Quick Release & cheap mechanical brakes for the win! With the original front wheel bent and getting repaired I had to improvise.

Business up front (2.1 tires with a rounder profile is about the max width for the chromo fork on this bike)


Party out back!!

This slick looking tire does shockingly well on gravel, dirt, asphalt and even bumpy root filled single track if your a glutton for punishment. It excels on the smoother stuff but it can take a beating.



Of course the wind blows it over while I’m taking a pic.



My local bike shop rocks. Fixed in one day at no charge! (Bike is under warranty)

This is me and Sig Forum is indirectly responsible. I learned of Sierra Trading Post here and STP ran these Schwinn 3 speed cruisers on close out for $199 free shipping. I snagged one. Came in a big box mostly assembled and I had no trouble finishing it up.

My Shaft-Driven Dynamic Runabout 7-speed I've had since about 2003. Made somewhere in Asia I think, imported and sold by Dynamic Bicycles, out of Massachusetts.

These days, I think Dynamic is mostly into ride-share bikes and they offer or did offer a Police version of this Runabout for municipal duties.

The front shocks are adjustable and together with the shaft drive, make this a smooth and comfortable rider.

No oily chain to maintain, wear or get in the way. Internal gears in the shaft drive allow shifting into any gear at any speed ... even sitting still. In operation, a gear change is precise and instantaneous with no lag. Much less maintenance and much fewer components to wear and require periodic adjustment.

Changes I made to the bike as shipped from Dynamic include, Marathon Plus Schwalbe tires and tubes, cruiser handle bars, Selle Royal Classic Journey Relaxed Bike Saddle and Selle Royal Mano Relaxed Grips. I can't imagine it ever wearing out or aluminum frame rusting away. Oh and I also stripped it as much as possible, even of decals and stripes. I made it mine.

Sure, shaft drive adds a few ounces of weight over conventional chain drive but it isn't even noticed whatsoever in my upright urban riding and choice of 7 speeds (shaft drive 7spd ratios said to be equivalent to about 17 of a 24spd chain bike) . Just a smooth and effortless joy. Love this bike and I'll NEVER be without reliable transportation ... even if it is less than one(1) horsepower

... and I did have a mid 90's Schwinn Cruiser that I'd put a lot of wear on, got tired of keeping in almost seemingly constant adjustment (the precise shaft drive ruined me LOL), put a sign on "Free to Good Home" and stuck out on the curb. Don't know who got it. I miss that bike for the old school looks but at the end of the day, the shaft-driven bike is really the only bike I need. MUCH lighter, faster and smoother than my beloved old Schwinn Supreme. Just doesn't look as good as the old school Schwinn ... maybe. I'm 68 this year and lighter, faster, smoother just works best I guess.

Shaft drive!?!? NOW that is a cool design!

I’m loving the beach cruisers too.

If it’s got two wheel you know I love.it Now what I truly adore are the odd ball designs like belt drive, gear boxes and shaft drive. It’s so cool to see the creative ways people design bicycle drive trains. I’m loving the little cottage industry of frame builders too. There are some amazing bikes being built in small shops in the USA and UK!

I used to bitch about the spandex clad cyclists riding the shoulder rather than the empty sidewalk. Well as life goes on I’m slowly becoming one of those cyclists in the road.

If any of you are considering a road bike or a gravel bike DO IT! They are soooooooooooooo much more efficient and faster than your typical knobby tire Mountain bike.

Never seen a shaft drive pedal bike, very interesting.

Giant 2006 or 2007 vintage OCR Limited, upgraded with DT Swiss racing wheels.

I also have an early '90s CB Zip trail bike.

Just picked up a Giant Revolt Advanced 2 M/L gravel bike. Going to use it for Katy Trail(local trail) and road riding. Got it set up right now with Wahoo Kickr and Climbr (picked up both still in box at an estate sale) with Zwift for indoor training right now.

Going to get a bike rack trailer hitch added to my car.

I might pick up a Trek mountain bike (either hardtail or full suspension, haven't decided yet) in a couple months.

I forgot how fun it is to ride one of these. I taught one of my sons friends how to ride a bike today with my old Specialized FatBoy.

Then when the boys got bored with bikes I took it for a ride around the neighborhood for a few miles. Whoa! What a fun, nostalgic and intense physical experience it was to go back to only one gear and 20 inch tires. Even after all the years I felt almost more comfortable on a 20 inch bike going fast than I do on my 26,27.5 & 29er bikes.

I like oddities and the frame on this FatBoy is unique! No, for an aluminum frame it isn’t light but nothing from this era was. I’m glad I bought a lot of mid school (1990-2000’s) era BMX frames, forks and parts before the market went insane. Building em up is pretty fun too.

Stickman it is funny you mention BMX stuff today. My boys and I went to the local bike shop to pick up my wife’s new 2 wheeled ride yesterday.
The had a GT JR performer hanging in the window and my 7 year old froze and was immediately was in love!
I wanted a GT when I was a kid and ended up with a Mongoose which was an awesome bike.

So the boy will be getting a GT this summer. I see a BMX in my future too.
Though my Mongoose may very well still be in the barn at my Mom’s house.

My road bike and mountain bike are both Specialized.
Pretty sure Specialized is out of the BMX game so may look for a used Fatboy. My buddy had a red one and it was a slick bike.

So a skateboard and BMX bike look to be in my future.

This is the first day I brought mine home 11 years ago. Still have the SRAM Rival, but I switched out the entry level wheels with a set of Mavic Ksyrium Pro's. Look Keo pedals are on now. Pictured was a set of 20 year old Look race pedals. Harder than hell to get into. I promised myself a new bike on my 60th birthday, but I think I'm going to keep this one a while longer. bikesmall by Kent Matthew, on Flickr

specialized epic pro:

First ride of the spring. It felt good to be back on the trails!

I managed to scoop up a pretty darn cool bike!!! The older rigid fork Marin Pine Mountain sort of takes the DNA of the BMX bikes I used to race and beautifully combines it with the extra gears and larger dimensions of a mountain bike. Newer models of the Pine Mountain have added a front suspension and thinner tires.

This one isn’t mine (mine is in pieces right now) but when it is assembled it will look almost identical to this Pine Mountain.

The 29inch wheels will be swapped out for plus size 27.5 wheels somewhere in the range of 3-3.5 inches wide. This IMO should be close to the sweet spot size for a fun tire to thrash on the MANY trails in my neighborhood.

Trek FX. I’d post a pic, but I am not at home.

This one. I bought it new and it’s still in excellent condition, just with street tires and a comfy seat now.

Stingray, Pierce Arrow 10 speed, Motobecane, Gitane,Masi Prestige and a Proflex 957..

High school - Schwinn Varsity, then Peugeot PX-10LE



Leant it to my brother, it got ripped off.

Got a Centurion Comp TA for myself as a USNA graduation present.


For the past 20 years, it has been a Raleigh M80