Firmstrong Bruiser Man Beach Cruiser Bicycle

I come from a mountain biking background, but have recently been leisurely cruising the rails to trails bike paths with my wife. I didn’t really need a mountain bike, and the hybrids didn’t really catch my attention much, but when I saw this bike I decided to order it. I was torn between it & the three-six-zero which was out of stock for like 6months.I was going to buy directly from beachbikes.com, however for some reason the shipping was cheaper on Amazon so I bought through Amazon. The sellers were very helpful throughout the process with email updates, and even instructions/videos on how to assemble your bike. I used to work at a bike shop, so assembly was a breeze on this especially since there were no handbrakes to adjust.I’m about 5’8, 185#, and the bike is perfect for me, or guys plenty bigger. When i straddle the top tube, there’s not much clearance – but this is a tall & long bike. The “Chief” model would definitely be nice for BIG guys.It’s about impossible to find a bike that’s not made in China these days, so after trying to find one made in USA I opted for the Firmstrong. There’s not many cooler looking cruisers, and it’s nice to have the 1 top tube so you can put it on a car bike rack easily. Other brands/models have a second top tube that can get in the way. I was very impressed on how well the bike was made – very solid construction and seems like it’ll last for years to come. The 3spd is nice – it shifts flawlessly from one gear to the next smoothly with no grinding. Low gear for intermediate hills – I wouldn’t want to go up very steep hills for long periods of time. 2nd gear cruises around 10-12mph on flat ground with minimal effort, and you can really get moving in top/3rd gear maybe 20 mph zipping along. It’s tough getting used to using coaster brakes like back when you were 9yrs old, so that’s a transition. Seat is comfortable.I tried to hold out for the 7spd, but I couldn’t find it in stock anywhere. I like the look of the 3spd more since it’s got less cables, however the 7spd seems like the best deal since it’s the same price, but has hand brakes & 4 more speeds. You can’t really go wrong with either. Mine gets looks galore especially in a rustbelt city where you don’t see many beach cruisers.Cons: No water bottle screws in the frame, so you’ve got mount one on the handlebars, use a backpack, or a basket. It’d also be nice if there was a quick release on the seat and front wheel – but you can add one to your seatpost if you were deadset on it.The bottom line: If you can find this in stock, buy it from beachbikes – they’ve got great customer service based on my one experience with them. [...]