Any particular Beach Cruiser's that are fantastic for BBSHD?

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Saddlechewer

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Initially I wanted a mountain bike to convert but after reading about cruisers and how well they work after conversions I decided on one of those. I already have some experience converting with bafang middrives.

In particular I've read about the Electra Townie being excellent, but are there any others worth looking at? The end result would have

Steel frame
26" but possibly 29" wheels if possible
Nexus 3 IGH
Curved top tube with tons of space in inner triangle

That's pretty much it, just something comfortable and sturdy that will work great for a BBSHD riding on urban terrain for 50 miles a day.
 
The single-speed Felt Bixby is steel (the other Felts are aluminum). You could get a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub with drum brake.

For a front brake, you might have to have a muffler shop weld a disc brake mounting flange onto it, or a V-brake flange (don't know where to get one of those, might need to water-jet one). If you order a Monark springer fork, some of them come with mounts for both V-brake and disc.

For long rides, definitely get a Thudbuster or Suntour NCX.

I have a $700 Electra stretch cruiser with fat tires and disc brakes front and rear (using a BBSHD), but....its aluminum.
 
spinningmagnets said:
The single-speed Felt Bixby is steel (the other Felts are aluminum). You could get a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub with drum brake.

For a front brake, you might have to have a muffler shop weld a disc brake mounting flange onto it, or a V-brake flange (don't know where to get one of those, might need to water-jet one). If you order a Monark springer fork, some of them come with mounts for both V-brake and disc.

For long rides, definitely get a Thudbuster or Suntour NCX.

I have a $700 Electra stretch cruiser with fat tires and disc brakes front and rear (using a BBSHD), but....its aluminum.
Click to expand...

Thanks that's already a lot of information to work with. So a nexus 3 won't fit in the rear? If not will the sturmey work just as good? https://electricbike-blog.com/2015/11/20/you-cann-have-it-all-power-speed-nexus-3-igh-paired-with-a-bbs02/

Over here they put it over hard as the IGH to get.
 
A Nexus will fit. However the Bixby doesn't have the mounts for a V-brake or a disc brake. For a rear brake there are several options. you can have someone weld-on the mounts for either a V-brake or a disc caliper. Or...there are some IGHs that have a brake mounted to the hub, such as a band brake or a drum brake.

I don't know if the Nexus or Sturmey can be found with an integrated brake that will just slip on to the Bixby frame, I just thought it might be worth investigating.
 
Once you are committing to welding on disc mounts,, meaning a steel bike,, you are then really just looking for a bike with the right bottom bracket.

Most of the steel bikes will have the one piece crank, making it mandatory to also weld on a new BB.

So it's kind of flip a coin,,, I'd just get a townie, or any other cruiser with some v brakes, and call it good. Alu is fine,, unless you want to do the welding. If you are going to weld, then any cheap cruiser frame can be turned into something pretty nice, with dual disc brakes.

This started as a 100 buck coaster brake Schwinn. A schwinn cruiser longtail, 7-2015.jpg
 
dogman dan said:
Once you are committing to welding on disc mounts,, meaning a steel bike,, you are then really just looking for a bike with the right bottom bracket.

Most of the steel bikes will have the one piece crank, making it mandatory to also weld on a new BB.

So it's kind of flip a coin,,, I'd just get a townie, or any other cruiser with some v brakes, and call it good. Alu is fine,, unless you want to do the welding. If you are going to weld, then any cheap cruiser frame can be turned into something pretty nice, with dual disc brakes.

This started as a 100 buck coaster brake Schwinn.
Click to expand...

Based on this it seems that steel requires a lot of tweaking and manipulating that I'm not ready for. Are the advantages of steel vs. Aluminum pronounced when it comes to cruisers being converted to middrives? I'm wondering if the plus of a steel bike would even be worth it. I definitely want two high quality disc brakes
 
Just so you know,..bolt on rear disc caliper mounts are readily available...
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bicycle-Cycling-Disc-Brake-Caliper-Bracket-Mount-Holder-Aluminium-Alloy-18-22m-/172143549470?hash=item28148e1c1e:g:4WQAAOSwxp9W8eO0
 
What about one of these: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/fat-bikes/fat-bikes-deadeye-monster.htm it's a lot of bike for $399 and an IGH is not a budget buster to add on either. You could try the Sturmey Archer 5-speed too.
 
I'm really happy with my SIKK fat cruiser:

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=81631

DSC04070.JPG

It comes with 4" rims, a 3-speed IGH, a 3-piece crank and disc brakes. It's not all good: the brakes are low-end, the tires are nylon junk and the handlebars are way too big. But for $500 I think it's a decent deal.

Looks like they're out of the black on black, but black on blue is still available:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Sikk-3-SPEED-Fat-Tire-Beach-Cruiser-Bike-Flat-Black-w-Blue-CUTOUT-RIMS-/272353131134
 
No,, you totally misunderstand. Steel does not mean it has to be manipulated and tweaked. But if it's a cheap ass huffy,, you can. 8)

But if you want to ride it as is,, you don't have to have steel to have a great bike. You just have to get into the better bikes, like the Electras. Or others that may be steel, but in general, the better ones are aluminum.

An alloy cruiser can always have a disc mount welded to a steel fork. if it's an alloy suspension fork, you can replace it with one that has disc.
 
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