Switch9er was 20% off Sherpa was only 10% still pretty good.

I wonder if Stanton would take a custom order for Sherpa with Switch9er reach. I think Stanton use to accept modifications to geo on orders? Does Cotic offer that? Like get a SolarisMax in a medium with a 12mm shorter reach?

Okay saw a video and slightly oversized 2.6 just fit the switch9er so a true to size 2.6 would be no problem for the desert. I doubt it could be setup 27.5×3.0 rear like the Sherpa or Solaris Max, but I guess I could do 3.0 front and 2.6 rear for those rougher rides. I will be ordering the switch9er Monday morning. 👏 Yes new frame day coming up!

I think there’s a guy, @reeksy ? who I think has an smax and a swith9er who could give you a bit more info. I think he had a comparison write up a while back. Could be worth a search..

Yes, that’s me.

I rode 3,500km on the original SolarisMax with Fortus 30 and a 36 Trace set at 140mm. I really liked that. It did everything, super capable downhill, if a bit heavy for 100km trudges days and big climbs.

Then I swapped the gear over to my Switch9er a year (and two days) ago and have done 2000km of singletrack on that. The shorter reach needed a longer stem (35 changed for a 50mm) to feel comfortable.
I’ve continued to get faster on downhills, generally keeping up with mates on FS bikes and hit the top 10 on a popular local fast flowy pedally 4 minute segment.

I’ve had so many rear punctures in the last year landing hard on rocks I’m running DH casing. I don’t think it climbs as well as the SMax.

The SMax now runs a 140mm Manitou 34mm fork and Fortus 26 wheels and i’ve done 3000km of gravel/bitumen/singletrack commuting on it. It’s way lighter and better for longer hauls. But I also know that if the Stanton was poorly i could swap the wheels and take the Cotic out in all the same places.

Thank you for the input. Stoked to get my Stanton

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Oh, just saw the 2.6 tyre comment. I fitted a 2.6 Dissector briefly on my Stanton and it rubbed the left hand side so took it off and run a 2.4 instead.

Would 2.5 fit then? Does Stanton normally do a boxing day sale?

I reckon a Maxxis 2.5 probably would, depending on the side lugs… my rear wheels always tend to have a bit of a wobble for some reason 😉

Did you put 120mm forks on the new version? That’s Cy’s favoured setup for a fast XC SolarisMAX build.

@kelvin – that is how I started out but just couldn’t solve neck ache issues (after 15 miles) despite playing with spacers, bars, stems and seat position. In the end I just got a 140mm air shaft for the fork and problem solved. But it’s also turned it into something not quite what I wanted.

It’s a proper bruiser now…. but at the expense of a bit of all day rideability.

I prefer it fitted with the longer fork as well, and I don’t find anything is lost in doing so. It’s just a suggestion for those that don’t find the handling “XC” enough… whatever that means. Modern geometry doesn’t have any downside for me… just as good on climbs and long rides as far as I can tell, and then ready for anything on the downs.

Anyone know if Stanton does boxing day sales?

Got reply from Stanton and was told 2.5 might fit in the switch9er and that it can do 27.5+. Wasn’t clear if it’s 2.8 like the slackline or 3.0 like the Sherpa.

Just saw that cotic offers midnight blue again for the solaris. I’m very tempted to buy one ….. like right now ….

Arriving February. Midnight due was due to be batch 4… but batch 3 got delayed so much that both batches are now arriving together. So, unusually… that’s FOUR colour options becoming available at the same time. All gloss with subtle sparkles.

orange / green / blue …. which one is the forth ?

edit: purble … i only just saw it after submitting my posting ….thanks!

exciting!

that’s FOUR colour options becoming available at the same time. All gloss with subtle sparkles.

That’s way too many, your customers will be overwhelmed. You should get rid of one of the colours. I’ll help you out, you can send me one, in whatever colour you decide to get rid of.

That purple is hawt.

Modern geometry doesn’t have any downside for me… just as good on climbs and long rides as far as I can tell, and then ready for anything on the downs.

Agreed.
I tried 160mm on the Stanton. I preferred 140, but it was still very rideable. Also ran 120 on the Cotic. No discernible difference except it wasn’t as good downhill.

Curse the internet. I was about to order the switch9er this morning and then see the purple Solarismax and wowie zowie it’s hawt. So you folks are sayin 120mm on the max was eh? What about 130mm? Or 130mm on the Switcher9er?

I’m terms of burliness it’s Switch9er, then Solaris Max then Sherpa, right? Is the Sherpa still considered burly for an xc bike or parity with other regular non racing xc bikes?

Oooh, that purple is pretty

So, I have run a SolarisMAX/SodaMAX at 120mm, 130mm and 140mm.

120mm is best for climbing for me (at 140mm on the steeeep stuff it feels a little light front end (nothing to bad, and more a feeling than the old Solaris wandery front end of a mk1). Unsurprisingly 140mm is best on the downs.

Most of the SodaMAX’s life has been helms at 130mm. Didn’t really notice any discernible improvement in climbing from 120mm (apart from the SolarisMAX at 120mm was also B+ so a 2.8” which has obviously more traction so a little difficult to compare directly) or conversely that an extra 10mm makes that much difference on the downs.

My Helms are in need of a service (and have been sitting off the bike for three months waiting for me to decide whether to get them increased to 140mm or keep them as is at 130mm). My heart says 140 but my head says 130mm…

I’ve until February to make my mind up. The new SolarisMAX will get the Trace36s (and will be my ‘bikepacker’) and I’ll see how that goes…

TL;DR 130mm on a SolarisMAX is a pretty safe bet.

FWIW I found the Trace 36 at 140mm much more confidence inspiring on the downs than the Manitou 34mm.

TL;DR 130mm on a SolarisMAX is a pretty safe bet.

This. Absolutely.

In your unusual situation though, your new SolarisMAX will have a slightly steeper seat angle than your older SodaMAX when using the same length fork. So you could maybe think about 130mm on the SodaMAX, 140mm on the SolarisMAX.

Anyone Shepra or Switch9er owners want to chime in with which travel they found the best?

Just to throw a spanner in the works… I’ve had a 19″ Sherpa gen1 for about 6 years. I’ve ridden it with 100mm and 120mm but over the summer I had a mad scheme to slacken the HA by a degree and put a 130mm Pike on it.

I’ve always loved the bike but it is now truly brilliant! The only thing that held it back before was the steeper techy stuff, but it feels so planted now. Love it!

I think it has a 50mm stem and 2.3 tyres if that helps.

Ive ran my XL SodaMAX with 120/130/140mm forks and Ive settled at 140mm, running lyriks for what its worth. I didn’t find that much difference really but as above wanted to raise the front end as the XL is a long bike.

Ive also gradually reduced my bar width on both hard-tails, 800/790/780 and Ive now settled at 760 with 40mm rise.

Ive had 2.6 butcher in with clearance in the past btw, currently have a 2.4 dhr wt with lods of clearance.

you could maybe think about 130mm on the SodaMAX, 140mm on the SolarisMAX.

This what I have pretty much already decided. I just need to accept this fact… 🤪

No point in booking the Helms in with TFT before the new year now though.

Oh, re. rear clearance, I’ve currently a specialized hillbilly on a XM481 (so 2.5” iirc) with only the occasional gravel ping/tread hookup. Not had mud issues that I recall of…

I ordered a Taiwan Switch9er in a purple close to the Solaris Max color. Should be here after the new year due to painting. Gonna go with a yari select at 130mm with either Silt or Hunt wheels & advent x. Thinking maybe Magura brakes, unless I find some hope brakes for cheap. Thinking 29×2.5wt front and 2.5 rear. I wanted to go Solarismax but the cs is 10mm longer than I prefer for the trails around me.

I had a Gen2 Sherpa with 27+ wheels at 130mm… it did everything I asked of it, but I just took the plunge on a Gen3, which also does everything but better. Only done 6 rides or so since building it and they’ve all been filthy, but every ride has felt perfect… I wonder if the slightly longer reach takes a bit of weight off the rear wheel as the new frame seems slightly more compliant. Will probably build the Gen2 with a shorter fork, longer stem and 29er wheels for those longer rides I keep kidding myself I’ll do “next summer”

What offset fork you going to run on both setups?

@pizzagrinder… 51mm (what I have)

In case you’re interested in the Solaris … go check out cotic’s flickr page …. integrated seat clamp and downtube bottle bosses ….

Anyone running an angled headset on their cotic or Stanton?