Women's heavy cruiser bikes: ever recommended them?

[OakLeaf]

I see plenty of people around here cruising around on cruiser bikes with smiles on their faces! Enjoying them simply takes a relaxed attitude towards cycling and not being in a big hurry to get anywhere but just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells along the way.

^This!!!!


The author of the original piece seems to be under the impression that more women than men ride beach cruisers. That's not what I see around here. Sure women typically get the bikes in pastels and men get them in bolder colors, and how much of that is corporate marketing, how much is retail pressure, and how much is actual customer preference I have no idea. But in terms of the hardware itself (or the apparent experience and knowledge of many of the riders)? Equal as far as I can see.


Fit was the only reason I spent an extra $200 on my hybrid. I certainly don't need gears or fancy brakes (though I do use three of my bike's 24 speeds pretty regularly on bridges and in wind), and least of all do I need even this bike's rudimentary suspension - all of which are vulnerable to sand and salt. It all came down to the cruisers come with huge long cranks - 175 mm if they're a mm, and frames and seatposts set up that you *can't* get good leg extension. I knew my knees wouldn't take that. So in that sense, I suppose cruisers are designed for larger, taller people, who are statistically way more likely to be male. Just like all off the rack road frames were when I built my race bike in the late '80s. (I think Georgena Terry might have just started building frames at that point.) But there are also plenty of women who *don't* have kneecap tracking problems and who are perfectly happy on cruisers.



ETA - I rode a bikeshare bike in Columbus once, and it was a LOT heavier than my hybrid which I think is around 37# IIRC. The bikeshare bikes have got to be at least 50# and I wouldn't be surprised if they're heavier.

EATA - I wonder how much the Dutch commuter bikes weigh. That's most of what anyone rides over there.

EYATA - LauraElmore's post reminded me of the century I did in Amish country a few years ago - which for those who don't know, is pretty darn hilly. It was far from "all," but there were plenty of Mennonite ladies in their long skirts and veils on step through cruiser bikes. Which goes to the point that I kind of got lost in making about my own purchase, is that much of it is about the expense, and about the conviction or just the feeling that they don't need anything fancy. Still, there were at least a few Mennonite men on road bikes, which I suppose goes to the original point that women are more likely than men to be convinced that they don't need anything "fancy," even in a culture that expressly rejects "fancy."