Dan Stanton has been a busy man because last week we showed you the new Stanton 4X frame, and now we can show you his latest version of the frame that started it all for Stanton Bikes; the Slackline.
If you’re unaware of the Slackline then to cut a long story short it is one of the best hardtails that we’ve ever ridden mainly thanks to its brilliant geometry. That geometry is backed up with great attention to detail and a first class finish. The original Slackline is made from Reynolds 853 tubing which helps result in a frame that is light and strong, and has a ride quality that is tough to beat.
So, what’s this new Slackline 631 all about then? Well I’ll let Dan tell you that…
I kept getting asked by various people if I could do a few tweaks to the Slackline to make it even better (everything can be improved), and now I’ve finally been able to make those requests a reality. The new 631 has a 44mm head tube to fit both 1.1/8th and tapered forks, plus it also has a 31.6mm dropper seat post compatible seat tube, full outer cabling and the ability to fit a whopping 2.5″ tyre with plenty of clearance should you need to! Also, the change is tubing has meant that it’s now even more affordable at just £385!
But why 631 I hear you ask? Well, after a natter with Keith the M.D of Reynolds UK, he enlightened me to the fact that 853 and 631 are the same weld strength. Using the same gauge tubing in 631 as 853 means the frame weight is the same!
That last statement had me scratching my head a bit, I mean can that really be true? If so why does anyone bother to use 853 when making a frame. Well after a bit more digging it turns out that it is true and the only real benefit that 853 brings is increased dent resistance. That quality really comes into play if you’re making an ultralight XC or road frame which is going to be built with really thin walled tubes, but you simply can’t make a long travel hardtail frame from that kind of tubing because you’d end up ripping the headtube off, you have to use something thicker. If you’re using thicker tubing then that automatically increases dent resistance, hence why Dan has now realised that he can happily use 631 for this Slackline frame. The end result is a frame which is just as strong, just as light, cheaper, and still has good dent resistance. It sounds like a great move to me. As for the new headtube and dropper post compatibility, those are both great moves too.
Dan will be dropping one of these off with us to test next week so that we can see if he really has managed to make an even better hardtail frame for less money, but if you don’t feel the need/can’t wait to see what we think of it then he already has stock of these frames. So what are you waiting for?
Price: £385.00
