Stanton Switchback - Review
Some say the days of the hardtail are dead and buried, but don’t go saying that to Stanton Bikes. The small UK based company has made quite a name for itself over the past few years amongst those who still appreciate what a great hardtail can offer, and this latest Switchback looks to build upon the success of their Slackline frame.
The Slackline is their 26” wheeled frame that can throw its hand to pretty much anything, and in simple terms they’ve taken the DNA of that frame and injected some larger 27.5” wheels, with the result being this new Switchback. It’s available as a frame only in either titanium or Reynolds 631 steel, with prices being £1599 and £550 respectively, or you can go for a complete build as tested here. Stanton Bikes offer a couple of upgrade options on the standard build, but the only one we opted for was the addition of a Reverb dropper which put the final cost at £2480 with the steel frame.
Stanton Switchback Details
• Intended use: trail / all-mountain / fun
• Wheel size: 27.5''
• Reynolds 631 steel main tubes
• BOS Deville AM 140mm fork
• 30.9mm dropper post compatible
• Interchangeable dropouts
• Sizes: 16.5”, 18”
• Weight: 28lbs 11oz (size 16.5” w/o pedals)
• MSRP: Frame Only £550 GBP (approx. $844 USD), Complete £2480 GBP (approx $3807 USD)
• www.stantonbikes.com, @StantonBikesUK
Frame Design
For some reason the UK has been a real hotbed for what’s probably best described as ‘aggro hardtails’. If you look at the majority of hardtails on the market, the ones from the big players, you’ll find that they are based upon your traditional XC style racing hardtail, i.e. short travel forks, steep head angle etc, but along with some other likeminded companies Stanton Bikes believe a hardtail can be so much better than that.
With no rear suspension to deflect attention there really isn’t anywhere to hide when it come to making a hardtail, and subtle differences in construction and geometry can make big differences out on the trail. I can give you great example of this…a while ago I rode the original Stanton Slackline and loved it. Then I got the chance to ride a later version that ran a 31.6mm seatpost rather than a 27.2mm. Everything else was the same, but I couldn’t believe the difference in the ride, so much of the originals ‘life’ had been lost, and it was all because of that fatter seat tube.
Stanton have managed to blend 'old skool' steel looks with modern tapered fork compatibility thanks to the sleek 44mm headtube.
The finish on the Switchback is faultless. Even without the crown finishing details it'd still be fit for a king
I was a little worried that the beautiful feel of a quality Reynolds 631 double butted steel frame would once again be dulled thanks to the dropper friendly seat tube on this Switchback, but without giving too much away too soon, the first ride proved me wrong. I couldn’t work out how Stanton Bikes had managed to achieve this, it was messing with my head, so I got on the phone to them. It turns out that with this frame they’ve gone for a 30.9mm rather than 31.6mm internal diameter seat tube, which also has a slightly thinner wall section, and they’ve taken 0.1mm off the wall thickness of the Reynolds 525 seat stays. Like I said before, seemingly trivial differences can make the world of difference.
There’s one key aspect of this frame though that could never be described as a subtle change from the norm, and that’s the head tube sitting at a seriously slack 64°. That might sound a little insane at first, but you can’t really compare the head angle of a hardtail with that of a full suss. The reason being that when you sit on a bike with front and rear suspension they should both sag together, therefore maintaining the static head angle, whereas with a hardtail only the front can drop, which of course steepens the head angle. It’s because of this that Stanton Bikes choose to measure the geometry with a 140mm travel fork at 25% sag. This puts the head angle at 65.75°, and it’s that number that Stanton believe you should use to compare against the static head angle of a full suspension bike. Yes it is still considerably slacker than most hardtails (even when compared against their static measurements), but at the same time it suddenly seems a lot less crazy and a lot more on the money.
The slight bend in the seat tube has enabled Stanton to keep the chainstays short and playful despite the larger wheel size. It's every bit as fun the bike that inspired it, the smaller wheeled Slackline.
Those replaceable dropouts allow you run 12x142mm or 10x135mm vertical versions, or should you want to take the whole purist thing one step further there are also horizontal ones for singlespeed use.
So yes, Stanton Bikes have well and truly sweated over the finer details on this frame, and so it comes as little surprise to see that more regular concerns are equally well taken of. Up front the 44mm headtube ensures compatibility with either tapered or regular steerer tubes, and whilst you are at the headtube it’s hard not to notice the welcome finishing touches such as the logo in the top tube gusset and the classy head tube badge. As you move further back you find yet more features to aid compatibility, such as ISCG 05 tabs, routing for a front mech, and replaceable dropouts which allow you to choose between 12x142, 10x135, or horizontal. Throw in routing for full-length gear cable outer and a stunning stove enamelled paint job, and it really is hard to find a fault.
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 | I was sure there would be some of that tell-tale slack head angle flopping around going on, but there wasn't really... Honestly, this bike has really made me question why we've ever built hardtails with steeper head angles. |
Climbing / Handling
It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the most efficient full suspension bike in the universe, nothing can match the feeling of instant power transfer that you get from a hardtail. Yes, technical climbs are more of a challenge, but to be honest I found that to be a blessing in disguise. Having to concentrate more on technique meant that my mind didn’t have chance to fill itself with the usual climb related grumblings. You might think that a hardtail equipped with a 140mm travel fork that sits at a slack 64° (static) would be a recipe for disaster on steep climbs, but I was pleasantly surprised by the bike's ability. I was sure there would be some of that tell-tale slack head angle flopping around going on, but there wasn’t really. When the climbing got steep and technical enough to induce any kind of vagueness up front I was already looking to get out of the saddle, at which point my weight naturally moved forward, which in turn compressed the forks and steepened the head angle. Honestly, this bike has really made me question why we’ve ever built hardtails with steeper head angles.
If there was one thing though that did hinder progress when things got really challenging it was the gearing. The 1x10 setup with an 11-36 cassette is always going to be a little limited in that respect, but if you can’t live with it there’s two options relatively easy options. Firstly you could fit a front mech and some more rings up front, or even easier than that you could go for the OneUp Components upgrade that Stanton Bikes offer. For an extra £120 you get an XT cassette fitted with the 42t expander sprocket, and you also get a RAD cage fitted to the rear mech.
Sizing wise at 5’9” I found the 16.5” frame spot on, better in fact than the same size Slackline. The reason being that Stanton have increased the length of the top tube slightly. For some reason, and don’t ask me why, I prefer full suspension bikes on the larger side, whereas I like my hardtails to be a little more petite, so it could be that if you’re the same height as me you might prefer the 18”. Different folk, different tastes and all that. I would say though that if you’re one of those really tall folk then unfortunately you might be out of luck even with the 18”.
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| Against a stopwatch you may well be a little slower than on something with travel out back, but if anything the sensation of speed is higher, you just feel on the edge, and that's where the grin factor comes in. |
Descending
Conventional wisdom might say that when the ground starts to drop away, so too does the appeal of a hardtail, but conventional wisdom has clearly never ridden the Switchback. This bike truly shines when you point it downwards, so much so that it had me grinning from ear to ear. Yes I would have liked a little more width up front than the 740mm bars offered me, but apart from that I loved every second of it.
The low and slack nature of this frame is undoubtedly at the core of what makes this bike so good at descending, but at the same time the performance that the BOS Deville fork brings to the table cannot be ignored. The marriage of the two is quite simply superb. If you’ve ever fitted a 140mm fork to a hardtail with a steeper head angle then you no doubt know the trouble it can get you into. Dive through that travel and you suddenly find yourself in charge of a live wire. This bike on the other hand just encourages you to charge thanks to that winning combination of a slack head angle and a fork that offers unbeatable levels of support.
Line choice obviously becomes a little more critical when aboard a hardtail, but it’s amazing what you can pile though on this thing. Even when there’s no other option apart from tackling a rock garden head on you can just let the rear end do its own thing whilst the fork keeps you on the right track. Against a stopwatch you may well be a little slower than on something with travel out back, but if anything the sensation of speed is higher, you just feel on the edge, and that’s where the grin factor comes in. There’s no doubt in my mind though that you can ride this thing considerably faster downhill than you can on a ‘regular’ hardtail. Even with the bars that were a little narrow for my liking I always felt in control of what was going on up front. The Stanton Switchback is a ripper, there’s no question about it.
See that crank bolt sticking out? My ankle really didn't like it. Shame, as otherwise they're great cranks.
Don't let the relatively simple adjustments of the BOS Deville fool you, this fork illustrates just how good 140mm of travel can be.
My benchmark brake, and to be honest it's hard for me to imagine how it can ever be beaten.
Shimano's SLX might not get your pulses racing, but if truth be told it does a damn fine job for not much money.
Component Check
• BOS Deville AM 140mm fork: What a fork! The Deville offers an incredible blend of sensitivity and composure that you simply won’t find elsewhere. The sensitivity provides grip like you wouldn’t believe, whilst the seemingly unflappable damping helps to ensure that the fork only ever uses what travel is needed. This lack of any diving is especially welcome when you’ve got a relatively long travel fork fitted to the front of a hardtail.
• Shimano XT brakes: These have become my benchmark brakes, and for good reason. They offer faultless performance in terms of power and control, and crucially I’ve yet to find an alternative that can touch them in the reliability stakes.
• Shimano SLX drivetrain: I think Shimano are doing themselves a disservice with this SLX kit. I mean it works so well that it makes you seriously question if it’s worth spending more on their higher-end offerings.
• Race Face Turbine wheelset: With no suspension at the rear to soften the blow, any hardtail needs a sturdy set of wheels if they’re going to survive, yet at the same time if you fit some that are too stiff it’ll be the rider that ends up taking a beating. These Turbine wheels struck a good balance.
• Onza Ibex tire: Onza isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you think of tires, and to be honest I thought I might have to swap these for testing, but their performance was a welcome surprise. It was only when faced with serious mud that they became unstuck, the rest of the time they provided great levels of predictable grip, without feeling sluggish.
• Race Face Ride Crank: I’ve long been a fan of Race Face cranks, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get on with these ones. The reason being that the area around the crank bolt on the drive-side sticks out too much. I’m not a ‘heels in’ rider by any means, I never normally scuff cranks, but my ankle bone took an absolute beating with these.
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 Natural singletrack is great at any time, but aboard the Switchback it's about as good as it gets. |
Pinkbike's Take:
| If you think there's no place in your arsenal for a hardtail then you need to ride this one. It doesn't really matter what kind of rider you are, I'm sure it'd put a smile on your face, and isn't that what mountain biking is about? There's been so much talk over the years about 'do it all' full suspension bikes, but I think if any bike can genuinely be described as such then it's this one. I'd be more than happy to spend a day shuttling DH runs on it, likewise going for a mammoth XC ride, or even just having a bit of fun down at the local dirt jumps. It might not be the weapon of choice for serious racing, but in the right hands it's still an incredibly capable bike, and it's always fun. It also has to be said that there's something deeply satisfying about leaving a full suss rider eating your dust while you pull away on a hardtail. Childish maybe, but I think there's still a kid in all of us mountain bikers. So yeah, I like this bike a lot, and that's before I even think about the fact that you can pick up one of these frames for far less than a decent suspension one, or the fact that this frame will go on for years without the need for any servicing. Likewise, a bike like this can teach you skills that you'd possibly never learn on a full susser, and those skills will just make you ride even faster when you do have some travel in the rear. Would I be tempted to buy a different hardtail? Well if I had the money I'd be sorely tempted to buy the Ti version. - Ed Haythornthwaite |
About the Reviewer
Stats: Age 37 • Height 5’9” • Inseam 32" • Weight 170lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: NoneBike shop mechanic, World Cup mechanic, DH racer, frame builder, bike journalist…bikes have been a major part of Ed Haythornthwaite’s life ever since he was brought up in the wilderness that is Dartmoor. In those days suspension of any form was a rarity, and riser bars? What the hell were they? Over the years he has witnessed all the trends, tried his hand at pretty much anything involving a bike and dirt, and now is never happier than on a natural, root and rock laden track…aboard a perfectly set up bike.
Stats: Age 37 • Height 5’9” • Inseam 32" • Weight 170lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: NoneBike shop mechanic, World Cup mechanic, DH racer, frame builder, bike journalist…bikes have been a major part of Ed Haythornthwaite’s life ever since he was brought up in the wilderness that is Dartmoor. In those days suspension of any form was a rarity, and riser bars? What the hell were they? Over the years he has witnessed all the trends, tried his hand at pretty much anything involving a bike and dirt, and now is never happier than on a natural, root and rock laden track…aboard a perfectly set up bike.
Author Info:
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Spot on comment. Got bored riding my full suspension (Devinci Dixon SP) in the South-East of England, it just made the trails too easy as it was so darn capable.
Sold it and got a nice hardtail with 100mm fork and 1 x 10 gearing.
Never had such much fun riding, I started in 1986 riding fully rigid mountain bikes, in 1991 got my first suspension fork, it was like going back to that experience all over again after having owned over 30 different full suspension bikes.
I am actually going quicker than I was on my FS bike!
While I didn't sell my FS bike (Lenz Sport Leviathan 4.0), when I wrecked and was waiting for a few replacement parts I swapped everything over to a Canfield Brothers Yelli Screamy, discovered I had created a lot of bad habbits, and actually find myself on the Yelli more than I thought I would unless I know I'm going to be spending a really long day in the saddle.
@VPS13
While I agree that price seems a bit much for that particular build, what you get in a $3800 hardtail is much different than what you get in a $3800 DH bike.
The other thing I love about my 2001 scab frame is the way it flies against all the commodity fetishism of the bike industry and all the suckers who don't realise a bike is nothing without a rider.
While I'm on about crap like planned obsolescence etc today's production carbon bikes are fine if your sponsored but they are just so underbuilt. Carbon's real virtue is strength. What would I know? I was Lahar team manager in 2003. Every single factory bike from 2003 is still being ridden hard. Amazing.
On that note if anyone knows where the hell crazy old Aaron Franklyn is can you send me a personal message? Cheers.
Seeing Aaron lecturing the Honda engineers at the 2006 Worlds in Rotorua was priceless!
P.s. you own five hardtails!? Coool. What are they?
your comment about geography is correct, or specifically geology of rocks
Where many hardtail riders live in England, we don't have rocks. Of course, riders in more exceptional terrain areas like Wales and Scotland, have many rocks.
But for many of us, especially riders in the South-East, its just mud and tree roots, unless we are fortunate enough to get some dry weather when the mud dries out to resemble loam!
The tires can deal with the tree roots, the mud tends to degenerate full suspension bearings and pivots, and riding on softer mud terrain often means a hardtail makes more sense.
Would have loved allowance for a 30.9mm diameter seat post in order to get a readily available dropper post and the ability to run as a ss as per the Stanton would also have been great.
However this frame is just so great that those details become trivial.
Also had a std inbred with a 100mm travel fork in both 26er & 29er formats, and yet again really enjoyed the ride, just that that slacker geo of the summer season just feels great on the trail.
Enjoy the bike when built!
I know hardtails are fun, I ride one, tell me what makes *this one* different!
Your review is more than welcome and I hope there will be more from you on Pinkbike. Hardtails are the perfect bikes and definitely deserve more exposure, and you surely are entitled to talk about them.
Why did everybody make hardtails or even fs bikes with 71º headangles for so fricken long? Useless and dangerous, I blame many scars on it.
The stanton was a tad too short for my liking.
After reading in Dirt the rave reviews and the reviews on here I can only say that Dan and his bike really deserve all the praise. He had the idea and went for it and came up with the slackline = brilliant!
And, that bike really can keep up with a full sus because I've seen it done
He is right about the post. I use a Thomson layback on my 27.2 frame and its spot on.
I love the idea of a 650b one. I currently ride a Dialled PA Classic on 26" but in a year will wheel size up to match the other ride. However, it wont cost this much! Stick some revs and a Slx/deore stop and go and visit good old Superstar componants for the rest and you can bring it all in under a grand. Well around that! Some brand snobbery might strike!
Yeah I'm thinking that's the feeling I'll get...well almost that feeling....
'fun'.....
Now rocking a 456.
Riding hardtails every now and then will improve your bike handling skills and increase your speed. Smacking that rear wheel into every rock and root you can see when riding your full susser WILL SLOW YOU DOWN!
Now tell me, just between you and me... is Dirt and Pinkbike silently forging world's biggest MTB media syndicate? Jonesy in latest article... suspicious... I shall investigate!
I've never actually ridden a bike with full suspension, but I've decided I'll hold off on that until I've sharpened the skills a bit. I can't see ever being witihout a hardtail, though!
I have them and with 2.4" conti's, you can't even get a mucky nutz fender in there.
i have a ragley marley and love it, great bike for my kind of riding. i'm not a full blown dh racer or a full blown cross country guy either. i land right in the "enduro" category but dont have the cash for a full sus frame. i picked the marley up and kitted it out with a shimano zee drive train and brakes, azonic outlaw wheels, and ragley bar/stem/seatpost combo. its not the lightest bike out there but it comes in 2-4 lbs lighter then most of my buddies full sus bikes.
the hardtail part hasn't held me back either. i can shred all my local trails and even hit up the resorts with no bike induced issues. shit i even catch some urban paved trail riding on my lunch breaks at work.
long travel slack head tube hardtails are the shit!
ha!
I spent 4 years on a Stumpjumper, finally had the shock sent out to be PUSHED. Took a month, which meant I spent a lot of time on my single speed hardtail. After hopping back on my stumpy (push did a great job), I felt like a bunch of fun was taken outta my ride, so my next season went longer travel hardtail and never looked back. Just orded a Chromag Rootdown and am stoked! So many different ways to get on the trail.
I had a Skackline before hand which replaced an XS BFe that I never really got on with, the Slackline 853 was lovely to ride. I'd never really got the whole steel thing until I had this; it was just a hoot to ride. The downside was that it was just a tad too small. Initially it was just used for mucking about on but I started to riding trails on it so wanted something a bit bigger...enter the Switchback.
The finish is brilliant. I love the top tube gusset, the decals a subtle and tasteful, the red pops in sunlight. The ride also backs up the looks. It feels stable, encouraging you to ride it as fast as you can but never harsh. I've been impressed with the Turbine wheels which I picked up super cheap in the CRC sale. I'd love to be able to justify a pair of Devilles.
Hardtails are so much fun, that I have only ridden my Banshee Rune once since the end of last August!
Riding my Stanton in the Slovenian Alps:https://500px.com/photo/101469929/alpine-biking-by-sandi-bertoncelj
Are you sure that the difference in ride quality wasn't because the difference in tubing material? the 27.2 slackline is a mix of reynolds 853 and 531 (I think), while the 31.6 slackline is made of reynolds 631.
just sayin.
Buyer beware of online pricing as the older M670 i listed for more than the new M675 on CRC...
www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/frames/mountain-bike/product/review-stanton-switchback-ti-15-49232
Love it!
But that is none of my business.
Wouldn't hate to learn about the sizing for the sweet slackline frame too...
"Finally, a bike I can afford!"
*sees £2480*
"Nevermind..."
Established US manufacturer known for making some of the most kick-ass aggressive hardtails for several years now, gets ZERO reviews during that time period.
Canfield's Nimble 9 and Yelli Screamy arguably started this party, yet get no love from PB. Why is that?