Oldak explains that the Townie is beloved for its clever “foot-forward” design that’s easily spotted all over the Hamptons. Evans, founder of Bike City Mag and the weekly bar-crawl ride Denver Cruisers, who became a “cruiser guy” during this era. “They came out with these beautiful bikes, beautifully engineered and painted really nice,” recalls Brad K. They could have had a beautiful, brand-new bike for the same price.”įrame: Aluminum | Gears: Seven-speed | Brakes: Hand brakesĬalifornian brand Electra kicked off a beach-cruiser movement in the late 1990s when it started manufacturing fat-tire bikes that resembled vintage Schwinns. They’re somewhat disposable, being only “meant to last 30 or 40 miles in their entire lifespan.” Rockaway Beach Cycles co-owner Marjorie Grassini agrees: “Those are the ones people end up putting the most money into. For that reason, the experts I spoke with suggested avoiding mass-produced cruisers from brands like Huffy, which Kulp says have a smaller frame that will provide a less relaxed ride. She adds that riders who haven’t been on a bike for a long time will feel more confident on cruisers.Ī poorly designed cruiser bike will have a cramped frame and cheap parts that rust and rattle. “Which is a lot more comfortable for your knees and allows you to touch the ground more easily,” says Chelsea Kulp of Long Beach Island’s Shore Brake Cyclery. Whatever they’re made from, the best cruiser bikes have a stretched-out, step-through geometry that allows the rider to assume an upright position, or even lean back as they pedal. The difference between the two is weight, says Lee Oldak, owner of Amagansett Beach and Bicycle Company, and the fact that aluminum won’t rust quite as quickly. (If you’re skeptical that a cruiser could, for example, get someone around New York City, consider that 20,000 of them currently doing just that as part of the Citi Bike program.) Below, find the best cruiser bikes, according to veterans of boardwalks and beach resorts across the country as well as a few inland enthusiasts.īeach-cruiser bike frames are typically made from either steel or aluminum, the latter being lighter and more durable, albeit pricier. Nostalgic in look, they come in endless colors and customization options - but if you don’t love a retro aesthetic, many newer brands tone down the ’50s schtick and add modern conveniences like handbrakes, gears, and pedal assist. Ideal for farmer’s-market trips and bar crawls, they suit casual or anxious cyclists who don’t want or need to invest in high-maintenance hybrid bikes. With their coaster brakes and wide handlebars, beach cruisers are intuitive and enjoyable to ride - designed for leisure more than for commuting. Sign up here to receive our newsletters and get the latest in motorcycle reviews, tests, and industry news, subscribe here for our YouTube channel.Summertime cycling season is here, and the most fun way to enjoy it is on the wide, comfy seat of a beach-cruiser bike. After hours of testing, dyno runs, head-to-head comparisons, and a complete year with some of these bikes we have locked our selves in a room and decided on the best motorcycles of 2022. market, you can be assured that our Ten Best are the cream of a plentiful crop. But with more than 450 different motorcycles currently available in the U.S.
Some of our categories have survived much longer than others, and only time will tell what tweaks we may need to make in the future. We’ve tried to keep up with the times by ensuring that the bike classes included in Ten Best accurately reflect what is happening in the current motorcycle market.Ĭurrently, we choose the best motorcycles in the Superbike, Standard, Open-Class Streetbike, Motocross, Cruiser, Middleweight Streetbike category and have recently added Adventure Bikes, Lightweight Streetbikes (500cc and under), combined Touring and Sport-Touring into a single class called Touring, and also melded Enduro and Dual-Sport to reflect a change in that market and a resurgence of street-legal, competition-worthy dual-purpose machines.
Over the past four decades, Cycle World has honored the Ten Best motorcycles each and every year.
0 kommentar(er)
