More Photos Below!Gallery
I always thought that recumbents would be cooler if at least one model out there had a curvy frame like a Schwinn Typhoon. (I posted a remark and a sketch about such a concept bike at my site, and elsewhere, in about 1995…oh, right here! outyourbackdoor.com/OYB8/bikes/bikedesign.htm.)
Well, such a design turned up in the form of a stretched and lowered upright beach cruiser that was a take-off on the unrideable urban chopper art bikes. First it was the Huntington Beach Cruiser then it was the GT Dyno Roadster, now it’s the Kustom Kruiser and a couple different Micargi cruisers.
I tried out one of the GT’s and, darn, it rode nice! I had thought that such a bike would make a swell and easy conversion into a recumbent, but after I rode it I didn’t think it needed any improving. It was sweet!
Of course, since then the choppers in general have made a comeback and there are even a bunch of production chopper bikes—for kids. Then there’s the DIY chopper scene for the urban hipsters. Yeah, looks count! But I haven’t seen too many stretch cruisers out there.
Being seen on the street on one would be a major stand-out style bonus. …And they seem to ride pretty good, too. I’m not sure how nice it is to ride a chopper. Probably good enough.
The thing is that I think a stretch cruiser COULD be made into a performance bike. What if you put light wheels on it? What if you put narrow ape-hangers on it…and a Easy Racer’s “Cobra” seat? You might have a fast yet stylish ‘bent!
Well, not all riding has to be fast or efficient. This kind of bike does its job well, no doubt there, but its job is to glide, and mellow out, and be cool.
You know you go to ice cream stands. You know you go out to hang out sometimes. This is the ride for that.
Speaking of riding to be seen… I like a parade. We go to several around here each year. The rural ones mostly have tractors and hot rods on display. I’ve always thought that a bikes entry would be great for bike PR. We could make a banner and have a dozen people show up on a wild variety of bikes. When bikers start showing up at everyday events, that’s when they’ll be included as everyday people.
Anyway, a stretch cruiser would look GREAT in a parade. I just know it!
(Heck, I also think that motorcycles should be in parades. You know they want to parade! But I haven’t seen them in our local events. …They want more safety and respect on the roads, too!)
So here ya go:
www.amazon.com/2005-Kustom-Kruiser-Roadster-Cruiser/dp/B000NONFGY/jeffpottersoutyoA/
or
www.amazon.com/Micargi-Puma-GTS-BLACK/dp/B000P7ROK2/jeffpottersoutyoA/
Originals pop up on eBay quite often. I don’t know how the clones ride but their mission isn’t intense so “good enough” might be just fine.
Kustom Kruiser almost seems like a real brand—and its bikes cost $450 rather than $250 so they’re probably higher quality. But they don’t seem to list the Roadster in their line-up anymore, even though it’s on their homepage. …And what a homepage. www.kustomkruiser.com/ (desktop calendar, anyone?)
A Tour Easy “Gold Rush” with Cobra seat. This kind of seat might let you convert a Roadster into a recumbent and keep some flare.
Here’s a terrible scan of a sketch I drew in 1995 for a stylishly curvy cruiser recumbent.
Ah, a lovely cruiser and parade bike. …A Micargi Puma. (Clone of GT Roadster which was a clone of the HB Cruiser…)
Here’s the Kustom Kruiser version. The black and the lack of a fake gas tank make this, I think, more of a regular bike, less of a kid’s bike. It would still take nerve to tool around on it, but you’d have a NICE ride…
