Firmstrong Urban Man

I purchased the 3-speed cruiser in orange, and I think this is a great bike. I find the design and coloring pleasing to look at. When I ride it, it seems like other people are looking and appreciate it too. Maybe they just enjoy me enjoying it. I had a little problem because I ordered the fenders too and came up missing a nut (don't laugh). Firmstrong sent a set of replacement nuts and bolts as soon as they could, so I absolutely recommend the company and commend the service. Assembly is relatively straightforward but might be a challenge if you aren't familiar with the tools you might need. I had to flatten the rear tire to allow the wrench enough room to tighten a fender bolt. The directions indicate removal of the tire might be necessary, but I thought that might lead to a whole bunch of complications considering the gearing. The fenders by themselves are a little delicate and the paint scratched easily. I recommend binding your wrench handles with electrical tape (if they aren't already rubber coated) and using a cloth barrier to protect surfaces near the nuts as you work (if you can). The ride was a little stiff on the first go on the street. However, I adjusted the air pressure in the tires, and it smoothed out some. I'm currently deciding whether to mess with the seat springs or if it's worth it. I really want to use it on the beach. I think that is where it will be most comfortable.

I had this bike on my wishlist for while and finally broke down and purchased it. Now I don't no why I waited as long as I did! This bike is well worth the price considering all you get. It is comfortable to ride, the seat is nice and bouncy, the shifter is easy to operate, and it has coaster brakes! I did order the fenders to install along with the initial installation. As far as assembly, well, that went very smoothly and quickly. It took me about an hour to assemble and to put on the fenders, but I also took a couple of breaks. I have already recommended this bike to several co-workers and am very happy that I made the purchase. I will admit that I haven't found a use for the first gear on this bike as I live in a relatively flat area. The second gear is good for slow, enjoyable rides, and third gear is great for cardio activity and to really get going...I have topped out at 20MPH. This isn't a racing bike, it is designed for comfort and fun. Personally, I think it looks great and it rides really well. Again, if you are looking for a nice, comfortable, fun bike, this is it.

The bike was delivered very quickly, ordered on a Saturday got it Tuesday afternoon!!! The packaging was great, the box had a few holes in it from where the shipping company did not follow the directions printed largely on the box to “DO NOT LAY FLAT” each part in the box is either wrapped or has a plastic piece to hold it in place and prevent shifting in transit. The assembly portion was easy enough although ours didn’t come with the packet of grease like the directions said it would. We had some laying around I would imagine most would not. I’m 5’8” with a longer torso and the bike fits me pretty perfectly when I am standing with the bike in between my legs there isn’t much clearance but I don’t have to stand on my toes or anything. My boyfriend is 6’1” and the bike is also very comfortable for him. The seat is springy but still supportive, the ride is smooth thanks to the tires and the gears change quickly and accurately with a slick action the brakes are very good and easy to adjust! Overall it’s a really nice bike and given the price it’s kind of a steal! Plus we’ve already gotten a lot of looks and complements, I have a dog trailer attached to pull our 25 lbs Shiba Inu and the bike does so without any problems.

Its a 5 start bike. But I hit 4 because one tire looses air every other day - needs replacement. And that's what I did not expect for a new bike. And there is a small sound somewhere from chain or somewhere around and I don't have time to fix it. But what I like is: 1. the way I sit on it, this is just my number 1 bike among all I had. It is so comfortable to ride. Whether it is 10 min drive or an hour 2. the way it looks - game-changer for me and local neighborhood 3. The way it rides.... so smooth! One sped I have, but it is easiear for me then going on a mountain bike with 21 speeds. We have hills, but not mountains. 4. Handles - they do not like durable, but even during cold weather they are so nice on hands

I am a 71 year old male & I have been riding bicycles for many years. I have a Townie 21 speed which I absolutely love & I have put many miles on it. I have a one mile loop dirt road in my neighborhood & I have always wanted a 1 speed or 3 speed bike to ride this loop because I wanted something that would give me a good workout. The 1 mile loop is mostly uphill with about a 15 degree grade. I purchased the Urban Man 3 Speed Beach Cruiser with the intent of eventually being able to complete 10 miles on this 1 mile loop. I thought that this would provide me with a good cardio-vascular workout & provide more of a challenge than my 21 speed Townie, which I still use on longer rides. My Beach Cruiser arrived on schedule & very well packaged. The bike was very easy to put together(its almost all assembled) & I road it the same afternoon. There is a very slight front wheel wobble but I got the wheel trued at my local bike shop for a minimal fee. I have ridden my new Urban Man on the 1 mile loop & now & up to 5 miles & it gives my 71 year old body a great workout! I have also ridden my new Urban Man many miles on mostly level streets & I am very impressed with how smooth & easy the ride is! This is a very well made bike & is priced very reasonably! I would recommend this bike to any serious or leisure bike enthusiast!

I love this bike. It is very nice looking (I have the matte black 7-speed). Assembly is very easy - the bike does come mostly assembled; I just needed to install the front wheel, handle bar, seat, and adjust the brakes. The most difficult part of a bike assembly - the drive chain - are thankfully already done and in my case it did not require any adjustment. Only standard tools are required: 4 & 5 mm Allen Wrenches, standard or adjustable wrenches, philips screwdriver, and bicycle grease (I made do with some WD-40). The bike feels light despite its size (the product spec says it is 38 lbs). On the road it is a nimble and comfortable ride. It is essentially a road bike and doesn't handle bumps very well. A couple of thoughts (neither cons nor pros): (1) I am 5'6" and this bike is just a tad on the big side for me. I have the seat almost to the lowest level. I am able to stand on both feet on the bike, but just barely. I am thinking someone that's shorter than me may have a hard time with this bike, even though it is rated for 5'2" and above. (2) The handles spread wide. This perhaps makes the ride a bit more comfortable but it does make the bike feel bulky; it is a bit difficult to maneuver this through normal sized doors.

I am 6' 2" tall. The bike sets up perfectly for my height. I don't think that it would be large enough for anyone who is taller. The bike is easy to set up, although you need tools -- allen wrench, wrench set, phillips screwdriver. Plus, you will need a knife to cut the packing tape and a pliers to pull out the staples that hold the box together. I bought two bikes -- one for me and one for my wife. Once I understood the instructions, the second bike was easy to install. It took longer for the first bike, but the instructions were straight forward and simple. One person can assemble the bike easily in about 30 minutes. The gears on this bike (mine was a 3-speed) are amazingly smooth. There is sufficient range within the gears to account for hilly, but not steep hills, terrain. The bike does not feature quick release seat settings. So, you will need to adjust the seat with an allen wrench if the bike will be used by more than one person. The bike rides nicely. Brakes are coaster type (backward pressure on the pedals) and they work smoothly. Summary: A very nice cruising bike that is easy to assemble.

This review is for two FirmStrong bikes purchased at the same time. One Bella Fashionista Woman's and one Urban Men's. I will post the same review for both. My wife and I decided we wanted another form of exercise besides running. We rode around to the local bike shops and test drove a few bikes and decided a cruiser style was most comfortable and since we weren't commuting or planning on doing a tri anytime soon, we'd go with that style. The LBS cruisers ranged between $500 to $1200 depending on how they were equipped. That seemed a bit steep to me for a hobby I'm not sure I'm even going to stick with so I started my usual internet search. After reading countless reviews and stumbling through just as many websites, I decided to go with a FirmStrong bike. It seemed that for the money, overall it was the best deal. We like not having gears to shift and cables running all over the place so we decided to go with a single speed with coaster breaks. We found MUCH better availability of colors with the single speeds than we did the 3 and 7 speeds. To make it a little more useable, I purchased SRAM Automatix 2 speed hubs that I'll have the LBS lace into the rims (not done yet). With these we'll get the advantage of an extra gear while keeping the ascetics of the bike in tact. The bikes came from two separate suppliers with two different shippers. Usually Amazon Prime orders go really smoothly but lately many of my orders have been coming USPS instead of UPS or Fedex. I worked from home on the delivery day and around noon I got notification that USPS had tried to deliver my bike and nobody was home. Clearly that was a mistake as I hadn't left the house and there was no "We missed you" sticker on my door. After running around to two different post offices, and dealing with surly, unhelpful government employees, it turned out that my mail lady and her supervisor arbitrarily decided not to even load it on the truck! She was just going to come by and stick the notice on my door without even trying to deliver it! So much for home delivery! PATHETIC USPS SERVICE! Once I found where it was and convinced them to allow me to pick it up at their "no public service" facility, I had to load it up and take it home myself. Good thing I drive a truck and not some little car. In sharp contrast, the other bike came FedEx. It showed up exactly on time and the driver carried it into my garage and was friendly and cheerful. I wish I could click to decide which carrier delivered my prime deliveries. I'd pay more for that service just to avoid USPS at all costs. The bikes were packed well although the Urban was packed significantly better. Neither had any damage. Assembly was simple and straight forward apart from a missing fender screw on the Fashionista. I got it done in about a half hour for both bikes with a crescent wrench, a philips screwdriver and a 6mm hex key. No instructions, but if you've ever done anything with a bike, these are as basic as it comes. As for quality, that's another area I'll have to ding these bikes a bit. Here's the run down on the areas it looks like they shaved a little cost off compared to an Electra or other LBS bike. Cranks - They are forged steel one piece cranks and are functionally fine, but the forging is rough. It's not so rough it would snag on your pants, but it's close. They paint them so its not really obvious and they work fine, it's just cheap. The paint - The matte black was smooth but very, very thin. When I say thin I mean one coat sprayed on thin. If you look at it sideways, it's going to scratch to bare metal. I got the Urban in Emerald Green and from a distance it looks great. But when you get up to it, it’s a different story. It has a bit of metal flake to the finish and it leaves a rough to the touch texture on it. I quick buff with some polishing compound and the roughness is gone. The grips are foam garbage, be ready to replace them immediately. Lastly is the construction. I found loose bolts, over tightened bolts, missing screws, and little to no grease in the bottom bracket. All easily correctable, but it’s still more time you need to invest. I did have one big problem with the Fashionista. When my wife took it for it’s first ride down the street she commented that it didn’t pedal very smoothly. I figured the bottom bracket bearings were dry. When I took it apart to grease them, I found that the right side bearing was bent and missing two of the bearings. They weren’t rolling around in the bottom bracket so that means that it was installed that way! No harm done and $2.16 invested at the bike shop for a new bearing and a liberal application of grease and it’s smooth as butter. I guess the moral of the story is and has always been, you get what you pay for. If you buy a bike from the LBS, you will get all the same components and basically the exact same bike for twice the cost. BUT, you will also get a competent bike mechanic to put it together and test it before you pick it up. You will get someone local who will stand behind their work and none of these nagging little issues will become your issue to fix. All that said, I am satisfied with these bikes. For what we want them for, they are fine and look good. I’m pretty handy and these bikes are pretty basic so getting them up and running correctly and maintaining them will be no issue. Even with the little bit of aggravation and unexpected surprises, I still have an extra $600 in my pocket from what I was going to spend at the LBS and frankly, my bikes look better and now ride just as well. So, if you are handy and mechanically inclined, go for it. If you want something that you can take out of the box and just ride, do yourself a favor and give the LBS some business.