o
00
C')
terror as fellow office workers took the
Pro Cruiser for a spin around the
office. Cycle News walls, or more
precisely, a railing on the outside of the
building, took their reven~ and left
the Pro Cruiser with a broken rear
brake lever. (Men, if you're looking
for some place to send the bill, check
the masthead under "Managing
Editor.") (1 recommend DeHandlers
... Managing Ed.)
Gas rnilea~ during the test
exceeded all expectations. In fact, a
gas receipt turned in with an expense
account labeled "Pro Cruiser test" was
sent back to its originator with the
words "nice try" written over "amount
due." Suffice to say that Pro Cruiser
owners will spend little time in gas
lines.
Another outstanding feature of the
bike is its brakes. This was the first
bicycle we'd ever encountered with
drum brakes, and they worked exceptionally well. In fact, where there was
good traction, it was possible to stand
the bike on its front wheel by grabbing
a handful of clutch - oops, excuse us
- front brake lever.
The five-speed transmtSSlon, a
Shimano
derailleur
wide
ratio
freewheel with Unaglide 600 chain,
worked well during the test. The
bothersome toe-up, toe-down shifting
method common in the motorcycle
industry has been done away with in
favor of a handlebar· mounted,
thumb-operated unit.
The diamond frame is made of
chromoly and should be indestructible. We use the word "should" only
because of horror stories told by
co-workers with teenage children.
Overweight test riders couldn't bend
it or break it during our test. One
thing about a bicycle is that the engine
is a stressed member, even without
being bolted to the frame.
The handlebars were a bit wide for
our taste, but it wasn't our bike to take
a hacksaw to.
One other feature we should
mention is the Pro Cruiser's ability to
meet or surpass just about any
upcoming or still·to-be·thought-of
EPA noise or emission regulations.
There you have it. A sturdy playbike
with deluxe features. We're not too
familiar with the bicycle industry, but
we'd guess that it occupies Rolls-Royce
status in its class. It also carries a
Rolls- Royce price tag: $489.
Manufactured by:
Lawwill.Knight Ltd.
25155 O'Neil Ave.
Hayward, CA 94544
415/582·1588
•
If you must go faster, think first
how you'll look in plaster.
15