birdermom

I didn't know if this section of the forum would be best or cruiser....but asking advice for cruiser and since my age...knocking on 60...decided to start here. A year ago I bought a mountain bike thinking it was a good choice because of where I was going to ride. I have determined that I am riding on mostly flat surfaces...some hills...some hard packed lightly graveled and the bike is just not comfortable...like it but due to a neck/back problem reoccurring...just can't ride it. Visited the beach recently and they two old cruisers that my husband and I rode during our stay with no problems...sitting upright..wide seat..enjoyable.
So going to start again...selling other bike and we both want low maintenance...upright...comfortable..rides. Any advice on budget...low cost...Will not spend a lot at this time until we both determine how often we will ride. We have no mechanical experience so maybe stick to single speed (do we need 3 speed or walk the few hills?). We can grease a chain..basic repairs from the younger days. I keep seeing Firmstrong mentioned..is this good? Any advice..comments on any aspect of my questions would be greatly appreciated.

LouB 

Electra Townie 7 speed is a great upright cruiser that has enough gears to handle a hill and still get you moving. Upright, feet forward design is easy on the back. Stick some racks/panniers and its a good grocery shopping/chores/get around town machine imho.
Step up, in terms of performance, is a hybrid. Weighs less and moves faster. Set the seat hieght and handle bars to give you an upright ride and you are good to go.

birdermom

I am trying to stay away from gears...or no more than 3 unless you think they are necessary. We are in a very rural area so would be on hard packed trail..drives...sidewalks at beach..etc. See lots of recommendations for that bike.

canklecat

Which mountain bike do you have now? It may be possible to modify it cost effectively to make it work better for you. That's what I did with my older mountain bike to make it comfortable for my damaged neck and back, while still being efficient for hills and modest off road rides.

I replaced the low, flat handlebar with a riser bar to get it about 2" above saddle height, and could go higher if I wanted.

And I put on wider tires that can be run at lower pressure to cushion the ride, provide better grip on gravel trails, and still be efficient enough for pavement so it doesn't feel like I'm dragging an anchor.

Regarding shifting, I'm often within a fairly narrow range of gears on my bikes, which have three chain rings and 7 rear sprockets. I mostly use five gears. While I don't actually need a triple chain ring, it's not in my way and I can ignore the big ring most of the time because I don't use it much.

On the other hand, a 5-speed IGH (internal gear hub) on the right cruiser could be very appealing for some locations.

Papa Tom

I can lecture you about how you should opt for a "real" bike from a bona-fide bike dealer, but given that it's cruisers you're looking at, I have to say that the few I've seen at WalMart and other box stores are really worth checking out. Either the Huffys or the Schwinns are very modestly priced and would be fine for the type of riding you've described.

With cruisers, you sometimes have to decide between hand-brakes, coaster (foot) brakes, or a combination of both. Being that you're just a little older than I am, I'm sure you have experience with all three. For me, the fun of a cruiser bike is to have stress-free classic coaster brakes. I think they're fine for mostly flat rides, and the nostalgia, alone, is a total thriller for me.

As far as gears go, it depends on what kind of rides you might end up doing and what kind of shape you're in. For virtually flat riding - such as a rail trail, a "family" bike path, or a boardwalk - you can stick with a single gear bike. But what seems flat to me may feel like Mt. Everest to you, so it may not hurt to have 2 or 3 gear options to help you manage a slight incline here and there. If you decide to go this route, I'd recommend looking for a bike with an internal gear hub, rather than a derailleur. These are much simpler, more robust, and pretty much maintenance-free. Three gears is most likely enough. I ride quite a bit harder than you will be and I rarely use more than three of the 21 gears at my disposal. The same goes for most people, from what they tell me.

Most importantly, be sure the bikes "fit" you and your husband. You can find advice on how to select the right size bike all over the Internet. The mountain bikes caused neck and back problems not only because they put you in the wrong sitting position, but perhaps because improper sizing caused you to sit in a way that put extra pressure on those parts of your body. It's one of the main reasons many people give up cycling after only one or two rides, and it's a shame because it's so easily avoided.

Also, it can't hurt to have a bike mechanic (or a friend who rides a lot and works on her/his own bike) check out your new bikes to make sure they are assembled properly. Cruisers are typically the easiest bikes to assemble, but you never know who is holding the screwdriver in a big box store, especially as Christmas time approaches and sales go through the roof.

Best of luck with this, and let us know how it all works out.

birdermom

Can you point me in the direction of a cruiser with internal gear hub?

hefeweizen

Men's 3-Speed - Felt Bicycles

curbtender

Cruiser | Electra Bikes

LouB 

The nice (and super simple) aspect of the Electra cruisers and the Townie is that the gears are activated by a twist handle. Click up and click down. Both my wife and I started on these type of bikes. She's 4'11 so size, comfort and simplicity were the key features she was looking for. Side note: that was 8 months ago; now she rides a Trek 7.4 like a speed demon! Gotta love life on 2 wheels

leob1

You could just go to your local Wal-mart and buy the most expensive beach cruiser type bike they have, about $129 each, and be perfectly happy with it. Single speed, coaster brake, big tires, fenders, maybe a beer holder, etc. Not that many moving parts, so it's easy to maintain.
But, if this is something that you plan to do for a while, you owe it to your self to seek out your Local Bike Shop(LBS) and look at what they have to offer in bikes with multi speeds. And different styles. If your goinf to ride on roads and packed trails, you can get by with narrower tires, and this will also open your options for bikes. Try some different things, there are lots of bike with more upright riding postures other than beach cruisers. And if you ride more, and keep up with it, you'll be able to ride more. So the gears will make it a more pleasant experience. Who knows, next year you might be back asking about the latest unobtainium, areo speed machine.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride.

SquidPuppet

Internally geared hubs are exactly what you should avoid. Lots of people have them and love them and there is nothing "wrong" with them. In fact, they are pretty awesome. But....they can be temperamental and finicky. They are complex and adjusting and maintaining them requires a mechanic with a love for, and the gifted touch for IGHs.

birdermom

Going to visit bike shop and try a few....just got to stay in budget...leaning toward a Firmstrong Urban...Single speed

PaulH

Not my experience. I've got over 50,000 year-round miles on a Nexus 7 -equipped bike. Stone reliable. A chainguard makes it convenient to ride. The local Capital Bikeshare has a huge fleet of IGH bikes that sit out in the weather every day and do fine.

SquidPuppet

That's interesting, and surprising. Glad you are having a good experience.

VegasTriker

There's a lot of difference between brands of internal hubs. You can find them from around $100 (just the hub kit) for a Sturmey Archer AW-3 hub with controls to really expensive hubs at more than $1K. You are not going to put one of the more expensive hubs on a beach cruiser though. I've used an SRAM dual-drive hub on a trike and went through a second one in 27K miles.

Think carefully about the idea of a beach cruiser. I can't give a count of the number of beach cruisers I have observed for sale at garage sales. If you ask the seller how many miles they have gone on it, the answer is often, "around the block a few times". I did accompany an adult on a 50 mile ride where he was riding a beach cruiser. I don't think it is something he wants to do again.

If you want real comfort, try find a used recumbent bike. The price for a new one usually scares people away but you can find them at affordable prices. There's a used Haluzak Horizon on my local CL for $350. It's a very fine, lightweight, short wheelbase recumbent with mid-level components and it sold for $2,300 brand new. I own one so I know how good it is.

birdermom

That's one of the reasons I am sticking to a low budget...if I find I am doing a lot of riding can upgrade..not..give to the grandkids. I figure I can get few/several years out of them.

Doc_Wui

I like ambling along on a cruiser, my wife has one, but it's gotta be easy to pedal. You should really consider the constraints of a single speed for a recreational bike. Not much fun, unless you are a storng rdier in my opinion.

Ever since I was 12, I knew a bike needed at least 3 gears, because I got a single speed JC Higgins while my younger brother got the "English racer" three speed. Jeez, I never kept up.

birdermom

My husband must have had a similar experience...said he has to have at least 3

canklecat

Nothing wrong with a cruiser, although I'd want a few gears. One of the fellows in our local night group rides is 70-something years young, a stronger rider than I am (I'm 58), and he has no trouble cruising on his Electra and similar casual bikes on our 12-16 mph group rides of 10-15 miles, including some fair hills (as Texas goes). And when he's riding his "serious" bikes I can't keep up with him on hills.

birdermom

Ok...gears...3 enough or 7....

tcs

...overwhelmingly fitted to the world's Bikeshare (short term rental) fleet.


Hey, birdermom, how about a matched pair of Schwinn Coffee 1 and Cream 1 bikes? Schwinn (yeah, yeah, under various owners, whatever) has sold three-speed bikes like this since the late 1930s, so they must make someone happy.

fietsbob

NuVinci 360 CVR IGH does not really have a number of gears per se, it has a range* within which the gear ratio is a continuously Variable .

that general range is determined by the Cog size on the hub and the relative size of the chainring,,

*360%

Result : Just turn the grip shift till it feels right..




...

birdermom

What bikes have this?

Papa Tom

birdermom: If you are leaning toward gears, for your purpose, I think three is enough. As I said in an earlier post, I've got 21 and I rarely use more than three. This includes both my adventurous overnight solo trips and the many rail trail, bike path, and bike lane rides I take with my wife (which are probably similar to what you plan to do).

I've never heard anybody say anything negative about internal gearing, but I guess the more people you have offering input, the better the chance you're going to find someone who has had a bad experience. I still think derailleurs are a pain, and I wish I had internal gears.

That said, I can't offer a suggestion for a particular model cruiser because the two my wife and I used to own were custom builds from very basic- quality parts. They were probably worth about $100 each, at best, but they were a lot of fun to ride when we were out on bike paths and fairly-level roads. These were single-speed and had only coaster brakes.

Don't overthink this, as I tend to do with a lot of things. Unless I'm misreading you, the >$150 cruisers in the department stores should serve you just fine.

birdermom

Well...in my rural area...Wal-Mart is it and that is 20 or so miles away. With that said...if you were buying one at a Wal-Mart..Target..etc...which one would you buy...or which brand? Could buy online and have a Dick's Sporting Goods 45 minutes away that could put it together or buy from there. The nearest bike shop is over a hour away from us. Maybe a Black Friday special or closeout at Wally World...lol..please don't ask for my removal from the forum for that comment!😁