1994 Holmes, dragged into the 90s!

[SaMAlex]

In 1994 I went to America for a few weeks and stayed at S&M. A friend from home (Paul) asked me to get him a bike while I was there. He didn’t have a BMX at all and wanted to get into it a little. At S&M I got him pretty much everything they did at that time and brought it home for him. Once at home I built up the bike using parts I had lying about, mostly 80s parts, just to get him going. He rode it a little but soon after that he moved away to London and we never rode together again (although I still saw him now and again).

A couple of years ago I asked Paul about the bike. He said it was at the back of is Dads shed and he would bring it round for me. It was just like I had built it for him and hadn’t seen much use. Ever since then I have been wanting to take off the 80s parts and build it up using mid 90s parts. During that trip S&M got the first batch of Prince Albert cranks and they started doing the redneck stem soon after. Last week I got a green redneck stem so I knew it was time to get the bike sorted.

I got real lucky and apart from the cranks and stem, I was able to use parts I had kicking about. The wheels came on a bike I got a while ago, the Mongoose front tyre and GT rear go well cos they are both all black and the pedals I got not long ago. The seat is the only thing that is brand new. It’s a Bicycle Union seat that I got a few weeks ago. My friend Paul knows the Union guys, and likes the Misfits … and it’s the right colour. Oh, and thanks to J.T.Racing for the chainring. You still haven’t told me what you want for it!

I’m pretty pleased with this bike. Now I just gotta send some pics of it to Paul, so he knows its being well looked after.

Frame: 1994 mk3 Holmes, Green
Forks: 1994 mk1 Ditchforks
Bars: 1994 Slams, uncut (dancing man)
Stem: Green redneck
Cranks: gen2 Prince Alberts
Chainring: Profile
Rims: Sun
Hubs: DK
Tyres: Front Mongoose, Rear GT
Pedals: S&M DX
Seat: Bicycle Union
Seatclamp: GT
Headset: 80s ally, anodised blue (couldnt be arsed to change it)
Grips: 1994 Clear ODI Longnecks
Brake: DC 994, DC lever
Extras: S&M Padset, front peg (cos the rear axle is too short for the rear)


The bike like it was when I built it for Paul



And finally finished like it should have been in the mid 90s.

[rory]

yo, thats a rider alex 

[SaMAlex]

yo, thats a rider alex 

Is there anything else? Well, not in my shed anyway!

[thesku11s]

tis a beaut!

wow, what an improvement!

Does that peg not come off anymore? - lol

Why hide that loveley green redneck under that pad?

[rory]

how many padsets have you got now alex !

[SaMAlex]

how many padsets have you got now alex !

Well this set aint really mine so I cant count them.

[darkersomeday]

love it

geuine rider the cranks and pedals make it a more serious bike than the 1-pc in the first pics,

proper mid tyre set-up too, knobbly front smoother rear,

the pads are sweet, they give it that little nudge back to the early 90's,

clear odi longnecks!!!

i kicked myself for letting that s&m seat go on the next gen db, itd have fitted right in with the survivor look,

another great bike from mr s&m

[teamsano]

the cranks and pedals make it a more serious bike than the 1-pc in the first pics,

tbh, id rather ride one piece cranks than p.a.'s.

great bike again alex, right down to the 994 brake, which you had to buy because they just started doing the lower-profile ad lugs in 93.
i think i had one of those mongoose tyres around that period too.

random fact- did you know that headtube sticker is a fotoshop of rick moliterno?

[SaMAlex]

the cranks and pedals make it a more serious bike than the 1-pc in the first pics,
proper mid tyre set-up too, knobbly front smoother rear,
clear odi longnecks!!!

Ah, you say that but in the first pic they are propper Shimano DX's. They are now back on my shelf with the several well used sets Ive got (those are probably the best set).

The rear tyre is one of those GT freestyle ones. Its kinda knobby but it looks much smoother in the pic.

The clear longnecks are rad, they have even got some Holmes stickers on the bars, under them so they show through. Its a shame cos they have got corroded and split but I dont wanna change them.

tbh, id rather ride one piece cranks than p.a.'s.
right down to the 994 brake.

Yep, sure, PAs were bad but I rode gen 2 PA cranks for years and they were fine, Ive still got them. Having said that, the PA hype has made me nervous about riding them again!

I used a 994 brake cos it was what S&M had in stock. Its quite a nice idea, you just lock down the spring and a curved washer holds the tenstion, then you just use a cone spanner to get it as tight as you want it. The problem was that the curved washer didnt hold the spring down enough so it sometimes span loose when you pulled the lever. No wonder that design didnt last.

[EL CID]

I want it !!

[jT Racing]

like it. good home a holmes .

[darkersomeday]

leave the clear necks on

btw, can i pinch a copy of the pedal shot to send to sbdan? i'm trying to work out the exact colour code for the "army green"

is that really moliterno on th ht sticker

[SaMAlex]

leave the clear necks on

btw, can i pinch a copy of the pedal shot to send to sbdan? i'm trying to work out the exact colour code for the "army green"

is that really moliterno on th ht sticker

You can pinch a pic for sure, or better still I can send you a set of them! I think I have got another set that are broken.

[darkersomeday]

thanks for the offer mate
i might take you up on it if i get lucky next week!
just doing my "work-ups" for it

would you say that the green on the pedals sums up the s&m late mid colourways?

p.a's,
they were pretty sought after and rare, i could never get my hands on a pair at the time as i was always skint when they dropped,
i heard loads of stories of them snapping but always put it down to it being a new product for s&m and being a twat to make,all cranks seem to suffer problems in the early stages off production,

a bit like the wombolt/fly thing going on on bg at the moment!

[teamsano]

alex, get a pic of the headtube sticker and post it up for all to see.

[SaMAlex]

alex, get a pic of the headtube sticker and post it up for all to see.

Will do. I didnt know that.

I will also get some of the older ones that were and very old looking John Holmes. The funny thing was, that sticker looked just like my Dad!

[Bigplinky]

Lovin that bike Alex looks just ripe for a thrash

[dialledbikes]

Nice Holmes!

My first new school bike was a 96 Holmes from Custom Riders.  I think that was the first year S&M started using Aheadsets and clamp on RedNecks.  I rode it for a year (bent the Pitch Forks at Cuckfield trails unfortunately) before getting a rather lovely Standard Bicycle MotoCross and transferring all the bits across to that.  Only thing I have left is the S&M padset.

[muttley]

Only thing I have left is the S&M padset.

Let battle commence 

[SaMAlex]

Only thing I have left is the S&M padset.

Let battle commence 

Ha ha. dare I ask how much you want for the padset. (d-i-b-s? gotta be worth a go. Ha ha)

[dialledbikes]

Is the padset quite rare nowadays then?

I just bought an early Holmes frame in America which I was thinking of restoring and racing, so the pads were being saved for that.  But if I get the Assassin off Bananaman, then yeah, I'd be happy to sell to an S&M collector for a mutually fair price.

I've no idea what they're worth!

[SaMAlex]

Ohhh, what type of Holmes? Got any pics of it?

[dialledbikes]

This one.  Doesn't look up to much I know, but I would be using it as an OS race bike (once I bring it back from America next time I'm there), so would get it powdercoated (yellow probably) or rechromed.

[SaMAlex]

Nice, looks like a Mk 3, with 1" pitchforks(?). Very nice. You cant go wrong with a Yellow S&M, I was just thinking about getting a Holmes frame of mine powder coated Yellow.

Good find, Hope its gets fixed up soon,

[dialledbikes]

Any idea of the year Alex?

I assume it's old school race legal with the threaded headset and caliper/u-brake?

And where can I get hold of the Holmes downtube stickers?  I've got plenty of the head tube shields and the Slam Bar shields (also the Slam ones which have a US Eagle on them) as Chris Moeller send me some ages ago.