Banana seats and sissy bars

Looking as if she stepped out of a 1950s California beach party movie, Jennifer Gallagher pushes her sparkling green, balloon-tire bicycle through the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market. Heads turn, eager to glimpse a bit of pop culture that seemed lost: Gallagher’s mint-condition, Deluxe 7 Schwinn with a snazzy two-tone paint job on the fenders, chain guard and “gas tank.” The bike just looks like a carefree spin on a sunny day -- a feeling you don’t getting looking at today’s stripped-down, ultra-light bikes.

Beautiful retro bicycles like these have become the latest vintage object of desire in Los Angeles. Hang out by the beach and watch buff guys roll by on high-handlebar choppers decked out with flames, or young women glide past on decorative cruisers. Go for a run at the Rose Bowl and look for the collectors who gently ride their rare old bikes. Next week, vintage collectors will gather in Pasadena at the Velo Rendezvous to ride and revere the builders of their elegant marvels of engineering.

But you don’t have to become a bike geek to get the feeling. These days, you can roll a faithful reproduction right off the bike shop floor. In fact, many of the hottest 2005 models trace their lineage directly to Southern California’s vintage hot rods, motorcycle choppers and customized bike culture. They’ll be introduced next week at the International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas, the world’s largest trade event.

And most of these new-old bikes are still designed by Southern California independents who are pushing the limits of innovation. Electra Bicycle Co. of Carlsbad is introducing cruisers that are carefully aged to look as if they’ve spent the last 25 years on a Venice Beach porch. A new player out of Long Beach, Shizzle, is bringing bling-bling to bikes with a blinding chrome stretch cruiser and a new dazzling pink model. Nirve Sports, a Fountain Valley outfit, is known for cruisers with hip flourishes including leopard saddles and Pink Panther graphics. Phat Cycles of Huntington Beach is making some of the lowest, most exaggerated choppers to hit the sidewalk.

Whether you’re riding a remake or an original, there’s something rewarding about chasing down a bike you may have ridden as a kid -- or wished that you had. In motion, the bicycles connect with buried memories of youthful freedom and vigor. The look can be copied, but often the sound cannot -- the click of the kickstand snapping into place, the clank of rocks hitting fenders and the whir of wide tires rolling across the pavement.

Even on a reproduction, riders can be confident that they’re part of something that the major bicycle makers are just beginning to understand: Cool-looking bikes are great for short rides, such as trips to the coffee shop. Clearly, this trend is about style over speed.

“I have comments on my bike every time I ride it,” Gallagher says of her green Schwinn, one of eight retro cruisers that she shares with her boyfriend, artist Tom Everhart. They ride for transportation, exercise and, always, fun. Aided by built-in lights and the slow-going safety of a cruiser, Gallagher and her bike-riding buddies have embarked on a new diversion, night rides. Riding is simply easier on an upright cruiser.

Visibility of a different kind keeps customers swarming into shops like Helen’s Cycles in Santa Monica. General manager Jay Wolff says customers for the cool cruisers include moms, pops and a stream of young women who swoon over bikes with pink paint jobs, floral fenders, sissy bars and whimsical details.

“They go down the boardwalk just drawing all kinds of attention,” says Wolff. “That’s their mission.”

Even at bicycle shops far from the sand, the tricked-out beach cruisers attract friendly waves from drivers and comments from impressed bystanders. Wherever Nick Didovic takes one of his Shizzle bikes, a full-chrome, 7-foot-5 stretch cruiser, heads turn and grown men are unable to resist its infectious appeal.

“These don’t require any physical fitness,” says Didovic, a veteran skateboarder. “You just get on and go.” When Didovic first laid envious eyes on the dazzling stretch cruisers near his Long Beach home, he was ready to buy one -- until he discovered that most were custom bikes that cost $2,000 to $5,000. He gave up an international, high-tech career in business development to build the low-tech Shizzles.

The collective itch for a carefree spin was scratched in April when Schwinn reintroduced the Sting-Ray -- updated for today’s kids. Bearing little resemblance to the cruiser-inflected styling of the 1963 original (which was modeled on California custom bikes), the new Sting-Ray looks like a mini chopper motorcycle, minus the engine.

“The 20-inch Sting-Ray has become the fastest-selling bike of all time,” says Mo Moorman, spokesman for Pacific Cycle, the parent company of Schwinn. The kid-size chopper put air in Schwinn’s flat sales, and the once-bankrupt company is capitalizing on its greatest asset: its design heritage. An adult chopper is coming, and reproductions of the original Sting-Ray.

Demand is so hot for many of the reproductions that bike dealers can’t get enough.

Paul Deets, general manager of Dennison Schwinn Cyclery in Los Angeles, was allotted five reproduction Sting-Ray Pea Pickers, so named for their green color. One was sold to an out-of-state collector, one will be added to the store’s collection, two will go on the sales floor and the last will be put up for auction on the Internet “for maximum dollars,” Deets says.

Now the niche players such as Electra and Nirve are trying to stay in front of the retro revolution they helped reinvigorate. Six weeks ago, Nirve released two new choppers, the $499 Cannibal and the $449 Switchblade, each with fancy spoke patterns, flame decals and plenty of add-ons that once were exclusive to custom-built bikes. Along with their just-released Minx, a leopard-accented cruiser with furry grips and saddle, the 4-year-old Nirve has firmly established itself as something more than a bicycle company.

“We look at these as a lifestyle, a fashion item. We don’t look at these as bicycles,” said Dan Bon, chief executive of Nirve. He says plenty of companies cater to the bike geeks and the leagues of Lance Armstrong worshippers who ride high-end bikes on or off the road.

“No one is paying attention to the general public. That excludes a lot of people who could have a lot of fun on bikes,” Bon says. “They don’t want to shave their legs, put on spandex and exert a lot of energy.”

Steve Baumann, a Trek designer, created the chopper-style Rail, one of several new bikes that channel custom motorcycle style. Trek, also taking a cue from the fashion industry, more quickly circulates the trendy models. Last year’s Woody, a bulky 1950s reproduction, is out, and the radical Rail is in.

Nirve offers a pink Hello Kitty cruiser -- for adults -- with the cartoonish kitten’s image everywhere on the bike, even embossed into the tire tread. They’ve made bikes with partners including the Pink Panther, John Deere and Paul Frank, whose Julius the Monkey is a hit among teens.

Fashion bikes like this were pioneered by the 12-year-old Electra Bicycle Co. Its co-founder, Benno Baenziger, is a veteran of the action sports industry who came to love American pop culture while growing up in Germany. He moved to Southern California with the goal of starting his own business.

“I thought that cycling was a great idea for a lifestyle brand,” Baenziger says. “It can’t be geeky. It has to be about fun, about fashion, and cool comfortable bikes that people want to be seen on.”

Some of his top sellers are examples of that union. The Rat Fink is a high-handlebar chopper-style cruiser with flames detailing the fender, saddle and frame. It sports the Rat Fink character created by California custom-car pioneer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. The Rosie and the Betty are all-white women’s bikes, one with a rose “tattoo,” the other with pink rims and pink-flame details, and both with matching T-shirts.

At the Vegas bike show, Baenziger will introduce his new Relics -- “pre-worn” bicycles that boast matte paint finishes, distressed leather grips and saddles and decals that have been delicately hand-sanded.

“Everybody loves an old bike, even if it has no value,” he says. “The real coolness factor of these bikes is if you have the oldest one. It’s like how no one looks good in brand new jeans.”

But those old bikes do have value, and a growing crowd is after them. Bicycles that used to fetch $5 at a garage sale are showing up in the want ads for $100 and $200. Custom bicycle builders, many veterans of childhood low-rider or BMX bikes, are stockpiling parts for future projects. Working on a patio of his Echo Park house, Frank Allbor rebuilds mini Sting-Rays for his daughters and tricks out Schwinn cruisers with chrome fenders, new decals or 144-spoke wheels. Some of his work winds up in the windows of the Anti-Market clothing boutique on Sunset Boulevard.

It’s not just cruisers and old Schwinns that inspire a desire for a unique riding experience. When collector Matthew Gorski of Belmont Shore dresses in a vintage wool jersey, shorts and shoes to ride his hand-built 1971 Masi racer around the Rose Bowl, he is after the same fun factor as the guy on a reproduction Sting-Ray.

“Part of the attraction with classic bikes is that they are the machines people feel most comfortable with,” says Dave Ductor, who sells Pedersens, bikes created with bridge-truss principles in 1893. “The bike is one of those machines you can still put your fingers on and play with and fix.”

Andrew Gillis of Long Beach took months to find the right parts for his racer. His 2001 Mercian frame sports retro stem shifters that require a certain finesse to operate.

“It’s like the modern cars, which are all very competent, but they have a tendency to make you somewhat removed from the driving experience,” Gillis says. “Vintage bikes offer a more tactile sense of riding.”

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The real old thing

As influential as it has become, the vintage bike scene in L.A. is still something of a hidden world. Great customizers and parts sources are found by word of mouth, or by endless cruising on the Internet. Still, there are a few established events, and a few places to begin your vintage journey.

Velo Rendezvous 2004

The fourth annual West Coast gathering of vintage lightweight bicycle collectors, enthusiasts and historians takes place Oct. 1-3 in Pasadena’s Brookside Park. The three-day event includes a frame and bicycle history symposium, a vintage bike ride, dinners and, on Oct. 3, a bicycle show. Attendance is limited: $50 for three days, or $30 for Sunday only. For a full schedule and tickets, www.velo-retro.com.

Vintage ride

The first Sunday of the month, vintage bicycle enthusiasts meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center’s parking lot (Lot I) for a 25-mile spin through the mostly flat roads of Pasadena, Sierra Madre and points in between. Pasadena bike guru Chuck Schmidt encourages riders to bring bikes at least 20 years old, but all kinds are welcome.

Restoration

Frank Allbor, a former bike shop mechanic, customizes bikes at his Echo Park home; (818) 535-4801.

Carlos Sanchez, a mechanic at Dennison Schwinn Cyclery in Los Angeles, customizes bicycles in his spare time; (323) 721-8316. (At Dennison, you can also check out owner Bill Blake’s collection of 20 , Sting-Rays, including an original 1963 model.)

Menotomy Vintage Bicycles Inc. offers restoration tips, tire and rim charts and price guides on its website, www.oldroads.com.

Bike restorer Dave Corr’s website, www.restoreclassicbicycles.com, includes links, paint kits and a $20 video illustrating restoration techniques.

The Schwinn website, www.schwinn.com, offers a guide to forums discussing collecting, restoring and verifying vintage bikes.

Team Bike Works in Huntington Beach offers vintage bikes and parts for sale, as well as customizing, restoring and repairing; (714) 969-5480. Gary Hoisington, (714) 287-8989, works with Team Bike Works on restorations.

Parts

The Internet is your friend. For retro bicycle parts, try www.mapleislandsales.com, or www.oldroads.com. For low-rider style parts, the F&R; Co. website, www.fnrco.com, offers a dealer directory. And then get busy hitting the swap meets.

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The new old thing

The coolest new bikes are straight out of the beach cruiser and hot-rod culture of California. We took some for a spin, and for comparison, checked out an actual vintage model.

Retro cruiser: Electra Bicycle Co.’s Relic, $350 to $410.

The 2005 Relic may be the first bike designed to look old and tattered -- decked out with worn decals, distressed leather saddles and grips, old-school blacked-out spokes, seat posts and pedals, and a matte finish that looks like a coat of primer paint. It’s a heavy beast, but modern technology gives it a smooth ride. Available at www.electrabike.com, Helen’s Cycles and I. Martin Imports.

Stretch cruiser: Shizzle’s Diva, $399; Deluxe, $499.

The 4-month-old Shizzle brand has just released the Diva, billed as the first women’s stretch beach cruiser. The Divas are decked out with pink-on-pink paint, and for the deluxe model, custom fenders, saddle, 68-spoke wheels and coordinating grips. The 7-foot-5 bikes are more nimble than they look, but they’re best at going slow and turning heads. Available at www.shizzlebikes.com.

Chopper: Nirve’s Cannibal chopper, $499.

Anyone who managed to skid a Big Wheel down the driveway can handle the laid-back riding position of a chopper bike, but maybe not the sometimes-twitchy steering. You’re not going to go fast and probably not far. With three speeds, flaming-skull graphics, an extra-long chrome fork and a 3-inch-wide rear tire, this is a rad ride. Nirve’s choppers are so hot, a waiting list grows as the factory tries to catch up with orders. Available in October at www.nirve.com, Sport Chalet, Jax Bicycles and Supergo Bike Shops.

Custom chopper: Trek Rail CNC, $1,099.

The futuristic Rail CNC is made of high-grade, highly polished aluminum -- a cool starting point for customizing the frame with upgraded gearing, fenders and more. The designers promise that the low seat means riders of the single speed bike can touch the ground at stop signs. If it’s like other quasi-recumbent cruisers, the outstretched frame and pedal position can relieve pressure on your hands and neck, but only if the pedals, seat and handlebars are set up for your body size. A limited supply will be available in January at Trek dealers, including Helen’s Cycles.

The real thing: A customized classic, $400 and way, way up.

If you want to look original, you have to do it yourself. Start with a vintage frame -- perhaps the highly adaptable Schwinn cruiser -- and find a talented mechanic, painter, welder, artist and some 144-spoke wheels to help you realize the bike of your wildest dreams. This one -- a funkified Schwinn beach cruiser customized by Frank Allbor -- looks great standing still, but pushing the sturdy frame and the weight of 288 spokes takes some serious thighs. The big fat tires soak up the bumps.