Pedals Hard

Are you coming from a multi speed? If so, all I have to say is stand up and stomp down. My last single speed was a JC Higgins, and it was stiff. If coming from "no bike," I would back up and go with a simplistic mountain bike.

orwellwasright said:

Just bought a "beach bike" for outdoor exercise. Haven't owned one for 40+ years. However it pedals super hard and wears me out.   Suggestions?

HMMMmmm ... 40+ years ago, you were probably 50-to-100 pounds lighter ...

PLUS, your father probably ensured that the bike was properly adjusted. Also, with your new "beach cruiser" the tires are probably the equivalent of BALLOON tires rather than the smaller-and-lighter MIDWEIGHT tires which would have been more common on bikes with 26" wheels. Up front ...

ONE option is to pony up for new hubs/wheels and/or tires/tubes ...

BTW. Does your bike have a Coaster Brake or hand brakes? If the latter, ensure that the pads are NOT chaffing against the rims. A Coaster Brake rear hub has internal friction which doesn't exist on other wheels.

Most beach bikes tend to be hard to pedal with. I guess it might be because you are coming from a bike that was easily pedaled? My suggestion would be to take the bike to a shop and check if there are any flaws. If not, then you might just have to adjust your body to hard pedaling. There are no downsides, right? So you might as well learn now!

I suggest taking a look at getting a bigger front cog as that will make it easier to push the pedals. Also, keep the current sized one so if in the future you decide you want a harder pedal and a faster ride, you can simply swap it over. Good luck! 🙂

lectraplayer's suggestion of simply standing up and pedaling in that manner could work for you. It gives you more leverage since you're standing and putting all your strength and weight at the pedals. If it's a beach cruiser, then those can be a little stiff to pedal, though you'll more than likely get used to things after a few weeks at the very most.

I just saw this beauty online. Are you having a hard time pedaling in the sand? Maybe it's because your tires and sinking. Maybe you should upgrade to these bad boys. If possible, get some better gear ratios if possible. hahahaha

Hey that looks pretty cool. I think that can actually float on the open sea also. I didn't know they had a thing called a beach bike. I thought a regular mountain bike could be ridden on the sand. I guess you need these outrageous tires to not sink in the wet sand.

Have you checked to ensure nothing is rubbing and slowing you down? Brake's fine? Drive chain runs clean?

veteranmaxi said:

I suggest taking a look at getting a bigger front cog as that will make it easier to push the pedals. Also, keep the current sized one so if in the future you decide you want a harder pedal and a faster ride, you can simply swap it over. Good luck! 🙂

A bigger rear cog will lower your gear ratio and make it easier to pedal. Most single speed beach cruisers have a coaster brake rear hub which is super easy to change cogs on. Far easier than removing a crank to swap a sprocket. Depending on the wheels on the bike you may also consider some higher pressure tires. That can also make a bike roll better.