1989 bianchi grizzly, Tosco handlebars.


Is this a cruiser?

For me, anything you cruise the beaches with is a beach cruiser (especially if there are babes in thongs present). However, I like a coaster brake, upright bars and a "fat ass" seat too.

Can be .
A lot more folks cruise on a comfortable bike away from a beach than do cruise at a beach .
I consider myself cruising everytime I ride .

In my broad view, any bike with fat tires, flat/riser bars and a comfy saddle is a cruiser. Cantilever frames are not mandatory. This looks like a cruiser to me.

I ride a mountain bike with fattie tires, riser handlebars, and a nice cushy seat. I have health issues, and this is my cruiser of choice.

Sounds like a cool cruiser.
My Specialized Hardrock has gone through several transformations on its way to its current build .
I’ve needed to go with BMX bars to take the pressure off my hands and put it on my saddle.
I like a low geared cruiser that spins out around 10mph. Plenty fast enough for me to cruise around my neighborhood and town .
Thats the cool thing about building a cruiser . You can make it fit the way you want to ride .

I like the low gearing as well, I have a lot of hills around here. I built this urban bomber type bike from an old cruiser frame, It will sprint quickly up to about 15 mph and climb very easily. I like the nothingness nature of these, no cables, shifters etc,

nice looking bike !
I ride in a group around here that we call the “ easy pedalers” . I’m the only SS rider . . On flat ground, they’re faster . But when it comes to climbing, they down shift so low to make the hills , that I’m usually spinning right past them .
Riding SS is different than multi speeds . Learning to be patient , when to coast , how to spin to maintain a cadence that keeps the momentum going up hills .
I really enjoy the SS ride .

I recently built this ‘91 Bridgestone up into a cruiser. There used to be a TV commercial where a couple sits down in an architect’s office, plops a kitchen faucet onto the desk and says, “We want you to design a house around this.” I thought that was a pretty silly idea until I saw these tires.

beautiful build! will you please tell us about the handlebars and tires? thank you.

Thank you! The tires are Hycline Gembridge 26 X 2.125. Besides looking cool, they are that rare thing for tires these days: a bargain. I don’t have a lot of miles on them yet but they seem to roll well. The bar is a Surly Open Bar 2.0. It’s 714mm wide with 40mm of rise. I’ve been wanting to try an alt bar for a while and these mustache bars seem to be favorites of the guy who designed the Bridgestone originally. So far I like them. My aging body is not displeased with the upright riding position.

Surly Open Bar 2.0 - rivendell shape at wald price! good find.

I posted once on this thread many years ago and occasionally check in when I see updates. Guess it's time to add my own update.

The bike I first posted about was a Murray BeachComber. It has been through several iterations with me and this is the most recent:



Now recently I picked up a mid 1980s Emory cruiser that looks pretty heavy duty:



--rick

I'm surprised they were still making bikes like that in, well, this century.

I had never seen one of those. Nice! Was it made in N. America or Europe?

EDIT: Never mind. I see they are currently being built and sold out of Florida. I like the Cafe handlebars option.

As you noted, they were made in Jacksonville, Florida. Not sure if the current Emory is the same as the one that was operating in the '80s when this was made.




Also interesting to note, regarding country of manufacture: other than the Dia-Compe brakes and Sturmey-Archer hub and shifter, I'm pretty sure all the components are made in the USA. The bars, stem, kickstand, pedals, and seat post are all stamped WALD. The grips are Hunt-Wilde, and the seat is Mesinger, though I don't know for sure if Mesinger was still US-made in the 1980s. Even the tires are Carlisle Lightning Darts.

This is my new to me 83 Ross Diamond Cruiser

I took a little ride today (only around 7.5 miles), and I'm POOPED!!! Darn headwinds!!! 😂 Now, I installed these Aventon handlebars on my bike, and WOW!!! What a comfortable ride I had. No shoulder pain, my wrists weren't strained, totally enjoyable seating position. I love them!!!

Pace 4 Swept Back

Modified Huffy Cranbrook. Taken 5-25-2026.

love that Cameback frame. Stellar.

I have done the same with my single speed coaster brake retrospec.I have a big sprung saddle on it alu bars with a bit of sweepback and cushy grips that have a bit extra which adds to the sweep back of the bars. I am considering making it into a fixzer. Folzer = folding cruizer.