Whilst waiting to hear the results of my PPI claim, I’m idly pondering these bikes. 😉

Currently on a Soul 26er (which I love), I went to the Leisure Lakes demo. having never been on a 29er or a new fangled 650b+. Discovered I love 29ers and whilst the 650b+ was ok on a dry trail centre, it would be pants in Pennine gloop.

I’m looking for one bike for everything, Thursday nights, the odd bit of racing/trailquesting, lots of bikepacking, going to Zona Zero on. (Yes you can ride Spanish “Enduro” on a 26″ Hardtail and not die!)

It does also need to cope with tarmac linking stages. I tried and loved the Trek Stache 29+, and if I lived in the Lakes would be perfect, but way too draggy on the roads around here.

Please, please MBNA send me some dosh 😉

I’ve just built up a Solaris. I like it.

HTH!!

How about a Whyte 529/629…..

I’d go for a pace r127+ and run 29ers on it if it were me. Looks pretty much perfect.

Sorry, doesn’t help and not trying to be unhelpful.

If it has to be solaris or sherpa I dont think you’d regret either.

Cheers ads678, that’s sort of concise reviews we like! 😉

Sorry, can only comment on B+

Packed and ready to roll by Metalheart-UK, on Flickr

Sherpa at the Fungle by Metalheart-UK, on Flickr

Unfortunately neither have been ridden in similar terrain so not really able to directly compare.

SolarisMAX has a longer TT (certainly in L).

Sherpa was bought before Solaris could wear 3″ rubber in the rear. Sherpa felt more ‘playful’ but SolarisMAX feels more comfortable (for the long haul). MAX was bought to replace a medium mk1 29er Solaris for bikepacking duties (mainly).

Sherpa has more choices for the rear. 135, 142 or Boost I think (mine is 142 bolt through). MAX is Boost bolt through.

Both Cotic and Stanton were happy to let me go ‘custom’ build. Both good people to deal with. Frames same price these days.

Well, I really like my Stanton Sherpa, but I’m sure the Cotic is a great bike as well.

Well, I really like my Cotic Solaris, but I’m sure the Stanton is a great bike as well.

HTH

Sherpa is more fun/playful and has a more lively feel to it. Solaris is bit more traditional XC style mile muncher.

Both a bit left behind geometry wise by the new crop of longer/lower/slacker HT frames but still nice bikes in their own right if you’re not looking for the most modern geometry.

mboy … Seen you comment a couple of times that Cotic and Stanton 29ers geo has been ‘left behind” compared to the new crop.

Which bikes are you referring to and what are the differences/improvements??

I have a Sherpa and love it, not ridden a Solaris. Rumour has it Stanton will launch a 29+ Sherpa.

One more for the Cotic, but I’ve no experience with the Sherpa. I run my 135qr Solaris with either 29er wheels or B+ wheels depending on where I’m going to ride, what the weather’s like, what wheels are on the bike just now. Changing the wheels means you have 2 quite different bikes, but I’m sure the wheel changes on the Stanton would mean the same.

Mk1 Solaris here, really like it. Not ridden the Sherpa though, no immediate plans for any change

My Solaris is set up with 120mm forks. I have a rigid SS El Mariachi as well, they ride quite differently but they’re also set up quite differently

Solaris is mainly used for bikepacking, would take it for big rides too but rarely get time to do them

mboy … Seen you comment a couple of times that Cotic and Stanton 29ers geo has been ‘left behind” compared to the new crop

I’d like to know that too. I can’t imagine Cotic having huge production runs leading to large stock levels so if some new “better” geometry comes along then they are going to be trying it quite quickly. If it works then it’ll get adopted.

Another mk1 Solaris owner here.

I’ve had mine just over 3 years and it’s varied slightly in set up. Now I’ve a dedicated mile muncher the Solaris is in another slight variation:

Short stem / wide(ish) bar, 120mm fork, change of tyres and grips, etc. It’s my favourite set up so far. Dropper being added next week.

I was toying between the two – what I really wanted was a Ti Sherpa, but wasn’t spending that much money.

I’d have taken either that came up on Ebay first – ended up with a Solaris which i’m in the process of slowly building up.

Regarding the comments Vs the newer generation of geometry – the the longer/slacker trend exists in HT’s too.

For me, I already have a long, low & slack FS bike, I have no need for an HT I have to wring it’s neck to ride properly. I want something I can ride off road on the SDW to work, do some longer cruising rides, and a bit of local woods fun.

They’re only left behind if you want a slack thing for riding steep stuff, if you want an all-round XC bike they are great.

Did a XC race on my Solaris the other day…

I’ve the Solaris Mk1, had it for just over three years. It was a case of Solaris or Sherpa but I never got the chance to test ride the Stanton and five minutes on the Solaris and it just felt right “for me”.

As a mile muncher it’s brilliant especially with some reasonably large volume tyres on it – I’ve a set of B+ wheels that make it very plush even in its current setup with a rigid fork. With a decent set of forks and a dropper even I can handle technical trails (not full on DH courses!)

Agree with the posts above. Even in my big wheeled BMX (in my head at least) version, I still need to often ride to the trails or link them up with road sections. So the angles work fine for me.

Sitting between sizes meant my mile muncher is a larger frame and has proper old school geometry but I find that suits that style of riding.

I’ve noticed this thread was originally a few months the old so be interested to hear what the OP ended up with.

I don’t think you could go wrong with either bike, I’d just choose the one that you prefer the look of, or the cheapest.

It might also be worth considering if you have any spare parts or other bikes that you might want to swap kit over. One of the reasons I ended up picking a Stanton Slackline was that pretty much everything from my Canyon Spectral would be swappable (wheels, forks, seatpost etc.).

Sold a solaris literally 42 minutes ago, lovely riding frame. You won’t regret it if you get one