What is a beach cruiser anyway?
 

What makes a bike a beach cruiser?

Ya beat me to it...:p

A lounge lizard looking to score a tan?

Are Beach Cruisers considered as single speeds?

^the single speed ones are. The rest are not.

Well I guess that clears up everything right away! :D



I don't ever remember seeing a Cruiser with multiple gears, derailleurs, or IGH's. I've only seen SS Cruisers!

Here you go:

[IMG]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ps76223ff9.jpg[/IMG]

Welp! There you have it!...A genuine multi-geared Cruiser! Well I'll be darn___!

Thanx, Merkel! :thumb:

Hey! All I know, is that us kids use to ride our single speed Cruisers over gravel, rocks, roots, sidewalk curbs, and down park hill trails, all of the time. This was long before anybody ever heard of a mountain bike.

I'd say they are fat tired single speeds made for running at sea level, but if it's surf and turf it could be any all terrain bike.

a cup holder.

[IMG]http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psf70c0feb.jpg[/IMG]

You got one of the New Belgium bikes? Awesome! The one at the Urban Assault Ride last year went for something like $2k.

Beach Cruisers were the first prototypes for present-day mountain bikes!

What constitutes a cruiser when there is no beach?

That looks like its really motoring sitting still:thumb:

Is this a beach cruiser?

http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...ss/photoe1.jpg

I dunno, but it looks like it could very well Troll the Beach! :D

......Nice Bike! :thumb:

What is a Beach Cruiser bike? To me it is a bike with abnormally fat tires 2.15” to 3.00”, a very upright relaxed riding position, a wide spring seat, and a chain guard. It can have one or more speeds. A bike you can get on any time with any kind of street clothes or even a bathing suit if you are so inclined. A bike style just to relax, soak up the sunrays, or just think about things or not and have a look at your surroundings going by ever so slow. Not ever to be in any kind of hurry, hence CRUISER! Yeah that’s the ticket just CRUISE.

From here one can customize it, chop it, slam it, stretch it or even add a springer front end. Whatever puts a smile on your face at the end of the day.

Beach cruisers are designed for riding in comfort. Wide tires and high handlebars, along with an upright seating posture.

A beach. None here.

Seriously, What I have seen defined as a beach cruiser is a middleweight, Schwinn (Autocycle/Typhoon/Phantom and others), Western Flyer, Murray or similar camtilevered frame with single or multiple gearing and light setup, meant to travel across sand and loose waterfront surfaces such as beach sand. Fenders are generally lightweight but should resist corrosion and abrasion hence plastic and durable colored surfaces would be preferred over chromed and newer lightweight stainless braces also favored. Baskets at a minimum other than the front or of wood/plastic composition and axles sealed well to prevent internal destruction from contamination of abrasive particles and salt.

Are many beach cruisers used on the beach?

My best guess is NO, the majority of them occupy grassy, paved and dirt paths near the water. Beach cruiser STYLE is a light variant of classic GOTHIC DESIGNS of the archetypical 1940s to 1960s cantilevered frames. The PAPERBOY bike is a heavy-duty high mileage version of a 26" or smaller middleweight or 'banana seat' frame i.e. Schwinn Stingray/Rollfast Skoot and other 20" juvenile sports variants that preceded BMX style frames.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=317042 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=317043 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=317044

I live in a beach/tourist community & work at a bike shop where 90% of our new sales are Beach Cruisers. I get to see tons of them a season and some really cool stuff comes around from time to time but for me I like the ones that remind me of a Schwinn Middle Weight which were the original Cruisers of the day. Gears have been used on cruisers since the beginning of the craze but you will always see more SS bikes do to there being more of them as they are the cheapest models that sold & still are. This place needs more pictures, so here are a few I have built & own.

Glenn

First is one that I just picked up & it has probably spent almost it's whole life cruising the beaches of So Jersey,a 1962 Schwinn Typhoon,
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps656a5e46.jpg
Next is another Schwinn that did spend it's whole life as a beach cruiser, a 1979 Spitfire 5, it is waiting to be born again, this time with a set of alloy wheels with SS spokes laced to the original drum brake hubs,
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...itfire5002.jpg
And yet another Schwinn that has lived it's whole life cruising the beaches of NJ, a 1959 Tornado I rehabbed for a friend (this is a before pic, I forgot to take after pics when he picked it up),
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps07beca07.jpg
This one is a real modern beach cruiser that is designed to ride on the beach, it has a 2spd kickback hub that has low & super low, a Sun Spider which we have a few in stock.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...012/images.jpg
While most beach cruisers are fat tired, some aren't, I picked up this sorta rare Liberty ( sold by Chicago Cycle Supply, Schwinn! ) in Cape May NJ after a failed attempt to make a drop bar bike. I returned it to it's natural state & she is cruising the beaches again,
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps5f85bc1f.jpg
Beach Cruising for 2, after cruising the beaches early in life this Columbia was forgotten for almost 40yrs before I returned it to service. It was bought by a Ocean City NJ Life Guard who rides it to work everyday during the summer,
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m.../2seater-1.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps3dbc4f65.jpg
One of my most favorite beach cruiser builds was this tall BCA ( one bike I really regret selling is this 3spd BCA ), a friend bought it new & he lived half a block to the beach so when he was done with it the only thing really left that I could use was the frame & fork. I installed a set of Shimano Nexus 3spd wheels & tires that were new take offs from a Trek cruiser as was the seat, this bike road so smooth & the fact that it had a tall frame which fit me perfect I should have never sold it. I painted the frame taping around the decals which came out really good, I added a new tall chrome stem & a wide set of bars to finish it off. I could see over a standard pick up truck when riding it which I really liked.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps6db30c61.jpg
Another bike I enjoyed rebuilding was a very rusty Peugeot Pipeline 1 that my brother found behind his house when he bought it. I had a pair of pink SS wheels that a customer stuck me with that I couldn't move, so I built the bike around them repainting & decal-ing it to match the wheels, sold in 2 days.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps858e64ad.jpg

No, it's a mountain bike near a beach.

Actually, that's not at the beach. It's mile marker zero on the C&O Canal Towpath in Washington, DC. That is the lovely Potomac River in the background. Surly claims the Troll is do-everything bike, so why not a beach cruiser?

From their website: Use the Troll as a mountain bike, cruiser, commuter or touring rig. Make it your go-to utility tractor. Try out different tires and handlebars. Add some racks, build it with gears, or strip it down to a singlespeed drivetrain. Take it camping, ride it to the grocery store or session on your favorite single-track. Build it up, ride it for a while, then reinvent it.

Beach cruisers are like pornography: I can't really define it, but I know it when I see it.

I dont use mine for cruising- more like boardwalk racer. I fly thru town with it. It now has a bigger crank from a old 10spd mtb.