Cruiser bicycles, also known as
beach cruisers, combine balloon tires, upright seating posture,
single-speed drivetrainsA single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle....
, and straightforward steel construction with expressive styling. The bikes, noted for their durability and heavy weight, were the most popular
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
in the United States from the early 1930s through the 1950s, and have enjoyed renewed popularity since the late 1990s.
Development
Schwinn developed the cruiser at a time when U.S. bicycle sales had declined sharply due to the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
; adults purchased few bicycles, which were seen as luxury products intended largely for sport or recreation. In response, Schwinn conceived a sturdier, affordable bicycle designed for the more resilient youth market — originally marketing the Schwinn
B-10E Motorbike — which resembled a motorcycle but carried no motor — in 1933. Schwinn adapted features from the Henderson and Excelsior motorcycles his company had built during the 1920s, including a heavy “cantilevered” frame with two top tubes and 2.125 inches (54 mm) “balloon” tires from Germany. The resulting bicycle could endure abuse that could damage other bicycles. Within two years, other bicycle manufacturer in the USA introduced competing balloon-tire bikes.
In 1934, Schwinn successfully re-styled the B-10E, renaming it the
Aero Cycle. While the
Aero Cycle featured no technical improvements over the original B-10E, its streamlined frame, faux gas tank, and battery-powered headlight came to define the cruiser 'look'. Modern cruiser bicycles retain these design elements.
1950s heyday
Cruisers were popular throughout the 1930s and 40s and gained greater postwar success. Their combination of substantial weight (some models weighing over 50 pounds),
single speed mechanicalsA single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle....
, and wide tires made the bicycles primarily suited to flat terrain. They were popular with
paperboyA paperboy is the general name for a person employed by a newspaper, They are often used around the office to run low end errands. They make copies and distribute them. Paperboys traditionally were and are still often portrayed on television and movies as preteen boys, often on a bicycle...
s and
bicycle couriersBicycle messengers are people who work for courier companies carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business districts of metropolitan areas...
.
Competing firms including Roadmaster,
ColumbiaPope Manufacturing Company was founded by Albert Augustus Pope in Hartford, Connecticut. The company began with the introduction of the "Columbia High Wheeler" bicycle in 1878.-History:...
,
ShelbyThe Shelby Cycle Company manufactured bicycles in Shelby, Ohio from the 1925 to 1953. Their bikes are popular among collectors for their styling. They produced a bicycle in 1928 with a Charles Lindbergh theme called the "Lindy Flyer", and they were responsible for the Donald Duck bicycles in the...
,
MonarkMonark, also known as Cykelfabriken Monark AB and Monark AB, is a Swedish bicycle, moped and motorcycle manufacturer, established in Varberg, Sweden 1908 by the industrialist Birger Svensson....
, and
HuffyThe Huffy Corporation is an American importer and manufacturer of inexpensive mass-market bicycles. It was founded in 1887 when George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and moved its factory to Dayton, Ohio. Seven years later, in 1894, Huffman adapted the factory to...
used styling features and distinctive models to attract buyers — including a
Donald DuckDonald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
bike with quacking horn, '
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
' models named after
Gene AutryOrvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
or
Hopalong CassidyHopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of popular short stories and twenty-eight novels based on the character....
, and details such as fringed saddlebags, capgun holsters, springer fork suspensions, motorcycle-style horn tanks, and extensive chrome plating. The Huffy Radiobike featured a large integral AM radio.
Decline of the cruiser
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, bicycles imported from
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Continental Europe became popular, especially lighter and more nimble
sports roadsterA roadster, aka English roadster, is a type of utility bicycle once common in Britain and still very common in Asia, Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands, however, during the past several years, traditionally styled roadster bicycles have gained considerable popularity in the United States and...
models or 'English racer'. These models featured three-speed gearing, taller wheels, narrower tires and lighter weight (35-40 pounds) and greater hill-climbing ability. By the late 1950s, U.S. manufacturers such as Schwinn began producing their own version of the
English racer.
The cruiser also ceded market share to
muscleA wheelie bike, also called a muscle bike, high-riser, or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a chopper motorcycle and characterized by ape hanger handlebars, a banana seat with sissy bar, and small wheels. Notable examples include the Schwinn...
and
lowrider bikesA lowrider bicycle is a highly customized bicycle with a long wheelbase and stylings inspired by lowrider cars. These bikes often feature a long, curved banana seat with a sissy bar and very tall upward-swept ape hanger handlebars...
featuring banana seats, oversized shift levers, and ape-hanger bars inspired by West coast motorcycle customizers — which in turn gave birth to the modern
BMXBicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
bike, while the cruiser went into a steep sales decline.
By 1972, a new wave of lightweight derailleur-equipped bicycles led a wave of new consumer interest in recreational bicycling, resulting in the
bike boomBike boom or bicycle craze refers to several different times when, for a period of a few years, many people in many parts of Europe and North America wanted to buy and ride a bicycle. In brief, they occurred in 1819, 1868, the decade of the 1890s, and the 1970s...
. Derailleur-equipped
sport bikes or
ten speeds inspired by European
racing bicycleA racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale...
s soon dominated the adult market.
While largely obsolete by the late 1960s, the cruiser remained popular for utility and recreational use at the beach, where they soon earned the title of “beach cruisers.” The term "beach cruiser" started in 1976 at Recycled Cycles in Newport Beach when Larry McNeely coined the phrase and used it as their Trade Mark for the production of the modern Beach Cruiser. Secondhand cruisers found new life on America's coastlines as practical transportation for beach bums and surfers.
As inspiration for the mountain bike
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, cruiser frames formed the basis of the newly-developed
mountain bikeA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
. Cruisers’ comfort, style, and affordability (compared to mountain and racing bikes) have led to renewed popularity in recent years.
During the mid Seventies, a group of enthusiasts in Marin county, California began racing bikes down the fireroads of local Mount Tamalpais, in a race they called “Repack” because the ride was so grueling that riders had to repack their coaster brakes with grease after each run. The offroad terrain was rocky and the steep mountainside helped riders attain high speeds as they bounced and slammed over rocks and mud. Such harsh treatment caused regular road bikes to crumble, so the racers searched for a more durable and affordable alternative. They soon discovered that old balloon-tired “clunkers” (as they called them) could be had for $5.00 at a garage sale and would endure tremendous punishment. Soon, riders were snapping up these old cruisers, stripping off the heavy fenders and trim, and souping them up with motorcycle brakes and other gadgets to improve downhill performance. One rider,
Gary FisherGary Christopher Fisher is considered one of the inventors of the modern mountain bike.Fisher started competing in road and track races at 12. He was suspended in 1968 because race organizers cited a rule that his hair was too long. By 1972 this rule had been repealed and Fisher's career continued...
, added gears to his old Schwinn Excelsior bike, enabling him to ride up the mountain, as well as down. About the same time, another rider named
Joe BreezeJoe Breeze is a bicycle designer and bicycling advocate. He was an early pioneer in the development of modern mountain bicycles, and is widely considered to be one of its inventors, along with other pioneers, including Tom Ritchey, Charlie Kelly, Charlie Cunningham, and Gary Fisher...
began tinkering with his own Schwinn Excelsior, making it more suited to the “Repack” course. Soon, both of them began to build and sell custom mountain bikes to fellow enthusiasts, launching a worldwide cycling phenomenon.
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the emergence of interest in collecting old bicycles, and prices for balloon-tired classics climbed. A
bicycle collectingAs with many consumer products, early bicycles were purchased solely for their usefulness or fashionableness and discarded as they wore out or were replaced by newer models. Some items were thrown into storage and survived, but many others went to the scrapyard. Decades later, those with an...
community has developed, with newsletters and specialty shops focused on bicycle collectors.
The release of the film
Pee-wee's Big AdventurePee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length debut and starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman. Reubens also co-wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol. Supporting roles are played by Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane...
highlighted the main character's cross-country search for his lost cruiser bicycle.
Cruiser bikes today
Cruisers’ comfort, style, and affordability (compared to mountain and racing bikes) have led to renewed popularity in recent years In the mid-1990s, a series of reproductions of classic cruiser bikes hit the market. The magazine
Kickstand, devoted to the resurgence of the cruiser lifestyle, hit the market in 2009. Schwinn started the resurgence in 1995, when it reissued the Black Phantom to celebrate the company’s 100th birthday. Soon, similar offerings appeared from Columbia and Roadmaster. Harley-Davidson even licensed a cruiser bike with their logo and trademark styling These helped stir up interest in cruisers, which brought them to the attention of aging Baby Boomers, who remembered the originals from their youth and now were reaching an age where a comfortable bike was more exciting than a fast bike, and who also had the money to buy whatever they wanted. The classic “retro” looks, reliable mechanical performance, comfortable ride, and relatively low price of cruisers (compared to mountain bikes or road racers) also appealed to young Gen Xers. Soon, new manufacturers appeared, specializing in cruisers, such as
Aero-Fast,
Electra Bicycle CompanyElectra Bicycle Company is a Vista, California-based bicycle brand/company, founded in 1993 by Benno Bänziger and Jeano Erforth. The company offers a wide range of modern cruiser bicycles and is credited with re-popularizing the cruiser bike. Additionally Electra designed and sells comfort...
, Copacabana Bikes, GreenLine Bicycles, Johnny Loco Bicycles, Kustom Kruiser, Nirve, Phat Cycles, Shire Bicycles, sixthreezero, and
Villy CustomsVilly Customs is an American lifestyle brand specializing in custom designed beach cruiser bicycles for adults. Based in Dallas, the company was founded and is privately owned by entrepreneur Fleetwood Hicks, a former menswear fashion designer and health enthusiast, and it was chosen by...
. Nearly every major bike manufacturer now offers at least one cruiser model, if not an entire line. Cruiser sales have continued to rise over the past decade and today many towns have clubs sponsoring regular cruiser rides as a way to promote the low-tech, high fun aspect of cycling
Three other contemporary bike trends are related to cruisers. For decades, Latino car enthusiasts have been lowering the suspension on older American cars to build “lowriders.” Their younger siblings have begun building their own custom “lowrider bikes.”
Lowrider bicycleA lowrider bicycle is a highly customized bicycle with a long wheelbase and stylings inspired by lowrider cars. These bikes often feature a long, curved banana seat with a sissy bar and very tall upward-swept ape hanger handlebars...
s are usually built on old Schwinn Stingray or other “muscle bike” frames, but the entire lowrider look of “old school” accessories such as springer forks and bullet headlights is in the cruiser tradition. Lowrider bike magazines and catalogs also feature cruisers and are a great source of accessories for cruiser owners. A similar trend is the sudden appearance of "
chopperA chopper bicycle is a bicycle that is designed to get attention and provide a smooth comfortable ride.- About :While the term "chopper" is generally used to describe a motorcycle or bicycle that has had some of its original parts replaced with custom parts, today's definition has grown to include...
" bicycles over the past couple of years, in response to the surge of interest in custom motorcycles. Several manufacturers, such as Schwinn, Phat Cycles, and Electra, offer "chopper" style bikes in their cruiser range. These bikes usually feature a lower center of gravity, suspension forks, hot rod paint jobs, and large rear tires. Finally, manufacturers have also introduced the "comfort bike" category, to combine the soft ride and upright posture of cruisers with a more conventionally styled bike. Comfort bikes have such features as fenders, suspension seatposts and forks, and large padded saddles with giant springs. All of these features are copied from cruisers, but redesigned to look more like regular road or hybrid bikes.
External links
Further reading