Just reframed my parts from a SolarisMAX 2019 model. Had a blast on it this morning.
If anyone’s interested i’ll write up my thoughts on the difference between the two framesets.

I almost ordered a switch9er so am definitely interested in your thoughts! Did you go Taiwan or Uk made?

Also interested, I had a Solaris Max stolen last month, thinking about a Switch9er as a replacement

Yes please!

Thought I’d put this out there with a YMMV warning, but my opinion based on my experience so far. Apologies for the length… I may have been a bit excited to get a new frame dirty.

I’ve had a Cotic SolarisMAX mk1 for a little over a year. Strava says I’ve clocked up 3,700km or thereabouts. I built it as a replacement for the only dual suspension bike I’ve ever owned as I like riding more than I do replacing pivot bearings. Also, I like eating and beer a about as much as I like riding and I break quite a lot of things – axles, seats, rims, etc, so I went for a burly build. Hope Fortus 30s, X-Fusion Trace 36 (set at 140mm).

Adjusting to a new bike can sometimes take a while. The other hardtail in my quiver is a carbon Santa Cruz Highball, which rides a bit like a speed-addled e-bike. It wheelies if you cough. So at first the Cotic felt like a barge. Don’t get me wrong, it flew downhill but took a lot more muscle on my favourite tight pedally jungle tracks.

After a few months though I moulded to the SMax. Despite the weight penalty (~3kg), I was climbing as quick as on the Highball and it felt like a better tempered beast. I even did a 100km (mainly dirt) ride on 2.6 tyres on a hot as hell Queensland Christmas jolly and didn’t feel it was out of place.

When the Stanton Switch9er eventually arrived (forget COVID-19 we’ll regale our grandkids with stories of the great bike part shortage of 2020) I swapped all the parts over so that I could do a direct comparison. The only change was from XT crank to XTR… a little weight saving, but not likely to make a huge difference.

The Stanton is the Taiwanese triple-butted heat-treated 4130 model. Stanton said it was unlikely I’d notice much difference between it and the UK built Reynold’s tubeset version and given it was a couple of hundred quid cheaper it made sense. More on that later.

Geometry-wise they’re similar-ish, on paper. Slightly more reach on the Smax, longer chainstays, half a degree steeper head angle. This link compares the two as well as the Cotic BFeMAX

SMax side shot

Stanton side shot

But how does that translate into the real world?

My first ride was on a 90% humidity 21 centigrade early morning pre-work ride on my local rocky, rooty 1600 acres of handcut singletrack heaven. It’s handy for comparisons as I ride here two or three times a week. An hour of hard work gets about 10 miles under your belt.

A while back I read on Singletrack World a comment to the effect that if you were faced with an obstacle in the track the Cotic was the bike you’d use to get through it efficiently, the Stanton was the one you’d use to play with it. Plough versus Pop if you will. This is a really good way of summing up the primary differences.

On paper the Stanton is slightly longer. On my (admittedly not exactly high quality) scales the frame is heavier (3.2kg vs 2.6kg). Swinging a leg over the steed it actually feels a little shorter (a result of the steeper seat angle?) and a little lighter too. Fork sag needed no adjustment from the Cotic settings.

Bombing off down the track it immediately felt fast, but planted, though when I hit the first opportunities for air it was impossible to not give the Switch9er a flick. The Cotic always felt like it needed more effort to do this, and as a result I guess I was less inclined to do so.

Thrashing through a twisty 3km loop (in reverse direction because it was 6am) I was getting the hang of the handling, trying to adjust for what felt like a shorter bike. I was a bit harder on the brakes, less confident to flow through corners.

In the early climbs I felt like the traction was good and power delivery was at least as positive as the Cotic. Then we dropped into a fast, dusty rocky run with me in between a couple of mates. Here I felt like I was being thrown around a bit and after a rock drop into a fast left hand bend the front end washed out and I used my left-hand side to clear a few rocks out of the way, sunnies shooting off my head! This always seems to happen when I adjust to new bikes, but I think my tyre pressures were probably a bit high too (I was riding a fairly worn tyre too as the new Assegai I had waiting for the front had been left off to get a better comparison between the two frames as well!)
No scratches… on the bike at least.

Next was to continue on a fast-turning dropper-down rainforest creekside trail packed with fig tree roots, a couple of dry creek crossings, a flat-out berm and a whole heap of pedalling. The Stanton came alive, needing less heft than the SMax and here I noticed that despite the lower BB I seemed to be able to keep pedalling through the gnar instead of relying on momentum to carry me. Nice.

After a breather I led the guys on a really tough challenge. To ride up a well-known tricky climb, hammer down a parallel super rocky descent and repeat the climb, against the clock. I swear my heart was fit to burst by the end, but I stayed upright, found the climbing at least as easy as on the Cotic and even though Strava didn’t quite keep up, I think I might have been quicker.

At some point I realised that the back wheel seemed to feel less forgiving when landing. And I’m not sure if it’s because:
a) Tyre pressure was a bit higher than normal
b) The longer chainstays on the Cotic act like a leafspring
c) Stanton’s Taiwai chromo isn’t as forgiving as Sheffield’s finest
d) I’m just getting a bit too old for this kind of thing.
Anyway, I’ll be back for more to see how it goes.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, no strokes despite sweating most of my body away and some good ups and downs. Can’t wait to get back out there.

One thing I have to say about Stanton though, is that the paint options and overall finish is superb.

Ultimately I’d say the bikes, when set up like this, are really quite similar, but I think once i’m used to it, the Stanton will be the bike park bike of choice for me.

… I’m now figuring out the cost of shifting all my non-boost Santa Cruz gear across to the Cotic to make that my mile-muncher.

+1 here!

Valve/Logo

Oddly enough I did the same thing earlier this year, and replaced a Cotic with a Stanton. Ultimately it’s personal preference between the two but the Stanton feels easier to throw about though I do find it a slightly harsher ride than the Cotic. Absolutely love the colour on my Stanton too.

I’d be interested to see how they both compare to the new BFe Max and also the Pipedream Moxie too.

Funky colour switch

That is interesting and a great review of the subtlties. I was looking at the Switch9er over a year ago and figured it might be a bit stiff in the back end, so its good to hear confirmation of that.

I ended up with a Pole Taival, trading back end compliance for reduced tyre clearance because it has regular tubular stays instead of a wishbone.

It was the right thing to do for ride compliance, but I was never truly happy about the tye clearance.

Great info Reeksy, thanks. What sizes are you on the respective frames and how tall are you? I’ve got an smax on order but still can’t decide whether I want the stanton more!
Without riding either the theoreticals I based my decision on were better tubset on the cotic for similar money (v the taiwan stanton). Slightly higher bb for better clearnce – lots of rocks here. Longer effective top tube – last couple of bikes I’ve had to push the saddle back to get a comfy position but would prefer not to do this to prevent unwanted wheel lift up hill.
The one that bothers me an that I’ve heard a few times and your write up kind of confirms is the chainstay length and whether that leads to the cotic feeling a bit dull. I want it all, confidence inspiring downhill, forgiving frame but playful and fun too!
Be great to hear any more thoughts you have…

So I’m exactly 6ft and on the large SolarisMAX and 18″ Stanton. Definitely no chance of accidentally lifting the front wheel, especially on the Cotic.

I doubt you would regret either bike.

I’m always looking for the perfect compromise. Luckily i have a little home track too. Stanton is feeling quicker through the berm and easier to jump. Trying out an Assegai front tyre tomorrow.

You’ve probably seen this but I saw it and thought of this thread

I think he liked it. I’d agree with it being an easy bike to pick up and ride, I felt pretty comfy on mine from the start. Just been out today on some rocky Lakes stuff and had an ace time.

Yeah, he definitely liked it. I wouldn’t like having to do his ‘job’ though. It would be hard to give a scathing review if he didn’t like something even though they’re not paying him.

I had another good (albeit extremely hot) ride this morning. Now with a decent front tyre.

I agree with some of what he says, but my experience isn’t quite the same. I’m sure there’s a bit to do with rider and i wonder if six inches height difference and an 18″ frame affects that, too? No doubt there’s a million other factors too (including him being a better rider!).

I’m definitely not feeling over forked at 140mm, not experiencing wandering on climbs either. Compliance … yeah, but I hit a fast blind drop today that lands square on some big roots today to check out the back wheel chainstay stiffness thing I mentioned before. I did it intentionally to see how it compared to the SMax. A few times on the Cotic it felt like I was on a FS bike, really amazing how it absorbed the drop. Stanton was definitely harsher today, quite a smash. It then runs into a fast twisting track and it felt great.

Managed to get close to my fastest time on a really tight jungle track, which is all about trying to keep momentum and accelerating out of corners.