Sort of lost in the shuffle lately was the Sunday Model-C.
Cruisers have always been the proverbial red-headed stepchild of the BMX world—most people either go 20" or urban MTB—mostly because there's never been a real effort to produce a true street cruiser. There was the Nyquist Backtrail, I suppose, and Standard technically offered a 24" TRLS-250, although I've never seen one. Bontrager offered a pretty tough chromoly cruiser as well. And both Standard and S&M have always made race cruisers that could serve double duty. (If you want deeper cruiser history, try this from 2001.)
But the Sunday is something different. Different angles and what I assume to be a very different feel. Judging from the photos and words on the Sunday site (except this one which is obviously faked), the Model-C is intended to just be a bigger BMX brother. And with Odyssey making 24" Hazard Lites and Sunday making cruiser forks (and taller-than-most cruiser bars), there are finally legit options for the big-but-not-quite-that-big-wheel crowd.
The funny thing is, I recently sold my cruiser. I had an old S&M Widowmaker that was mostly gathering dust—so little time, so many bikes. But it wasn't just that. The geometry was just plain wrong. Switching from the 20" to the 24" meant leaning way further back for manuals and pulling up that much harder to hop. Low bars and a low bottom bracket and long chainstays made for comfortable cruising and stable sprinting, but that was about it. (I won't even get into the shafted stem and crookedly welded rear triangle.)Long story short is, I'm pretty excited about the Model-C. It makes a lot more sense to me than something like the Deuce-Deuce for the height-unchallenged set. Now all Sunday has to do is assemble a mighty team of sky-scraping riders (Neil Harrington? Gary Ellis? Catfish?) to put them through their paces. Or I guess they could just send me one.* I may only be six feet, but I ride much, much taller.**
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* Just kidding. Unless you really want to, in which case I won't stop you.
** I don't even know what that's supposed to mean.
22 comments:
I think they got it right, it even looks like a bigger bmx... but are there really that many super tall bmx'ers who actually need this sort of contraption ? i think the whole criuser thing is going to die eventually. And the 24 inch people have more legit options for themselves than a small bmx company experiment thingy. Btw for laughs try eastern26.com
sellout much ?
First by the way
The Catfish comment made me spit my cup of tea all over my keyboard. Thanks SPRFLS.
http://cbg.nohomers.net/
I have a bike I call my "tribrid" that is a 26" Norco 250 MTB with all BMX parts and road wheels. A mutant. Comfy ride, though. And you can still freestyle on it when stuck at a park with the wrong bike. Picture:
http://www.wadeaminute.ca/fecal/uploaded_images/-1-777652.jpeg
I think you are being too subtle with wanting one of the Model C's, Russ. So let me take it further.
Jim. This is Wade in Toronto. I want a Model C in that new coral pink colour. Please? You know how to find me. Hook a brother up?
too bad there's not a middle ground between 20 inch and 24. someone should start production on a 22" BMX bike, oh yea, someone did and if i remember right you've already bawked at the concept in a previous post. (i'm just fucking with you, i understand about aftermarket parts availability and the simple fact that there really is no real NEED for an intermediate size)
ok sprfls is officially sold to odyssey.
And both Standard and S&M have always made race cruisers that could serve double duty.
They can't. I've tried. They're too stable. Fast as hell, and not totally awful on trails, but they're made for what they're made for.
If you can get in a manual, they'll stay there forever, but it's not worth the pain heaving it up. Hop-to-manual is ridiculously hard, and without those, street's no fun. And they not only aren't good for spinning, they resist it.
Great race bikes. No good for anything else.
Eventually I got frustrated passing spots and never being able to hit anything, gave up and put skinny wheels (and a bunch of other wussy parts from my racing youth) on my Standard. It's a 19-pound single-speed road bike that you sit upright on, basically. Every other rider who sees it gets pissed off, so it's almost worth it. But not quite.
Definitely buying the Sunday.
That image isn't fake. You can clearly seen Jim C. strength testing the frame by riding full speed into the curb. This picture was taken just before he lept over the bars into the crash mat.
I actually have one of those Standard Cruisers. I don't ride it as much as I should though.
all 6' 5" of me would like to have one of these shipped (free of charge of course) to my door. just because i'm tall and feel entitled to it.
Russ ,why do you say that this picture of Jim C. is fake ???
Curb endos are impossible. It's been proven.
I feel like a properly made 24" would eliminate the need for a 22".
Also, if I'm on Odyssey's payroll, I need to talk someone there about what the holdup is on the checks.
Curb endos are impossible, but it's Jim C..
I still think it's photoshopped because he's not wearing pads or a helmet.
Ok, I'm probably going to regret asking this but...Jerry, how is Eastern 26 selling out? (PS Eastern also makes high end exercise bikes)
Jerry thinks that companies should only make one type of product. By Jerry's logic, Coca Cola should only make Coke Classic, Ford should only make Mustangs, and Eastern should only make BMX bikes.
This is not complete until we hear from cruiser flatlander Mark Mundt......
Nope anon, i don't think that way.
I think thei'r selling out because most of their MTB product is really their bmx product. And the stuff that isn't looks generic with their name slapped on it. But I've got to hand it to them the full suspention bikes look quite temting.
I like eastern's bmx program, i think Eric Holley is one of the best bikers of all time, but the whole 26 thing looks as if was born when they've had some stuff lying around for to long and decided to try and get into another market.
But i could be wrong. I those bikes are made with some passion and are made properly (not like some of the eastern completes) then i'd love to have one.
I think the big question here is that if the freeride MTB/26" wheels set can jump higher and farther on their bikes than most people can on a 20", AND do more or less all the same tricks, are we looking at a revolution that might lead to more people migrating away from 20s and riding bigger bikes?
Will more people migrate to 26"?
No because quite simply, progression is done on a 20".
26's just play catch-up.
-Bill
who cares if you think the new bigger bikes are good for tricking out on, you are old and really, i doubt the geometry will affect the shredability of any bike you are on.
just ride the damn thing to the diaper store already.
thats what i am going to do.
oh, and of course the old S&M frame has a crooked back end, it is an S&M, silly.
anon, 1:02:
Higher and farther don't have anything to do with anything. I agree with WDS...when somebody does a new trick for the first time ever aboard a 26", let us know.
Jerry,
That's fair. But BMXers have gotten mountain bike leftovers for so long that it doesn't bug me that it's going the other way for once (see also Black Market Bikes)
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