Riding a beach cruiser bike may be one of the simplest things you can do. Unlike complex mountain bikes and other fancy bicycles with multiple accessories, beach cruisers tend to be simple and tend to be very easy to ride. Just hop on your beach cruiser, and you will enjoy the smooth, comfortable ride that beach cruiser bikes have become renowned for. However, to help ensure your safety and to ensure the long life of your beach cruiser, follow these tips for maintaining and riding your cruiser correctly:
1) Store your beach cruiser indoors, especially if rain is expected, you live in an environment with lots of moisture, or if dew may be present overnight. The chain and other parts of your cruiser may rust if left out in wet conditions over long periods of time. Although beach cruisers are created to be durable and long-lasting, any metal will rust when exposed moisture for long time. As certain parts of your beach cruiser rust -- including the chain -- your cruiser will simply not provide as smooth a ride as it should.
2) Avoid getting dirt, gravel, sand, and other fine particles into the gears or onto the bike chain of your beach cruiser. This will cause friction and will cause your beach cruiser to not ride smoothly. Over time, this sort of friction in the gears can also cause more wear and tear than necessary on your beach cruiser, shortening its lifespan.
3) If you must store your beach cruiser outside temporarily -- only in good weather, of course -- invest in a good lock. Ideally, use a U-lock that is heavy-duty and difficult to break through. Lock your tire to the frame of the beach cruiser bike and the bike frame to a proper bike rack. This will help ensure that a thief cannot steal the frame and also cannot remove the front tire in order to steal your beach cruiser bicycle. Even with a good quality U-Lock, theft can happen, although taking a few precautions makes it far less likely.
4) Obey traffic laws. Look out for signs telling bicyclists to walk their bikes, and always obey traffic signals and rules. Wear proper helmet and elbow and knee pads, if necessary by law in your municipality. Although beach cruisers tend to be more stable because of their thick tires, accidents can happen. An unevenness in the road, sudden stops, and other problems can make even the best bicyclists on the best and most stable bikes flip over, so take the proper precautions. Also, avoid talking on your cell phone, texting, or listening to music while on your beach cruiser. While it may be tempting to listen to something while riding around, music and talking can distract you from the traffic around you, and can make you more prone to accidents.
5) Regularly lubricate your gears, chains, and seat springs. You can use WD-40 to do this. This will help ensure that all parts of your bicycle work ideally for as long as humanly possible.
