So, I am looking for a cruiser to enjoy rides with my 7 and 5 year old son, I came across felt, and like these three. But am looking for insight if any on the quality of this brand of bike, I have been removed from riding for about 10 or so years. I am also looking to spend between $500-$800.
Felt makes nice stuff. Pretty much any bike shop brand will do just fine.
You could check out Electra, too. They’ve got tons of cruisers.
to second the above, Felt is a good company. Cruisers and other city/town bikes from companies that are known for their more performance oriented bikes usually have little to do with the company though… Ultimately the name doesn’t represent the actual quality of the bike, but it does mean that you probably have the company’s warranty back up. At the cruiser level its hard to go wrong with parts and materials anyway since the general use cases are so light.
From personal experience, the Giant bicycle’s “Simple” line are fairly nice. Trek also has a few models under the name “Pure” that are “foot forward” designs and kind of nice. The Pure-S is the single speed / coaster brake model and might fit your needs.
Dang Jesse… now you’ve got me interested!
With no derailleur to mess with, and a $490 price tag, the Simple Three looks like the deal for putzing around town.
Yeah Lew, the 3 speed internal hubs are pretty nice on these kinds of bikes. Easy to adjust.
If you want a more local option, there is a company in Long Beach called 3G that makes a lot of cruisers including a couple 3 speed models. I’m not sure where they are sourcing theirs from, but it’s not the same place that’s building most of the others. (compare the forks on the felt and the Giant pictured above… ) I rented one of the 3G’s when I was in town for the IDSA western conference and enjoyed it. good bike. http://www.3gbikes.com/
I’d consider a bike with a belt drive. Lower maintenance.
Yes.
Although, I’ve seen some issues arise using a belt drive on a mountain bike for trail riding. Tends to slip under high tension. Even slips off. Of course Gates points back to improper setup, which I find hard to believe given this was a demo at Interbike… By Gates…
But belt drive cruiser or commuter is an amazing choice particularly in harsh climates of the Midwest.
Check out what Fairdale is doing. Taj came from the bmx industry so he is definitely building solid bikes. I haven’t ridden one yet but I’d like to.
+1 I had a REEB singlespeed in on review for a while and it was a blast- a fun bike for trail riding or fooling around. As long as I wore headphones. Could never keep the belt drive quiet for more than 30 minutes in dry, dusty New Mexico.
While the Felt, Electra, and Giant lines are excellent, what about something like the Civilian Ramble?
Well equipped for $400 shipped- and usually on sale at at least one of the Backcountry sites. The rack will be nice when errand time comes, the fenders when it rains, and the 700c wheels should be a bit faster and more comfortable over moderate distances. No 3-speed, though…
I’ve always been a fan of Taj. I had one of his signature bikes while he was on Hoffman, and later a Solid Killing Machine. (the manufacturers unbranded version of the T1 Barcode) I was interested when he started up fairdale, but I have to say that I don’t have a very good understanding of what kind of market he’s trying to reach. Just took a look at the current offerings and there are some interesting pieces there.
The Electra Townie or Cruiser series would get my dollars. They do some different stuff with geometry that allows it to look and feel like a cruiser, but with their ‘flat-foot’ geometry that I imagine would be very helpful for getting on and off and helping kids do stuff.
Probably trying to reach BMX’ers like us who are now too old to ride a BMX bike without looking like a pedophile. 
Interesting marketing meeting- I’d like to have seen the red ocean/ blue ocean pie chart of that demographic.
Anyone used a Nuvinci hub? Ellsworth had a cruiser with one a few years ago, but I cant find it. Orbea Carpe’s are very popular here, good prices but apart from a fixed gear model, all are derailleurs.