Sue's 1952 Schwinn "Starlet"
This was a project bike. You can read more and see what the Starlet looked like before by clicking HERE.


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Casey's 1960 Schwinn "Speedster"
I bought this old Speedster from guy for a great price. The rust and overall patina was something I was actually looking for.
I like how you can really see the age. I also wanted this one because it was one of the first two model years(1959 & 1960) for the Speedster model. Those first two years were also the only two years in which the Speedster was offered in a cantilever frame. All later models were either a camel-back or standard diamond frame.

Casey's 1982 Huffy "Good Vibrations"
I saw this old Huffy sitting outside at an antique mall with several crappy non-cruisers. It caught my eye so we turned around to have a look. It rides great and there's just something I like about it. I swapped out the stock single stem for a bmx style and new handlebars.

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Ron's 1986 Schwinn "Cruiser"
This was an Ebay win at $31.00.  We drove down to Crystal Lake, IL to pick it up one cold Saturday afternoon.  The bike was originally pink and from the beginning was going to be a project. Check out the details and "before" photo HERE.


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Ron's '90s Murray "Monterey"
This sleek green beauty is another Craigs List find. When we got it, there were no grips, and it had a black seat.  I put a Bell cruiser seat and a Bell tool pouch on to dress it up a bit. I also put some tan grips on that we took off an exercise cycle that we got at a local thrift shop. There are chrome fenders in the future for my "Green Hornet".

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Casey's '90s Murray "Siesta Key"
This bike was cheap and in excellent condition. As you can see from the pictures, I made a nice transformation by removing the beach-style decals and foam handlebar padding, swapped out the too-skinny whitewalls for some mild MTB tires, and added BMX grips.

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Casey's 1997 Schwinn "Rolling Rock"
This is the bike that started our "addiction". The Rolling Rock is supposedly a limited edition with only 500 being made. Fact? I don't know. Sounds good though.
This one was purchased from a lady who sells unclaimed stolen/recovered property for her local police department. The price she was asking was a steal(pun intended) when compared to the asking prices we've seen on other Rolling Rocks. This is a great bike and is super comfortable to ride.
I recently swapped out the stock wide whitewalls for a set of Bontrager Cruiser tires. The bike looks much better to me now, and the Bontragers have a higher pressure rating which makes for an even better ride.

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Sue's 2005 Electra "Townie"
Casey found this one on Craigs List in Madison, WI. We got it for $75.00, which was a real steal, because it was about $400.00 when the owner bought it new.  We picked it up because of the Electra "flat foot" technology which allows the rider to sit with both feet flat on the ground.  We added the fenders and the rear rack as well as the front basket; the bracket can be seen in the photo. It has a Shimano Nexus 3-speed internal rear hub with a twist shifter.
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Casey's 2006 Electra "Deluxe"
After having my Deluxe Relic for a year, I had grown fond of the classic '50s style candy red paint and chrome
of the standard "Deluxe". I kept an eye out on Ebay and Craigslist with no luck. The plan was to sell a couple cruisers that I don't ride much to fund the purchase of a new Electra.
I finally came across a pre-owned but new Deluxe on Ebay but didn't have the ca$h, so I let Dad know about the deal because I thought he might like the bike for himself. He ended up getting a GREAT deal on the bike and then Mom and Dad surprised me when it arrived by giving it to me!
It must be a very early 2006 model due to a few differences between it and others I have seen. The "cantilever" part of the frame has a much different arch, it has polished aluminum wheels instead of the silver painted, the tires do not have the "RetroRunner" logo, the fender braces are different as well as the handlebars.
This Deluxe is factory-equipped with the Shiman Nexus internal 3-speed hub.
The day after getting the bike I swapped out the stock Schwinn-style cloverleaf sprocket for a new Wald teardrop sprocket.





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Casey's 2006 Electra "Deluxe Relic"
This is the only "new" bike that I really wanted to have someday. It has the classic cantilever frame design, but the geometry of the seat, pedals, and handlebar has been redesigned to make for a much more comfortable riding bike. The "Relic" gets it's name from the vintage style paint job that comes from the factory with a slightly worn, sun-faded looking finish and other minor paint imperfections. Kind of like those jeans you can buy that look as if you've been wearing them for years.
This one was picked up very lightly used down in Logan Park(Chicago). It has an internal 3-speed that will make for some very pleasurable cruises. The wheelbase is 4 or 5 inches longer than the average cruiser and it just has an overall bigger feel to it. Sitting on this bike is like sitting in a recliner... super comfortable. This bike is awesome. 

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Ron's Limited Edition 2006 Electra
New Belgium Brewing "Fat Tire Amber Ale" Cruiser
HOOO-Rah!  I finally got an Electra of my own. This super cool "Fat Tire Ale"  limited edition Electra appeared on Craig's List on a Saturday night and survived for a couple of hours before I made the call that resulted in its being added to the corral.  Every year the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO commissions a limited edition bicycle commemorating its Fat Tire Ale.  The 2006 edition incorporated a springer fork in the design that lengthened the wheel base by about 2 inches and made the ride even better than the classic Electra flat foot design. There may be an internal 3 or 7 speed Shimano rear hub in the future for this classic, but until then, I will enjoy every moment on the road aboard this awesome ride.

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Angela's 2007 Electra "Deluxe" (a.k.a."Bessie")
I have been wanting to get an Electra cruiser for Angela ever since I got my own. This one had been at the bike shop for a couple seasons. Apparently nobody wanted her because she's a single-speed. She wound up being relegated to Christmas decoration duty out in the snow in front of the bike shop and I knew I had to give her a good home. I made arrangements to pick her up and had her waiting in the living room when Angela came home one night. Angela was pleasantly surprised and gave her a test ride in the garage right away. 
 She's a beautiful candy-apple red and looks great hanging out with the rest of our cruisers.
Angela looks pretty good riding her, too. :)

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Ron's 2007 Electra "Rally Sport"
I found an ad on CL for this bike. Told Dad about it and he had me go check it out. Ended up getting it for him for almost half of the asking price, which was already a great deal. This sweet cruiser is equipped with a 3-speed, triple tree forks,
BMX-style stem, and has the awesome Fatti-O 24"x3" slick tires on it.

Casey's Trek "Classic Cruiser"
This was a CL find from LaCrosse. It was listed as a "Bud Light Retro Bike". No brand name, no pictures, no description of the bike itself. All the ad said was that the bike had been won by the seller and had never been ridden. I sent off an e-mail asking for photos and received several blurry cell phone pics. I also asked what brand the bike was and the reply was that is was a "TREX". After some haggling I got a really good deal on this and was lucky enough to have friends of the family that live near LaCrosse pick the bike up for me. After a six week wait, I finally received the bike after my folks visited their friends in LaCrosse and brought it home for me. The seller was very honest in his ad as this bike definitely had never been ridden and is in pristine condition. It's a beautiful metallic midnight blue that just doesn't look the same in the photo.

The second photo shows the bike in it's current configuration...kind of an adult BMX(well, not really). This is a really nice bike, but the modern cantilever wanna-be frame just didn't look right to me with the cruiser bars, seat, and tires. So off came the cruiser stuff and on went new handlebars, pedals, knobby tires, and a different seat. I like it.

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Ron's 2008 Electra "Indy"

I first saw this traffic stopper at Racine Cyclery last fall, and while in Ouray, Colorado this spring, I saw one being raffled off by the Historical Society. I was slowly becoming drawn to having one of my own. I had already made the decision to sell my 2001 Schwinn Cruiser Deluxe 7 in order to buy another Electra, because I just like the way the Electra cruisers ride. While I was in the Racine bike shop having the Schwinn boxed for shipping, there it was, the red Indy with the fat white tires, shining brightly and teasing me again. There were other Electra cruisers on the floor, but my eyes kept coming back to the Indy. I was hooked, and the red beauty went out the door and home with me. It rides as good as it looks and gets many compliments as I ride around the neighborhood. Just the other day a group of leather clad bikers on Harleys went roaring down the road past me, and each rider gave me a honk, a wave, and a thumbs up as they passed by my classic Indy.

 
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Ron's Limited Edition 2008 Felt
New Belgium Brewing "Fat Tire Amber Ale" Cruiser
#33 of 800 Built
I was quite surprised to find this cool ride up for auction on Ebay, and it was right in my new home town of Ridgway, CO. There are not a lot of available cruisers in this part of the country, so, when my wife insisted I bid on it, I waited until the last 15 seconds and won it. Thanks to Sue, I now have two "Fat Tire" bikes in the garage.
 I have a ways to go to complete the set, but there's still time. 


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 Casey's Limited Edition 2009 Schwinn
New Belgium Brewing "Fat Tire Amber Ale" Cruiser
Angela won this sweet cruiser on her 8th day of entering the giveaway contest on
New Belgium's website. It's a single speed with working headlight, working horn inside the tank, and has a springer fork.
We added the mini New Belgium "headbadge" on the seat tube just under the top tubes and also the New Belgium bell, both of which we picked up at New Belgium when we stopped there in May.
Luckily for her husband, Angela loves him SO much she gave this cool bike to him.

To top off winning this cool bike, New Belgium also threw in a $50 gift certificate to our closest Schwinn dealer!
We already like what New Belgium stood for, and now we're fans for life. 

Thank you New Belgium Brewing!!






*** Update ***
Another reminder of what an awesome company New Belgium is
came in the mail during the holiday season.
A cool card from cool people.

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A few years ago on a trip to the San Juan Mountains, we stopped in at Peak to Peak Bicycles in Ridgway, CO.
There we met Randy(shop owner) who is both friendly, knowledgeable AND
one of his personal bikes is an Electra Ghostrider(nice!).
Not only is the shop well stocked with mountain and road bikes, but they've got a very nice selection of Electra cruisers.
If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop in and check out the shop.
Click on the logo to go to their website.

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Our wheels get some added flair with the use of Dudds Dice. They're like candy for your cruiser.

DON'T BE FOOLED BY COPY CAT SELLERS, MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE ORIGINAL DUDDS DICE.  THESE ARE HANDMADE IN THE USA WITH HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS.
Available in 65 colors!
(click the logo to check 'em out)