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I want to ride my bi-cy-cle Jan 15, 2008
For Christmas, Ashley and I decided to get each other bicycles. She didn’t have one at all (the horror!) and my 12-year-old mountain bike had a wonky shifter and some dry-rotted tires.
David, who’s quite the two-wheel pedaling enthusiast, joined us for a trip to the local bike shop. We were in the market for some cruisers. There are not very many mountains in Florida, and we don’t plan on entering any races. We tried a few of the brands we’d heard of, but Ashley was angling towards the section with the retro-looking Electra bikes.
Having never heard of Electra, I was quite skeptical, but as soon as I rode one I didn’t care where they were from. These bikes are just plain cool; you sit upright, but the pedals are moved forward of the seat to provide a pedaling position that’s somewhere between a standard bike and a recumbent. They had lots of neat finishes, too, and I totally dug the satin black with blacked-out hardware and wheels. Best of all, they just ride like a dream. The bikes are really comfortable for cruising long distances.
After we bought ‘em, I Googled the company; turns out Electra is a California company that has quite a bit of cred among bike fanatics. They’re all aluminum, TIG-welded frames, and the gear is all Shimano. We went with their more standard Townie series, but they have some specialty bikes, including one that looks like a Rat Rod.
Highly recommended, if you’re ever at a bike shop and they have one, give it a try, you might just remember how much fun riding bicycles is.
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