[Closed] Is the Slackline like the BFe?

...also some may notice this is similar to another thread but I accidentally asked about the Switchback in that one.

Go for the one you like the look of the most, I'm sure either bike would be great.

In a polite word NO
I can only comment for Stanton having owned a Switchback which is a great frame.I also know that Cotic is Dan's biggest rival....

The Soul and Slackline are aimed at different markets. The Soul is indeed lighter and arguably right in the middle of all the trail hardtail sub-genres, while the Slackline is aimed at more robust uses.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cotic-soul-or-stanton-slackline ]Lots of threads have covered this before - like this one...[/url]

Depends what length of fork travel you'll want to run, the Stanton is good for 150ish, a Soul/BFe more 130ish (IMO).

Are you talking about the old or the new Slackline?

I had the old 26 inch one (853 with the skinny seat and head tube). It replaced a BFe anf in my experience was a much, much nicer bike to ride. It felt a lot less dead and lumpen with a lot more of the classic steel spring to it. The late 631 frames gained a 44mm head tube and 31.6mm seat post which stiffened them up a fair bit.

I've also spent some time on the new 27.5 Slackline which is really, really nice to ride. It's 853 again and it's a lovely tubeset with lots of old school steel feel to it. It'd go as far to say it's more compliant than my Ti Switchback (second gen). It's not as slack with slightly longer chsinstays and if I'm honest it's an easier bike to ride than my Switchback and it climbs better. I was very, very taken with it. It felt great with 140mm forks on it.

I've not ridden the latest BFe, but can't imagine that it'll feel much different to the one I had, so I doubt I'd put the new BFe and Slackline in the same category.

As above, I've got the 'old' skackline 631 with the 44 headtube and I'd put it ahead of my previous Bfe if a little heavier - less compromised. The latest slackline sounds a lovely thing, if a little less agro.

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Thanks all, useful info, steering me in the direction of Stanton.

Previous slackline owner and now own a BFe (both 26, both running 140mm forks). To be honest I found them similar. I only changed the stanton to be able to fit a dropper (it was 27.2). If I were buying now I'd probably go with the stanton unless there was a good deal on the cotic, but frankly they are both good.

Is the newest Slackline not more akin to the Soul and the Switchback the BFe?

How much heavier is the Slackline than the Soul?

Slackline is a pound heavier. It's really making it hard to make up my mind as I much prefer the look of the Slackline but, at 73kg and into general trail centre and Dartmoor riding, I don't think I need the extra heft.

Surprised the latest slackline is a lb heavier. My 26 version is 5.5lb. My old Bfe (44mm headtube version) was 5lb.

I wouldn't obsess over weight too much.

The Slackline will take a beating though. Talking to Dan, all of his production frames pass the CEN testing on a single frame. It certainly didn't feel burly or hefty to ride but that may be because I came at but after a few years on Switchbacks of som sort.

I had a slackline 631 with a 130/160mm fork. It was ace, I did plenty of trail centre riding, plenty of days out in the lakes and it received a beating at antur stiniog and survived. Got an FS now though and I'm definitely not looking back!!

I have both and owned all fo them......

SLACKLINE=SOUL Slackline is slacker but rides very similar to the cotic if anything the cotic feels a tiny bit more supple and a little more old school.

BFE=SWITCHBACK found the BFE a bit dead to be fair....switchback geomerty kicks ass for lairy downs and climbs well at 140mm

Depends if you think your a shredder or really are a shredder 🙂

Depends if you think your a shredder or really are a shredder

That's what I realised very quickly after borrowing the Slackline for two weeks.

The Switchback seems to be the default bike that most pick in the range. The marketing around it has been very good too.

Bikerboy, just what I needed. Now I'm swinging back to the Soul - it's just that the Switchback looks better, oh heck, First World problem.

I've no experience of the Slackline but obviously people rate it really really highly..

I have a bit of experience of hardtail riding on Dartmoor though, and if this is your intended use for the bike, I might be veering towards the Slackline..

I currently ride a Soul, and before that I rode a steel 456, and I used to love battering down the rockier Dartmoor trails on the 456 with a 120mm fork..
Souls are tough enough in their own right for most hardtail duties, but somehow I feel a bit more nervous abusing the Soul as much as I abused the 456 and I use it differently as a result..

I ride a bit more carefully these days and certainly wouldn't be trying to keep up with full sussers down the nutcracker any more so the Soul suits me fine, but if you're a bit of a hooligan I would recommend the burlier option

I have a BFe originally bought as a "winter bike" but it's now the bike I ride 90% of time (have fs now used on holidays only). I have switchable 110/150 Sektor Forks and it's happy in either position. I bought it when I was living and riding in the Surrey Hills and the bike is more than capable of doing all the trails I can (inc steeper downhills) and small jumps / drops I can do. More recently its been ridden primarily on xc rides with 60% gravel track/road ! I have never found my 2012 (26 and old seatpost size) harsh and have done 60k 6 hour rides. I am a very loyal Cotic customer as the BFe is so good and recently was bidding on old Soul frames to build one up from spares so I could have both ! As an ordinary punter I think if you put me on a Soul and BFe as a "blind test" I may fail to tell the difference. One of the reasons I got BFe initially is the frames where on sale vs Soul so saved £100+. Although given overall build cost that's a relatively small difference. The BFe imo would be very happy on a 120-140 fixed travel fork, higher travel if you wanted a bit more dh bias / skills compensation.

This is more of a Cotic v. Stanton from my viewpoint as an owner of both a Solaris (mk I) and a Sherpa (new gen). Feel free to skip to the next comment if you feel this disqualifies me 😀

The Stanton has it on looks and finish (from new anyways, not had the Sherpa long enough). It's also (like the Slackline) newer geo, slacker, more clearance, etc. Its also heavier. As mine has 45mm rims and 3" tires it feels a good bit heavier (but that's my fault). sadly I haven't ridden it enough to comment further on difference in ride 'quality'... 😳

Nothing wrong with the Solaris, its my beast of burden (it being 4 years old+ I'm happy for it to take the beating that bikepacking gives it). It currently looks a little tired (135mm axle and lacking clearance) but the Soul now has a Boost rear option (Stanton are looking at Boost adapters, should be available early next year).

Soul is a little cheaper (if you go 135mm) and a little lighter. It's reputed to take a fair beating too (just don't expect to land too many 10' to flats mind 😉 ).

Personally I think you'd be probably happy enough with either bike, it's a nice dilemma.

Both Cotic and Stanton are good to deal with (Cy has the edge on response times, excellent on e-mail but Dan [i]will[/i] keep you yapping on the blower longer...).

I'd say you should be honest with yourself, if you are on the more aggressive side then go Stanton, if you just really, really like riding your bike then I'd say Cotic. If you like the look of one over the other, well, that's good enough too.

Just my tuppence worth.

Metalheart (and others) thanks for taking the time to reply. If I'm honest I probably fit into the tyres on the ground but riding long enough (since 1989) to thrash when it matters brigade. The Cotic probably fits the bill more and I've only been undecided because the Stanton's looks do it for me. If they did the Soul in that gorgeous BFe red then I'd be in like Flynn (Cy, are you listening out there?).

The Slackline looks lovely in the Stanton red.... Dan's designed it to be much less aggro than the Switchback and I think he's got it right.

I'm a huge fan of the new Slackline but can't help thinking that it'll end up as the forgotten bike in the range because a lot of people don't see the point and go straight for the Switchback.