I put this over in beach cruiser because it’s essentially a beach cruiser with fat tires, but after a couple of hundred
views and not a lot of responses I thought I would give it shot here. I’m not a heavy duty rider but more of a heavy rider with physical issue that wants a slightly more capable cruiser. Thanks.
TLDR. Looking for a review as it seems like the bike for me. Do the big tires really slow it down? Not my pic but it looked good.
The story....
So I’m looking for another bike. I’ve had a selection over the last few years but I have arthritis and it has made riding difficult in various ways so I’ve sold them all off and am looking for a compromise.
Trek road bike - leaning too far forward and it was tough on my neck and shoulders. Most of my riding now will be on bike paths and the dirt roads around my house so not for me anymore. No complaints just couldn’t ride it anymore.
Trek DS 8.4. Loved the bike but needed the money at the time so I sold it. If I had anything bad to say I thought the tires were a little narrow (700-38) and anything other than hardback or pavement and it just dug in. On the positive I like the 27 gears the suspension fork and the hydro disk brakes. Again I really liked it but I would’ve had the same issue as with the next one.
Electra Moro 3i. Again I loved the look and feel but arthritis reared it’s ugly head and my shoulders couldn’t take the lean. I tried changing the stem and bars but it wasn’t enough so I ended up selling it. I really liked the bike but on the down side it still could’ve used a little more tire and it needed more gears (should’ve had at least 5, the new one got 8 and 2.8 inch tires) While the brakes weren’t hydro, as a bigger guy I loved the disks
Electra Cruiser 1. What’s not to love? 2 moving parts and it’s like riding a lounge chair. The geometry is great but my knees are having an issue with the coaster brake, and the lack of any gearing limits it (at least for me) on anything but the flats and around my house it is anything but.
So back to the Cruiser Fat Tire. It has the geometry of the cruiser with the barcalounger seating, it has disk brakes...not hydro but that’s upgradeable.
It has more tire, though maybe 3.5 is a little more than I need but on the plus side they will act like suspension. It has a few gears. While only 7 it does have a pretty wide range.
Now to my question. I’ve never had any issues with Electra’s build quality , maybe not the highest spec, but always adequate. My question, what do these things ride like? I’m not looking far a racer or downhiller but an 8-12 mph cruiser on a dirt road with rain ruts and potholes ( think Jeep trail but that’s were I live) with enough gearing to get back again. I guess my question is does it require that much more effort to cruise?
I have a Trek/Electra store but they don’t have one and while they could order one in, I’m asking you fine folks as I can’t seem to find any reviews other than some German guy that thinks it’s “Rad” so I was hoping for something with a little more substance.
The runner up in this would be the Non Fat tire cruiser lux 7D or the Townie Path.
The Townie has more gearing (27) and hydro disk brakes - both very nice - but I’m leaning more to the cruiser geometry. That and there is just something off-putting about the townies look...can’t put my finger on it, bust just not a fan. The regular 7D seems to be the same bike with fat tires and disk brakes.
What says bike forums?