I got hold of the new stanton slackline bike at cwm carn on saturday. This was running 140mm floats up front, 1×9, 45mm stem and nice sunline 711 bars.

The bike I test rode was 16.5″ and it felt perfect for me (5’9 32″ leg). All i can say is I love this bike and I really, really want one!

It climbs really well although what I did find is due to all the singlespeeding this year I always got out of the saddle and attacked climbs rather than spin.

Normally I take the swoopy section at the top of cwm carn but this time I decided to take the bermy/jumpy section (which has been redesigned a bit since i was there last). This bike cornered like it was on rails. IT gave me so much confidence in berms. I don’t often get that much ‘air’ as i panic a bit on table tops but this felt so comfortable. I had a massive grin at the bottom of that section so I decided go up and to ride it 3 times.

The bike seem to have a really short chain stays/short wheel base so it felt much more manoeuvrable. In comparison my enduro is super stable at speed but doesn’t feel as flickable. It certainly felt faster over the terrain at cwm carn.

it was a nice change to ride in flat pedals as well.

So all in all. I’m selling my enduro frame and getting one of these built up.

Also the guys at stanton are in Bristol so local to me.

(Sorry this isn’t up to scratch with other peoples review of bikes on here but I tried

sounds like you had fun, nice looking frame too!

Do Stanton have an area/shop open to the public?

They are selling them in http://www.psyclewerx.co.uk/ in Bristol at the moment. I contacted them last week and they lent me this bike to ride saturday

They do look nice, what other long forked hardtails have you ridden?

not many!

I rode a blue pig for 1 descent in the mednips so very hard to compare. It honestly felt like it had more travel up front. As soon as i jumped on the bike it just felt right (i normally moan about bikes not having the right TT length, wrong stem, seat too far forward)

If only it was lighter. 5.6lb is abit heavy 🙁

are you kidding? I thought i read somewhere you were 16 stone.

5.6lb is abit heavy

A bit heavy, thats stupidly heavy.

Eh? 5.6lbs is about right for a steel frame for jumps. I think my bmx frame is about that. But because its made from 853 its expensive so only the old stw mincers who can’t jump will be able to afford it

I’d say 5.6lbs is light, my Balfa Minuteman steel frame is 7lbs… and it cracked 😥

Replaced with an Alloy Mmmbop at under 4lbs… clocks ticking on that one then 8)

David its not a bmx though.

Anyone know the weight of the last version of the Orange SubZero frame before they stopped selling them?

5 1/2lb’s using google advance

If only it was lighter. 5.6lb is abit heavy

You need to take a bit of Chopper’s advice:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y[/video]

If only it was lighter. 5.6lb is abit heavy

Certanily didn’t feel like it rode ‘heavy’ (and i’ve got a 21lb ti hardtail)

Climbed fine to me.. <willy waving>but then i’m a bit a of a whippet uphill</willy waving>

Ooo http://www.stantonbikes.com/content/sherpa-853

and ooo http://www.stantonbikes.com/content/slackline-ti

Ooo http://www.stantonbikes.com/content/sherpa-853

That might be a bit heavy 🙄

Couple this with a geometry calculated to win races and you have the perfect XC trail frame.

Hmmm, that makes sense, NOT!

Get back to your xc jeyboy mincing, the slackline is meant to be thrashed. Heavy, pfffft

Get back to your xc jeyboy mincing, the slackline is meant to be thrashed

Ahh, so if it was lighter you couldn’t trash it faster no?

Obviously could, door that way ➡

the slackline is meant to be thrashed

I thought actual good riders are supposed to be smooth and flowy? Not crashy and thrashy? 😐

Ahh, so if it was lighter you couldn’t trash it faster no?

So, with all your frame building experience, how would you propose to make a frame constructed from 853 lighter?

There has to be a compromise somewhere. If you don’t want to compromise, buy alu.

flow – Member

Ahh, so if it was lighter you couldn’t trash it faster no?

Obviously could, door that way

Excellent choice of typo there It’s a reasonable weight for the job it’s designed for- a little heavier than the equivalent sized BFe I think but in the right ballpark. Obviously lighter steel HTs exist but it’s a tradeoff of strength, and for some jobs you want a very strong frame not just a strong one.

Does seem to be a bike of current hype though.

Excellent choice of typo there

Damn the H key!

So, with all your frame building experience, how would you propose to make a frame constructed from 853 lighter?

The Sherpa is a trail/XC specific frame utilising single butted Reynolds 853 tubing.

Use double butted tubing for starters, allowing the wall thickness to be thinner (making it lighter), whilst still retaining strength. But what would I know.

allowing the wall thickness to be thinner (making it lighter)

And weaker – more prone to denting and fatigue. I’m sure they know what they’re doing. But what would they know. 😯

And weaker – more prone to denting and fatigue. I’m sure they know what they’re doing. But what would they know

They? Its just one bloke, my friends mate. Never built a frame before in his life, and I doubt knows anymore about it than I do.

Clearly you don’t have a clue, double butted tubing is as strong as single butted but lighter.

not for denting (and often for fatigue) it isn’t

If it were aluminium you would be right. Aluminium possess the shortest fatigue life of any material used to manufacture bike frames, with a typical life expectancy of 5-10 years. Steel on the other hand lasts a lot longer.

Steel vs Aluminum
The situation with aluminum is even more pronounced. The “identical” aluminum frame would be 1/3 as stiff as steel, roughly half as strong, and 1/3 the weight. Such a frame would be quite unsatisfactory. That’s why aluminum frames generally have noticeably larger tubing diameters and thicker-walled tubing. This generally results with frames of quite adequate stiffness, still lighter than comparable steel ones.

Large diameter thin-wall tubing.
The advantages of larger tubing diameter can, theoretically, be applied to steel construction, but there’s a practical limit. You could build a steel frame with 2-inch diameter tubing, and it would be stiffer than anything available–indeed, stiffer than anybody needs. By making the walls of the tubes thin enough, you could make it very, very light as well.
Why don’t manufacturers do this? Two reasons.

The thinner the walls of the tubing, the harder it is to make a good joint. This is one reason for butted tubing, where the walls get thicker near the ends, where the tubes come together with other tubes.
In addition, if the walls get too thin, the tubes become too easy to dent, and connection points for bottle cages, cable stops, shifter bosses and the like have inadequate support.

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html

They

“They”, as in Stanton, Cotic, Dialled etc – who you seem to be complaining produce heavy frames

flow, is a thinner guage steel tube more susceptable to fatigue than a thicker gauge tube of exactly the same material in the same application?

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html

Whats your point?

“They”, as in Stanton, Cotic, Dialled etc – who you seem to be complaining produce heavy frames

Considering an 853 Kona Explosif frame weighs 4.2 lbs (1.4 lbs lighter than the Slackline), and they have been making steel hardtail frames for much longer than anyone you mention, yes I do think they are heavy.

flow, is a thinner guage steel tube more susceptable to fatigue than a thicker gauge tube of exactly the same material in the same application?

No obviously not, but you have to pedal the thing its not a motorbike, weight is important. Especially when making a hardtail as the only things you have to play with to make it ride well are weight, material and geometry.

an explosive aint strong enough for teh big fairy forks never mind ragging around rough places by fatties with no finesse.

I don’t know about that. Back in the day before all these stupid bike categories, any hardtail (GT Zaskar, Kona Explosif etc) was used for that exact purpose.

Whats your point?

“In addition, if the walls get too thin, the tubes become too easy to dent, and connection points for bottle cages, cable stops, shifter bosses and the like have inadequate support.”

The Slackline and BFe are only partly 853, the remaining tubes made out of a heavier steel to keep the price of the frames affordable. I’m sure the 853 Kona is lighter, but I’m sure it is far, far more expensive.

Like I said before “There has to be a compromise somewhere”

Back in the day before all these stupid bike categories, any hardtail (GT Zaskar, Kona Explosif etc) was used for that exact purpose.

and regularly cracked/snapped and that was with the spindly long travel 80mm forks of the time.

keep going tho, the amount of shit and rate at which you’re managing to it spew out is fairly amusing.

and regularly cracked/snapped and that was with the spindly long travel 80mm forks of the time.

Thats BS, there are loads of them still about, going for good money too.

keep going tho, the amount of shit and rate at which you’re managing to it spew out is fairly amusing.

Coming from you 😆

I raced an Exposif in DH races and it never broke… Mr Peat was in the same team and his never broke either….