Are 3 Speed Cruisers Worth it?
 

Always wanted a 3 speed cruiser. What have I missed out on?

It gets down to personal preference. Cruisers are for casually riding around. I prefer a mountain bike, as you can ride them faster.

No, 3 speeders are fairly useless, once you ride a Nexus 8 speed coaster brake cruiser, you will be ruined for life.

What cruisers come stock with it?

I commuted on 3 speeds for years. Not what I would call "useless"

Also dubious, mate.

To the OP: Go for it. Or not. No bad choice here.

Electra 8i's, probably 10 years out of production, I think the last of the Budnitz Alpha's were aluminum frame belt drive 8s.
Maybe some OEM still sells a 7 IGH.

7 & 8 speed IGH cruisers are far and few between. A 3 speed IGH cruiser is an excellent option for anyone wanting a low maintenance ride. It's reliable, fast enough for the type of bike it's on, and way less expensive than the bikes you've mentioned. I have two 3 speed IGH bikes. One is my Gravity SS mountain bike that I converted to a 3 speed cruiser/disc brakes (it's my favorite bike actually), and when I lived in my old house a few years ago I used it to commute to work, for pleasure rides, and just bumming around the neighborhood. The second is my Dahon Speed Uno folder that I converted to a 3 speed IGH w/coaster brake. Commuter, joy rides, and just an all around pleasure to ride. Both so low maintenance I just need to usually air up the tires and "GO". You saying a 3 speed is useless is your "personal opinion", and I get that. But a 3 speed IGH is far from useless.

To the OP: Tellingem : look for a 3 speed IGH (internal geared hub) bike and enjoy. The low cost + ease of maintenance + rideability will immediately win you over.

+1^^^^^ I had one for awhile and it was a ton of fun. The approximately 2:1 gear ratio allowed me to climb all but the steepest hills and those could be avoided easily. Was fun on mild trails too. I grafted a front caliper brake on it, but it was too weak to make much difference. The coaster was fine. Probably I'll build another one some day.

IMHO unless you have relatively flat ground 3 is just not enough and a 7spd derailleur offers a much wider range at a much lower price point.

To add to this. I had an Electra Moto 3i with a Sachs IGH. Shifted nice, worked perfect for that matter but the bike needed more gearing. Low wasn't low enough and high wast high enough. Even on a standard ctuiser its nice to have more range. ALSO while taking the rear wheel off isn't something you do everyday you do have to undo the shift cable and if its a coaster the brake arm, vs just the axle nuts or a quick release.

My .02

Unavailable. The OP needs to locate a ride that's purchasable. Besides, geared correctly a 3 speed is more than adequate, unless it's hilly, and an IGH is "air and ride", while a derailleur is a PITA. The OP should be fine.

Anything being available is another issue all together. As far as 3 speeds being adequate, that's exactly what I said. Derailleurs are easy Im not sure why people find them so complicated...but maybe that's me.

Love derailleurs and have plenty, just not on my cruisers; they don't need anything to spoil the simplicity JMO!

I have vintage 3 speeds (a Raleigh Twenty and a Robin Hood) that I take to the beach and they work great. It's not hilly enough to be a problem. Maybe not the ultimate, but definitely better than a single speed. I don't ride them much where I live - it's too hilly there.

Depends on how fast you want to ride .
Me , I have geared bikes for “ bike rides”
For Cruising, I like the simplicity of a single speed bike .
I gear my SS bikes to handle the hills around my areas . But I spin out around 7-10mph , depending on bike .
it’s called cruising . I’m not racing anybody .
if I want gears, I go with a derailleur. Simple , easy for me , to work on .

As others have mentioned, just get a 7 or 8 speed RD bicycle; bigger gearing range gives you more flexibility with speeds. The deurallier bicycles are really no more complex that the IGHs, its just that the IGHs put all the gearing inside the hub where you can't see it. In fact, with all the gears exposed, I'd say a deurallier'd bicycle is easier to work on than an IGH bicycle.

FWIW: I use an old early 1990s rigid MTB with a 1 x 7 drivetrain as my cruiser bicycle.

Yes, definitely.

I would try a 3 speed coaster just to avoid using rim brakes.

I'm in process of building my 1960 Schwinn klunker with a Sturmey 3s coaster...

IMO, Either a SA RD3 with DRUM brake or Nexus 7i > NOT roller brake. I have both now.
The SA 3 on a 42 lb CCM, has done my last 3 x mile century day rides, EASILY. Also one last year. I also used it on the hilliest highway here, 85.5 miles RT to a lake. It actually did the hills just as easily as any other bike gears I've had. Just need to waggle more, to make it a bit easier.

The Nx 7i has also done a couple centuries in it's first year. It's great for wider range and closer gears and also dead quiet.
I'm all done with any deFaileurs. LOL. My problem du jour this year has been seats breaking.
The SA 3 is the easiest thing to work on by far. Sure as hell is easier than any Shimano IGH, 3sp or other..
I see exactly ZERO MTBs on the highway. LOL.

A nice one here. https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/thecoast

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...sers_bikes.htm

It is a rim brake cruiser...

Here's a Mango Macaw 3 speed with coaster brakes as well. Very nice bikes,...
Save up to 60% OFF Mango Macaw 3 Speed Shimano Nexus Aluminum No Rust Frame Cruisers from bikesdirect.com

Six three zero has several models if cruisers with the Shimano Nexus three speed hubs, which also contain a coaster brake. Interestingly, these models also run a front rim brake. I consider that necessary with a coaster brake. The reason is, though I rode with coaster brakes as a kid (I'll be 68 on Monday), my experience as an adult with coaster brakes has been 100% bad with a Huffy Cranbrook, and with two different rear wheels to boot. Hence, having a front rim brake as a backup, and knowing that most braking is done by the front brake anyway, I consider it a good thing. I might add that the Citizen single speed folding bike with rear coaster brake also has a front rim brake.

3 speeds are great for longer or faster rides and make it easier to climb overpasses and whatnot than single speeds. Single speed cruisers are meant to go slow and casual, and not be in any sort of a hurry. (yes, there are always exceptions. I had an old Schwinn with a "skip-tooth sweetheart " large diameter chainring and that bike cruised pretty fast, but weighed about 50lbs)

A Canadian who calls his channel, Shifter, has his commuter bike of choice, a city bike with 3 speed internal hub gears, and coaster brakes. He has a huge number of videos out. HD uses a different bike for snow conditions. He doesn't feel limited by the three gears. He talks about it here: