Ruthy

How do you do
I am thinking of buying a Sixthreezero bike from beach bikes so just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the store and with the make of bike.

My girlfriend bought a bike from Beach Bikes for her daughter, it is made by Greenline and the quality is a bit bad. Both the wheels were buckled and you can see the welding in places is far from grate, and other things like that.

The other bike that thinking of getting is the Firmstrong with alloy frame, it’s just the 630 looks so much nicer.
The allow frame Firmstrong costs $170 do you thingk it will be as light as a Shwin or one of the other more expensive makes.
Build quality is really important to me since I will be using the bike for transportation.

StephenH

Well, clicking on the "Sixthreezero" link on the beachcruisers.net site got me a virus warning, if that tells you anything.

The problem with cruiser bikes is that very few "serious" cyclists ride them. Which means most of them are sold to the Walmart-type buyers that may ride them a few times and toss them in the garage. So it's hard to separate the good from the bad if it's a brand you don't have experience with. On obvious cosmetic quality problems, it would help to visit the store rather than buying by mail order.

I'd suggest visiting an REI store as well. They don't carry that many cruiser bikes, but they are a little pickier about what they sell, so you don't have to worry about buying junk. Don't just look at beach cruisers; you may find other bikes better suited to your purpose.

Cruiser bikes are not noted for light weight. If one is lighter weight, it's liable to be a bad thing instead of a good thing (lighter rims, for example). But I would think similar bikes with aluminum frames would have similar weights.

For women's cruiser bikes, also consider buying used. I say this because they don't bring as much money as men's bikes for some reason, so it's easier to find cheap bikes in good shape.

envane

How serious are you about transportation? A more dutch-style riding position will make riding a lot easier. For example, the Electra Cruiser:

https://www.rei.com/product/751505 <-- good choice if buying new.

In any event, all crusiers are slow, heavy and are horrible to take up hills. For flat riding for 5 miles or less, they'll do ok. If you are looking for performance, you need to be looking at a whole other style of bike.

If you want to save money, buy used. Try craigslist.

GP

Both Firmstrongs and 630s are junk. If you ride them more than occasionally, you'll break things on them, usually starting with spokes and the bottom bracket.

I think better choices are the Electras, Schwinns and the Madwagon.

Ruthy

Hi Stephen
Why do you think a bike with an alloy frame would weigh the same?
That’s the mane reason why they started to make bikes or anything out of alloy.

envane
When I first saw the forward pedalling position I thought it would make peddling more difficult, since in a regular peddling position you are pushing down with your weight.
And is a forward offset crank OK for when you want to stand up and peddle?

I really am set on a cruiser, they just look so good.
Allot of people seem to mainly criticise beach cruisers for the weight. The last bike I had, that I used for commuting, was a cheap mountain bike that was really heavy, but it had 10 gears so it was fine on hills, was thinking that having gears on a cruiser would overcome any short comings.

envane

Forward pedaling is more efficient because of the smaller angle between your thighs and back engages the gluteus muscles more which allows them to share some of the work of the quadriceps. It creates some horizontal force, but you can resist that by pulling on the handlbars. You should not be pedaling hard or standing up. If you find yourself doing that often, that means you need to get some gears to make it easier (there are cruisers with gears). Personally, I never stand up except on those days when I'm pretending to be a road racer.

StephenH

I meant that different bikes with alloy frames would likely weigh about the same as each other, not that they'd weigh the same as steel frames.

I-Like-To-Bike

A lot easier to separate the good serious cyclists from the bad Walmart-type buyers. Need no experience for that exercise, eh?

mark9950

Not eveybody lives near a velodrome.

st0ut

ruthey go your your LBS expalin what you want your bike to do and they will help you better than we can

mark9950

Let me tell you my experience with a beach cruiser coaster brake bike(this is not brand of bike specific)If you do buy one make sure the coaster brake hub is SHIMANO.

Any other hub is garbage.I had a promax coaster brake hub on my trek and it wore out in about 2500 miles(8 months)thats 50 trips from south chicago,illinois to crown point indiana a 50 mile trip both ways.doesnt seem like much.

On my trek I just replaced my promax which was worn to a shimano(what a difference).I was able to just replace the hub with an extra wheel and spokes from a worn wal-mart junk bike, a new coaster brake wheel from shimano from a LBS costs $45.00 for the good one.

I dont ride as much as I did, but I hope this shimano hub lasts longer.

If you buy a multi-gear freewheel or cassette bicycle they will last longer(more than 2500 miles) as long as you replace your elongated chain in time before it ruins your gears.The reason freewheels do last longer as compared to coaster brake hubs is because you have just ball bearings in you hub spinning and the bearings are made tough to withstand weight,as long as they are greased every 1000 miles or so.

Inside the coaster brake hub there are brake shoes (I think they are brass) and when you stop it wears the shoes and the inside of your hub,slowly but surely.

If you plan to ride alot of miles,buy a beach cruiser with a freewheel multi-gear hub,if you ride just a little you could make do with a coaster brake.But eventually you will have to change your chain,gears,front crank and wheel,in either case.

Nothing lasts forever.

My next bike is going to be from wal-mart.Why? I can tear up a bike riding it quick.

mark9950

I would like to see the serious cyclist do a 50 mile run,I did it 50 times in 10 months plus riding in my neighborhood (short hops) at least about 1000 miles .Am I a serious cyclist?

Oh and I am riding a steel bike with 2.125 fat tires,not one of those lightweight bikes with skinny tires ,also I weight 250lbs.70 lbs overweight,Its hard getting the last 70lbs off(used to weight between 350-400,not sure scale went only to 300lbs)

My next bike is going to be from wal-mart because when I ride it it gets torn up.My weight,the streets and thousands of miles within a year.Definitely tear it up.

Ruthy

I’ve been contacting shops that sell both the bikes to see which one is the lightest, since I’ve not come across bad feedback about either of them.
I was told that the 630 weighs 36 lbs and the Firmstrong weighs 38 lbs. It seems amazing that an aluminium bike would weigh more than a steel one.
So chances are that will go for the 630, but I’ll check out the local bike shop to see what they have to say.

bikeman4147

Having owned both the Firmstrong is a superior product. Here is a link to a guy that wrote a review on the Chief by Firmstrong. You could probabaly contact him for detail.

https://howtofixbikes.blogspot.com/20...rong-bike.html

I don't know where you are getting the weight on the 630 but it doesn't sound right but then unless you are a serious racer the 1-2 lb difference isn't going to mean anything. Lots of luck to you.

Ruthy

Thanks bikeman I came across that blog when I was looking around. It is a really good one.

The weight for the 630 I got from the manufacturer.
Which 630 and Firmstrong did you have?

But I really do find it amazing that the aluminium firmstrong would way 38lbs. Even the Chief (which has a steel frame), which the chap writes about in the article, only weighs 34.5lbs.

envane

My bike weighs ~27# new, unmodified. The frame is maybe 5#. So, the frame is a whopping ~20% of the total weight. Very easy to load up a light frame with cheap, heavy components.

Ruthy

I see what you mean.
By the way your explanation on forward pedalling is informative as well.

Gunmetal_Ghoul

The single speed Firmstrong Urban is beachbikes.net's best-selling cruiser because it has the lowest price point and has proven over the years to be very consumer-friendly (for dopes who know slim-to-nil about bikes) and reliable. The simplicity of the mechanics of beach cruisers makes it easy to work on, I mean, just yesterday I showed my cousin how to adjust my Marley Abyssinia's bottom bracket. Took half a minute and sold her on getting a beach cruiser herself. Get the Firmstrong Urban, it's a tried-and-true cruiser.

bikeman4147

Envane. I own a couple and just bought their 20 inch for the kid. Here is my favorite;

https://justbicycles.com/bike_details...-Beach-Cruiser


I also bought a basic Urban for the mother in law which got me big points

Ruthy

Hay everyone

I ended up getting the urban alloy (in black). I wanted to get it from just bicycles, since from past experiences beach bikes proved to be incompetent. But the guy at just bicycles couldn’t even be bothered to take my order over the phone. Even though I told him that we had just moved house and didn’t have internet access. Fu#@ co#k! You get the impressing that he is doing you the favor by selling the bike!

So, so as not to waist time looking for other shops (since you don’t know what they are going to be like anyway) I ordered it from beach bikes.

Both the wheels were buckled, so am trying to sort that out with them. The woman on the phone doesn’t even understand what buckled means!
The biggest thing though is that the back wheel is really not turning freely if you spin it stops really quickly.

margoC

My electra townie looked good, it was black with the black fenders, the 700c model. But I found that the forward postioning made it very difficult to pedal, something you can't tell just riding around a parking lot. I now have a specialized expedtion and it's actually fun to ride. It is slow though. It's great to just hop on and go and the gears are awesome. It's pretty flat around here.

Most of the major makers make cruzer type models, jamis, raliegh, specialized, giant, any of them would be better and more economical than whatever it is you are thinking. I saw a couple of used ones at the bike shop today. It would be a good deal, if it didn't work out you're not out much. I quick ride is always fun though.

Gunmetal_Ghoul

What does "buckled" mean anyway?

Ruthy

Ah, OK take it people in the US don’t use that term.
It’s when the rim is bent, and you can see it moving from side to side.

envane

If a wheel is slightly buckled (i.e. still ridable) its refered to as "out of true". If its totally wrecked, its refered to as "tacoed".

Of course, this is why I would never buy a bike mail-order unless I knew how to make all these repair myself.

Ruthy

It's always good to know the termenology.
Thanks envane