Staff Ride: Dario's Dumb Little Hardtail

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This Stanton Switch9er Ti came into my life and begged for a strange build kit, and I had just the right collection of parts to make good on that task. At this point, I'm almost reluctant to refer to it by its model name, because I've taken the frame so far outside of its intended purview and build style - so I'll just be referring to it as the Stanton Steamer from here out. Thanks to the excellent frame quality and solid initial design, things were off to a good start, but I'm not one to leave well enough alone.




I'm currently running the Goodyear Newtons, as I really liked their performance in soft terrain while testing them this past spring and summer. I'm finding that the compound stiffens up in the cold a bit more than Maxxis' MaxxGrip or Specialized's T9 compounds, but the mechanical grip is still quite good in turns and steeps. As an added bonus, I think they look great.

I've typically run hardtails like this with an insert in the rear or both wheels, but am currently trying this with nothing but air in the tires. A Rimpact Pro or Cushcore in the rear makes a big difference, but the Goodyear's casing is stiff enough to give some damping at the right pressure without adding a ton of weight. I'll probably go back to the insert life soon enough, but for steep loamy trails (my desired terrain for this build) I haven't noticed too much of a difference.



Those Newtons are mounted up to a set of Evil Loopholes wheels, which I chose for a few reasons: 1. They're the wheels I had; 2. Their feel is somewhere between carbon and alloy in terms of compliance, which is a nice middle ground for this bike; 3. I prefer not to run the Hydra hubs on full-suspension bikes, but on the hardtail there's no suspension action to worry about with the very high engagement, making the cost-benefit an easier decision.


Extremely powerful brakes are a solid starting point for making any bike feel more confident, so I put some of the strongest brakes I've used on the littlest bike in my garage. I know this is dumb, but boy did my theory hold true. The Hope Tech E4s are excellent brakes, with easy to meter power and plenty of it. They're fussy to work on, and a bit noisy, but once set up they really do perform well. It's all too easy to lock up the wheels on this thing, but I'm trying to convince myself that's making me a better rider.


To make the climbs easy, but not too easy, I'm running my ol' reliable GX/XO 11-speed setup. If memory serves, this is the sixth bike this drivetrain has been on, with only chain replacements to keep things humming along. The secret formula is a GX derailleur mated to an XO shifter for crispier clicks, XG-1195 cassette for low weight and max durability, and XO 12-speed chain for strength and a tiny bit more clearance when things are packed with mud.

I'm currently riding the bike with some Hope 155mm cranks, which take some time to get used to, but offer some unique benefits once you have. I like their feel in steep corners, where you want to steer with your feet and hips to pitch the bike in the right direction - especially on longer bikes with low bottom brackets. On the hardtail, I've found that effect less pronounced, plus the lack of leverage feels a little more frustrating on what should be a pretty zippy little bike. Odds are high that the shorties go back on a longer-travel gravity bike, and something more in the 165-170mm range end up on the Stanton.


I had this specific fork setup in mind when building up the bike, namely something fairly stout, soft off the top, and with 120mm of travel. The latter variable was key to testing out my belief that 120-130mm is the most you need on an all-mountain hardtail. I'm definitely not the first to espouse this, but at this point I'm a firm believer. My main reasoning behind the shorty is to limit the geometry changes that happen as you compress the fork on a hardtail - otherwise known as the Stapler Effect. The longer your fork, the steeper your effective head angle is as things get packed in. With only 120mm, things are slightly less terrifying at bottom-out, and there's still enough travel to absorb most bumps.

I went with the older model Pike because I far prefer the way it feels to the current generation, specifically in terms of suppleness and traction. The new Charger 3 Pikes do an excellent job of keeping you high in the travel and muting larger hits, but they've lost a lot of the fluttery feeling I liked about the prior 2.1 forks. Sure, I use a lot of the travel a lot of the time, but that's what it's there for. My little Pike is bone stock, save for some Push wiper seals that I installed last time I did a full service and rebuild. I'm curious to try the large-stanchioned Ohlins forks for the same application, but that's an experiment for a later date.


Those massive bars aren't just for the big-wheeled dirt jumper sex appeal, they're mostly just solving a problem I created for myself. The aforementioned Pike that was key to the build happens to have a very short steer tube, as I'd chopped it to fit a stubby headtube'd bike long ago. I've since learned my lesson, but in this case had to get creative to get the stack height back to a useable range.

This also helps compensate for the lower stack of the 120mm fork, and the slightly lower front end geo due to the -2° headset. The bend isn't my all-time favorite, but I've found a roll that feels good, and the long skinny extrusions feel quite comfortable on this stiff rig.


The Stanton Switch9er Ti is a satisfyingly simple frame, with beautiful welds, tasteful finishing touches, and nice details all around. The internal routing is definitely not something I would choose for myself, but it does at least keep the cables quiet as they punch through the frame, unlike other in-frame options I've encountered.

The stock geometry is probably a better fit for most people's uses, but I prefer my head angle modifications for my purposes. I'd probably opt for about 10-15mm more reach and chainstay length, though the existing geometry does keep things tight and playful, with easy handling in slow-speed jank. I've definitely ridden more stable hardtails in high speed terrain, but the Stanton feels like its best self in tight turns and awkward technical sections.



That's all for now - no Hardtail Week quite yet - but stay tuned for some more relevant content in the coming days.

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Reviews and Tech Staff Rides Hardtails Stanton Bikes Stanton Switch9er