[EVIL JN]

Well I got a 29'er that I run 26 wheels in, bb drop is around -70mm and I have climbed and ridden the same trails with it as my last Mondraker Foxy. Sure it took a ride or two to really adapt but for me it acctually forced me to get better at climbing and plan ahead on the climb. So in the end it has been the same besides the fact that I have started to appreciate the technical aspect of climbing.

But on the way down its just eats train like nothing else, super low bb's just amps the fun factor so much its scary! Sure it might cause a premature death to my Noir cranks but considering they been down a fair few runs at bike parks I cant complain. Only thing that will change on the next one is a little shorter stays and slacker ha.

Raddest bike I've tried by miles and people think I am beyond stupid for riding it this way but I will never buy another suspension trail bike ever! But then again people thought Sam Hill was weird for putting on 750 bars too once upon a not to distant future.....

 

[Sandro]

Pinkbike reviews the pretty Stanton Switchback: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/stanton-switchback-review-2015.html

 

[tomasis7]

Steel FTW!!

Heard btr are made by quite good welders.

Bargain price for a steel frame if you compare prices to road frames.

 

[nh dude]

Any one under 5 10 have ride time on a large Trans Am 275 frame?

 

[Segunda]

6'something here , Large Vagrant would advise Medium!
Aside: BTR stuff looks awesome...

 

[HAB]

Build pics here.

 

[supercow]

Stunning, love it

 

[Sandro]

Not too shabby looking, steel, 650B or 29", 64° HA, adjustable chainstays and you can still get a good deal through their kickstarter campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1413835557/fastforward-enduro-mountain-bike-hard-tail-by-last/description

 

[4130biker]

A bit odd for an established bike co. to Kickstarter a steel hardtail?

 

[Sandro]

It's not that unusual anymore for existing companies to fund individual projects through kickstarter. Admittedly, i do find it odd when companies like Pebble still use kickstarter, but Last are a super tiny company (comparable to GG) and they are pretty open about why they went that route: helps them pay for tooling, they only have to produce what they know they can sell of the first batch and it's a good promotional tool as well.

 

[4130biker]

It's not that unusual anymore for existing companies to fund individual projects through kickstarter. Admittedly, i do find it odd when companies like Pebble still use kickstarter, but Last are a super tiny company (comparable to GG) and they are pretty open about why they went that route: helps them pay for tooling, they only have to produce what they know they can sell of the first batch and it's a good promotional tool as well.

Fair enough- i was wondering if it was a changing marketing/business landscape combined with me being a curmudgeon.

One of my relatives has used it to fund trips in the name of business "wink wink" type of thing, which is total BS and has left a bad taste in my mouth over the concept

 

[92SE-R]

What does RM think about a yelli screamy with 650b wheels?

 

[Metamorphic]

With weather in the southeast starting to suck, I just ordered a steel AM hardtail frame. Can't wait, got a NS Surge Evo. CRC has a good deal, $290 shipped to the US.

What are y'all riding this winter? Post up some build photos!

 

[HAB]

What does RM think about a yelli screamy with 650b wheels?

Sounds like a decent idea. BB on them with the stock wheel size isn't that low.

 

[captainspauldin]

With weather in the southeast starting to suck, I just ordered a steel AM hardtail frame. Can't wait, got a NS Surge Evo. CRC has a good deal, $290 shipped to the US.

What are y'all riding this winter? Post up some build photos!

Dang! That's a sweet deal.. I got my kona explosif kickin' around still, kinda wanna get rid of the mini Rux(epicon), but it works great.

 

[jonKranked]

It's not that unusual anymore for existing companies to fund individual projects through kickstarter. Admittedly, i do find it odd when companies like Pebble still use kickstarter, but Last are a super tiny company (comparable to GG) and they are pretty open about why they went that route: helps them pay for tooling, they only have to produce what they know they can sell of the first batch and it's a good promotional tool as well.

i'd say it also helps them gauge whether or not a particular item would be financially viable before allocating resources to it.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

this was mine but it has been dismantled and is being turned into something way cooler, and custom.

 

[Kurt_80]

Bumping this thread....
This is my beast, sorry for the terrible quality. Old phone etc etc.

Anyway, that's a Stanton Slackline in 26. Running Pikes, Saint and 823s. The drive train is coming up 8 years old, and I'm looking to change over. Does anyone have any longer term experiences with the new Saint? I've used SRAM clutch derailleurs before, and the thought of Saint with a clutch seems pretty appealing. However, I have read the new stuff (820) is not that great quality. In that case, what would XT be like on a burly hard tail? And jumping ship entirely, would SRAM be any good for this kind of bike? Keeping in mind it's a 135mm QR rear end.

Thanks all.

 

[StiHacka]

What does RM think about a yelli screamy with 650b wheels?

Old Post is old, did you go that route? I run a Riot with 27" wheels and now want to do the same with a winter HT.

 

[profro]

I have run both XT and SRAM on various hardtails. Pick the style of shifting you prefer or whatever you can get a deal on. It's all the same after that.

 

[slyfink]

I think I may have posted this before, but I'm getting the hardtail bug. My 650b Transition Patrol has replaced my 26" Ibis Mojo HD. I have not sold the Mojo, figuring I'd keep it around for when my son got old enough to ride it or 26" wheels. Now I'm thinking of putting all the Mojo parts on a hardtail frame. I figure I'd ride it for a couple of years, and when my boy is old enough, throw some shorter cranks and 24" rims on it.

I had my sights set on a used frame on Pinkbike, but apparently waited too long. However, Commençal has these on sale at the moment:

it's a 2017 model, has 135x10 dropouts, 68 BSA BB, and is for 650b wheels.

here's the geo chart:

I guess my question is would it work to run 26" wheels on it? For me, this would be for smoother trails, and shoulder season riding when it's really gloppy out.

How about with 24" wheels for a 9 year old? if I ran a really short stem, shorter cranks, and dropped the fork?

 

[HAB]

I've said this a bunch before, but I'm still very pro shorter travel forks on hardtails. The geometry just changes too dramatically as the suspension cycles when you get up to 150+mm of travel, since you don't have any corresponding rear suspension to even out the HTA swings. Looks like that's built around a 150-160mm fork, which I think isn't great.

BB drop is fine though, you could run 26s on there no problem.

 

[boostindoubles]

I've said this a bunch before, but I'm still very pro shorter travel forks on hardtails. The geometry just changes too dramatically as the suspension cycles when you get up to 150+mm of travel, since you don't have any corresponding rear suspension to even out the HTA swings. Looks like that's built around a 150-160mm fork, which I think isn't great.

BB drop is fine though, you could run 26s on there no problem.

Imma agree with this, 140mm is the sweet spot on hardtails, imo.

 

[dump]

I've said this a bunch before, but I'm still very pro shorter travel forks on hardtails. The geometry just changes too dramatically as the suspension cycles when you get up to 150+mm of travel, since you don't have any corresponding rear suspension to even out the HTA swings. Looks like that's built around a 150-160mm fork, which I think isn't great.

BB drop is fine though, you could run 26s on there no problem.

This is correct. Only in certain situations is 150mm ideal. For all-around riding, I like 120, some folks like 140. 160 is bike park only, and even then, it feels really weird/bad at slow speeds.