The Beachcomber was a yard sale find from about 10 years ago. The older couple who sold it to me said their son loved to ride it, but sadly he had passed. I always wanted to do something cool with it as a tribute. In the intervening years I have thrown parts at it a few times, but none of the iterations stuck. This build-off has been my opportunity to make it into something nice to ride and look at. Check out the build thread here.
I love that the paint on the frame, the rack, and the guard matches remarkably well even though the parts are from three different eras. Testament to Murray’s consistency, I guess. I couldn’t find much info on AMC bicycles other than they were manufactured by Murray at least through the ‘60s and ‘70s. Whatever the VII on the chain guard originally denoted, it’s a happy coincidence that I put a 7-speed drivetrain on it.
I was inspired early on by a friend’s Schwinn Cruiser 5 and have tried to emulate some of that bike’s design touches, particularly the seat tube graphic. Also derived from Schwinn is the wood tank panel, which mimics the shape of a Schwinn slimline tank. The Beachcomber script is done in Air Conditioner font, which I have used in the past to create a passable facsimile of the Schwinn script. Actual Schwinn parts include the stem, grips, front sprocket and brake levers. I also adopted a little strandie build philosophy with the BMX pedals and brake calipers.
Maybe the most serendipitous part of the build was our decision to schedule a trip to the beach just a few days before the end of the build-off. In the past week, besides taking pictures against the perfect backdrop, I have put over 70 miles on this thing riding through Ocean City, MD and up and down the boardwalk. It really does make a great beach cruiser. The way it’s geared, on flat ground I lope along mostly in 3rd or 4th. Plenty of gearing below and above for any type of riding I’m likely to do.
GoPro footage of a boardwalk cruise:
I love that the paint on the frame, the rack, and the guard matches remarkably well even though the parts are from three different eras. Testament to Murray’s consistency, I guess. I couldn’t find much info on AMC bicycles other than they were manufactured by Murray at least through the ‘60s and ‘70s. Whatever the VII on the chain guard originally denoted, it’s a happy coincidence that I put a 7-speed drivetrain on it.
I was inspired early on by a friend’s Schwinn Cruiser 5 and have tried to emulate some of that bike’s design touches, particularly the seat tube graphic. Also derived from Schwinn is the wood tank panel, which mimics the shape of a Schwinn slimline tank. The Beachcomber script is done in Air Conditioner font, which I have used in the past to create a passable facsimile of the Schwinn script. Actual Schwinn parts include the stem, grips, front sprocket and brake levers. I also adopted a little strandie build philosophy with the BMX pedals and brake calipers.
Maybe the most serendipitous part of the build was our decision to schedule a trip to the beach just a few days before the end of the build-off. In the past week, besides taking pictures against the perfect backdrop, I have put over 70 miles on this thing riding through Ocean City, MD and up and down the boardwalk. It really does make a great beach cruiser. The way it’s geared, on flat ground I lope along mostly in 3rd or 4th. Plenty of gearing below and above for any type of riding I’m likely to do.
GoPro footage of a boardwalk cruise:
