Review: Stanton Switch9er FS Ti-Carbon: A Mixed Material Machine

Stanton describes it as "a culmination of the best of our experience", "the most refined product we've ever made", and "the ultimate trail/enduro frame that feels amazingly stable in the rough and steep but retains that playful characteristic."

It's a 29er with 140 mm travel and a 160 mm fork, using a dual-link suspension layout with some pretty unusual kinematics. It combines this with a very slack head angle but a relatively high bottom bracket. Naturally, I was keen to see how that played out on the trail.

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Frame Details

Stanton was keen to stress the work they've done to maximize the frame's lateral stiffness, which they say is important for pedaling efficiency and responsiveness. This is achieved via a CNC machined part Stanton calls "the egg", which connects the bottom bracket to the lower-front pivot in a single piece; the upper mainframe pivot is nestled right at the junction of the top tube and seat tube (where the frame is naturally strong); the two links are machined from a block of aluminum and they pivot on chunky 15 mm axles.



Pivot bearings are protected by a rotary seal, which is designed to "keep the crap out the bearings". Cable routing runs through the top tube and upper part of the swingarm. That means that as the suspension compresses, the cables either have to bend or slide into the tubes. The latter could create some friction and accelerate wear on the housing, and if they can't slide they bend outwards, sometimes touching the rider's legs.

One thing to note is that the tire clearance is tight. With the 2.3" Maxxis tires (pictured), there was adequate space, but with a 2.4" Continental tire, the side knobs grazed the carbon if the bike was leaned over hard, and there are scratch marks from debris on both sides of the swingarm. I also installed a 2.5" Maxxis Assegai tyre, which had similar clearance (about 5 mm) to the 2.4" Continental. I'm not saying these tyres don't fit per se, but the clearance is tighter than most bikes and tighter than I'd like.



Similarly, the chain gets pretty close to the swingarm when you're in the biggest cogs. When the shock is bottomed out, the chain touches the carbon in gears one and two. Not that you'll spend any time in that situation, but the point is chain clearance is tight and gets tighter the deeper you get into the travel; my test bike started showing scuff marks on the carbon near the chainring after a handful of rides. Of course, you could (and should) protect the frame with some rubber strips or tape, but there isn't much room for added padding and it would be nice to see in-built protection.

Note: after publishing, Stanton sent me this image showing the chainstay protector they've developed. These will be fitted to production bikes.

There are two sets of bottle cage bosses (one under the down tube and one under the top tube), ISCG tabs, and a threaded bottom bracket shell.

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Geometry & Sizing

The above chart on the left is from Stanton, showing the geometry figures for all three sizes. Stanton didn't quote the wheelbase or BB height in their chart, so I've also included my own rough measurements from my 19.5" test bike on the right.

There is a slight discrepancy in reach - I measure approximately 485 mm, which is 10 mm less than claimed. But although I measured the reach three times using two different methods, it's hard to measure reach accurately so take this discrepancy with a pinch of salt. Either way, this is slightly smaller than most bikes in the largest size, but this bike has a long 140 mm headtube plus a 10 mm external headset cup below, making for a 150 mm overall length. The tall head tube shrinks the reach number on paper because the reach is measured to the top of the head tube, so as it gets taller, the top gets further back due to the slack head angle. If the head tube was a more usual 120 mm length, the reach number would grow by 14 mm, and with an extra 30 mm of spacers under the stem, the ride position would be identical.

All that is to say that the 19.5" size bike feels as roomy as other modern XL bikes with a more typical stack height and around 500 mm reach. With my preferred 40 mm rise handlebar, I ran no spacers under the stem and the cockpit felt comfortably roomy to me at 191 cm (6'3") tall.

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Suspension Design

The rear triangle is connected to the frame with a pair of counter-rotating short links. They give the bike a relatively rearward axle path near the start of the travel, meaning lots of anti-squat before the axle path curves rapidly forwards to avoid excessive pedal kickback deeper in the stroke. The layout also allows the shock to run close to parallel with the downtube, which minimizes the force on the tube and so helps to save weight.




The 65 mm stroke shock is long for a 140 mm travel bike. The leverage ratio (how many millimeters the axle moves upwards for every millimeter of shock travel) goes from 2.45 at the start of the travel to 1.55 at the end. For context, most bikes stay between 3:1 and 2:1. That low leverage makes a given shock spring or damper feel stiffer, so light spring and damping rates should be used. The overall progression (change in leverage ratio) is 37%, making it one of the more progressive designs out there. Note also that most of this progression (the drop in leverage ratio causing an increase in suspension forces) happens towards the end of the travel. For this reason, the Switch9er works much better with a coil shock with a small bottom-out bumper, like the EXT, than with an air shock which is already progressive late in the travel.

I initially tested the bike with the RockShox Super Deluxe air shock (pictured), but I wasn't happy with the performance. I talked to Stanton about this and they strongly suggested I try an EXT coil shock instead. "Maybe it's a good thing you've experienced it with that air can for comparison but, I'll be honest, that's an error for it to be sent to you with that particular shock on," Stanton told me. "There are air cans that work well with it, the ones that are more linear and coil-like in their behavior, but that Rockshox clearly isn't cutting it."



While changing the shock I noticed the lower pivot on the upper shock mount was sticky and squeaking bad enough that the swingarm was getting stuck under its own weight. I took this pivot apart and greased it, which solved the problem.

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Specifications

Stanton doesn't sell a full-build yet so I won't dwell too much on the parts fitted to my test bike other than how they impact the overall ride.

The now superseded Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes feel great but lack power with 180 mm rotors. Maxxis EXO 2.3" tires demanded high pressures to avoid squirming and this led to a harsher ride, so I swapped these out for 2.4" enduro-casing tires to get a better sense of the Stanton's potential. My test bike came with a RockShox Super Deluxe shock due to supply issues, but I soon swapped it for an EXT Storia Lok V3.

One other thing to note is the 51 mm offset RockShox Lyrik fork versus the more common 44 mm offset, but this may only subtly affect the handling in some circumstances.

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Climbing

The Stanton is very efficient under power, with almost no movement in the rear suspension unless you're stomping on the gas. The effective seat angle isn't the steepest, but only on the nastiest inclines did I wish it was any more upright, as the suspension stays high in its travel even when running over 30% sag.

The coil shock added a couple of hundred grams and introduced a touch more movement when pedaling, but I preferred the climbing feel with the coil due to the suppler action over bumps which meant less momentum and traction was lost over roots and stones. Climbing felt no less efficient but was noticeably more comfortable, more supple, and more surefooted with the coil. I was running a little less sag with the coil too, which made the seat angle steeper, and although I never used it, the lockout option is there for tarmac grinds.

Descending

Over the first handful of rides with the RockShox shock and 2.3" tires, impressions were not good. The ride was harsh and skittish as the rear suspension (even with 0 volume spacers and 35% sag) was reluctant to engage much of its travel and react to the terrain. The bike felt hard to control and carry speed, especially on repeated bumps, steep trails, and rooty corners.

With the coil shock installed and set fully open with the lighter 400 lb/in spring, plus the bigger tires and the control cockpit, the bike finally got into its stride. The rear suspension was now supple and active, sitting nicely in its travel and reacting to bumps well. The slack head angle and long front-center make it easy to ride fast on high-speed tracks littered with pinball rocks, roots, and berms. And despite the skinny tubes, the frame feels more than stiff enough, with no obvious twist and lurching when squaring off a big catch berm.




The stable geometry often lets you forget it's only got 140 mm of travel to play with, and the suspension is unapologetically progressive even with the coil shock, so on bigger hits, it's not the most bump-swallowing. It's not for those who want to plow through rocks without care. But on the flip side, the smooth but rapid build-up of support means there's plenty to push against when pumping through corners or compressions, and the bike never squats or wallows lazily through its travel.

Despite some heavy landings, I never felt it bottom-out either. And over the small, high-frequency bumps, the coil shock tracks the ground well, giving plenty of traction at the rear.




But although the suspension was performing well with the EXT shock, there was still some rattling from the chain and the cables, which takes away from the perception of smoothness. And on some tight and steep turns, I found the Stanton less confidence-inspiring than other bikes I've been riding lately. I suspect the unusually high (355 mm) bottom bracket played a role here. The 51 mm fork offset may come into play too; although I've found with modern bikes the effect of swapping between 42 mm and 51 mm offset is subtle, the combination of the very slack head angle and the longer fork offset kicks the front axle a little further ahead than usual, and this can make it slightly harder to get weight on the front wheel.

Whatever the cause, I got more comfortable with the turn-in feel over time, but these days the difference between bikes isn't how fast they can be ridden, but how easy and intuitive it is to get up to speed. That's obviously something that's going to vary from person to person, but even with the set-up tweaks I made, it took me longer than normal to feel in tune with the Stanton. On the other hand, I can't recall a single pedal strike and that's something everyone will notice.

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How Does it Compare?

If you're in the market for a boutique trail/enduro bike with 140 mm of travel, the Starling Murmur should be high on your list, so how does the Stanton compare?

While the Starling climbs well, the Stanton has a firmer feel under power and a slightly more upright position too, making it feel more eager on steep climbs. The Startling is perhaps a little more comfortable on flat and bumpy traverses, although you have to be a lot more careful to avoid pedal strikes.

When descending, the Starling's more linear suspension makes it feel like a longer-travel bike in the rough stuff; it swallows up big rocks that bit more readily but isn't quite as responsive when pumping. It relies on the Ohlins shock's bottom-out bumper on big landings, but that's no bad thing in my view. The geometry numbers are similar, except the Starling is a little steeper and the BB is a lot lower. I found the Starling easy to throw around and commit to corners from the off, while the Stanton took more adaptation to ride aggressively and carve turns.

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Technical Report


Shimano Deore drivetrain: The only component I haven't mentioned so far is the drivetrain. That's because Shimano's entry-level shifting didn't miss a beat and so it faded into the background in the best possible way. Yes, the gear indicator window on the shifter is useless and reminiscent of budget bikes, but the Deore drivetrain never felt lacking compared to more expensive alternatives.

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Trail Bikes