HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (BRAIN)—Two men long known among Southern California fans of custom beach cruisers have joined forces to launch B&H Retired Cycles and will offer dealers a line they call HB Cruisers.
Robert Belyea, creator of the original "stretch" cruiser, and Gary Hoisington, a long-time custom cruiser and chopper designer, will take their combined 60 years of experience and manufacture custom bikes for cruiser fans who love the look and feel of custom cruisers.
Belyea has been hand building stretch cruisers since the early 1990s that created a niche category of bikes for style-conscience riders. But Belyea quit making custom bikes after major companies began bringing in similar models made at half the cost from Asia.
Hoisington, who began work in the industry in 1974 as an outside rep for Specialized, was the new products design director for Phat Cycles for 12 years before becoming general manager at Micargi Bicycles. While Hoisington was at Phat, he created some unusual bikes like stretch cruisers with monocoque tanks, classic tandems as well as 29-inch cruisers and other models.
Over the years the pair also have worked on a number of special projects including a six-person bike that Nike used for a commercial and a four-person bike used in a number of film and TV productions. A four-man tandem used at Disneyland by the Dapper Dan barbershop quartet is an example of the quality and craftsmanship that goes into custom cruisers, Hoisington said.
The bikes will be hand-built in Huntington Beach and sold through select dealers and on the internet. For more information call (714) 287-8989 or email them at teambike@aol.com.
