Retrospec by Westridge Critical Cycles Beaumont-7 Seven Speed Lady's Urban City Commuter Bike

This bike arrived quickly; thanks Amazon. Unfortunately, it arrived with a dinged fender that was the wrong size and a front fork installed backward at the factory. I only discovered it when I contacted the company to tell them there was no tire clearance between my pedal and front tire on tight turns, they told me the front fork must be on backward. Lo and behold, it was! They instructed me to just spin it around. Nope. It was mechanically tightened and all our effort to undo what was done incorrectly at the factory in China proved futile. Over and above that, the gears did not shift smoothly and the seat is as hard as a rock - I mean no give whatsoever.So when they say your bike comes 85% assembled, don't count on that assembly being correct. And be prepared to be condescended to when you contact customer service about it. They will tell you that is why they recommend taking your new bike to a bike shop for proper assembly. I am returning the bike to Amazon, because, while you cannot count on Critical Cycles, you can always count on Amazon. Oh, and if you are considering buying your bike from the Critical Cycles website, please read their fine print and reconsider. Amazon makes returns easy; Critical Cycles does not.

I had been wanting a bike for awhile, and could not wait for this to come in. Took the bike on 3 rides, and the back tire is already deflated. Not long rides either. I'm not sure what happened, but it's very disappointing since I've only had the bike for 3 days.

This is a so-so bike and will be more than adequate if you just want to ride around a little bit on very level roads/paths, etc. The steel frame is very heavy but does definitely does make for a much smoother ride than a lighter weight aluminum or dare I say it, carbon bike. If you want a good liking retro bike, worthy of riding around Nantucket, with a cute basket affixed to the front or on top of the pre-installed rear rack, and you're ONLY riding around for a few miles on flat roads, then this is the bike for you. HOWEVER, and this is a huge however, you don't even want to be in this bike's zip code if there are any moderate hills. Not to brag here but I'm relatively fit, I bike 50 to 60 miles daily on the weekends - not on this bike, bike 12 miles round trip to my Power yoga or gym class daily on the weekdays (this is to say I LOVE working out) but this bike and hills brings a sigh and groan to me every time. Notice the HUGE chain ring on the front - yep, that's what's going to get you (or in this case not get you) up those hills.PROs:-best booking retro bike on the street and color is spot on like in the pictures-nice that they already had the rear rack and most of the bike assembled-nice upright seat position for leisurely rides-perfectly fine - not great - for what you're paying. I wanted to try a steel bike and I thought what do I have to lose for $200?CONs-#1 - see above about the hills. This 40 lb behemoth is really, really heavy. So the single chain ring, 7 speed bike coupled with 40 lbs makes for an unpleasant ride on anything but the straightest of paths. You'll kill your knees with this one going up hills.-A lot of the components sound ok on the website but in person they seem very "cheap." My chain already makes this rhythmic weird noise every time I spin through one cycle, the brakes squeal ALOT when descending and the shifters are very, very tight. It gets easier to shift with time but it's still takes more wrist strength then it should. And don't even get me started on the bell - what a waste of metal.-Kickstand is a joke - I'm always stopping my bike from toppling over.NOTES-I assembled the bike on my own and took it into the shop for an issue w/the steering column and the a brake check. Expect to pay $50 or more for his kind of check and even more if you're not going to assemble on your own. I'm glad I took this in for a check as he noticed one of the brake cables was unattached and brakes need to be adjusted - mine were crooked.-Seat is just OK -there are much more comfortable seats but the tan color looks great with the bike and I love the fact that it's not leatherIn summary, for $219 and with Free S&H, this bike seems okay. It's a great starter bike if you're just trying to get your toes wet with biking or you want to bike around for just a little bit around your neighborhood with the flat streets and sidewalks. And you do get the included rear rack which you can probably put on your next bike. If I were to do it again though, I would pay a more and buy a bike in person with the potential for a return or exchange. I would return this bike - although I'm past the 30 days - it took me forever to unpackage and assemble - but I don't think the return shipping would be worth it.

The bike was delivered early and the box was in great condition. I was able to build the bike myself and took it into a local shop to have the brakes adjusted and tires filled which they so kindly did for free (however some places may charge so beware before buying). There weren't any dings, scratches, or defects and its a really great bike for the price! Im 5'9 the the medium/large size was perfect for me.**(the star stickers don't come with the bike I added those myself)**

I bought the Critical Cycles Beaumont-7 Seven Speed Lady's Urban City Commuter Bike, Coral, 38cm (Small/Medium) for my 13 year old daughter to teach her how to ride. She's 5'-2" tall and the smaller version fits her perfectly since as a beginner she needs to be able to put both feet on the ground.I assembled it which really means that it's easy to put together after you watch the YouTube video. It took me about 45 minutes. The bike arrived without any damages even though there was a hole in the box due to UPS's gentle handling.My daughter loves it, I love it, it's super cute and I think I will be ordering a 2nd one for myself.

Received the same defective unit someone mentioned below. The portion to slip the handlebars into was dented. Bike itself arrived scratched, wheel cover dented and missing paint.