider cross section, is really a haven for the racer boy crowd.

It would be ideal if the last two types of cycles ,NOT having a home here, were placed together in one forum for.........."Cruisers and Adult Tricycles" .......both low interest areas.

These two types of cycling are very underrepresented here on BF but there is a small growing interest in both styles of cycling.

I wouldn't say headscratching is hostility. And the headscratching is pretty justified; in many cities, cruisers pretty much don't exist, and the only way you can get one is by mail order. Where I was a few months ago, box stores didn't even carry them. Here, they're the most common bicycle type in use. granted most of them are walmart cranbrooks, but there's a lot of Electra cruisers, Sun cruisers, some Felts, assorted vintage cruisers, and some stuff that was covered in spray paint and unrecognizable.

I wouldn't mind the upright trikes being with cruisers, sure. I'd put semi-recumbents and maybe comfort bikes there too, probably. Call them all upright, or something.

I don't think it's a matter of cruisers not being well thought of, just there hasn't been much to say about them either. I like blue jeans, but that doesn't mean I go around asking people "So, what do you think about blue jeans", "Which blue jeans should I wear to walk the dog?", etc. The thing is, there's really not much distintive about cruisers. If I'm overweight, riding a cruiser on the road in Texas, that can go in the Clydesdale forum, the Road Cycling Forum (which is not a road bike forum, but a road cycling forum, and that distinction is often overlooked), or the Texas forum, and I've had cruiser posts in each one. The bikes don't especially lend themselves to innovation, other than custom bikes (for which, see www.ratrodbikes.com (http://www.ratrodbikes.com)). I've also had adult tricyle posts in the Utility biking forum.

I just noticed the thread title is "beach cruiser"- and most often, when I see that term used, it is for a bike without fenders. Does anyone else make that distinction, or is this intended for cruisers in general?

"Where does one locate a double butted chro-mo framed beach cruiser, something under, say, oh, 50 pounds?"

Consider this bike, don't know about the double-butted chro-mo specifically:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/huntercycles/1810309141/

I wouldn't know; I never hear "beach cruiser".

One of our local LBS shops has quite a display of single speed beach cruisers. Single speed, coaster brakes, fenders, fat tires etc, everything you remember.... Trek actually has quite a line on these types of bikes.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/cruiser/mens_cruiser

Nothing wrong with them at all.

Oh, you wanted pictures.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/DuvalDelta/3879Proc.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/MiscBikePhotos/SpringFever.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/MiscBikePhotos/Proc_3572.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/MiscBikePhotos/Turkey1.jpg

I'm not exactly seeing an outpouring of pictures and enthusiasm here, either.

This is a Mango made in Key West. Very nice aluminum frame. I changed out the handle bars to Nito Mustach bars for a better feel.

I loved my beach cruiser. It was the first bike I owned as an adult and then it was stolen.

My theory is that the Fixie quenched a large portion of the Cruiser thirst!

Where some older folks would have craved the Cruiser, the more youth oriented hip appeal of the Fixie, attracted some of the age-forbidding geezers.

How many Baby Boomer members of BF have I heard proudly claim that they rode fixies?

I'm not certain, but it was certainly more than I had expected!

Apparently, yesterday's young Cruiser-lover, is today's so-called, Fixie-lovin', Old Hipster-poser! :twitchy:

the debate quietly mews in the corner again? I think over in family and rec there's a thread now devoted to cruiser pics.. I rather like the idea of a cruiser myself, get a good handlebar ashtray and it's a perfect cigarette smoke break rider.

Not particularly interested in cruisers as such....
But I did once come aross a webpage (lost link) about the early development of mountain bikes and 'clunkers' - beach cruisers modified into mtbs
It would be kinda cool to have a clunker replica made with higher end manufacturing -butted cromo, etc....

My theory is that the people who ride cruisers tend to have better things to do than discuss them online. I'm not seeing a huge demand for a POS Wal-Mart mountain bike subforum either.

- Scott

I have plenty of bikes but this is my favorite and the one I ride the most. .....http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh129/bikem1/photo1.jpg?t=1327417419

I have plenty of bikes but this is my favorite and the one I ride the most. .....http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh129/bikem1/photo1.jpg?t=1327417419

Nice!!!....What kinda cruiser is that one?

Heres another one of my cruisers. Electra ghost rider frame that I had powdercoated, Giant stiletto fender, and a 29er shock with the steer tube extended. Mostly parts I had just laying around my garage. The brooks saddle was almost half the cost of the whole project. ...........http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh129/bikem1/photo12.jpg?t=1327419242

Nice!!!....What kinda cruiser is that one?

It's a Electra sparker. I cut the fender out of a 55 gallon drum and cut the chainguard and rivited it to the fender, The seat came off the wifes old Dyno cruiser.

Cruisers serve a need no other bike does. The bike in my avatar is a '64 Varsity with 26" coaster braked wheels. Just a fun bike to grab and ride down to the beach. A rear rack and lighting system is in the planning stages for next summer. A guy on a cruiser riding is a cyclist. A guy with a hi-buck carbon wonder bike stuck in the garage is not.

Heres another one of my cruisers. Electra ghost rider frame that I had powdercoated, Giant stiletto fender, and a 29er shock with the steer tube extended. Mostly parts I had just laying around my garage. The brooks saddle was almost half the cost of the whole project. ...........http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh129/bikem1/photo12.jpg?t=1327419242

Ah Man!!! ....I'm Lovin' it!..... That is really nice! :thumb:

OK! That's It! ...I'm gettin' a Cruiser!

http://www.doanehoag.com/Forums/Bikes/Schwinn_Lakeshore_04.JPG

I bought this a few years ago and it got me back in to riding. I bought it on line for very little money and except for the brake cables they used for shift cables (I replaced them) it was actually very well made. Sold it after a year of commuting, got a KHS with more gears but not sized right for me, and finally, I got a very nice Specialized Sirrus last Fall that I now ride to work on and love.

Not particularly interested in cruisers as such....
But I did once come aross a webpage (lost link) about the early development of mountain bikes and 'clunkers' - beach cruisers modified into mtbs
It would be kinda cool to have a clunker replica made with higher end manufacturing -butted cromo, etc....
If I ever get something that can work as well as my Trek, or the IGH destroys itself, I think I might try and turn it into one. Till then, it's doing an awesome job as my winter bike.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/Ropefish/IMG_20111211_153117.jpg

I currently ride a Schwinn 7-speed "beach cruiser" and actually like it a lot for my daily commute!!
Heck all my early bikes were cruisers or Pee Wee Herman-esq. Western Auto was the place to buy bicycles in the 50's and 60's!
I got a single speed bike in the 60's with a "light weight" frame and put drop bars and a Brooks saddle (wish I had the saddle now - I think I paid $8 for it!) and felt like a bicycle "god". Didn't know how to ride so that came to a halt!! Several decent road bikes over the years: Schwinn Varsity, Raleigh, Nishiki, Colnago...
I keep thinking I'll get another "good" road bike but I don't ride like that anymore. I'm 60 years old and commute a few days a week to work. I like being a Fred right now. It's not stressful and I've lost 45 pounds. Cruiser land is rather nice.

Maybe I'll hit up some thrift shops tomorrow and find a project!!

My buddy just sent me this leading me to believe that maybe funfur is the next big thing in beach cruiser mods :)
Pretty funny. Wait for it about a minute in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPdMAD9usy0&feature=plcp&context=C301fe15UDOEgsToPDskKn8Y9Rm_j0H1J1ZmC57F39