Got a question? Hopefully the answer to it is below: We’ve tried to make this section fairly comprehensive - covering everything from details on the bikes and trailers themselves, to warranties, assembly, and more - but there’s a lot of ground to cover and we’ve undoubtedly missed something. If you find whatever that is that we’ve missed, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know and we’ll let you know the answer, then get it on here as soon as we can!
Available now: Click here to orderWe like to say that our bikes can go anywhere from about 20 miles using just the motor and not pedaling at all to over 50+ miles using just the lowest level of pedal assist and pedaling the entire time. These are pretty good estimates - but the fact is the battery range and distance that the Vineyard Cruiser bike can go on a single charge can vary greatly due to many different things: the riders weight and his or her pedaling ability, the terrain being ridden on, the number of hills during your ride (both up and down) and the weather conditions that day. Because of this, capacity and distance will be different for every single rider. We tested both of the above scenarios on the standard 350w single speed bike with stock tires and a 5’ 10”, 180+ pound rider on a windy day riding a flat course and got results very similar to those numbers - 18.5 miles using just the throttle (Click here for Strava results) and 53.4 miles for the same rider / day using pedal assist 1 only (Click here for Strava results). | - Return to top -
In many areas an electric bike is no longer street legal if it’s motor continues to provide power after reaching 20mph, which is the limit set on the Vineyard Cruiser at the factory. This is controlled by a setting in the bike’s built in computer, and while you can pedal and go as fast as you are physically able to, the motor will stop providing assistance once it measures your speed at 20mph. | - Return to top -
No, you do not have to pedal. You can if you want to, but if not, you can use the provided thumb throttle to sit back and relax in comfort and style instead. | - Return to top -
Yes, the Vineyard Cruiser comes standard with a thumb controlled throttle that provides you with 0% to 100% power on demand. | - Return to top -
In some areas electric bikes are not considered bikes but motor vehicles if they can be operated with a throttle. If this is the case in your area, - or if you would just simply prefer to not have a throttle - we make it extremely easy to remove by providing a waterproof quick release connector to allow you to quickly and easily take it off the bike. | - Return to top -
Pedal assist is a system that detects when you are pedaling the bike and applies power to the motor to help propel you along – in essence, assisting your pedaling. The Vineyard Cruiser electric bikes use a series of small magnets to detect this and provide three levels of assist – 1 (low), 2 (medium), and 3 (high) – which control how much power is added to your pedaling. Many riders find that using pedal assist level one with a minimal pedaling effort equates to about 10 to 12 mph on flat terrain, or the perfect speed for cruising along, carrying on a conversation, and enjoying the path less traveled. | - Return to top -
The LCD screen shows your current speed, current level of pedal assist, battery life indicator, time of day, and trip or total distance ridden. | - Return to top -
The Vineyard Cruiser frame is constructed out of strong but lightweight 6061 aluminum. | - Return to top -
The Vineyard Cruiser bikes come in only one size, which is best described as a ‘medium’ in a traditional bike sizing sense. While the total bike itself has a large presence, they are extremely adjustable and comfortable to ride; We’ve had people from as short at 5 foot even to as tall as 6’ 6” on them and they all had a blast. They also are available in both a traditional or a step-through frame; while many people prefer the look of one style or the other, the top tube height on the step-through is technically lower, so if you are concerned about height this might be a better option for you. | - Return to top -
The standard model of the Vineyard Cruiser bike comes equipped as a single speed bike. We offer an optional upgrade package that includes a higher wattage motor – 500w vs the standard 350w - and adds a 7 speed cassette, thumb shifter, and derailleur. | - Return to top -
There are 4 color combos available: Teal with Cream Rims, Dark Red with Black Rims, Cream with Black Rims, and Dark Green with Cream Rims. | - Return to top -
We’re sorry, but at this time you can not change the color of the rims from those offered as the standard rim color for the bike you would like. | - Return to top -
The weight limit of the Vineyard Cruiser bike is 275 lbs. | - Return to top -
We offer two frame styles for the Vineyard Cruiser, a traditional and a step-through frame. Both are a classic beach cruiser style of frame and what we would consider unisex, with either being appropriate for male or female riders; the main difference between the two, outside of appearance, is that some find the lower top tube on the step-through model to be easier to get on and off of. | - Return to top -
Yes - The Vineyard Cruiser bike comes equipped with a bell integrated into the left hand brake lever of the bike. | - Return to top -
Yes – The Vineyard Cruiser bikes include a set of steel color matched front and rear fenders and chain guard standard. | - Return to top -
Not in the traditional sense – Vineyard Cruisers do not have the ability to set a speed and maintain it. They do, however, have a single low speed option that acts similar to cruise control; this ‘walking’ speed mode allows you to comfortably ride without pedaling next to a person walking while carrying on a conversation. | - Return to top -
Some will, most won’t. If your pannier bag is a single side style and attaches to the bike via clips, the tubing on the rear rack of the Vineyard Cruiser is often to large (it’s 16mm) and the clips won’t fit over them. There are some options available that do work, such as the adjustable clip system on the Axium bags or the large bendable hooks on some Nantucket Basket Company baskets, but be sure to double check the maximum size of the clips on any bag you are considering purchasing. We’ve also yet to find a double sided bag that fits the extra wide rear rack width, but if we do we’ll be sure to update this section. | - Return to top -
The main difference from a use standpoint is that the 500w motor should have more power going up hills or through more difficult conditions such as sand or snow. One important thing to keep in mind, though, is that while the larger motor is in theory more powerful, it is not any faster and can actually feel slower than the standard option, which will often seem more peppy. | - Return to top -
The Vineyard Cruiser bike at heart is just that – a bike. Outside of the electronics, motor, and battery, there are no additional issues with water than you would face on a traditional bike and you should treat it with the same level of care expected of any quality bicycle. As for the various electrical components on the Vineyard Cruiser, they are what should be considered water resistant but not waterproof; assuming proper care is taken to store the bike indoors and dry it off after a wet ride, rain shouldn’t be a problem, while submerging any part of the electronics in liquid would quickly destroy them. | - Return to top -
In the US, the federal government states that any electric bike with a maximum motor size of 750 watts that has the speed limited to a maximum of 20 mph is legally considered a bicycle: The Vineyard Cruiser falls within this framework and would be considered no different than a traditional bicycle under it. That being said, the final determination as to whether or not an electric bike is allowed to be ridden on the streets or in any other location where a traditional pedal only bike is allowed is determined by individual state and local communities, leading to a patchwork of regulation that can vary greatly from one to another. While many - if not most – areas follow the federal standard or have enacted laws similar to it but with slight changes (IE: Must wear a helmet, have a drivers license, slightly different max speeds, etc), some have gone in the other direction and banned all electric bikes as a whole. It is your responsibility to check the local laws in the area where you intend to ride your Vineyard Cruiser and ensure that you are riding within them at all times. | - Return to top -
Yes, the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike has a 12 month part replacement warranty against manufacturing defects for the original owner of the bike from the date of purchase, provided that certain criteria are met: Because our bikes are shipped directly to the consumer and require some assembly, we ask that in order to activate your warranty you either have your bike professionally assembled by a bike shop or, if you would like to assemble it yourself, you have a bike shop perform a quick check over / basic tune up of the assembled bike within 10 days of receiving it and that you register your bike and upload a copy of the receipt for the assembly or tune up within 14 days of receipt. | - Return to top -
Our warranty and bike registration process is in place to ensure that you are safe – and happy – with your new purchase. While we are quite confident that you are utterly fantastic at whatever you do on a daily basis, you undoubtedly are not a professional bike mechanic. And believe it or not, while a bike may seem like a few simple pieces of metal welded together, they are actually strangely complex pieces of machinery. By having a professional either assemble or check your bike, we are able to catch and address any issues that might be present far sooner than we might otherwise, leading to less failures and potential injuries. Ensuring that the bike is properly assembled and that all parts are working as they should from day one also allows us to confidently offer you the peace of mind that comes with a 12 month parts replacement warranty on all non-consumable parts, and to ensure that you’re going to have the most enjoyable time possible on your bike from day one. | - Return to top -
If you have followed the criteria to activate your warranty within the time frame required, pretty much anything that isn’t designed to wear out is covered under our 12 month parts replacement warranty against manufacturing defects for the original owner of the bike. This includes the frame, the motor, the LCD screen, the batteries, and the charger. It does not include things like the tires, tubes, brake pads, cables and housings, grips, or the saddle, nor does it include damage to any part of the bike, including water damage of any sort, or the paint. It also does not include labor to diagnose, remove, install, or replace defective parts, nor shipping (to or from our location) for replacement items: Both of these are the responsibility of the purchaser. | - Return to top -
No. The 12 month part replacement warranty against manufacturing defects that is provided with the Vineyard Cruiser bike is only available to the original purchaser of the bike. | - Return to top -
Your Vineyard Cruiser is at it’s heart a bicycle – the vast majority of the parts on it can be serviced at any local bike store, just like any other bike. And the same is often true for the electrical components as well - due to the rising popularity of electric bikes, many communities have either a specialized electric bike store or their local bike stores are familiar with and able to address problems or issues with motors, controllers, batteries, and more. | - Return to top -
The batteries provided with your Vineyard Cruiser are high quality lithium ion batteries that do not have a memory effect – depending on how low you drain the battery between charges, you should have no problem getting 600 to 800 charge cycles before it needs to be replaced. | - Return to top -
The time it takes to charge your battery is dependent on how low you have drained it before plugging it in: Most of the time it take an hour or two to top it off, but if you have brought the battery down to completely empty, it will take approximately 6 hours to bring it back to 100%. | - Return to top -
The Vineyard Cruiser bikes have two methods of reading the remaining battery life: Via the LCD screen on the bike itself (Visible by turning the bike on) or by pressing the small button on the rear of the battery casing. This secondary method allows you to see the battery life if you have removed it from the bike and brought it inside with you for charging. | - Return to top -
No, the Vineyard Cruiser does not come equipped with regenerative braking, nor does it recharge as you pedal the bike. While both of these are fantastic concepts, adding them to the bike would add significant complexity and cost. | - Return to top -
The bike has two power switches that must be used to turn the bike on: There is a manual ‘lockout style’ switch on the battery itself that must be turned to the ‘on’ position in order for the bike to function (This does not turn the bike itself on and can be left in the ‘on’ position at all times if you prefer), as well as a traditional power button on the thumb control located on the left of the handlebar. After ensuring that the switch on the battery is in the on position, simply hold the power button down until the LCD screen lights up, hop on, and you’re good to go. To turn the bike off, you simply hold the thumb control power button down until the LCD goes blank. The bike will also turn itself off to conserve battery life after 10 minutes of no activity. | - Return to top -
Ensure that the bike is powered up, then simply hold the + and - keys on the thumb control till the front and rear lights turn on (This also turns on the LCD backlight). | - Return to top -
The backlight for the LCD turns on with the headlight – ensure that the bike is powered up, then simply hold the + and - keys on the thumb control till the LCD screen lights up and the front and rear lights turn on. | - Return to top -
It’s important to keep in mind that the key provided does NOT lock your bike or prevent it from being ridden – it locks the battery to the bike and is both a security precaution to ensure that the battery itself is not stolen, as well as a safety measure to ensure that the battery does not inadvertently become loose during use. The keys can be removed during riding in either the locked or unlocked position. | - Return to top -
Some of the photos of the Vineyard Cruiser bikes, particularly those in Martha’s Vineyard, are of earlier prototypes of the bikes and show things that are different from, or may not have ended up on, the final version of the bikes. In this instance, we were experimenting with including a frame mounted front basket and this was part of the bracket that attached it to the bike, but ultimately decided it. | - Return to top -
Some of the photos of the Vineyard Cruiser bikes, particularly those in Martha’s Vineyard, are of earlier prototypes of the bikes and show things that are different from, or may not have ended up on, the final version of the bikes. The kickstand shown on those bikes is a great example – we hadn’t yet figured out where we were going to place the final version, so we were using an aftermarket clamp style one. | - Return to top -
Some of the photos of the Vineyard Cruiser bikes, particularly those in Martha’s Vineyard, are of earlier prototypes of the bikes and show things that are different from, or may not have ended up on, the final version of the bikes. The square front light you see on the front of the red bike in some photos is one of these things – it had a built in ‘horn’ which could be used instead of the bell, so we thought it might be a good choice. Unfortunately, while the horn was a cool trick, it wasn’t very good at it’s primary function – lighting up the road in front of you - so it was scrapped for the far brighter one that is included on the final version of the bike. | - Return to top -
Some of the photos of the Vineyard Cruiser bikes, particularly those in Martha’s Vineyard, are of earlier prototypes of the bikes and show things that are different from, or may not have ended up on, the final version of the bikes. One of the things that we experimented with was the style of throttle to use, like the twist throttle shown in some of the photos. We found that the twist & thumb throttles both worked equally as well and were both comfortable and easy to use; the thumb throttle won out in the end though because we really wanted to make it as simple as possible to remove the throttle if you didn’t want it, something that was easier to accomplish with the thumb one than a twist throttle. | - Return to top -
Shipping in the US is a flat rate of $175.00 per Vineyard Cruiser. We currently do not ship internationally. | - Return to top -
If your shipping address is in New York state, we are required to collect sales tax on the total cost of your bike, including shipping and handling, and any purchased accessories. | - Return to top -
No, this is not possible. We are a direct to consumer internet retailer - meaning at this point in time we only sell our bikes and trailers online, and are not equipped for, or able to offer, local pickup. | - Return to top -
At this point in time we are only offering the Vineyard Cruisers in the US. We are hoping to offer international sales as some point soon though, so if this is something that interests you please sign up for our newsletter to learn when we do. | - Return to top -
Yes – Some assembly is required. Just like the vast majority of bikes shipped, our bikes come about 85% assembled and require that you are able to install the handlebars, the seat post, the font wheel, the front fender, the pedals, adjust the brakes, and properly seat the tires in the rims when inflating them. We’ve included a tool kit with all of the tools that you would need to do so, including a screwdriver, wrench, and allen keys. That being said, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you have your bike assembled by a professional bike mechanic at your local bike store; in fact we feel so strongly about this that we’ve made professional assembly or having a checkup done within 10 days of receiving your bike a requirement for your warranty. | - Return to top -
Adjusting the brakes and correctly seating the tires within the rims; Getting disk brakes adjusted ‘just right’ requires an experienced hand that comes from doing it many times, as does getting such large tires seated in rims that are at the outside edge of their tolerance ranges. (The main issue with a lack of proper seating of the tires is a ‘lumpy’ or ‘not round’ feel to the bike’s ride) | - Return to top -
We offer a very limited selection of spare parts for sale at this point in time – including spare batteries and chargers - but are planning on greatly expanding our selection in the near future. In the meantime, outside of the electronic components, everything on our bikes is a standard part by known manufacturers and your local bike shop should be able to get spare parts for you if you need them. | - Return to top -
Of course. We’ve tried to include as many different things as we could to make the bike an all inclusive type of purchase, but understand that some really just want to standout from the crowd (more than riding a beach cruiser with 4 inch tires already does). At it’s heart, the Vineyard Cruiser is a bike – and it can be customized to your heart’s content just like any other bike. To make this easy, where possible we’ve tried to use industry standard sizes and components on the Vineyard Cruiser, which should make the vast majority of parts and pieces on the bike interchangeable with products purchased elsewhere. | - Return to top -
Yes, an owners manual with assembly instructions is shipped with the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire electric bike. A PDF version and ‘how to’ videos are currently in production and should be available online soon. | - Return to top -
The Vineyard Cruiser is a big, heavy, bike - with fenders. There is no getting around the fact that finding a reliable way to transport it can be a difficult exercise in frustration (or at least it was for us). Most bike racks don’t support some combination of the weight or the fat tires, and the one or two that can handle those generally can’t be used with fenders on the bike (IE: The Thule T2). The one exception that we found was a ‘super duty’ rack with a fat tire adaptor by a company called 1UP – we took a set of the prototype bikes 2k miles roundtrip on one and they mostly survived intact (with a few heavy duty wear marks to the tires from rubbing). The biggest downside to these racks is the cost: As of Feb 2016, a single ‘super duty’ rack (needed for the weight) with the fat kit adaptor starts at about $400 plus shipping, the double version is just over $600, and the three bike one (max # of bikes) is $880. | - Return to top -
No, the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer is only available in one color combination – black with a red liner/cover. In some photos you may see other color trailers, however these are custom ‘one off’ style trailers made just for display purposes. | - Return to top -
No. In the future we may offer a black liner to replace our standard red one, but at this point in time the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer is only available in one color combination – a black frame with a red liner/cover. | - Return to top -
Yes. Folding down or reassembling the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer takes just a few minutes: The liner is attached to the frame with velcro strips and the frame itself is held in place by a number of ‘quick release’ style attachment points. These allow you to quickly and easily remove the wheels and hitch bar and then fold down the top supports to create a much smaller footprint for storage or transport. | - Return to top -
The 12mm bore hole on the provided trailer hitch attachment is designed to work with heavy duty fat tire bike axels as well as those found on most sizes of standard bicycles. | - Return to top -
Of course! While the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer is the perfect companion to our fat tire electric bikes, it will work with the vast majority of bikes out there – including other electric bikes. Keep the weight of the trailer in mind though: Because it is primarily intended to be pulled behind an electric bike, it may be on the heavier side of comfortable when pulled behind a traditional pedal bike, depending on the rider’s ability. | - Return to top -
Yes. The Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer comes with a 90 days parts replacement warranty against manufacturing defects from the date of purchase for the original owner of the trailer. Please note that this does not cover any wearable parts – such as tires or inner tubes – or any parts that have been modified or damaged by the user. | - Return to top -
Shipping in the US is a flat rate of $35.00 per Vineyard Cruiser fat tire trailer. We currently do not ship internationally. | - Return to top -
If your shipping address is in New York state, we are required to collect sales tax on the total cost of your trailer, including shipping and handling. | - Return to top -
As of this point in time we are only offering extra trailer hitches for sale, but are planning on greatly expanding our selection in the near future. | - Return to top -
Yes, an owners manual with assembly instructions is shipped with the Vineyard Cruiser fat tire bike trailer. A PDF version and ‘how to’ videos are currently in production and should be available online soon. | - Return to top -
What’s in a name? A lot actually... Halfway through the development of what was to become the Vineyard Cruiser bike, we had a set of prototypes but hadn’t settled on a name. We were struggling - we wanted something that illustrated the thought, features, and themes of comfort and style that were going into the bikes, but kept coming up short. About that same time, our founder had a weekend get away planned to Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts, with his wife. They were planning on taking the bikes along with them to ‘cruise around’, test, talk to people about, get suggestions for improvements, and maybe get some photographs of in a scenic location. The photos turned out beautifully (you can see them throughout the site) and to say the response to the bikes was incredible would be an understatement – people loved them! Martha’s Vineyard is a unique location, an island that inspires both a tradition of hard work and relaxation simultaneously. Of solid value and good taste without pretense. Of comfort, friends, and enjoying today for what it is. Of taking the path less traveled, and being better for it... Values & characteristics that completely matched what we were trying to embody in every feature and aspect of our bikes. The search for a name was over. Vineyard Cruisers - Ride the path less traveled. | - Return to top -
No, while our bikes were inspired by Martha’s Vineyard, we are actually based in Pittsford, New York, a small upstate town about 7 hours due west of the Island. | - Return to top -