Electra Cruiser for commute

[Cos]

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[ercchry]

nice bike, does it come in men's?

[firebane]

Originally posted by ercchry
nice bike, does it come in men's?

I wonder if people pay attention to that stuff.

[Cos]

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[ercchry]

dont worry, i found you one in men's


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[Cos]

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[ercchry]

silly cos, you cant turn a kawi into a honda

[sheik_yerbouti]

Where are you storing the bike? I wouldn't spend much if I was leaving it outside. Also, will you be jumping curbs and riding in traffic? I would just run over to BikeBike on 17th, they're having a sale, and will also have some good options for a short commute bike.

[firebane]

Cos .. I'm working on a KZ400 right now

[speedog]

Cycle commuted on a Straight 8 for 5+ years from May to October anytime it was warmer than -5C. My commute was about 5.5km one way with a few hills and it wasn't any big strain. Used to do that cycle commute on an old 12 speed Nishiki International touring bike and one year I started paying attention to how many head I was using which turned out to be three.

Bought my Electra Straight 8 3-speed some 11 years ago and have immensely enjoyed it ever since. Not as fast as some other bikes but a very comfortable ride and very quiet because of the internal hub. Braking is weak because of a single rear coaster but the one quickly adjusts for that and yes, this is a men's bike as Electra does have women's framed bikes as well.

Cos - PM me for more info.

[Cos]

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[speedog]

With those big tires one can run over a 3" nail and keep going too - made it another 2.5km before tire became too flat to ride safely (was about half way in my ride from work to home when a box of nails came off of a flat deck truck in front of me)...


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[D'z Nutz]

I have an Electra Rat Rod that I ride around when it's nice out on the weekends and evenings. It's so much funner to ride than my cyclocross and if my commute weren't such a steep climb, I'd take my cruiser to work. The big, fat seat is so comfortable. I get a lot of complements when I'm out with it and other cruiser riders know what's up.



Keep your eye on Kijiji for deals. I saw someone selling a 7-speed townie for $150 a couple months back and if I didn't already have a cruiser, I would have gotten it. Bow Cycle should have their annual sale in a few months too.

If the coaster brake isn't for you, Bow Cycle also sells a Norco Santiago that's got components like a regular bike, but with a cruiser geometry.

[Cos]

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[ExtraSlow]

I have an Electra Townie. Funny story about "does it come in mens", I have the "unisex frame", or at least that's that the dude at bow cycle called it. After some not too extensive research, turns out I have the "girls" frame. But fuck, who do I have to impress?

[JRSC00LUDE]

A straight 8 is awesome! I was going to buy one years back but it didn't fit me.

The cruiser is stylish for sure but you may enjoy the commute a bit more with a townie.

[FixedGear]

I've had several different cruisers over the last 15 years, and I've never been a fan of the faux/pseudo/Nuevo cruiser look. The classic frame style is much better, it's stood the test of time and won't look silly and dated in 5-10 years. Get a frame like his, there are a million different manufacturers:


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[FixedGear]

Also single speeds are the best, as we used to say in university "less gears, more beers"

[Cos]

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[D'z Nutz]

You just picked a bad time to start looking. During the summer and fall, you could easily pick up a decent cruiser for $300-500. I scored mine for $300.

If you're not in any rush, do what I did on Kijiji: enter your search criteria and subscribe to the RSS feed and wait. Keep the keyword(s) vague cause sometimes people aren't very descriptive. I think mine wasn't even listed as an Electra, just "cruiser".