The Different Types of Low Rider Bikes
By Howard Giske
If you want to get into low rider bikes, start off with a basic model. You can order one from the Internet and assemble it yourself. It’s frankly good practice to put your mail-order together, even if it only takes you an hour or so. Then, you can get the idea how you can alter a basic low rider and turn it into something really special.

Let’s look at what a low rider is made of. It starts with an 18 to 20-inch frame, and straight spoke low rider wheels. Add to that a bent Fork, a Bent Sissy Bar, a Low rider Banana Seat, 2 Bee Lights w/Visors, and a Trumpet Horn.

If you want to get lower than that, you can try a 16-inch frame with 20-inch wheels. It doesn’t matter if you have a small frame, because you can extend the banana seat up to the height that you want it. Add to that hi-wire steel fork handlebars and a strong steel frame, and you’re all set. Don’t forget the fat tires, the 2 ¼ inch ones that are perfect for coasting on sand by the beach.

Lots of low riders like to elongate and widen the mid section of the bike. After all, if the is longer, you have more room to stretch out your legs. That’s how you get a six foot guy riding a that goes 18-inches off of the ground. And why leave it with just a bar connecting the two wheels? If you have a wider, spiraling metal section, it doesn’t add a huge amount of weight to the bike, but it does give you much more surface areas to put your 10-coat paint job. You can put your demons and elves, your witches and warlocks and really create a work of art. This is where you show off your paint job, your psychedelic colors and any racing stripes you want to add.

Basic low rider bikes



don’t look that much different than their beach cruiser cousins. The main difference is sometimes a slightly lower frame, and a big banana seat to compensate for any low-level of height. Some of the stranger bikes are much lower to the ground and more elongated. A lot of times, on the low rider the seat itself is quite low. Some guys or gals aren’t sure if they are riding a bike, or getting ready to take a nap. That a bit of an exaggeration, but especially the show bikes, are so low that many of them are hard to ride at all. One has been modified to the point that the pedals would drag on the ground.

Bicycles have become a fashion statement. Thick fenders, and thick mid-sections create more area to decorate. You can even attach an extra bumper. Many people place extra lights on their Low Rider Bicycles including Glow lights. Low Rider Bicycles are more of a statement of fashion than a way to ride around. Some fifty years after their introduction Low Rider Bicycles, Beach Cruisers and Chopper Bicycles, they’re back in action.
Howard Giske writes about beach cruiser bikes and on
Beach Cruiser Blog



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