S&M joins the 22″ movement for 2012

7 03 2012

BMXUnion posted a great interview today with Chris Moeller of S&M Bikes talking about his company’s recent foray into the manufacturing of 22″ frames, forks, wheels and tires.

According to Chris, the motivation to create the new line was simply due to friends nagging him to do it:

If my friends hadn’t been so persistent about it, it would never have happened. Once I had one built up I thought it was cool and I had fun riding it

Earlier in the interview, he also said:

The idea of a slightly larger, more stable trail bike for older guys coming off an extended break from BMX or larger riders coming off MTB’s made a lot of sense to me.

In terms of geometry, while still being fine-tuned,  Chris said:

The geometry is about the same as a 20” but with a little more kicked back seat angle. The tires are 22” X 2.125” for now. It wasn’t too difficult scaling it to the larger wheels and we kicked the seat angle back for raising the seat up high to actually ride the bike. Since there are no preconceived TT lengths people are judging it by we didn’t have to worry about that. And if you go to the trails with the seat down it won’t make a difference anyway.

The release date for the 22″ Holmes (fitting name for it’s larger size, natch) is set for mid-summer along with a Revenge wheel-set and tire combo that will be sold separately.

Be sure to check out  BMXUnion  for more on S&M’s new 22″ gear and related musings from Chris Moeller.

Dan Closser airing out the S&M 22" prototype (Pic from BMXUnion)

For related discussion on the 22″ phenomenon, check out these earlier Cruiser Revolution posts:

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I miss my trails already

8 12 2011

I guess with the awesome fall season we had, I shouldn’t complain.

Heck, I was still able to squeeze in one last trails session last Saturday (just days before December!) But the weather has finally turned and gotten colder. It looks like winter’s on its way and the trails are going to have to wait till spring.

Sure, sessions at indoor bike/skateparks will tide us folks in colder climes over till the warm weather hits….but there’s nothing quite like a fun, mellow session with your bros at some local trails, is there?

I dunno. Maybe I’m just starting to feel the effects of withdrawal or Seasonal Effective Disorder.

All I know is this picture of Buddy (that I came across on the ride indust site) made me think about all the fun times at the trails this past year.

That, and it’s just so rad!





Free Agent reveals the Ratio 24

6 12 2011

As I’ve said before, Free Agent doesn’t get a lot of hype for its freestyle/trails-oriented 24inchers.

Which is a bit of shame really because for around $400 (US) you get a full cro-mo frame, fork and handlebar along with a pretty respectable parts package on the new Free Agent Ratio 24.

Geometry

In terms of geometry, Free Agent has pretty much stuck with what they used in last year’s Devil 24.

That being:

  • 74 degree head angle
  • 72 degree seat angle
  • 21.5″ top tube
  • 15.2″ chainstay

All in all, not too far out from what you would expect on a bike like this (although they could’ve gone a little shorter on the chainstay).

What they could’ve done better

Given that most companies have adopted the new “standard” of a higher bottom bracket height, it’s a bit surprising that Free Agent stuck with the more race-oriented 12″ bottom bracket height for this year’s model.

Furthermore, the stock handlebar is a sub-6inch offering. While I give them points for spec’ing it in full cro-mo, the trend is decidedly taller these days.

Who might be best suited to this bike

Given the more traditional, race-style geometry (and the full cro-mo construction) this might be a great trails bike for the racer who wants to have a strong bike he can thrash on while keeping his race machine in good shape for the track. The ride should be very similar to a race cruiser so switching back and forth would be a cinch.

Or, if you’re a rider that just prefers more traditional 24″ geometry, this bike is a great option for hitting the trails or skatepark.  A well-spec’ed full cro-mo bike at this price point is hard to beat.