Beach cruisers are not as good as city bikes for practical urban cycling and bike commuting

What's your experience with beach cruisers? Do the fun and comfort make up for its other inefficiencies when riding in a city?

I loved Hawaii when I went but definitely the saddest part was the prolificacy of cars and the lack of cycling. It is beautiful most of the time, why would you want to be in a metal box? Made me sad. Hawaii should be this carless oasis. I mean everything is within 20 miles. Good public transit with bike and pedestrian infrastructure is all it should need.

These seem to be closer to actual Dutch bikes than your own city (touring) bike., especially in regards to the riding position. If you lean on the handlebars it's not a Dutch bike :P

This is one I'll agree to disagree on. Cruiser bikes are some of the few types in NA to have a step-through frame, making mounting and dismounting easier. Single-speeds and coaster brakes mean the bikes are typically cheaper and involve less maintenance. Wider tires help in cities with poorly paved trails and roads. The handlebar shape is typically more relaxed than flat or aero bars. At the end of the day, it's different strokes for different folks. If someone is more comfortable on a cruiser, they'll use their bike more.

Those big tires may not deliver your racing bike in sheep's clothing minimum resistance, but they do give a lot more confidence dealing with broken terrain including pavement making them very practical for city riding. Not to mention insulate from a lot of bumps in the road which can create fatigue with the bicycle as practical city transportation.

There is a perfect commute scenario for the beach cruiser: the small town commute. The distances you could definitely walk, but having the bike makes carrying your things easier, or gets you a breeze (literally using your bike as a fan replacement), or maybe you have one of those really long, skinny small towns built along one road. For suburbs, the traffic in North America is too fast, and for urban-core, responsiveness is a bit low. But, in my rural hometown, one of these would be perfect.

I added cruiser style handlebars to my hybrid bike and riding is so much fun. Just a chill vibe to my rides. I am slow as heck, but I was never a fast rider and hills are a challenge.

Yeah, the laid back vibe is exactly why I love my beach cruiser. I live in a small Missouri town, no beaches anywhere to be found, but it's also small enough I can bike from one side of the town to the other in 20 minutes or less. There's nothing here worth getting in a hurry over. I did decide to upgrade it with a 3 speed internal hub gear, though. The hills here aren't tall, but they're long. My trip from my apartment to the gas station is entirely uphill, so the 3 speed was a massive improvement for those wide rolling hills.

There were a few months back in my messenger days where due to mechanical issues with my usual bike and a budget too tight to repair or replace it quickly, I rode a heavy steel single speed cruiser with a basket as my work bike. Climbing the local hills with it was a great way to impress other riders.

Beach cruisers are actually making a comeback in E-bikes. Pedal when you're chill, throttle when you want to go faster!

I ride my $140 walmart beach cruiser around st. John's newfoundland, hills and all. There's some work involved on those hills but if i choose the best route i can mitigate that. Also changed the tires for narrower more road worthy ones. But hands downy fave bike, and i have 3 lol, including an ebike.

The experience is definitely what you make of it. I bought an overhauled cruiser from the bike shop down the street from me and I love it. A more expensive bike would probably give a smoother experience but compared to walking, it's great. I live a mile from downtown, a mile from my furthest class and 1.5 miles from the nearest grocery store, and it gets me to all of those much faster than walking and only a little slower than driving (when you factor in parking and traffic). The step-thru frame and the upright position help me integrate into pedestrian spaces fairly easily. I can go from riding to walking for a quick second and back to riding seamlessly, and I cruise down to a comfortable 4 mph if I get caught in a crowded pedestrian area. The upright position and frame also lets me ride with large instruments on my back (I'm a music student). Even though it's had a lot of new parts and tune-up, it still looks like an inexpensive, aesthetics-only Ebay bike to would-be bike thieves, so it's low theft risk (peace of mind), especially when there's more expensive brands parked nearby. It's also just pretty looking and I enjoy that : ) It's not the fastest bike, but it's at least twice as fast as walking for a fraction of the effort, and I can always just leave earlier. Hills around town are a bit of a workout but my body is adapting and I'm getting those lower body gains. There's no suspension so some of the older roads around town are a bit scary and I can't compete much with intense traffic so I avoid it (probably for the better). I might do one of those electric front wheel conversions just so I can have a boost when I need it or when I don't want to risk breaking a sweat in nice clothes.

You should try an Electra Townie for that full cruiser feel.

Another thing to consider. The Ebike beach cruiser. I just tested one out for my work commute. It's about a 14mile commute and was so easy, relaxed, and fun. With that you are getting the fun and great look of the beach cruiser, but also getting the power. I'm going to be getting one and I'm looking at the version from the Electric Bike Company and either the Model S or Model Y (probably the Model S because the battery is removable).

Honestly there's imo really something about the simplicity of a singlespeed bike. My favourite bikes I've ever owned/own are singlespeeds. You're never worried about being in the right gear to get somewhere as quickly as possible, because you're just never in the right gear! I'll always have at least one singlespeed because every now and then I need a break from practical bikes and ride something I can just ride totally relaxed without a care in the world.

I love any bike that’s single speed and has only a coaster brake. It’s so clean and beautiful to look at. I will admit that my e-bike is pretty close to as complicated as it gets with full suspension, a nuvinci gear system, a gates belt and a Bosch motor. But I’ll always want a second bike that brings it all back to basics like this. I don’t think you can be a bike fan and not own one like that. I do agree about it not being ideal as an urban bike, but some people ride mountain bikes or road bikes as urban commuters. And while I wouldn’t do that myself, and it frustrates me to see rusty old supermarket mountain bikes being ridden around; those people would say they those bikes do the job for them. And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about. And I’d definitely rather see people on beach cruisers than MTBs. That’s for sure. They’d at least be gradually moving in the right direction towards a Batavus or Gazelle type bike that I would ride.

If you raised the seat enough to allow for proper leg extension, the pedaling might have been a bit more efficient.

"There's enough snobbery and elitism in the bicycle world" - this is exactly what it is like in the UK too. Its all about sport and performance and having the expensive gear. It is a total turn off to people who just want a bike to get around at their own pace in their own time. I'm hoping a movement will spring up that is focused around everyday commuting that is not centered around sport and showing off how fit you are.

as long as it has wheels and moves, I can make anything get me around town. While my car's been in the shop, I've been riding my tiny penny board 8 miles from my university to back home. When I picked up my beach cruiser that I left at the bike shop for repair on my 8 mile journey, riding on that cruiser felt like heaven. I haven't ridden any other kind of bikes, but the beach cruiser is so pleasant to ride every time. I feel so free and the ride is always scenic. It's a huffy cruiser, but I mean, it gets me around. It's got wheels, I'm blessed. However, I did test ride a bike for long distance travel that the bike shop guy recommended, and holy moly, the acceleration was unbelievable. It felt so effortless, like driving a sports car or something. I'm tempted to buy it, but for now, I'm humble with the beach cruiser. I put a little mirror on it and a cellphone holder and my mini boom box, I'm cruisin'!

I'm seventy five. My wife and I LOVE our cruisers. We ride for exercise on beautiful wooded trails in Canada. What we love most is the way it makes us feel. Like kids free adventures on our first bike, Freedom, comfort and just having fun! And for us that is why we ride at all. But everybody wants something different and viva le Differeance!!