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
cruiser revolution 