Was there, had the cruiser in the van, one of the voices in my head said "What the hell," and I rode.

I really should do this more often. It was different for all the reasons that riding a cruiser is different, but fun in it's own way, like a wider-turning more mellow skatepark session.

There's been at least a couple "killing it on a cruiser" threads on here. Personally, I've never seen the point but I've got respect for those that are doing it.

It might have been "shredding it on a cruiser" or "getting super fricken' psycho rowdy on a cruiser" or something. My memory is bad.

Yeah, I know, it's not like I broke new ground.

But because it's something I did I figured teh Internets needed to know about it.

Elvis, all i rode for years was cruiser. On the track , in the woods, at the park. Feels good in a very different way for real. As long as you enjoyed, thats all that matters.


Trey

Well, THAT...is true.

I haven't ridden the cruiser at the park in a while; I should. It's kind of like the BMX longboard. I used to ride my cruiser at the Chicago Seawall (http://blog.defgrip.net/2009/05/spots-chicago-seawall) a lot. The bigger wheels make it easier to get up into to the oververt and get pitted, so pitted. Schwapah!

Cruiser = longboard is my new favorite analogy.

proof

preferably video and pictures, as opposed to material witnesses.

strangely, we like seeing old dudes riding bikes.... not sure why.

I have, no lie, caught people staring at me at the skatepark before.

Thought it was going to say cruiser at the skatepark wheelchair on the ride home. good for you elvis.

Just found this... 2 guys riding cruisers at the park & on the street. Cool stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXtvl7FQVQY...mp;feature=fvwp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hjb0gHoKc&NR=1

the possibilities of 24" and 26" wheels have simply not been fully explored.

this prototype on the ridemonkey board shows the innovation that is going on with big wheel geometry



TT - 22.3
CS - 14.25
BB - 12.75
HA - 74
SA - 71.5
ST - 9

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthrea...light=prototype

yep. but they are now... the Sunday, and some others are doing em... 20 inch geometry... just 2 inches taller.
Haven't rode one yet, but Jim C told me his rides just like his 20.
cruiser that handles like a 20... nice. I wouldnt mind seeing how that feels on a BMX track racing.

or if someone could do the same thing on a 26, how that would handle on street and park as an "urban MTB"

there's also 24" mtbmx in park...

Union Street Bikes:


http://www.unionstreetbikes.com/images/fra...v_3_800x555.jpg

Old Man Pierce here in Austin used to always have front brakes on his Cyclecraft cruiser.

I would always snag it for a spin because nosepicks feels super duper awesome on it.

Make sure there's plenty of air in those tires (and lose the Comp III's) and it should feel pretty good in a skatepark.

I love riding the trails on borrowed cruisers.

I realized, while reading this, that I am somewhat guilty.


(Not exactly) killing it in boots, too! I've never rode it in a skatepark though.

I destroy 20" wheels and forks already. I don't really want to do it even more often on a cruiser.

Just saw this today - this has been out for a while, so I'm late to the party:
http://cruiserrevolution.com

Pierce actually has one of the sickest cruisers I have ever ridden. It's a proto he had made.

I have ridden two Sunday Model C's. One with Sunday bars (7 in rise) and the other with T1 Mediums.

I think SUNDAY is a rad company, but the Model C is not for everyone. It's a great-looking , light, strong bike, but the bottom bracket is WAY high. 13.75" !! The reason it "feels like a 20" is that the bb is 1.75" above axle level--exactly the same as a 20". Maybe they used the same jigs?? A typical cruiser has a 11.75" to 12.25" bb. It's a drastic difference that you WILL feel. So try it out see if you like it.

so did it ride like a 20" with the high bottom bracket?

It rides very similar to a 20". It feels way more stable in the air than a 20 does, but spinning tricks like 360's feel a bit different at first due to the wheel size. Overall it is probably one of the most comfortable bikes I've ridden in the past 15 years.

Yes, it does. I have a Model-C and a Sunday Funday 20" and the difference in handling isn't too bad. The Model-C just feels a bit more stable, but it is very quick & nimble handling.
-Bill

I've posted these before so apologies to those that have seen them.





For me the main difference is knowing the back end is a lot longer. Not a problem with jumping, just when in a bowl, half, quarter etc. For that reason I prefer a 20" in those situations. The 24" is great when you feel like something different or want to combine a bit of a casual cruise with a bit of jumping.

it's hard to say what exactly that means. for a short to medium height rider that feels perfectly comfortable on a 20", then sure, a high bb on a cruiser is great. but for a tall/older rider who likes cruisers in general because of being more "in" the bike than above it (and maybe has always felt a some low back strain hunching on a 20"), then just IMO, the Model C is not the answer. i'd rather ride my S&M Widowmaker.


to design a cruiser for park riding (for guys who actually like cruisers in general), i say raise the bb just enough so that it doesn't hit the coping during 50/50 grinds. so, raise bb height from 11.75" up to a 12.25" or maybe 12.75" at the most.

then, the other thing that can make a cruiser "feel like a 20" is to make the chainstay length the shortest possible. the Sunday Model C has 15" slammed.

but check out this GREG MELMS custom. 13.75" cs. yes 13.75 on a cruiser !!!




i actually rode this bike at Ray's MTB park a year ago. very quick.

for more on MELMS see http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187985

i rode the We The People Avenue 24" (2009) and i thought it felt rad. easy to manual, easy to 180 and 360.. etc.


thw 2010 Avenue, website says 'now called the Avenger' has a Sunday-style high bb. not sure how high though:


i hope this is not a trend where every street/park cruiser goes with 13.75" just because Sunday did it. 12.75" would be a good middle ground..... whatever people like though....

That was a nice post.

13.75 I'm pretty sure would freak me out.

Melms stuff is incredible.