OldCruiser

I picked up my Electra 7d Lux Fat Tire bike this afternoon.
Got it home and spent about an hour and a half fitting it to me , swapping out saddles , and adding a bike computer . I set my Cateye Velo9 to 27” to compensate for the bigger diameter tires .
Then I took it on a two mile spin around the neighborhood.
First impressions are good . It peddles easy enough . Feels totally different riding than anything I’ve ever ridden. It pulls to the side sometimes. Not bad and not a lot . Just enough to make you want to pay attention to what’s going on . The big tires feel funny going into a turn . It’s sort of like driving a truck without power steering after getting out of a sports car . .
It doesn't shift as good as my Roll . About like my old Hardrock. It shifts but makes a clicking noise sometimes. Sometimes it shifts fine .
I have no problem pedaling around in second and third gear , just like my other geared bikes . Second , third , and fourth seem pretty close together. First I’d definitely a granny gear .
I like it , it’ll be fun cruising through my little town on it .
Although I managed to get it home on my Drawtite bike rack , it didn’t fit well because of the shape of the top bar . Doubt if I’ll be dragging it behind the truck much anyway. I wanted it for neighborhood rides .

JehD

That came in quick.

What pressure are you running in the tires? What do you think of the Brakes?

It it looks very nice btw.

OldCruiser

Truthfully, I haven’t check the tire pressure. The tires have a good bit of bounce to them . The brakes pads are scrubbing a little but seem to be adequate. I can see an upgrade to hydraulics in the future. The kit not that expensive. They don’t seem to grab like the ones on a mtb I have . They’ll stand you on your head . I’m not sure rim brakes would stop this bike as good as the discs .
The feel of riding is what’s so different. You have to drive it into a turn as much as lean into it . You can’t just throw it into a turn .
Im taking it out again tomorrow morning for a little longer drive . I need 5.5 miles to reach my goal of 150 this month . I’ll probably try to finish up the month with the fat tire.
It’s a fun bike to ride .
I plan on changing the pedals out for some nice platform pedals as soon as I figure out the size . I hope they’re 9/16
.

OldCruiser

I checked the tire pressure this morning, 15psi . Tires are rated 30psi . I pumped them up to 25psi . Big difference in ride . No more pulling to the side . Turns almost like a smaller tired bike . Still has bump and shock absorbing .
Rode three miles this morning on it . Nice ride , just a different experience. Can’t wait to ride it into town .
Going to try to mount a rear rack sometime today .

coopman

Congrats on the new toy.

JehD

This looks amazing.
This is what I was after. Im not looking to tour or MTB on this but I live on dirt roads and just want to ride a little. 30psi sounds like it would be a good ride without to much resistance and still have a little give.
I do have some hills which is why I like the disk brakes and like you said the Hydro is not an expensive upgrade, I loved them on my Trek DS8.4 I had a few years ago, they would toss you over the bars if you weren't careful. My Moto 3i had mechanicals and they sufficed.

I prefer rapid fire shifters but Im ok with Grip.

I see you changed the seat. Just not like the stocker or just prefer the Brook? I had a Brooks B17 on my Moto and it was the most painful thing I've ever ridden (I almost got a ticket over it - long story) but I do like the look of the B135, That would be like a dual suspension MTB lol

Keep us updated as legitimately this is the only review of the Lux Fat tire I can find on the net, and as soon as I can get mine I'll post up.

OldCruiser

Never tried the stock seat , but after looking it over , I plan on trying it one day .
The brakes are making some noise , but probably need breaking in . I’ve got mechanicals on a mtb that will will lock up the wheels if you’re not careful , but the rear one I can’t get it adjusted to where the pad isn’t touching the disc causing drag .
I think you’ll like the bike when you get it . It should be great on a dirt road .

OldCruiser

Added my rear rack and tried out the stock saddle.
The saddle moves around a little and the springs squeaks . Might be the 285 lbs on top of it .

OldCruiser

Oh yea I almost forgot . Pumped the tires up to 30 psi . That did the trick for riding on pavement . It’s a big bike , but with the tires fully inflated , it rides small now . Feels almost like riding a regular size cruiser.
I’m glad I went ahead and bought one .

JehD

Nice to hear. I really want one but was hesitant to order one with so little info on how the bike rides. I never had an issue with my Electras in the past but its nice to get a real world review.

OldCruiser

I had read that fat tire bikes were hard to peddle , that they were meant to ridden slow . Well I’m no speed racer , I’m a Cruiser. I average 8-10mph in the neighborhood and on the MUP’s locally . I’ve been able to do close to that with this Electra . It’s a little slower , but not much and it’s fun to plow into a turn going about 14-15mph and feel those big tires hold .
I’ll be taking it into town one day next week . To get out of my neighborhood I have two hills , one right after the other to climb . That’s after I get out of the bowl . Once out , riding around town is easier than riding in my neighborhood.
In my neighborhood I ride what I call a bowl for exercise. Up one hill , turn around, quick downhill only to start on another long sloping hill , get to the top , turn around and do this over and over . Gets boring sometimes, that’s when I head into town .

FiftySix

Rollin' on a fattie. Nice bike, Kirby.

OldCruiser

Some more info to add to my review of my Electra Fat Tire 7d .
I road her to town this morning. Getting past the two big hills wasn’t any problem, just drop down to first gear as I neared the top and crawled right over the top of the first one then second gear down a short section, a sharp left and I’m into another long sloping hill . This one I was into crawling gear early , but it was like putting the bike in four wheel drive.
Once out it’s mostly rolling hills around town except for one coming out from the town pond . But in first gear I just crept right up it . 7.5 miles total .

Oh I stopped once , for about two minutes to snap a picture at the town pond .

HBCruiser1

Wow. Nice bike.

Ravensfan52

Looks good congrats

dezzie

I put mini apes on mine, swapped the twistshift to trigger, added a brooks 190 saddle and brooks grips but took these off recently as sold the bike and would have lost money on those items so replaced the seat and grips back to the originals.

OldCruiser

Why did you sell it ? I would only sell mine to fund an Electra Ghostrider.

coopman

Sold it? What?

Bluesfrog

Great bike and saddle Kirby. I would add the rear Hydraulic kit and a front electric hub. Be Well, Bluesfrog.

dezzie

I found the ride really uncomfortable on the feet forward Electra, hurts my knees, my old Electra Rallysport was pre feet forward and i could do 40 miles no problem and stand to go up hills, i have a vintage Moulton to finish and selling another as well as a xootr folding bike also but cruisers not so popular here in the UK and lose a fortune on resale thats if you can even find a buyer which is a shame aa they turn heads everywhere i rode.

OldCruiser

Are you sure it was the pedal forward that was bothering your knees ?
After reading a few complaints about this , it got me to wondering if that was what was bothering my knees . But , then I remembered I didn’t have any knee issues before I started switching from regular pedaled bikes and pedal forward bikes .
I started sticking to the pedal forward bikes and my knees have gotten better . That and I’ve dropped my saddles to where I can touch the ground while on the saddle . I think I had my seats too high .

rhenning

Knees forward bikes also hurt my knees. To much gravity on them in that position. Kind of like leg lifts when exercising. Roger

GeezyRider 

I've found that knee pain from knee forward bikes (in my case recumbents) can be caused by mashing too tall gears. A lower gear and spinning helped me eliminate knee pain. Perhaps that can help on a crank forward cruiser?

OldCruiser

Thats what I’ve found too . I replaced the rear cog on my Cruiser one with a 24 tooth that pedaling easier and spins out around 11mph . Plenty fast enough for me .
And my Fat Tire Lux 7D spins great in its granny gear . Has a 40 tooth chainring and low gear is a 34 tooth . That’s almost mountain bike gearing .
The better you can spin less pressure on the knees .

Spangen7628

mo