Covid Cruisers from S&M Bikes

27 05 2020

With this whole Covid situation putting a damper on things in general, there’s at least  been a few  silver linings during this last little while.

First, it seems to have reignited the public’s interest in bike riding. Bike shops are reporting record sales and selling out of bikes and gear. Hurrah for the bike industry!

Second, S&M Bikes, with no regular production going on in The Warehouse due to the Covid situation, have been catching up on different projects and prototypes. One especially cool one is a retro Cooks Brothers-inspired 29-inch frame featuring an integrated head tube, mid bottom bracket and a 25.4 seat tube so all current S&M products will be compatible with it.

However, while it has all those modern touches, it still maintains its retro swoopy lines and the throwback looptail dropouts.

This is pretty cool news considering that, in the past, a 29″ frame seemed like a bridge too far for S&M. Granted, they did do the infamous 29″ Pounding Beers fork…but that just seemed like they were jumping on a gap in the market (or a chance to have some fun with Todd Lyons) vs. some deep-seated desire to get into this wheel size. I guess times change.

Or maybe it was the interest in the Fit Big Tripper that influenced them to dive into big wheels a little more. (Also, based on the latest picture of the Covid Cruiser above…it looks like the it will be available in both 29 and 26″ sizes).

I like the vibe of these Covid Cruisers. What do you think of them?

 

All pics: Mad Dog’s Instagram

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Categories : New products, Old School

Chockablock cruiser coverage in Pull mag

28 10 2018

The October issue of USABMX/BMXCANADA’s Pull Magazine follows in the footsteps of last year’s “Cruiser Issue” with pretty much chockablock Cruiser coverage.

The cover is a good one, with National #1 Cruiser rider Major Marshall Gehrke busting out a sweet tabletop, and it is just the start of the cruiser goodness.

Interviews with both Gehrke and National #1 Cruiser Girl Cruiser champ Maddie DeSantis are big features in the mag.

I wasn’t that familar with Gehrke’s background but the interview clearly shows he’s shifting his energies more to freestyle these days. Judging by the cover (and his Instagram) he certainly not afraid to bust out some style and catch air over jumps…so maybe an X-Games medal is not that far off either!

The “Clipped-In” bike check features FallRisk’s Chris Sutton tricked out SSQuared CEO cruiser as well. (It’s pretty trick with a disc brake and carbon fiber wheels.)

Rounding things out is a 6-page feature/buyer’s guide about the the 26″ cruiser revival.

The article talks about the origins of the cruiser class…back when everyone was on 26ers. Of course, as we all know (and if you don’t, check out this post on 24″ RRS cruiser) 24″ cruisers ended up taking over and dominating the cruiser class.

With that being said, we’ve been reporting on this resurgence of interest in 26″ cruiser for a long time now. Back in 2014, we said that 26″ cruisers were having a moment. And, as the years went on, they were making it last.

These days it’s not uncommon to see 26″ dirtjumpers and 26″ cruisers racking up with 24″ cruisers in the older cruiser  classes. Heck, as Pull puts it in the article’s intro:

“Daylight’s Turnell Henry, a BMX Hall of Famer who once raceed on a 26″ Nomura in the early 80s, is now competing on a 26″ Daylight…and winning on it.”

So yes, as the magazine’s cover says, things have come full circle. Good to see the racing world (by way of Pull Magazine) acknowledge it.

All in all, some solid cruiser coverage from Pull Magazine.


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Categories : New School, Old School, Racing

Collabs, Retros and 26″ Cruisers

29 09 2016

We’ve talked about collabs, Retros and 26″ Cruisers before…but at this year’s Interbike they really came to the fore.

In some cases, certain bikes had a more than one of these things going on at the same time.

Subrosa got on the “collab cab” earlier this year with their collaboration with Slayer.

slayer-subrosa-side-interbike

They had a range of sizes on display in their booth, including a 26″ cruiser. Cool color way, graphics…the whole bit.

slayer-top-tube-interbike

Apparently the Slayer-emblazoned seat is also going to be available as an aftermarket item too…kinda stoked on that.

slayer-seat-interbike

They also had their own 26″ Subrosa Malum on display.

subrosa-malum-interbike

Haro continued their push into the retro market with with a number of updated classics (all 20s) from the 80s “golden era” of freestyle. Unfortunately, no cruisers…with the exception of the 24″ Downtown we featured in yesterday’s post.

haro-sport-interbike

SE, of course, is no stranger to the retro or collaboration game.

The STR-29 brings back the old school era Stu Thomsen STR frame, re-imagined as comfortable riding 29er.

se-str-29-interbike

Likewise, SE ups the collaboration game with another 29er in the form of the Public Enemy Big Ripper.

se-public-enemy-interbike

And the 26″ We The People Avenger…it’s so retro it has a threaded headset!

wtp-avenger-interbike

GT is also dipping their toes into these trends.

GT, with the help of industry icon Ben Ward, brought back the classic Pro Performer…this time as a 26″.

gt-pro-performer-26-interbike

As we discussed in the previous post on the 26″ Pro Performer, this bad boy is tricked out with the iconic Power Series cranks, Mohawk hubs and other goodies.

gt-power-series-cranks-interbike

The rep that I talked to was — as he should be — pretty stoked on it.

In our conversation, he also dropped a line that seems to perfectly encapsulate what seems to be pushing this drive back to the classics:

We’re pulling on the heartstrings to open the purse strings

No doubt about it.

It looks like all these trends have staying power.

We’ve been talking about 26″ cruisers moment in the sun for years now.

More and more companies are also seeing the market respond to the retro-oriented bikes and accessories.

And the collaboration game…that’s just adding a whole other layer to things.

With all these trends starting to intersect at this year’s show, it will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve in the year ahead.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Old School