Old Beach Cruisers (bikes) (1 Viewer)

[Conex]

Jamis Earth Cruiser. Dont know how vintage you are trying to get, but they have been around for a while.

 

[97fortieth4me]

Beach cruisers that I can think of that were of quality BITD were Schwinns. Look for old Schwinns. Plenty of cheaply made cruisers nowadays.

 

[beaufort-fj60]

some schwinns are sold at walmart

 

[BMAN]

Decide exactly what you want first. Then start looking for "THE" bike. It's way cheapewr that way. Any old Schwinn is the way to go. I'm talking 1960 and earlier. The panthers are nice bikes but the tire size is less manly than something like a Black Phantom. I collected Schwinns for many years but my focus was more towards the Stingrays.

My collection back in 2000...

 

[Rockrawler]

We bought classic 5 speed Schwinn cruisers for the wife, daughter & I nut the son wanted a non-shifter so we got him a retro cruiser from Costco, still a nice bike. I'm currently looking for a nice Dyno stretch cruiser since they are not made anymore & will be classic soon enough

 

[Fast Eddy]

Just to give you some ideas, these are from a sfbay search of the bikes list for cruiser:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/205867091.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/205264706.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/205039270.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/205664732.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/206132099.html

Faber's in San Jose is awesome:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48291867@N00/sets/635255/

Start with a schwinn. It will be easy to get parts. Then you can take your time looking for something older or more rare if you want.

In Phoenix craigslist:

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/bik/198372087.html
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/bik/203555451.html
Not as vintage, but: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/bik/187861124.html

 

[Land Speeder]

I have a 1997 Dyno Roadster LTD. It is 7 feet long and has an internally geared rear hub and is a collectors item. It hangs above my TV in my living room.
I had many pictures of it, but I beat my hard drive 2 weeks ago and lost ALL my pics, yes even the Land Cruiser ones.
Anyway, these bikes haven't been made for years and now replicas pop up on ebay and such...
Here is what it looks like... and here is a link to their old marketing site with other of the cool bikes that Dyno once made..
http://kustomkruiser.com/catalog/roadster.php

I'll try to take pics of mine hanging. When I ride it at tailgating for Auburn games, it is the biggest head turner that there is... even harley guys wave...

 

[snailwagon]

Get a schwinn. They are all over the place and can be found for under $100. Of course you are going to want one with the old springer forks (suspension) and the tank horn. Every bike needs and electric horn. If you buy a wal-mart bike, you will get what you pay for. Those low-rider stretch bikes that gt/dyno manufacture suck if you actually want to ride them. Most schwinns don't rust much. THey get surface rust that is easy to remove with steel wool. I used to collect old schwinns, but now have narrowed the collection down to a matching his/her pair with original paint and my stingray.

Or, you find a Silverking. These were made before people were welding aluminum, so they are all press fitted and weigh a million pounds, but they are cool.

 

[tcb]

How did this thread get moved out of chat??

 

[Land Speeder]

Those low-rider stretch bikes that gt/dyno manufacture suck if you actually want to ride them.

I agree.... under certain conditions. since the ride style is of a recumbant, once at a decent speed, you can literally haul ass. And since your center of gravity is so low (butt being lower than the top of the tire) it is super stable at speed. Of course the wheel base makes it stable at speed as well.
That being said... when tooling around town at slow speeds all the above mentioned does make it a beast to handle. But hey......




Pimpin' Ain't Easy

 

[AZkick-n40]

Get a schwinn. They are all over the place and can be found for under $100. Of course you are going to want one with the old springer forks (suspension) and the tank horn. Every bike needs and electric horn. If you buy a wal-mart bike, you will get what you pay for. Those low-rider stretch bikes that gt/dyno manufacture suck if you actually want to ride them. Most schwinns don't rust much. THey get surface rust that is easy to remove with steel wool. I used to collect old schwinns, but now have narrowed the collection down to a matching his/her pair with original paint and my stingray.

Or, you find a Silverking. These were made before people were welding aluminum, so they are all press fitted and weigh a million pounds, but they are cool.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I'm still hunting for one and think I'd like to go w/ an older Schwinn.

Are parts still available for the early models?

Keep them coming...

Brian