WC53

Looking for new beach/town bikes for my wife and I . Town is 2 miles away and the beach is one. We have a tall bridge to cross upon leaving our house, so we are looking at 3-8 speed models. My wife prefers the look of IGH bikes over dérailleur bikes and she wants fenders. We both prefer the more classic look and we have been looking at Mango, Yolo, Giant and others. Our beach sand is soft here and we don't have the broad flat spots like Daytona and other areas. Would appreciate any recommendations on models in general and on the fat tire craze! We have older hybrid bikes and our sand is too soft for them except at low tide. We are both in our upper 50's.

Thanks

WC

SquidPuppet

Soft dry sand is difficult to ride on even with a fat bike. Personally, I'd only own a fat bike for dedicated riding on super bumpy trails and snow. For regular use, they are just too much to lug around with no real benefit.

If you haven't already looked at Felt and Electra, you may want to, as they make some very retro looking cruisers.

WC53

Thanks for the reply. I looked at some Felt's and a Sun today. Still trying to decide on how retro of a style to go with along with the tire size.

suncruiser

Fwiw, i have a sun and it's been one of the best bikes I've owned

WC53

The Sun Cruz and to a lesser extent the Baja Cruz are certainly among the finalists!

Needles

Firmstrong.

Crossthreaded88

Felt is definitely the top of the food chain but make the kind of bike that you dare not let out of your sight or it will be gone. Electra makes some nice bikes in several price ranges but Internal Gear models are at a premium. They also make standard frame and stretch frame models with or with out fenders. If you're talking about the really fat tired bikes from Surly and the like they have extremely high price points and are really just one trick ponies. Riding in sand is a quick way to ruin a bike especially if you don't do your own cleaning because the sand is thrown everywhere and sticks to any greased or oiled surface mainly the chain and is ground into the rear axle and bottom bracket.

FarHorizon

I agree with SquidPuppet totally. 2.25 tires are probably more than sufficient for off-road, beach, and on-road use. Plus you generally get better quality rims!

WC53

Thanks guys. Not looking for a premium due to a high rate of thefts. Apparently everyone has bolt cutters in their backpacks! Was looking at 2.5-3" tires if possible. If you can't ride so the soft stuff anyway, that would change the dynamic

WC53

Has anyone seen or tired one of the Mango Longboard 3 speeds?

SquidPuppet

$800.00 is rather silly IMO. Actually, it strikes me as very silly.

WC53

FREE Ship 48 States+Save Up to 60% Off Fat Bike Cruisers Mango LongBoard FT 1 Speed Geared Cruisers from bikesdirect.com

$499 at bikes direct for the 3 speed fat tire (3.5")