S&M bikes | cruiser revolution

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:

Comments : 8 Comments »
Tags: 22" BMX, 22" Holmes, 22" S&M, 22" S&M Holmes, BMX trails, BMXUnion, Chris Moeller, Dan Closser, lose a few inches, S&M bikes
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Wanna lose a few inches this year?

7 02 2012

The 22″ wheel movement has suddenly taken an interesting turn with the news that S&M is testing a prototype frame and tires.

In 2010, I did a post called 22″ bike: could you lose a couple inches? that generated a bunch of discussion on the pros and cons of the wheel size.

Back then I said (in the comments section) that having a single source supplier for all things 22″—Faction was the only company at the time offering 22″ stuff—would “hurt the cause”.

Now with companies like InDust offering 22″ frames and Standard building custom one-offs, the 22″ movement is starting to pick up some more momentum.

S&M is already offering 22″ forks as a custom option but has shied away from manufacturing frames till now.

With this new prototype it looks like S&M is about to jump into the 22″ scene with both feet. And by doing so, it looks like the 22″ option suddenly has a whole new level of legitimacy.

Comments : 18 Comments »
Tags: could you lose a few inches?, Custom BMX forks, Faction Bike Co., InDust, ride indust, S&M 22" frame, S&M 22" prototype frame, S&M 22" tires, S&M bikes, Standard Bykes
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

US-made BMX frames on the upswing

1 10 2011

Brian Tunney over at ESPN just posted a great article about The resurgence of US-made BMX frames.

It talks about how the gap is starting to close price-wise between US-made frames and frames made overseas. With the growing costs of both international shipping and production in Taiwan (where most BMX frames are produced) the price advantage that Taiwan had over the US, for many years now, might be a thing of the past.

In the article, Tunney was surprised to learn that:

...between the rising costs of steel on top of stricter overseas regulations and increased shipping costs, the price gap between a US-made frame and an overseas frame is shrinking.

That’s pretty incredible, but check out this statement:

In some cases, a US-made frame such as an S&M might even be cheaper than a Taiwan-produced frame…

Who would have thunk it?

Could we see a return to something similar to the 80s when most premier BMX frames were made in the US?

Looks like it might very well happen.

Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: BMX frames, Brian Tunney, ESPN, S&M 24" Dirt Bike, S&M bikes, Taiwan-made BMX frames, US-made BMX frames
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Racing, Skatepark, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Custom forks: now available from S&M

27 07 2011

After the success of their custom frame program, and more recently the introduction of custom handlebars, S&M has added another part to their custom lineup: forks.

Brake mounts, no brake mounts, different finishes, XLT and classic styles…you name it they’ve got you covered. (There’s even a 22″ version available…if you’re into that sort of thing.)

If the off-shelf options don’t work for you or if you have very specific needs or preferences…this is great news.

Check out the S&M Bikes site for more details.

Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: 22" BMX, Custom BMX forks, Custom BMX frames, Custom BMX handlebars, S&M bikes, S&M XLT forks
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Racing, Skatepark, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Dee Snider just wanted to ride

7 06 2011

After rock stardom with Twisted Sister in the early 80s, Dee Snider had to find his kicks in other ways.

One of those ways was BMX.

Snider was a local at Coral Springs BMX in Florida in the early 90s and could be found there, week in and week out, getting his race on.

Dee Snider getting his race on

At the time, Dee was riding a Hutch cruiser but when Chris Moeller at S&M got wind of the rocker’s involvement in BMX, the two ended up collaborating on a signature frame called the Widowmaker (that I posted on recently).

Kind of crazy when you think about it.

Imagine getting up on the gate…and Dee F’n Snider (!) is lined up next to you?

Madness.

(Photo credit: Planet BMX/Color Tuffs Facebook page)

Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: BMX Cruiser, Chris Moeller, colored tuffs, Coral Springs BMX, Dee Snider, Planet BMX, S&M bikes, S&M Widowmaker frame, Twisted Sister
Categories : goofiness, Old School, Racing, Trails/Jumping

Pitch perfect: S&M 24″ Pitchforks

27 05 2011

It’s fitting that a bike company that makes such sweet bike parts would end up with a picture of its forks looking like candy.

S&M 24″ Pitchforks: sweet like candy (from the S&M Bikes Facebook page).

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: 24" BMX, BMX Cruiser, BMX Cruiser forks, Candy colored, S&M 24" Pitchforks, S&M bikes
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

I wanna rock…an S&M Widowmaker

5 05 2011

Sometime in the early 90s, a metal band lead singer (that hit the big time a decade earlier) got together with a little bike company called S&M Bikes and the S&M Widowmaker was born.

The lead singer? Dee Snider from Twister Sister.

Here’s a excerpt from the news section of the February 1993 edition of Ride Magazine with some more background.