Founded in 1987 by Greg Swingrover and Chris Moeller in Santa Ana, California, the aim of S&M Bikes was to craft BMX bikes that could handle the abuse the two friends and their riding buddies were dishing out. They went into business with a frame and fork called the ‘K-9 D-Zine’, a mishmash of Moeller’s three favourite frames at the time, and this was soon replaced by Moeller’s signature ‘Mad Dog’.
In 1988 they went on to release the now legendary ‘Slam Bar’, and in 1989 the ‘Dirtbike’, but the two men found it increasingly difficult to balance the books, and Swingrover left to start a new job at GT. Since then, S&M has been left in Moeller’s hands, ably assisted by legendary riders such as Dave Clymer and John Paul Rogers.
The current line-up of riders includes Matt Beringer, Jared Carter and Randy Brown, plus UK-based stars James Cox, James Newrick, Louie ‘Bambi’ Mire and Fathead. Many have starred in S&M’s impressive web edits, product promos and welcome parts, plus full-length DVDs such as 2011’s ‘Blind in Texas’, featuring parts from Mike Hoder, Arrash Saidi and Isaac Barnes.
The S&M range of hardgoods includes frames, forks, bars, stems, tyres, seating and small parts. Top-of-the-range frames are the ‘Speedwagon’ race model, with lower stand-over height, increased size options, S-Bend chainstays and a shorter rear end, and the super-light US-made ‘Speedwagon Cruiser’, with new 22 TT length and bullet-tipped seat and chainstays.