What is a Cruiser Bike?
Cruiser bicycles, also known as beach cruisers, combine balloon tires, upright seating posture, single-speed drivetrains, and straightforward steel construction with expressive styling. The bikes, noted for their durability and heavy weight, were the most popular bicycle in the United States from the early 1930s through the 1950s - and enjoyed renewed popularity since the late 1990s.
Cruisers comfort, style, and affordability (compared to mountain and racing bikes) have led to renewed popularity in recent years In the mid-1990s, a series of reproductions of classic cruiser bikes hit the market. The magazine Kickstand, devoted to the resurgence of the cruiser lifestyle, hit the market in 2009. Schwinn started the resurgence in 1995, when it reissued the Black Phantom to celebrate the company's 100th birthday. Soon, similar offerings appeared from Columbia and Roadmaster. Harley-Davidson even licensed a cruiser bike with their logo and trademark styling. These helped stir up interest in cruisers, which brought them to the attention of aging Baby Boomers, who remembered the originals from their youth and now were reaching an age where a comfortable bike was more exciting than a fast bike, and who also had the money to buy whatever they wanted.
The classic "retro" looks, reliable mechanical performance, comfortable ride, and relatively low price of cruisers (compared to mountain bikes or road racers) also appealed to young Gen Xers.[5] Soon, new manufacturers appeared, specializing in cruisers, such as Villy Customs, Electra Bicycle Company, Phat Cycles, Nirve, Shire Bicycles, Johnny Loco Bicycles, GreenLine Bicycles, Kustom Kruiser, Copacabana Bikes, sixthreezero, and Aero-Fast. Nearly every major bike manufacturer now offers at least one cruiser model, if not an entire line. Cruiser sales have continued to rise over the past decade and today many towns have clubs sponsoring regular cruiser rides as a way to promote the low-tech, high fun aspect of cycling.
Three other contemporary bike trends are related to cruisers. For decades, Latino car enthusiasts have been lowering the suspension on older American cars to build "lowriders." Their younger siblings have begun building their own custom "lowrider bikes." Lowrider bicycles are usually built on old Schwinn Stingray or other "muscle bike" frames, but the entire lowrider look of "old school" accessories such as springer forks and bullet headlights is in the cruiser tradition.
Lowrider bike magazines and catalogs also feature cruisers and are a great source of accessories for cruiser owners. A similar trend is the sudden appearance of "chopper" bicycles over the past couple of years, in response to the surge of interest in custom motorcycles. Several manufacturers, such as Schwinn, Phat Cycles, and Electra, offer "chopper" style bikes in their cruiser range. These bikes usually feature a lower center of gravity, suspension forks, hot rod paint jobs, and large rear tires. Finally, manufacturers have also introduced the "comfort bike" category, to combine the soft ride and upright posture of cruisers with a more conventionally styled bike. Comfort bikes have such features as fenders, suspension seatposts and forks, and large padded saddles with giant springs. All of these features are copied from cruisers, but redesigned to look more like regular road or hybrid bikes.