First, we review and compare the 5 top-rated cruiser-style bicycles. Then we give some tips for how you would pick the best cruiser bicycle for your needs and tastes in our buyers guide entitled, How To Choose The Best Cruiser Bike. And see the most popular cruiser bikes available with assembly available here: Amazon Best Sellers.

Looking for a different type of bike? Read our comprehensive guide to every type of bicycle. 

Best Cruiser Bikes

Quick Answer: The 5 Best-Rated Cruiser Bikes

1. Firmstrong Urban
2. Schwinn Sanctuary
3. Firmstrong Bruiser
4. Huffy Nel Lusso
5. Sixthreezero Around the Block

 Best Cruiser Bikes Reviews

#1 Firmstrong Urban

A popular bike brand when it comes to cruiser bikes, Firmstrong have a good reputation. The Urban is one of their most popular models. Not only does it come in a choice of colors, you can also choose different numbers of gears to customize it to the demands of your local area.

The bent steel frame looks great and has classic cruiser styling and a wide curving handlebar matches this style. Natural flex in the frame takes the sting out of bumps from the road that make it past the wide tires.

Comfort when riding the Urban is ensured not only by the frame and tires, but also by the wide handlebars that put you in an upright riding position. To support you in this position is a wide, sprung saddle.

You can choose the Urban in three different gear and brake setups. The singlespeed Urban has one coaster brake, while the 3-speed and 7-speed Urbans have rim brakes to give you more stopping power.

Which one should you choose? That depends on where you will be using your cruiser bike. If your local area is flat and you enjoy cruising, then the single-speed is your best choice. It may be necessary to get more speed and ride up gentle hills, choose the 3-speed version. And it might be that you have to deal with even bigger hills –   in that case the 7-speed is the cruiser bike for you.

These options are also available in men’s and women’s specific versions, making the Urban a truly versatile and personalizable cruiser.

#2 Schwinn Sanctuary

Schwinn decided to fit the Sanctuary with 7 gears to make it suitable for riding in a wide range of landscapes. The steel frame may be heavy, but the bike rolls easily on the alloy wheels and wide tires. The two springs under the seat take care of any bumps that get past the tires.

Fenders come fitted as standard to keep road spray off you and your bike. The fenders have a vintage styling, which adds to the great look of the bike. Another great feature is the luggage rack on the back of the bike. This allows you to strap on items that you need to carry, like a beach bag or your groceries.

You can also mount panniers to this rack to transport even more items, making the Sanctuary a good choice as a commuting bike as well as a leisure bike.

The number of gears fitted to the Sanctuary gives you freedom to get to your destination fast, or cruise along slowly. While they will help you ride around pretty much any town with hills, the components chosen are cheap and do not offer precise shifting.

Regular cleaning and maintenance will help keep everything in line but even so, you may find yourself frustrated at times when trying to make single shifts between gears. A rim brake on each wheel will stop you reliably when you need to slow down and offer more power than a coaster brake.

The Sanctuary is a great looking cruiser with everything you need for a great cruiser bike experience.

#3 Firmstrong Bruiser

Ok so you appreciate that cruiser bikes already stand out from the crowd but want something that stands out even more? Look no further than the Firmstrong Bruiser, that looks more like a motorbike than most bicycles and looks very, very cool.

In comparison to a normal cruiser frame, the one used on the Bruiser is a whole two inches longer. Along with the extra wide handlebars, you are put in a stretched out position when riding. The wide bars also make the steering very slow. Perfect for cruising! The wide tires and seat ensure lots of comfort when riding.

A variety of rim and frame color combinations are on offer, as well as singlespeed, 3-speed and 7-speed versions. The singlespeed version has a coaster brake, the 3-speed version has a coaster and a front rim brake while the 7-speed has two rim brakes.

#4 Huffy Nel Lusso

Do not let the price fool you. Although very affordable, the Nel Lusso is a high-quality and top-performing cruiser bike with stunning looks.

The styling of the Nel Lusso is perfectly suited to sunny summer vibes. The bright color-matched components and white walled tires complement the pleasing curves of the frame.

Unlike other cruisers, the Nel Lusso only comes in a singlespeed version. This ensures that you do not take life to fast and can enjoy cruising as much as possible. A coaster brake is there to slow you down when you need.

A rack is fitted to the back to help you carry your gear and you can also fit panniers if you need to take more with you or want to use your cruiser for grocery shopping or commuting. Your clothes are protected by a chain guard and you also get a basket at the front.

An extra feature that makes the Nel Lusso even more suited to summer cruising is the cup holder on the handlebar.

#5 Sixthreezero Around the Block

This high quality cruiser features classic styling coupled with modern features. It is a great choice for an all-round cruiser bike that you can use for everything from grocery shopping, riding around town, or of course, cruising down to the beach!

The curved steel frame has a strong ride feel and sixthreezero offer the Around the Block in four different gear options. You can get a single-speed version for the ultimate cruising experience or add more gears depending on your local terrain.

There are also versions with 3, 7, and even 21 gears. While 3 or 7 gears will help you ride around faster and push up hills, 21 gears is a lot and probably too many gears for a cruiser bike. At the end of the day, a cruiser bike does not need as many gears as a mountain or road bike, so stick with smaller geared versions.

The singlespeed comes with a coaster brake and rim brakes feature on the models with more gears to allow you to slow down from the higher speeds that you will reach.

A nice feature of the Around the Block is the chain guard. This serves the dual purpose of preventing loose clothing getting caught in the chain and protecting clothing from picking up oil and dirt. A luggage rack is fitted on the back to help you transport small items or you can attach panniers for your groceries. Fenders are not included.

Men’s and women’s versions are available.

Best Cruiser Bikes Comparison Table

How To Choose The Best Cruiser Bike

• Gears
• Frames
• Tires
• Brakes
• Fenders
• Seats

If you’ve ever ridden a cruiser bicycle on a boardwalk, country road or shoreline you know the feeling of utter escape and leisure on a bicycle. In this article we’ve determined the best cruiser bikes for doing just this kind of laid-back riding. What are the best cruiser bikes?

If you want a cool looking bike to get around town, you can’t get cooler than a cruiser. Not only do cruiser bikes look good, they are also very comfortable to ride thanks to the upright riding position and wide balloon tires.

Comfort is the priority when it comes to cruiser bikes, so often heavier, cheaper materials are used in their construction, making them very affordable. This does not mean that you will get a poor quality bike and the higher weight is not such a disadvantage because you will not want to ride too fast on a cruiser anyway.

After all, they wouldn’t be called cruisers if you were meant to do anything other than cruise with them!

Once you have decided that you would like a cruiser, knowing what to look out for when purchasing one might not be very clear. To help you out, we have written this guide for you . We have also selected the best cruiser bikes on the market to save you shopping time.

Gears

Cruiser bikes come with all kinds of gear setups. The cruisiest of cruisers are singlespeed. Riding a bike could not be more relaxed if all you have to do is pedal and not think about changing gears. However, getting up hills can be a challenge on a singlespeed.

For this reason, most cruiser bikes have the option of gears. 3 and 7-speed setups are common and it is possible to find cruisers with 21 gears. As a cruiser bike is not meant for serious sport, 21 gears is overkill and you are very unlikely to need them all. For that reason, stick to 3-speed if you have a few minor hills in your area or 7-speed if the hills are steeper or higher.

Frames

Cruiser bike frames have a sturdy construction, using steel, alloy or aluminum. Steel is the heaviest but also very strong. It also has a slight flex, making the ride feel smoother. Aluminum is lighter but more rigid. Look for a frame that has a stretched out look to put you in a relaxed, cool looking ride position.

Tires

One of the main reasons that cruisers are so comfortable to ride is their use of wide balloon tires. These absorb all the small bumps that you ride over, creating a floating ride feel. These wide tires are also suited to riding on sand, so you can cruise along the shoreline at the beach.

You will want your tires to be robust and maybe have extra puncture protection to ward off broken glass or other sharp objects in the street. You should also pay attention to the rubber compound used. Softer compounds have better grip but less puncture resistance. Harder compounds have the advantage of less rolling resistance and a longer life.

Brakes

On a single-speed cruiser bike, you are most likely to find a single coaster brake. This type of brake engages when you pedal backwards. On cruisers with more gears, you will be able to reach higher speeds and therefore need more braking power, so a rim brake may be installed on the front to complement the coaster brake.

Higher gears need even more braking power so two rim brakes are the norm on 7-speed and 21-speed cruisers. Regardless of what combination of brakes your cruiser bike has, you absolutely need the brakes to work reliably.

Fenders

At some point you will end up riding your cruiser in the rain, or at least when there is still rainwater on the roads. Road spray can be very damaging to any bike, so if your cruiser comes fitted with fenders, these will help prolong its life. If no fenders are fitted, check that you will be able to attach some that you have bought yourself.

Seats

Cruisers have wide seats to support you in an upright riding position. It is also common to find cruiser bike seats with springs underneath them to soften the ride.

Thanks for reading The 5 Best Cruiser Bikes. We hope this article has helped you to discover the most functional cruiser-style bicycle for your needs and your preferences.  You might also be interested in our related review article, The 5 Best Beach Cruisers.

Enjoy your new cruiser bike and always be safe out on the road.

Thanks for reading The 5 Best Cruiser Bikes. We hope that this article was a helpful to you in your search for the best cruiser to meet your specific needs. Also see these informative articles, Top 10 Road Biking Routes in the United States and How To Get Started Road Biking – A Beginner’s Guide.

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Amazon Bestsellers for Cruiser Bicycles

[amazon bestseller=”cruiser bicycle” tracking_id=”vs-outsidepursuits-20″]

How We Researched

To come up with the top cruiser bikes, we researched a variety of sources for reviews such as CompetitiveCyclist, JensenUSA, REI, EVO along with our own personal experience.

We also consulted online magazines for product research and reviews to get as much unbiased information as we could. To help weed out fake reviews we used Fakespot.com to make sure we only looked at genuine reviews.

With so much quality gear available, we had to narrow it down based on what we felt were the best options for the price. The staff authors have a wide and varied background in road cycling, racing and bike packing.

The authors have decades of experience in cycling and eager to share their knowledge with readers.

To help narrow down the selection we used personal experiences along with recommendations from fellow cyclists, bloggers and bike shops.

After extensive research, we came up with our list to help you choose the right one for you.

Sources