Some hipsters have a lot more in common with steam punk-world of war craft types than they would believe. The line between the weekending steam punk in his dress down brass, brown leather and walnut time machine operating garb and hipster high fashion never becomes more blurred than when riding a cruiser. To the average onlooker the differences could be almost imperceptible. The only true difference is that the Hipster's mind would be filled with smug and snickering irony of the fabricated situation, whereas the steam punk's mind would be fully and sincerely lost in the imagined era he portrayed.
In Europe if you ride a cruiser it's a normal event, it's ingrained in the culture, it's as normal as wearing shoes or using the toilet or spitting green phlegm while smoking outside a pub. In England if you ride a cruiser it makes a statement of smug superiority or lost in time delusion.
Having said all that I think cruisers are rad bikes. It's a shame the bicycle wasn't embraced or held in high enough esteem in England for it to avoid the stigmatising it received when the motor car came along and stomped all over it culturally in the early 1900s. The macho ethos that cars went faster, were more expensive and made more noise so you must be either a sissy or pauper to ride a bike is a detestable one. A stone age low brow attitude held by the moronic masses who, having been brain washed by television and radio advertisement rejected the bicycle as a mere stepping stone on the journey of transportation which supposedly culminated in the mass production and affordability of the motor car. An attitude still held by 99% of taxi drivers to this day.
First up is Luke's True Amsterdam cruiser pictured above. This thing has a fully upright position, full steel guards and chainguard, singlespeed coaster brake hub, and massive leather saddle. This thing was acquired in Amsterdam by Luke. It has been involved in a serious road traffic accident and the fork legs/steerer tube are seriously bent and make the steering track to the left. You have to fight this thing every inch of the way when riding. About a year ago Chink was tooling through KFC car park with it and managed to bend the chainring somehow and it hasn't run since then. Luke brought it into the shop and when I had a look at it I found it had a bent chainring but also the hub cones were super loose and the chain was completely stretched. All these problems combined to the point where no matter how tight you kept the chain it fell off the moment you started pedalling. Once the hub was tightened and the chainring straightened and a new chain was fitted this thing went back to riding like a dream. Well if your dream is to ride in a never ending circle.
The above bicycle is a 1930s English touring bicycle converted by one of Nick's mates. The handle bars are homemade, the saddle and stem are second hand. There are no cables on this bike as it features the Sturmey Archer kick shift rear hub which is a 2 speed hub with built in coaster brake. To change gear you just have to lightly kick back with your legs and it shifts quite smoothly. Nick's mate was having trouble with spoke length and period correct ovalised steel rims so I ended up building the rear wheel for him but other than that he put the whole thing together himself, and I think he did an awesome job. Apparently the SA kick shift hub takes a bit of getting used to when pulling away from a standing start and expecting to be in the same gear you were in before you braked.
I had to put this one in for T2S and Billy Lad. I spotted this out on a promotion when the food festival was on last year in Newcastle. Everyone loves Irn Bru everyone should love cruisers, the perfect bike for the city, just don't try and pedal up Byker bank.
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