Over the years we both have owned a number of bikes, but these are the ones that we have right now, the ones we use to slow-bike our way around Miami Beach.
This is my bike, an Electra Townie 7D. Townies are what I consider beach cruisers 2.0 and in that regard, my Townie excels. I can ride on the street and to some extent on sand, and the laid back design means I always ride in style. It is made of aluminum, which means it is light, and with 7 speeds it can handle South Beach like no one’s business. A really nice ride, perfect for my beach side home.
This is Yvette’s bike, an Electra Amsterdam Classic 3 Yellow Tulip from City Bikes in Aventura, FL. Yvette had been riding around with her old mountain bike but what she really wanted was a Dutch-style city bike, like the ones we had seen in Holland and used in Belgium, so after extensive research, she found Electra Bikes, who produce a Dutch-style series of bikes aptly named Amsterdam meant to be city commuter bikes. This bike rides like a dream. It is made of steel so it is very sturdy, yet pretty light considering. It comes with a front-wheel generator headlight, and solid back rack, not to mention the skirt guard, something you just don’t find in American bikes. The only drawback it has is that it doesn’t do off-road, however light, that well. It’s understandable, considering what it is patterned after, but as I mentioned above, the streets and sidewalks of Miami (Beach or otherwise) are not necessarily bike-friendly, so it leads to careful maneuvering. Still, a small price to pay for an amazing bike.
