Talk:Cruiser bicycle

Expansion requested:
 * Frame, wheel, other technical characteristics
 * Stylistic characteristics
 * Photo
 * More history

--Christopherlin 06:13, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Accuracy questioned
If I remember rightly, the Stingray and Krate bicycles were what used to be called "wheelie bikes" in the late 1960s/early 70s. These bikes typically had high "monkey bar" handlebars, long "banana seats" that rode over the back wheel, equipped with a U-shaped "sissy bar", and their rear wheel was much larger than the front wheel. Kids used them in stunt riding, trying to "pop a wheelie" by riding on the back wheel alone, with the steering front wheel in the air. The rearward weight distribution made this easier.

By my understanding, a "cruiser bicycle" is a utility bicycle. They do have higher handlebars, but not monkey bars, and are built to be ridden upright. The wheels are of equal size. They typically have either a single gear and coaster brakes, or a few gears that are geared internally in the hub rather than an external derailer system, and large seats instead of the anal probe you get on a racing bike, but not a banana seat.

Am I totally misremembering this? Smerdis of Tlön 19:58, 9 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree, the description of the "cruiser" bicycle sounds alot like a utility bicycle.--Chicbicyclist 20:15, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Whilst I have no doubt that what you say is correct, the contemporary use of the term 'Cruiser' is pretty much as described in the wikipedia definition. In the last 5 years, cruisers have become increasingly popular - with brands such as Felt, Raleigh & Diamondback treating them as a separate category of bike: and they all refer to them as 'cruisers'. There are even brands that specialise in this kind of bike such as Nirve or Electra who use 'cruiser' in the same way. If your definition of a cruiser is something like a Kronan then I would define this as a 'sit up & beg' or 'utility'. 83.250.207.0 20:25, 22 May 2006 (UTC)seanc

this artical sounds like its describing choppers and whatnot, BMX-criusers as i know it are basically big bmxs with 24inch wheels one gear and no suspension which are used for dirt jumping and racing or just commuting, the only other 'criuser' i know are beach criusers i know are beach cruisers which i think have 26inch wheels and are designed with style over function. this artical needs a rewrite.--Snowy Mcintosh 23:02, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

The description of the cruiser bike sounded correct - just the actual examples were WAY off base. Beach cruisers (other name) have larger than average wheels, usually single geared, large padded seats, etc. Geraci, Thomas J 6/25/06

The term "BMX-Cruiser" was used by one manufacturer to describe their model of a 24" wheel BMX bicycle. More so, it was used to describe a specific class of bicycle or division of racing, "BMX-Cruiser Class". This might not help clear some of the confusion here.

It seems like the term is somewhat ambiguous, or maybe different regionally. Someone should point that out in the article - the fact that "Cruiser" and its adjectives may refer to different things.

I have added an updated and referenced article. The term "cruiser" is widely used by riders and manufacturers in the USA to describe balloon tired bikes with "cantilever" or "non-cantilevered" frames. They are usually curvy and comftorable to ride, but are definitely not designed for speed. As noted above, Schwinn Stingrays are not considered cruisers, but are "muscle bikes," a class which eventually gave birth to the BMX bike. I hope this helps clear up the confusion. I am working on getting photos which will meet Wikipedia's copyright-free requirements, so these will be added soon. Kingandrew 11/02/06

CORRECTIONS by Leon Dixon of the National Bicycle History Archive of America: “The implication here is that Schwinn invented something that did not exist, which is one of the biggest myths in bicycle history. Schwinn merely copied what they saw going on in Europe [e.g., German tires]. Both Sears and Montgomery Ward had bicycles in 1932 that had balloon tires in the USA, a full year BEFORE Schwinn. And the streamline movement in bicycles was really pioneered by Sears and Huffman. Schwinn had a clunky diamond frame with straight tubes and a streamlined tank in 1934, but Sears Elgin (1935) and Huffman Dayton (1936) had fully streamlined frames, tanks, etc." --- That explains why they had to use German balloon tires for their "invention".

Fair use rationale for Image:Cruiser RatRod.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 13:48, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I'd like to merge Beach cruiser into this article as they don't refer to different types of bicycles, a Beach cruiser is just a specific application of a cruiser. The merge would be easy as most of the information is redundant.Keithonearth (talk) 06:56, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Featured cruiser bike image
I restored the Schwinn cruiser bike image that has been at the top of this article since at least 2006. It was replaced by an image of a Villy Custom during a recent apparent effort to promote the Villy brand. Please discuss any proposed replacement of article images here first, and get a consensus for the change. --CliffC (talk) 03:36, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

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Swedish Monarch
The link to the Monark-Silver King Bicycle Company, instead goes to an article about Danishes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.183.224.2 (talk) 21:40, 14 September 2016 (UTC)

What does Cantilevered, Expressive & Straightforward mean?
The mention of a "cantilevered" frame, (seat stays that continue past the seat post), does not seem to agree with the any of the three (3) bicycle pictures. I suggest deleting the confusing (in-quotes) "cantilever" description, and substituting vocabulary such as “streamlined”. The picture clearly show a "Motobike frame with crescent double bar" like those used by Roadmaster, Columbia, Shelby, Monark, Huffy, Rollfast, and even Schwinn. 1950's Heyday - a picture of the Huffy Radiobike without levers of any kind. Cantilever Frame – A frame style merely “popular” on cruisers, in which the curved seat stays pass by the seat cluster and continue on in a graceful arc to join the bottom of the head tube.

Also, perhaps the artistic yet contradictory adjectives "Expressive" (styling) and "Straightforward" (steel construction) should be eliminated. Instead, the article might simply mention that the frame is a derivative of the "safety bicycle".

Definitions, hierarchy and vocabulary
For this article, I suggest a vocabulary discipline that uses the terms Type, Class, Style, Size, and perhaps Grade. The proposed hierarchy, would define the cruiser - as it is bought and sold today, and as the term cruiser is somewhat retroactively applied to old motor-less motobikes (e.g., horn-tank bikes). Type for example, might start with all road bikes; cruisers are used on roads, (and they are not 'sidewalk bicycles' as defined by US CPSC). Beach cruisers are still road bikes, although they might be infrequently used on hard-packed or wet sand, but they are generally referred to as beach cruisers because of the flat roads and boardwalks in those beach communities. A bicycle similar to a cruiser that is used off-road is the mountain bike, but regardless how the MTB was developed, they are a different type. Class. A class (use) of road bikes might include road-racing bikes (lightweight), another class (use) might include non-racing (non-lightweight) - such as cruisers, commuters, klunkers, etc. Cruisers go at cruising speed, not racing speed. Style. A third breakdown could be mere style, a term used to denote differences in design or appearance. In this area, the article should be disciplined, in order to be inclusive of all cruisers. For example, middleweight cruisers, which might have middleweight tires, instead of balloon tires. Various double, twin, triple, quad-bar frame styles, which are not of the cantilevered frame style. And, of course the ladies/girls model should not be excluded by overly restrictive definitions. Size. The manufacturers sell/sold almost identical cruiser models with wheels sizes of 26" for adult, 24" for teens (adolescents), and 20" for youths. Grade refers to quality versus quantity.  This varied from the 1930's up to the 1990's when US companies were finally shuttered and production moved far east.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.183.224.2 (talk) 00:57, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

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