For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Gareth W shares his Stanton Slackline which he bought accidentally, but it’s a keeper.
It should never have been this bike. The bike that SHOULD have appeared in Reader’s Rides was my BTR Ranger, but I was beaten to it about a month before the BTR arrived. THIS is the bike I built up from second-hand, old-standard bits and pieces whilst I waited for the BTR to arrive. I was going to sell it as soon as my new bike arrived. Reader, I did not sell it. Because I love it.
The whole process was sketchy from the off; when choosing the BTR, I was also considering a Curtis AM9 and a Stanton Switch9er. When, on a beer-fuelled Friday night eBay crawl, I saw a crash replacement Slackline frame, I had to put in a very low offer. I went to bed not expecting my offer to be accepted, but I woke up a Stanton owner.
So I accidentally bought a frame. Not a colour I’d choose, not the size I’d choose (I’m on the cusp between 16.5 and 18, but it still fits), but the fact it was a 27.5 meant I could potentially build up something nice from older-standard parts.
First off, I bought a second-hand Cane Creek Helm Air. I had a Coil version ready to fit to the BTR, so fancied seeing how the air-sprung version compared. And it was cheap, because no-one wanted 27.5. This philosophy worked in my favour with wheels, too; Mavic Crossmaxes were something I’d had before, and quite liked, so a cheap lightly-used pair with easily-fixed cosmetic damage would also soon be mine.
I had a saddle, I had a pair of Vaults, but I needed a stem and bars. DMR Defy stems look nice (in an industrial way) so I bought a second-hand one of those, in 31.8 flavour, with a bar to match. I had to buy new grips, but that was finishing kit done.
For brakes and drivetrain, I went XT. All of it second-hand, and 11 speed. I had a Shimano bleed kit as I had XT brakes on another bike, so it made sense. I couldn’t get a shifter second-hand, so went with a Deore. I should’ve known what would follow when I found this mismatch quite as irritating as I did.
All that was left were headset and bottom bracket. I went with Hope, to cut down on faff. I bought new, just because I couldn’t find anything used that didn’t look like it had already had a really hard life. Bits gathered, the bike was assembled.
First ride was great; the tyres that came on the wheels weren’t tough enough for my flinty neck of the woods (Rocket Ron and Delicate Dave or something), so I knew I’d probably swap those. Cheap DHF/ DHR? Yes please. And that was that. Really enjoyed building it, really enjoyed riding it, and I rode it A LOT. The BTR came a month or so later, and I thought that would be that. But it wasn’t.
So two years later, and I’m still riding it. I’ve swapped the wheels for some second-hand Sixth Elements (I wanted a pair for the BTR but couldn’t afford them). Unfortunately, the Industry Nine hubs had a Microspline free hub, and swapping that for an 11-speed one was eye-wateringly expensive. Oh well, time to go 12-speed then. Gave me an excuse to get rid of that Deore shifter anyway. The cassette and derailleur were second-hand, at least. The DMR Wingbar’s swapped for a Stanton ti bar which was an expensive purchase, but it is nice.
And that’s it. The stickers on the tyres don’t line up with the valves. It’s got mud on the tyres because I ride it a couple of times a week. It’s not covered in plastic wrap to keep the paint pristine. It’s not as balanced and refined a ride as my Ranger, but there’s just something about this bike that makes me absolutely love it. It’s the keeper it was never intended to be.
Stanton Slackline Generation 4 (maybe?) 16.5
Cane Creek Helm Mk 1 Air
56 year old legs
Reduced the travel in the fork to 130mm
Sixth Element carbon rims with Industry Nine Hydra hubs
Maxxis DHF/ DHR 27.5
XT with an XTR 34 tooth ring
XT
XT
DMR Defy stem, Stanton Ti bar
DMR Deathgrips
Fox Transfer and lever
Fabric Scoop cro-mo
Helm fender
16.5 and who cares? Light-ish?
Feels like it’s finished. Until something breaks.
Whether you’ve got a special new bike or just a bike that’s special to you, this is where you get to tell us about it! You send us your submissions, and then we cast our judgemental expert lustful eyes over them and bring them to the world to ooh and ahh over. We’re picking the prettiest, the most curious, and the ones with a good story for you to appraise, praise, and maybe look wistfully at.
