After a great recent 50 mile bridleway/single track ride on my Pompetamine I realised just how much I liked riding my versatile do-it-all Alfine shod gate.

So I started wondering just how fine a build I could put together based on similar properties, hub gear, cross tyres, rack mounts, disc brakes..

Then I spotted the Stoater Plus on the Shand website and im totally smitten.
Does anyone have any experience of Stoaters? what do they ride like on/off road? Comfy? nice finish? (silly question by the looks of it).

I’d love to build one up with an Alfine hub and belt drive

Leffeboy has a Stoater of a Stoater.

pray tell , leffeboy

A grand for frame only :-/

Sorry, but there is nothing my 300 quid full built worth, old Peugeot wouldn’t be able to do.

And it is SS ready because of horizontal, long dropouts…

Cheers!
I.

cheers!

IvanMTB – Member

Sorry, but there is nothing my 300 quid full built worth, old Peugeot wouldn’t be able to do.

Yes there is- your Pug can’t give slimjim an erection, in the way the Shand obviously can.

LOL!!!

True story.

Luckily my erection require much less agitation xD

Cheers!
I.

I’m going to have a shand when i get the cash gathered together, i dunno quite when that will be but every so often i look at the website or the gallery and repeat the mantra “i need a shand in my life….i need a shand in my life….i need a shand in my life” , as mantras go it is rather simple but very effective….I have another manta i have used for the past 20years for my transcendental meditation but i prefer my shand mantra 😀 .

I dunno whether a stoater plus or a skinny malinky would fill the shand hole in my life, perhaps i need both.

They do look bloody excellent.

And you can spend ages thinking up Shandy jokes when it’s raining!

I love it 🙂
It gets ridden most places offlroad that the hard tail does and is brilliant fun. If it’s wet it gets a bit wild though but that may be down to not very aggressive tyres. It’s surprisingly easy to ride offroad on drops with the end result being that it tends to be the bike that I pick up if I want to have fun rather than thrash round a trail as fast as possible and is the bike that I ride all the rest of the time unless I have to lock it up in town for long.

Downsides are that it feels like it might be more effort to hit the same speed on very bumpy stuff as the hard tail but it’s much easier on most other trails as long as they aren’t too soft. I’ve got the 105 kit on mine rather than the hub gear though as I like having the integrated shifters as off road you tend to be on the drops rather than the hoods.

If you want a lightweight CX bike this isn’t really want you want. If you want a bike that looks fabulous and makes you happy every time you ride it then start saving

I’d like one.

They do look very nice, but doesn’t the Cotic x pretty much fulfil the same aesthetic brief at a fraction of the cost?

but doesn’t the Cotic x pretty much fulfil the same aesthetic brief at a fraction of the cost?

There’s only one way to test and that involves both bikes, slimjim and a picture of the mull of kintyre

I like the Cotic X, but so many redundant cable and brake stops stifles my erection..

The Stoater is just soo clean and tidy.. Mmm

Yes im not expecting it to feel lightweight Leffe, especially with an Alfine fitted, but im used to carting around my Pompetamine which is officially the heaviest bike on the planet and its still a smile inducing ride.
Can we have a pic or two of yours?

Actually, there is an X up for sale locally to me, I could always have the frame reworked to smooth its lines and repainted and still come in way cheaper…
Although not sure if the geo is a bit too aggressive for my needs?

Edit: just realised its lack of hub gear compatibility

They do look very nice, but doesn’t the Cotic x pretty much fulfil the same aesthetic brief at a fraction of the cost?

You don’t buy beautiful hand built frames because they’re cheap. That’s like complaining a tin of Dulux covers your walls just as well as an oil painting.

What he said /\

The x is very relaxed for a cross bike. I know what you mean about the stops. It isn’t bespoke, but it shares the general aesthetic.

I like the look of the 29er wheeled one.. 😉

And when you get your better bike, you’ll realise how good the Pompino is… 🙂

But it is nice to have a pretty bike.

realised just how much I liked riding my versatile do-it-all Alfine shod gate.

So why change?

Belt drive and Rohloff for my fantasy Shand.

Can we have a pic or two of yours?

..it is nice to have a pretty bike.

Belt drive and Rohloff for my fantasy Shand

That’s on my next one. It looks stunning

Oh I’ve just had a mans moment ^^^ 😳

I would go with alfine rather than rohloff, so it could be paired with proper drop bar shifters.

Been lusting after one of these, looks like the perfect commuter/bridleway basher/Chariot tractor.

So, shand or the new 931 stainless Croix De Fer? decisions decisions.

That’s fab Leffe, and a great colour to boot.

Great comments so far, i agree to a point with the ‘keep your Pompetamine’ and ‘Rohloff over alfine’ comments, but i find alfine great units at their price point, and a less cluttered design. I like the sti idea too but in reality the braking efficiency diminishes when using those versa units, so far j-tek bar end shifters are the best compromise but im thinking of making a more custom shifter interface.
I do love my Pomp but im merely daydreaming over just how good anothe variant could be, and these Shands look so darned pretty.. And 853!

That is a bike of beauty, I’m already planning my trip to bespoke to see what tickles my fancy, and shand are on the list to visit, either get saving or pleading not sure which is easiest.

Loving that colour…whit a Stoater o a bike!

Lumme, Shands are nice…

I have an early Shand, it’s fab, just needs transfers.

I have an early Shand, it’s fab, just needs transfers.

be patient Al, you’ve only been waiting 4? years for some stickers.

I just found this thread whilst having similar thoughts to slimjim78: I went on 3 separate rough/off road 50 milers over the last week on my alpine 11spd pompetamine and it’s blinking’ brilliant, and with a ride Paris to Modena planned for September I’ve got a good excuse to consolidate the stable and upgrade…

So, if leffeboy is out there, I’m specifically interested to know how much his stoater weighs, I’m not looking for a super lightweight racer, but the pompetamine is a proper lard-arse, lifting it up steps is back breaking once you’ve cycled 50 miles!

Also, although I love it most of the time, I have trouble with occasional ghost gears with my Alfine 11spd, even after servicing the hub and adjusting the little alignment markers, anyone got experience of this and whether the Rohloff is better (for the money you’d expect it to be, but you never know…)? I’m going to need more range than the Alfine to get over the Alps anyway so that helps justify it to myself!

So, if leffeboy is out there, I’m specifically interested to know how much his stoater weighs

We weigh most of our bikes (the builds vary quite a bit), here’s some recent weights :

Stoater, 105 triple, XT wheels (no saddle/pedals) : 10Kg
Stoater, 105 double, XT Wheels, Hope V-twin brakes (no saddle/pedals) : 10.4kg
Stoater FT, XT, wheelsmith Race23 wheels : 10.8kg
Stoater, Chorus, King/Archetypes, Thompson finishing kit, Spyre SLC : 9.5kg

Leffeboy, that is gorgeous.

*Shuffles in seat to get comfy again*

I’ve got a Shand, a Rohloff and an Alfine 11.

The Rohloff is really in a different league to the Alfine. I felt I could never really trust the Alfine off road, I don’t use it now. I’d only be happy with it on a commuter type bike really.
It does that horrible mushy pedalling ‘clutch’ thing that just feels wrong as well as the lack of range.

I don’t have many hours on the Rohloff, but so far I love it. It just has a very solid feel to it and the gear spacing and range is great.

When I went to Shand, I wasn’t really after a super lightweight racer either 🙂
The finishing is just superb, but I went and ruined it.

Haha, I don’t know what you mean, I can’t really see where you could slim that down?

Thanks for the Rohloff advice and Shand weights guys, I’ve found a new unused Rohloff (that was sat in a bikeshop for the last 12 years) cheap on ebay so I’ve started, I’m going to do a triggers broom build merging from Pompetamine to something better and without a doubt lighter, maybe Shand, but as and when the cash permits…

@dazman22, not sure what size you are but we’ve just found 2 ‘large’ size Stoater FT bikes. One with standard derailleur compatible dropouts and one with rocker dropouts for singlespeed/Rohloff/Alfine use.

more here : Stoater FT

the frames are unpainted at the moment. Not sure exactly on price but they’ll be significantly cheaper than list.

I’m going to have a shand when i get the cash gathered together, i dunno quite when that will be but every so often i look at the website or the gallery and repeat the mantra “i need a shand in my life….i need a shand in my life….i need a shand in my life”

Yet you went and sold your prototype Singular Peregrine in 853 pro?

Shame those frame you ‘found’ !!?? are in large… I’ll be needing a med, or a small.

What’s the lead time/waiting list on the Stoater FT just now guys? I’ve been lusting after one for a year and now I’ve had a few rides on the singular gryphon I built up recently, I’m convinced that I can justify it.