Dewbert

Finished a nice long ride on my CF road bike this weekend when my 9-year-old daughter suggested "Let's go to Dairy Queen on our bikes, Dad." It hit me: A road bike just isn't the kind of bike for making ice cream trips with a kid. With that in mind, I made a trip to my LBS this afternoon and picked up this lovely new Schwinn 7 speed cruiser complete with bell! I think I'm in love!

wahoonc

Welcome back to the "real" side of cycling

Aaron

blickblocks

Enjoy it.

My mom bought an Electra cruiser-style bike, nothing I'd be caught dead with riding but she seems to love it.

Bekologist

may you and your daughter enjoy many rides to the dairy queen and other places togther. you're lucky your daughter wants to ride with her dad, your hobby might be inspiring your daughter into a lifetime love of cycling...

Enjoy! a cruiser is a lot of fun to ride, might I suggest a big wald basket on the front.

skiahh

Nothing against your new (very cool) cruiser, but why isn't a road bike good for ice cream trips?

When my daughter's old enough and asks that question, I'll hop on my road bike (CF, Ti or whatever gee-whiz material there is at the time) and gladly ride with her down to the tasty-freeze! Or full susp MTB, for that matter! As the saying goes, "it's not about the bike!"

specq

Shhhh...! You're messing up a perfectly good excuse to buy a new bike!

bbwolfy

I rode bicycles with my daughter alot, till she turned old enough to drive. We did several casual rides to the Dairy Queen and trails/parks. It was a great way to spend time together and burn some energy.Yeah it is about the ride.

Dewbert

You've OBVIOUSLY been talking to my WIFE!!!!! SPY!!!!! SPY!!!!!! SPY!!!!!! We have a spy on the forums!!!!!!!

Siu Blue Wind

Ehhh don't worry Dewbert, your bike is awesome. I'd say perfect for a Dairy Queen trip. I mean, who would show up to a 50's hop in a new Porsche?

wahoonc

Some Nouveau Riche with no class (you asked )

Aaron

Retro Grouch 

Yup. It's about the relationship with the daughter. When she sees daddy climbing onto the cruiser she knows that's HER special time.

Retro Grouch 

Why everybody who owns one! Suppose you owned a Porsche or a Cobra replica or something similar. Where would you drive it? Parties, the Dairy Queen, anyplace people gathered and could see you in your spiffy car. That's what they're for.

Doug5150

Yea, but overspending on a Porsche or Cobra generally inspires awe and envy.
Outside of a very-limited group of like-minded people, overspending on a bicycle doesn't get quite the same result.

If you went really crazy, you could even get a SunRay or a Manta Ray, and find out what recreational bicycling is supposed to feel like.
~

fillthecup

That's a beautiful bike. When I have the scratch for it I too would like a nice, balloon tired cruiser for my ice cream runs.

But my next purchase will be a touring bike. The cruiser will have to wait for a few years.

GP

My flip flops slip off the clip in pedals.

capejohn

Ha! One of our rides is a 50 mile loop that is named the "ice cream" ride. We pass (or stop at) over a dozen places of that sort. Dairy Made, Dairy Chief, Ice Cream Hut...... you get the gist.

But a new bike is nice too.

Retro Grouch 

It's a different result, but the impact is still there.

Buy a $70,000 Porsche and your neighbors will admire it with envy.

Tell them that you paid $4,000 for a bike that you have to pedal and they'll think that you've gone completely insane.

slowandsteady

The bolt upright riding position makes it easier to eat an ice cream cone on the go. Try THAT in the drops.

Retro Grouch 

Couldn't you just jam the cone between the time trial clip-ons? That might be a good way to practice your time trial position.

mlts22 

https://tinyurl.com/2u6wqo

Problem solved.

EnigManiac

After buying a semi-recumbent for commuting, my wife forced me to sell my yellow Fuji Shangri-la 3-speed cruiser with white-wall 2" tires, full wrap-around fenders, colour-coded chain guard, saddle and head-piece and featuring the big over-sized bell. It was ideal for going to get ice-cream with my son and his friends.

Dewbert

Quick update: My wife (nope, she didn't kill me), my daughter and I went for a ride in the park and then our first official Dairy Queen run on the the new cruiser. That, coupled with a record-breaking high temp of 80 deg F in Indiana made for a pretty nice evening. Aaaaahhhhh......

Oh....and one woman stopped and said "Wow! Nice bike!" I winked and gave her a little ring-of-the-bell-action! Schweet!

alanbikehouston

Yup, a fat-tired cruiser is THE way to go to Dairy Queen, or to ride up and down the sea wall in Galveston. The Electra Company has been designing "flat footed" Townie models for both kids and adults that have the added advantage of making it easy to put both feet flat on the ground while eating ice cream or chatting with neighbors. The "heads up" riding position makes it easy to enjoy looking around as you ease slowly down the street.

The stable geometry of a typical cruiser makes it easy to add mount grocery bag sized panniers or baskets to the rear rack, and use it for trips to the grocery store or hardware store.

One of the reasons that 90% of the adult population does NOT ride bikes on a regular basis is that the myth has been created that adults should ride only "pretend" racing bikes, whille dressed in "pretend" racing clothes, and ride only in the "pretend" racing position, with noses pressed against the front tire. In contrast, the combination of a sunny afternoon and a beach cruiser will turn anyone into an avid cyclist.

EnigManiac

I get that alot still whether I'm on my semi-recumbent (it turns heads and has kids and adults all stopping, gawking and admiring as much as my other bikes) or my custom-made Firebike 'Bling Bling' stretch cruiser (8' long in electric purple diamond tubing) and my son is on his chopper or fully chromed low-rider. We hit the Baskin-Robbins on those bikes regularly during the summer and are often the centre of attention when we pull up. It is, as you say, 'schweeet.'

skiahh

Well, shoot... why didn't the OP just say so in the first place!! This now makes perfect sense to me!