Hi I thinking about getting a beach cruiser and would like to get your thoughts. I’m rapidly approaching 60 and my wife I would be riding on county roads and the Katy Trail. I’m thinking beach cruiser because I want an easy and comfortable ride for me and my over-achieving prostate; I also think their cool looking.
I like the styling of the Firmstrong Urban Man single speed. Here are my questions:
Does this bike have a good comfortable seat for and old butt and sensitive prostate?
I like the look of fat tires, how fat of a tire can I put on that bike?
How would this bike perform on the Katy Trail (crushed limestone)?
While most of the Katy Trail is pretty flat you still have to deal with wind and the occasional hill. If you plan on riding on roads, hills become an even bigger factor. I'd recommend the 7-speed version of the bike. It has more gears than the 1 or 3-speed plus has better brakes. Coaster brakes only on the back doesn't make for good braking in loose limestone.
Seats are a personal thing. What works for me might not work for you. The stock seat is probably just fine for rides under 15 miles or so. For a sensitive prostrate, you might need a seat with a deep channel down the middle of the saddle or even a cutout. Start with the stock seat and move from there if necessary.
Those 26" x 2.125 tires are plenty fat enough. You can get into diminished returns after a while. I ride on 700x32 tires which are about 1.5 inches wide. Last year I rode the Katy end-to-end with a guy who had 4.5 inches wide tires. They looked like motorcycle tires! Even though a very fit rider, he came in nearly last most days. The fat tires slowed him down.
My best advice would be to visit your local bike shop and see what they have. Personally I think a hybrid might be a better choice for the Katy and roads in Missouri.
A single speed beach cruiser is probably the hardest to pedal type of bike in existence. Part of comfort is not having to pedal hard all the time. At the very minimum get a bike with multiple gears. Big fat tires are also the hardest type of tire to pedal. A hybrid with slightly smaller tires, but not very small, will be comfortable, and much easier to pedal. The seat is something you have to try to be sure.
Sun also makes a nice, very comfortable cruiser. I agree with about everyone here on the singlespeed being the hardest to roll around, and the big tires make things even more difficult (on the flip side, they float over most road imperfections like they don't exist) For what you're doing, a hybrid with multiple speeds will suit you better.
A cruiser is designed for just that cruising. Cruising is done on concrete or pavement and as flat as humanly possible to find. Here on the west side of Los Angeles we have long, flat, winding bike paths that pretty much follow the contour of the coastline. This is where cruisers rule.
