Cruiser vs. Muscle Bike

[wheelhorseman]

I love to ride my bikes and do so almost daily. I have 2 muscle bikes that are my daily drivers. Both have had longer cranks installed from 26in. bikes and both geared 44/18. We live in a semi hilly area and riding them is fairly easy. I do have my banana seats raised up and it gives me better leg leverage.

I have been wanting a cruiser and got this old Kent and i really like it. BUT the cruiser is very hard to pedal at the slightest incline and aches your knees. Its like trying to pedal while sitting in a chair. Your knees and lower legs doing the work.

QUESTION....Are all cruisers like this hard to pedal unless its flat as a pancake? I am looking into getting a Murray beach cruiser with the baloon whitewalls and want to know rather i should or not. If its gonna be anyhing like this Kent i dont want it. Note the Kent has 26x 1.75 tires if that makes any difference.

 

[Wildcat]

Your seating position and gear ratio can make a big difference. First, you should be sitting high enough so your leg almost extends straight when the pedal is all the way down while pedaling. That gives the most leverage, if you're a few inches lower, it makes a big difference. Second, the number of teeth on the sperockets can make it harder to pedal. The Murray beach cruiser may have a better ratio, you'll have to ride it to see. On my heavier old bikes, I add a larger sprocket (one or two teeth more) on the rear wheel to make it easier to pedal, but it limits your top speed.

 

[wheelhorseman]

On my muscle bikes you sit farther back having to reach out to the handles. On the Kent you sit closer and more on top of the crank.The seating position is comfortable but the pedaling position is not. If you were riding on flat ground the cruiser could be ridden all day with no problems.

I think a friend of mine has a 22t rear sprocket from a tandem i could get. How would that large sprocket do?

 

[Kxazbug]

I noticed also that old tires can make a bike a bear to pedal. On my DX I cleaned and lubed every bearing and chain. Still killed me to ride. Then finally giving up the looks of the old US royal tires for some new treads. Thing rides like new now.

 

[Vintagebikebuilder]

I love love love muscle bikes. But I think I'm going to pick up a 26" huffy frame and build a military theme bike :mrgreen:

 

[Carbon]

Here are my recomendations, due to the fact that I am the cruiser comfort king and like my bikes to be comfortable and pedal easy. 8) First, you desperatly need a laid back seat post, takes tons of pressure of your knees and gives you alot more room in the cockpit, even with the seatpost lower it will still be way more comfortable, secondly, you need to get a 20 tooth rear sprocket, super easy to change and they all are usually interchangable unless its a bendix or skiptooth setup, one snap ring to hold it on, done. 2 easy steps to pedaling happiness. :mrgreen:

 

[wheelhorseman]

I even tried the banana seat. It was still a pain to pedal and the seat was at its highest point in the pic. Looked cool but very unpractical

.

I know where a laid back post is and possibly a larger beach cruiser seat.

 

[deorman]

Your seat needs to be far away from the pedals to straighten your legs, and your handle bar low and/or forward enough so that you are not sitting bolt upright, such as a bar with less pull-back, or a laid back post as mentioned earlier. I prefer moving the grips forward, instead of the seat rearward, and no more than a couple of inches higher than the seat, keeping your weight above the pedals.