Hello, a little back ground on me...I've been riding/racing enduro/downhill mountain bikes for quite a few years now and after multiple injuries to the knees and head it's time to find a more leisurely style of riding (I'm 47). My current bike is a full suspension Trek with 6" of travel, carbon this and that since in the mtb world, lightness is your friend.

I've noticed in my searching of a nice cruiser that they're averaging around 50lbs which for a bike is unheard of for me. So, are there certain items like cranks, wheels, handle bars and such to help lower the weight or is it even necessary? Most of the time the bike will be on level terrain (AZ and CA), the bike I've been looking at is the Phat Cycles Bomber (see link). I've always been a believer that stock sucks so this new adventure I need to make sure the bike looks like it could be modded/lightened.

I'm also one not to test the waters with a cheap POS to play with. With that being said however, money is a factor. I've ridden cruisers in the past (rentals) so I know I like the style and lifestyle of it all, just want to make sure I get something I'm not going to dislike.

Phat Cycles - Bomber-7AL 26" (7-speed)

Thanks for any advice!!
Jim

Looks OK, just make sure it fits you by trying one in the store. One thing I would advise against is buying a cruiser with 4" tires/wheels (like the Phat Bomber) unless you truly have a need for wheels that wide (regular riding on sand or snow); those tires and REALLY expensive! You'd be better off with an equivalent model with 2"-2.5" tires.

Other stuff you might consider:

* 7 speeds is nice, too; Its nice to have the lower gears to actually 'cruise', and the higher gears when you want to cover some ground and get somewhere.
* Also, that bike looks like it has a 'relaxed fit' frame geometry; make sure you like that type of fit. I don't like them, as I sometimes like to go faster than a cruise speed and the relaxed fit seems awkward for doing anything but a slow cruise. YMMV
* Also consider if it has attachment points for racks, baskets. water bottle(s) and other stuff if you'll be putting those on it.

In my case I got an old fully-rigid MTB and modified it to be a cruiser with 2" street tires, better handlebars, a grip shifter (like the Phat Bomber), and a rack/basket combo on the back. I'm happy with it. Look through the 'Show me Your Cruiser' photo thread for ideas if you want to build your own.

I STRONGLY agree with [MENTION=323561]skidder[/MENTION] about the 4 inch tires. They have their place, but 2 inch- 2.3 inch is plenty for a smooth ride. No reason to be dragging those fat tires around on paths or roads. Overkill big time.

I also agree with [MENTION=323561]skidder[/MENTION] that the "Crank Forward" geometry is wonky. It's taking relaxed too far, to the point of being very inefficient for your legs and hips.

I disagree with [MENTION=323561]skidder[/MENTION] about the gears. Real cruisers should have only one gear. And it should be low. For cruising. Wanna haul ass and work on derailleurs? Fine. Build another bike for that. No hand brakes either. No cables.

Fifty pounds**********?? Something is very WRONG. Keep shopping or build up an old Schwinn using aluminum rims.

This is my Schwinn Camelback Heavy Duti. It's steel. It has steel handlebars, steel one piece boat anchor Ashtabula crank, 12 gauge spokes, heavy slicks, heavy Brooks saddle, and it still even has it's steel kickstand and it weighs 29.5 lbs.






This is my Cantilever Schwinn from the 90s. Steel. Steel bars. Steel crank. Solid rod seat post. Heavy slicks. Still under 30 lbs.

You can see that by swapping out a few more parts, I could get these to ~ 26 lbs, no problem.

since there's been one wal-marty bike shown, and you want to play with the bike anyway, i'll throw in a suggestion of a kent lajolla. another walmart bike, but made of aluminum. being cheap though, nearly all the components are steel (the forks too. I can't find a cheap replacement for those though). it's a fun bike to play poor man's weight weenie with, as far as cruisers go. I'm not sure if they still sell new (I wouldn't get a new one anyway), but used they pop up here for about $20 and up. I paid $25 for mine. raid your spare parts and have a pretty light weight cruiser for next to nothing but time spent fooling with it. if you like where it's going spend money on the next one (or a better frame if you like the parts you used).

Thanks for all the advise guys, looks like I'll be trolling my local CL ads and start with a used bike to get a feel of what it is I'm looking for. Thanks again!!

Jim

I have a 3G Isla Vista that I like A LOT and I do very aggressive riding on it. It has a slightly extended wheelbase with a slightly pedal forward design but not overly extended like the one you linked above appears to be or like a Townie.

I ride it a ton, it has 16,000+ miles on it and with a 44/17 setup I can climb pretty good hills yet roll 17-19 mph comfortably (I like to spin). It's all steel and probably weighs in the 30 lbs. range like squids though I've never weighed it.

It's very comfortable, I've ridden multiple centuries and more on it. The biggest problem I have on it is cooking the coaster brake descending big hills, but then again they weren't designed for that!

https://ridewithgps.com/gear/9348#photos/1924327

Good luck.

Took a peek at your site Squid, beautiful bikes! Looks like you put a lot of work into them.

Thanks you for the compliment.

I do put some time and effort into building them, but they don"t sit on a shelf when I'm done. I ride the heck out of them. Did about 25 miles on the blue skyscraper yesterday. The fall weather was perfect for a long cruise by the lake.

Great to hear, classic cars should be driven and classic bikes should be ridden!

I go for the rat rod/patina look, mainly because I don't want to spend a lot of time wiping them down. I put my time into the drive train and riding!

Works of art yours are.