7 speed cruiser bike chain

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A 7 speed cruiser bike is a one of the best means of transportation. And while just about any bike has advantages if you use it as your daily means of transportation, the seven speed is special. I mean come on, it has 3 more speeds than the 3 speed cruiser bike! You don’t get stuck in traffic, stuck on hills, and you get a bit of exercise too. The problem is, there are many people who think that because they live in a hilly area, such as San Francisco, or Portland, a cruiser bike doesn’t work. Well, actually it works great, especially a 7 speed cruiser bike.

I know, you have a lot of reasons to doubt this. How will you deal with the uphill's? How will you deal with the potholes? You go shopping for groceries before you get home and how do you take them home? Where do you park your bike? These are but a few questions that you’ll want answered before you pull the trigger. And you have every right to want them answered. Switching your lifestyle to something like a 7 speed beach cruiser isn’t an easy decision. I pulled the trigger a while ago, and haven’t regretted it since. And yes, I live in San Francisco, an area that could be considered far from ideal for a cruiser bike.

Here are some of the 7 speed cruiser bikes we offer for sale online:

Our Diamond Beach Cruisers

 

 

 

 

 

My Experience

I’ll do my best to bring the experience of biking with a 7 speed cruiser bike closer to you. For that, I’ll guide you through one of my days. You’ll see everything I do, and you’ll see that my beach cruiser actually comes in very handy. From getting my morning coffee, to getting some actual work done, I wouldn’t go back to using a car. Read on and see why.

I usually feel lazy in the morning, but my 7 speed cruiser bike makes me want to get out of bed and ride

When I get up from bed, I feel lazy. Most of us do, and the common solution for this is coffee. I don’t have a coffee maker at home, but I do have a coffee shop nearby. There are two choices here, either go by car, struggle with parking, and come back home to leave the car, or go by bike. I say “come back home to leave the car” because there’s no way I’m going to be doing my daily errands in a car. That’s a major waste of time. Bike it is, and I go get my trusty cruiser bike from my garage.

I do need to get dressed first, though. This is one of the things I love about the bike. If I had a mountain bike, or a road bike, I wouldn’t be able to put on just about anything. Those bikes can be uncomfortable if you aren’t wearing cycling shorts. And yes, I do know this from experience, I used to race back in my college days. With a cruiser, though, I can comfortably put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. If you have a woman’s 7 speed beach cruiser, you can put on a dress or a skirt, and not worry about anything.

The saddle is to “blame” for this

This is mostly due to the saddle if we’re being honest. The 7 speed cruiser bike I have comes with a Velo saddle, one that’s incredibly plushy and comfortable.  I don’t think I could daily drive those carbon racing seats I used to back in the day after this. It just feels good to sit on the bike, even after a few hours of roaming around town, doing various stuff. I have yet to feel any fatigue, and I’ve put my cruiser bike through its paces quite a few times. It's absolutely the best choice for recreational riding.

7 speed cruiser bike saddle

This is one of the reasons why a 7 speed cruiser bike is my daily driver. I can just put on casual, or business clothes, and hop on it. Because, once I get my morning cup of coffee, I’ll need to get some real work done. Well, get work done and have breakfast during a short break or something. I’ll see how I feel later on, but my point is that the comfortable saddle is a great thing to have on your bike.

Getting around town on my 7 speed cruiser bike and handling my business

I won’t get into too much detail, but my job requires that I move constantly. This often means riding through streets that aren’t that good for cycling. There are numerous potholes, the asphalt is often old, and there are obstacles to avoid and get over. Now, this would be more or less impossible on something like a carbon mountain bike. Sure, it has a suspension fork, but a stiff frame will result in you getting tired, and those tires aren’t made for asphalt and potholes. Fortunately, my cruiser bike deals with this, and I have yet to feel an issue after riding around town every day for a few months.

First of all, the bike comes with wide balloon beach cruiser tires. If you’ve ever had a pair of them on your bike, you know what I’m talking about. They aren’t too wide, and they won’t slow you down. The bike won’t feel sluggish or unresponsive. And man, are they comfortable. That damaged asphalt I mentioned? Yeah, that feels like brand new to me. The tires smooth out any minor scratches or bumps in the road. If you aren’t careful, though, you will hit a pothole at one point or another. But you would feel that pothole much less with a wide, balloon tire, than you would with a skinny road bike tire. You can find various kinds of beach cruiser tires, but I found these are the best.

It’s not just the tires, the frame makes a big difference here too

As I said, I used to race a few years ago. That wasn’t too long ago, so we did have carbon frames which maximized performance. However, what they didn’t maximize was comfort. Those frames were stiff. They needed to be, and I needed all of my power to be transferred to the crankset, and consequently, to the wheels. But they weren’t comfortable at all, and I hated when I had to spend long hours in the saddle. Fortunately, this isn’t an issue I’m having with my 7 speed cruiser bike.

7 speed cruiser bike frame

That one doesn’t have a carbon frame, but has a steel beach cruiser bike frame instead. You would be surprised at the amount of shock absorption one gets from such a beach cruiser frame. Vibrations from the road are more or less non-existent, and spending hours on end riding that bike is not an issue. It's good to know that I can comfortably get around town, without getting in a situation where I hate every single bump in the road. I made sure my 7 speed cruiser bike has such a frame, and it’s one of those decisions I have yet to regret.

I use the 7 speed cruiser bike as a utility vehicle, and the basket has saved me more than once

My old bike had no way of fitting a basket. Many people think they don’t need it. But how often have you found yourself carrying something in your hand? Or in a backpack? Carrying it in your hand is a safety issue, and a backpack is something you don’t want on your back, especially in the summer heat in San Francisco. I often need to carry my laptop and paperwork when I’m doing business. And I do stop at the grocery store on my way back.

7 speed cruiser bike with basket

Having a mesh style front beach cruiser basket on the 7 speed cruiser bike is a great thing. I just put whatever I have inside it, and ride on. I’ve even tried putting some small things in it, and they don’t fall out. That mesh does make a real difference, and I can’t stress how important it is to have a basket. You can carry more or less anything you want, be it work stuff, or something you need to take from point A to point B.

The basket isn’t the only convenient feature

I just mentioned I often stop at the grocery store on my way back home. I usually jot down whatever I need to buy when I’m leaving the house, and make sure to get it when I’m coming back. It’s much simpler when you don’t have to make a separate trip because you can’t put everything in your bike on your way home. There is one big problem though, and unfortunately, it’s most apparent at grocery stores and supermarkets – the lack of parking space. You’ll find plenty of them for cars, but bikes seem to be a neglected category. This is where the next convenient feature comes in – that double kickstand.

pink 7 speed cruiser bike without kickstand

A kickstand pretty much means I can leave my bike wherever I want. I don’t have to find something to lean it against, and I don’t need a parking for bicycles. It’s not a regular one either, it’s a double kickstand, something you don’t see on every bike. Why is it so important? Well, first of all, your bike is completely upright. It takes up less space, so you need less space to park it. Next, since I mentioned shopping, having the 7 speed cruiser bike on a double kickstand makes it much more stable. It also makes it much easier for loading, as the handlebars are straight, and so is the basket. I can just put things in the order I want them to, and not have them mix up when I start riding. Really convenient, isn’t it?

Let’s wrap the day up and head home

I had my morning coffee, I took care of my business, and I bought everything I needed for home. There’s a small problem though. This takes up a lot of my time, and it’s already dark outside. I’m not a newbie with bike riding, but riding in the dark is a completely different beast compared to riding in the daylight. It requires much more care, and it requires a few accessories if you want to be safe. Fortunately, a good bike comes equipped with these things, so let’s talk about them for a minute.

7 speed cruiser bike bell and headlamp

There are a few things that are crucial here, and those are lights, and a bell. Lights are something you can easily turn on and they do make quite a difference. It’s not as good as riding during the day. But you know that you can easily see what’s in front of you, and cars coming up behind you can see where you are. It won’t be a problem for them to go around you, and leave you space. It is very important to have them, even in daylight.

The bell is another important thing. People won’t always see you in the dark. And yes, I’m talking about people on the bike lanes. There are quite a few of them, and they seem completely oblivious of the fact that there’s a whole sidewalk for them. With the bell, you have a simple and easy way of letting them know that you’re there. When you take everything into consideration, the 7 speed cruiser bike has all the beach cruiser accessories you need! And if you still want to add more, you can find some of the best beach cruiser accessories here. 

Why did I get a 7 speed cruiser bike, and not something else?

There are a few people here and there who might think that a single speed is better. There are also those that think that I should’ve gotten a 3 speed cruiser bike. And both categories would be wrong. First of all, a single speed cruiser isn’t that practical, honestly. Depending on the gear ratio, you either can’t move slow, or you can’t go very fast. It limits you in terms of choices, and forces you to ride out of your comfort zone. Therefore, you really do need a beach cruiser bike with gears.

A 3 speed cruiser bike is much better, but it’s for a different category of people. If you live in a hilly area, those 3 speeds won’t be enough. For flatter terrain, it is absolutely great. You get both options, and peace of mind. Want to go slower, or on a slight uphill? Sure. Want to go fast and get some more exercise? You have that as well. But it pretty much ends there, and you don't get anything in between.

7 speed cruiser bike with gears by woodpile

A 7 speed cruiser bike is indeed the right choice here

But when you live in a hilly area, you’ll want gears that are easy to ride. Especially at the end of the day, when you’re a bit tired, and your basket is full of groceries. Having no gears here might mean you’ll have to push your bike up that hill, and waste time.  With a 7 speed cruiser bike, just put it into the easiest gear and ride on. And if you happen to need a harder gear, there are 7 to choose from. You can absolutely find a suitable gear for just about any situation.

This choice you have is something you won’t find on any cruiser bike, and is the exact reason why I went with a 7 speed cruiser bike instead of a 3 speed, or single speed. And if you ever have any problems with it, a rear derailleur is incredibly easy to adjust - just follow the video below.

 

At the end of the day, would I get a different bike next time, or get a 7 speed cruiser bike again?

Absolutely not. If I could buy another bike to use as a daily driver, I’d get another 7 speed cruiser bike. A 3 speed one might do the job, but it does put some limits I’m not comfortable with while I’m in a hilly area. A single speed one is something that is fun on completely flat terrain. And the bike I currently have has all the bells (pun intended) and whistles I could ever need.

It has a comfortable ride thanks to the seat, frame and tires. I can carry whatever I want in the mesh basket, and I can park it pretty much anywhere thanks to that double kickstand. And when it’s time to go home, I can turn on the lights if its dark and let people know I’m coming with the bell. All things considered, it’s a great daily driver for just about anyone. And yes, I stand by my claim that 7 speed bikes are some of the best beach cruiser bikes you can get. 21 speeds is usually too much.

And cool beach cruisers aren't just practical, but stylish as well. A cruiser bicycle with basket, or cruiser bicycle with gears will attract a bit of attention when you roll by on one. And you can add cruiser bike accessories to make it look even better. But, get a multi speed beach cruiser first, and then make it more personal!

Andrej Hadji-Vasilev

author