For those of us who have been around since the days of post world war II, the cruiser bikes were a common sight seen on the roads, as these were the most popular two wheelers back in those good old days.

As it is said “fashion is such an ugly thing that it doesn’t stay around for long and has to be changed regularly”. Same fate was met with by the early day cruisers which almost disappeared from the roads just as puddles do after days of sunshine.

But not for long as the days came back again when the collectors started hunting for the classic vintage models for refurbishing the antiques at the turn of the century. That is when the Schwinn started producing the long lost designs once again as they started gaining popularity with the antique style lovers, especially those who had paddled them in their childhood and still remembered the comfort and stability that came with the additional weight and its famous balloon tires.

Today you can find the same old comfort in a beach, multiple speed, and stretch and kids cruiser bike. Just for the old time’s sake get on one and let yourself take a ride down your memory lane when the sun shone bright and you had your youthful smile fixed on your face when you first got your new cruiser for the first time as a child and paddled down the street to show it off to your friends.

You can repeat the history with your grand children with a kid’s cruiser and watch your childhood replay in front of your own eyes. As your future generation paddles along the road in the same way as you used to do half a century ago. Those were the good old days.

By Paul Kramer

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New car models come out every year. When you look at them, can you really tell the difference between them? You could do that in the 1950s, for sure, but today? No, they mostly look the same.

That isn’t the case with bicycles. Bicycling is more popular than ever, and new models are being brought out every year for any type of interest from road bikes to mountain bikes and everything in between.

Two of the newest styles gaining interest among a larger group of fans are the beach cruisers and the lowriders.

A lowrider bike is exactly what it sounds like – a bike that hugs the ground. The highest points these kinds of bikes are the handgrips, and the seat is down at wheel level. Indeed, the pedals are sometimes higher than the seat. It looks like a Harley Davidson! That’s why it’s also called a “chopper bike” or a “muscle bike.”

These lowriders got their start in the Chicano-American community, but are starting to pick up their popularity with the mainstream. It’s all about style. Most lowriders have the banana seat made famous by the Schwinn Stingray of yore, “excessive” chrome, “overspoked” wheels, and fur. Lowriders have a culture of their own and their bikes are custom creations to show off their personalities.

Aztlan Bicycle is the world’s number one lowrider bike company – at least according to their website. They certainly were one of the first companies to come out with the lowrider.

Similar to the lowrider is the beach cruiser. Remember the Stingray bike of the 1950s and 60s? That’s the forerunner of the beach cruiser. It’s usually a single speed bicycle, and the brake levers aren’t on the handlebars, they’re at your feet. The pedals, that is to say. They’re called coaster brakes, which means you have to reverse pedal to slow down or stop. Cruiser bikes have what’s called balloon tires to go over packed sand – hence the name, beach cruiser.

Like any other bike you care to name, the beach cruiser comes in styles designed for men, women and children.

Nearly every major bike manufacturer makes at least one cruiser model, and there are new manufacturers out there. Check out Electra, Nirve, Kustom Kruiser, and Aero-Fast before you make any decision on what kind of cruiser to buy.

To take just one example, Nirve has several styles of Cruisers to choose from, and you can check out the styles and specifications at their website.

The “Classic” series consists of the Classic, the Fifty-Three, the Knuckle, the Kilroy, and the Forty-Nine. Cool names, but you’ll have to scope them out to see if you like them.

Their Islander series consists of the Sunflower, the Island Flower, and the Lahaina. As you might expect, these bikes are decorated with paintings of flowers on the frame! These bikes are for girls or women, and have three speeds.

So if you’re looking for a little different biking experience, check out the lowriders or the cruisers, and you might like what you see.

By Andrew Caxton

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