Pedal Forward Opinions
 

I'm looking at an SE Bikes cruiser (they use Touch Down Geometry - not as far back) or a Phat cruiser and they both come with pedal forward positioning. Many years ago I rode a standard beach cruiser, and again most recently, but have no experience with the setback seat positioning. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of this? How it rides/feels?

I like the fact that you have pretty good handle bar control on the standard setup, but the pedal motion does not allow hardly any leverage (of course not even close to my Kona Rove Ti). Do you think there is more or less leverage? Also, would you mind elaborating about why you don't like it?

Cons - slow, not made for long distances, and causes more pressure on the hands/arms (YMMV; this was what I experienced).

That is what I was anticipating.

Thank you.

Anyone else that wants to chime in please do.

That's a really good description.

It's a gimmick. The idea is to make the saddle low enough that you can reach the ground with both feet, flat footed, while remaining on the saddle when you stop. It's unnatural and inefficient position for delivering power to the pedals.

That's what I thought too. I have seen many riding around here and the people are pedaling so slow and moving so slow I would blame that on the position in part. Not that I want a speedster, but I do want some better efficiency.

I just rode a Giant with standard position and it was pretty efficient and the position was very comfortable.

I use to have a Electra Cruiser 7D and it didn't take long to stop riding it. 7 gears was definitely overkill for this bike! I kept it at the beach as it was worthless on hills. I wished I'd got the 3i (nexus 3 spd).

Seems as though the speed range on BCs is fairly narrow so I would think that more than 1 or 3 would be overkill. Sort of like the speedo on a Chevy Vega showing up to 120 mph.

Not at $900 less than the Vette! Wow, that was pricey. I did have a buddy with a 327 in his and it was fast!

I was referring to those cars that showed high speed possible, but you'd be lucky to get to 90 - downwind.

I'd say that's moreso the rider, than the bike, other than they normally not having more than one speed in the front, but on that note you could say the same for a roadbike with 1x gearing. I prefer single speed cruisers, but I zip around on them pretty fast.

Like a Motorbike , you stop and put your foot down, that's the whole idea..

some are insecure not being able to do that, those buyers leave the shop happy, on theirs.

Ride upright and recumbent bikes, plus have a Townie 7D as a beach bike.
My partner and I got the Townies as beach bikes, because we didn't want to keep a "good bike" at the beach, well it turns out the Townie has been a pretty good bike for us. It did take a little tweaking to adjust saddle and handle bar position to optimize our ride. My partner likes the stock saddle, on mine I swapped it out for Brooks B68. I also put big apple tires on mine and MKS pedals. Since my leg muscle group is accustom to both upright and recumbent positions, cannot say I have the hill concerns some express about the relaxed position. One thing I don't like is the 7 spd mega range cassette, the jump between two lowest gears is too big, would rather have the 13-34 cassette with more consistent steps. When i wear out the cassette, going to make that change. Farthest I've ridden the bike in one day is around 80 km, this was part rail trail and part pavement. Compared to an upright or true recumbent, Might have been a little slower on the pavement. No difference on the trail, in fact the BA tires seemed to help glide over stuff.

Electra 7spd
 

I just recently picked up my Electra and I am enjoying the ride. I had both hips replaced and I just want the exercise.
Not all people like the flat foot, pedal forward design. It just depends on what your riding goal is.

As long as you are rollin' you are doing well, that is regardless of how you roll!

I really enjoyed riding my wife's Amsterdam 3i.:o

https://s20.postimg.cc/5cvomh6i5/IMG_1573-001-1.jpg

Lots of good info..:thumb:

We recently bought some Electra cruiser 7d's and the riding position is definitely better for my back. So far so good.

I love my old Trek Pure I've had for several years. I've got a couple of other bikes, an old MTB and a hybrid, but now days with my back and hip problems, I pretty much use the Trek and it gets me out on the trails, and is my number one means of exercise.
It's also closer to the ground where I can just take my feet off the pedals and reach the ground, which makes me feel more secure.
It's slow, but I spin up a steep grades, and I probably get just as much, if not more benefit than riding fast and covering miles of ground, which I now can only wish I could do.

I don't think the other posters are talking about crank forward, they're talking about townies/cruisers. We have a first gen Giant Suede back when they were fairly lightweight, my wife's first bike.https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/SearchListingDetail.aspx?id=93048&make=683&model=56763

Pros: Easy on the knees, good ab workout, higher quad workout, fun on the flats. I could easily cruise at 12-14mpg.
Cons: Steering is slow and sloppy, standing up pedaling requires serious skill, nor a good climber. No room for rear racks or bags.

I modified the bike a bit to make it a little cooler, faster. 7 speed cassette is minimum required as I see it, I wish we got ours with a d-crank up front, there are tmies when I could have used the extra gears. I've done 30-40 rides with hills, small panniers on the front. Overall, a fun ride, but withyn limits.

I normally ride road bikes but this crank forward is a nice change of pace. However, riding one of these will not make you 'bike fit' for road bikes, different muscles in play.

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After building this one schwinn hybrid in to a chopper, I kinda wish it was pedal foward. kinda wish the thing had a bit more rake, so it would be a digger, but meh...

Pedal forward pros:
- feet flat on the ground or at least nearly when standing
- a little more powerful forward leg stroke similar to semi-recumbent
- longer wheelbase may smooth the ride just a little bit

Pedal forward cons:
- you are dead weight in the saddle, you cannot use your legs to take a little weight off your butt when hitting bumps
- very awkward to stand up and sit back down if you want to pump it hard
- less powerful down stroke

anything i'm liable to ride is pedal forward. some might even be considered semi, or fully recumbent. the major con for me is the dead weight in the saddle one. doesn't seem to matter how comfortable a seat you find, at some point not being able to stand makes it uncomfortable. i've been considering on a future build maybe some foot pegs further back to at least stand and coast, but since no ride i do is that serious i just stop for a minute to stand and relieve my butt. lately the longest ride i've done are mayors rides (10-15 mls depending on the route). about the same as a ride along the local river walk for me. on the river walk i may stop a few times, but ride strait through on a mayors ride. i'm real ready to stand by the end.

pumping harder is more or less solved by a seat with a back rest so you can push back against it to pedal harder.

Because the seat tube does not meet the BB at a common angle ,
no more than 1 chainring is possible.
...and have a front derailleur to shift gears.

several options : a combination IGH - Cassette rear hub.. 3 by 8..


there are a few internally geared 2, and one 3 speed crank.. still 1 chainring ,

but the gearbox is between the chainring and crank arm ,
so crank can turn at a different rate, than the chainring..


OP is in Florida , a state not known for its hills to climb,
but some hellacious headwinds with named storms..


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