Women's heavy cruiser bikes: ever recommended them?

[rebeccaC]

. Always had a big smile on my face.

i'm with you and emily!!!

I rode my rather heavy milano 57 miles this weekend, mostly on flat to rolling bike paths and city streets. 26 1.5 tires work well on bad city streets and the nexus hub gives me good enough gearing even for hills. a kickstand makes for quick getting off and on frequently and a good front bag carries all i need on a ride like sundays. Simple, reasonably cheap and smile giving....and in some areas of the city i would rather have it stolen than my seven or waterford

Perhaps even a heavy but simple to operate and maintain and affordable bike would encourage more city americans to take more short trips by bike…..the simple functionality of heavy archetypal dutch city bikes have been ridden for decades by all types of people in the most bike friendly European cities on earth.

[PamNY]

Addendum: I recommend the Electra Townie all the time, because the saddle can be low, which newbies like, and still be comfortable.

I think that's great advice because of the low saddle. I kept the saddle on my hybrid low for a long time.

[Trek420]

i'm with you and emily!!!

I rode my rather heavy milano 57 miles this weekend, mostly on flat to rolling bike paths and city streets. 26 1.5 tires work well on bad city streets and the nexus hub gives me good enough gearing even for hills. a kickstand makes for quick getting off and on frequently and a good front bag carries all i need on a ride like sundays. Simple, reasonably cheap and smile giving....and in some areas of the city i would rather have it stolen than my seven or waterford .

I love the Milano, beautiful and utilitarian bike. I'm sad that Bianchi stopped making them.

[Lelani Carver]

Bought my current step-through Specialized hybrid with husband in tow at my LBS last year, and didn't get good direction from the employee that sold it to me.

I had a specific problem in my head, that I no longer felt confident about lifting my leg over the saddle. So I bought the bike that felt better than 2 other choices after riding around the parking lot.

The first time I took my brand-new bike on a Meetup ride on a long bike path, other more experienced women cyclists were shaking their heads sadly over it. After struggling up very minor hills and spending most of the ride chatting with the sweep guy, I had to agree. Falling at a tricky road crossing (90-degree turn and a lamp post next to the path) sealed the deal: I had bought a bum steer. Still, it has decent gearing and I can do 20-30 miles on it on easy paved paths. It's a small frame with the seat jacked up, and I should have been guided to a medium frame at the very least.

Back to the LBS on Saturday for REAL test rides, having done a lot of reading here. The shop owner or manager and I had a good talk last week, and he sized me on either a Specialized Vita Elite or a Giant Alight 1 in medium frames. Much better fit either way, but we couldn't ride that day.

Tonight we visit 2 other LBS's and see what they recommend, but that Vita was almost a perfect fit. We'll take serious test rides to be certain this time.

The price range will be midrange this time, and I won't feel limited to the lower end stuff that happens to be in stock.





Saturday

[Crankin]

My friend started riding on a Vita. It is a good beginning bike. After 2 years she upgraded to a Ruby.

[Jolt]

The first time I took my brand-new bike on a Meetup ride on a long bike path, other more experienced women cyclists were shaking their heads sadly over it. After struggling up very minor hills and spending most of the ride chatting with the sweep guy, I had to agree. Falling at a tricky road crossing (90-degree turn and a lamp post next to the path) sealed the deal: I had bought a bum steer. Still, it has decent gearing and I can do 20-30 miles on it on easy paved paths. It's a small frame with the seat jacked up, and I should have been guided to a medium frame at the very least.

That sounds kind of like the used hybrid I bought when I first got back into biking shortly after college...it was a low-end steel Giant step-through that in retrospect, was too small (I actually had to replace the seatpost with a longer one to get the saddle high enough). I did a lot of riding on it though, particularly for transportation (it was decent as a city bike, not so great for longer distances), and it was enough to get me interested in riding more. Good luck with the test rides, I'm sure you will find something that suits you. Don't rule out drop-bar road bikes either...flat bars are really not comfortable for longer distances and you might find you outgrow a hybrid (even a nicer one) as you start doing longer rides. What price range are you looking at, if you don't mind sharing? That may help us give you some ideas.

[Lelani Carver]

My price range is up to $1200, I'm currently a quiet-street, bike path rider (some crushed gravel paths in the area), and drop bars and a forward position are not comfortable for me - never used the drops when I had them. My wrists go numb so a dampening fork is a plus, I'm 5'7 and over 200# (atm), and I don't know if I'll do higher mileage after the charity ride or stick to around 12-25 on weekends.

Planning on getting extenders on the handlebars.... Some of my options have disc brakes but that seems more than is necessary. Looking at Trek models tonight, had an old Hard Rock I rode for years, but a lighter hybrid is what I'm after right now.

[Lelani Carver]

The current bike is more of a light cruiser, and the small frame with a high seat means a lot of difficulty starting out; the seat catches me in the butt as I can't touch the ground while in the saddle. I keep balking at traffic crossings and that's keeping me off the road and on the path or sidewalk.

The LBS's here stock mostly Specialized, Giant, Trek, and a few others by request (Surly?).

A friend is pestering me to go all the way downtown to a women's bike shop, but I don't want to waste everybody's time.

While down there, we could try out the Divvy rental cruisers but my hubby will scoff mightily. I think true heavy cruisers have their place, especially in a beach community or city rental.

[Trek420]

You should really look into the Soma Buena Vista;

It's a mixte, so the ease of a step through frame. Got braze ons so if you want it to be the errand commute bike there are plenty of options for a rack, panniers and such. And it's deceptively light, nimble and fast. So when you pedal up to those gals who shook their collective heads at your hybrid they can think whatever they want. You may blow right past 'em on the ride.

The ride on my Soma is surprisingly similar to my fancy schmancy hand made full custom blah blah blah road bike. Heavier, yes, but nimble and responsive ride even loaded with groceries.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...t=24182&page=5

Edited to add; really sounds like you need help on the bike fit. We've gotta find you a shop that does a good job on fit and then organize a ride!

[Dragonfly5]

I owned a beach cruiser when we lived in Belize for 18 months (on the dead-flat island of Ambergris Caye) and mostly rode on unpaved packed sand roads and packed parts of the beach. I bought another one for our six-month stay in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where it's also flat. It was cheaper to buy one even if I can't get much out of it when we leave, than to try to rent a bike here every time I wanted to ride.

To me, cruiser bikes make perfect sense for the roads around here and are much cheaper than something nicer. I don't do any serious cycling here but I enjoy cruising on the bike paths, and the fenders are a big help if I get caught in a downpour. I certainly prefer the bikes I have back in the US, but cruiser bikes do have their place. The simplicity of one speed is nice, and when it's flat, the fact that the bike is heavy doesn't matter all that much.

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.

Here's my bike: Attachment 17574

I love the yellow! It just looks HAPPY