Damage Inc. sent this over to us a while back and since it is the 4th of July I figured we’d throw down some more American Made radness…um, F-Yea. Here’s Thomas Donahue The First Esquire Mold Broken…
When I first decided to do a product review section , just to let you guys and gals know about the cool Race bike , parts and accessories that are available to us today , I though why not start with my current ride ? My S&M .38 special cruiser.
With over 25 years of bike building experience most people know the S&M brand by way of X games,dirt jumping contests and freestyle ,after all they only make 1 race frame so how devoted can they be? If you make 1 thing and you do it better than anyone else ,why deviate from that? The .38 special is THE race frame and has been for some time. While other companies are out there with hydro formed tubing ,bent top tubes and aircraft grade aluminum. S&M has stayed true to their BMX roots making a flat out bad ass frame from good old 4130 chromoly and made right here in the good old USA.
When I first took my .38 out of the box , the first thing I noticed was the BLING BLING of the Chrome , the there was the attention to detail with the S&M logo stamped in the head tube ,rear drop outs ,underneath the downtube etc. I also love the very simple but yet effective decal set .The bike went together like a dream ,bottom bracket threaded right in ,the headset bearings sat in the integrated head tube like they were born there. I put the rest of the bike together and took her out for a spin .
Can you say SMOOOOOOTH ? I know that the consensus is that aluminum frames are stiffer but this chromoly beauty is stiff as a board ,
acceleration is instant and the shorter rear chain stays made it easier to get that front wheel up for manualing. The 73 degree head tube makes for very responsive steering. This is as comfortable a bike as you can ever hope to ride . The .38 special may not have enough in her to put you to the front of the pack but if you are going to lose , why not do so with class and style ? Both of which run rampant in the .38 special 24″ .
Available in Black,white,trans red,trans black and limited edition chrome. Next month , we will be reviewing the Profile drive train , cranks bottom bracket and spline drive sprocket. Until then , RIDERS READY ,WATCH THE LIGHTS !
