Nukeproof Scout Review (2022 Gen 3 )
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Cons:
- Still a good value
- All parts swap over from previous scout (and other Nukeproof models)
- Excellent cable routing
- Not extremely modern or extremely outdated geometry
- Happy on most trails
- Threaded BB
- External Cable Routing (except for the dropper, of course)
Cons:
- Not as great a value as prior models
- Stiff riding frame
- Vanilla ride
- Could use a longer reach
- Not very playful
Who it's for:
- people looking for an all-rounder that's up for anything
- people who are on a tight budget but still want modern components
- people who want to get the most bang for their buck
- heavier riders who don't want a flexy frame
Who it's NOT for
- xc racers
- enduro shredders
- riders under 160 lbs due to its stiff ride
- people who are looking for a bike with a ride feel that really stands out from the crowd
My full thoughts on the 2022 Nukeproof Scout Hardtail
today we're reviewing the stanton sherpa
i'm super excited to share this review with you i've had this bike on about 10 different rides now and i've really gotten to know it it's going to be featured in many more videos and i'm going to still be comparing it to the tie frame i haven't ridden the tie frame yet but today we are just reviewing the stanton sherpa steel and i'm with some special guests this is josh from the penny pinching cyclist and dan also from prescott and cody aboard the bc podsole yep i know you guys like that frame we've got this setup as a 27.5 by 3.0 so in plus mode it's great it's a 29 or two but i really like plus bikes and if you're gonna set this up bike packing this is how i would do it don't worry you'll get to see it in more configurations but this is how we got it set up today and i've also swapped out the fork for a fox 34 step cast because the sid that was on here it would rub with this tire this tire would not clear in the sid so a stepcast 34 is a great lightweight 120 mil fork that will still fit big 27.5 plus tires i've also swapped on my pawl clampers my cable actuated disc brakes that i loved so much i bought a couple pair and we'll be breaking them in on this ride just here to have a fun ride
hopefully these brakes start working
i do not know prescott very well but i'm excited it's been raining for the last 20 minutes before we got here and now the sun's out we're gonna have a good time
oh this bike is awesome so dan stanton designed this bike and dan stanton is one of my heroes he is a hardtail genius he understands just how thin you can make tubing while keeping it supple but still strong and he has the best feeling bikes out there some of the best and this bike feels so good remember that johnny rotten i loved a couple years ago at outer bike and it just blew me away this bike's even better than that
this is what hardtails are all about so this bike's designed around a 120 fork and it's meant to be lightweight and zippy crush out epic long rides bike packing blue and green trails just having fun on trails without getting too crazy wild they have the switchback and the switch niner for those that want to get a little crazier
this bike is so fun though so today we're comparing the uk made stanton sherpa reynolds 853 to the taiwan made stanton sherpa 4130 chromoly
so a lot of people are wondering can the cheaper taiwanese 4130 stanton sherpa get the same ride feel as the more expensive uk reynolds 853 tubing sherpa both are steel i'm gonna ride this trail then go to the shop put all the same exact parts on the 4130 frame same day bring it back out here and ride the same loop back to back and see if i can tell a noticeable difference between how the frame rides i'm as excited as you guys are for these results all right let's hit the trail i'd pick kind of a petally mellow excish trail and i think that's where this bike really comes alive this is such a special bike i have a discount for stanton frames for my patrons so if you want to save some money on a stanton frame while supporting this channel while getting great bike advice from me become a bike consultation patron i'd love to help you over there
appreciate stanton sending me three versions of the sherpa the tie this 853 and now the 4130 it's been really fun to compare them back to back and it's important to remember that my results today do not apply to any other bikes other than the stantons i really like this bike got a little bit of a low stack and a compact reach it's not very stretched out like some of the more modern bikes that i ride but man it really captures what made steel hardtails great in the 90s with some modern geo and standards it's got that lively soft ride feel
really a special bike and even though the reach isn't as long as like the switch niner or my banshee paradox after you've been riding it for 20 minutes it feels totally natural look at these shiny bars these are new from stanton they were just released 30 mil rise titanium bars this bike is zippy
it feels so much lighter than it is i love it if you ride in places that don't have a lot of steep terrain this sherpa sure makes greens and blues and long distance days and bike packing really fun a lot of people wonder how titanium bars ride compared to aluminum and while i can't speak for all tie bars i've ridden these and the roost titanium bars and they both have micro vibration damping better than carbon even better than the one up carbon bars which are pretty compliant these are next level these are a little bit heavier than carbon bars but man i'll take these every time the one bummers are 31.8 so if you have a 35 mil stem you either need an adapter or to get another stem but i'd argue that's the right decision anyway for a bar like this where we're going for compliance going bigger would just make them more brittle if we kept them the same weight so for metal bars 31.8 makes a lot of sense in my opinion this is such a smooth bike it's just so refined feeling it's still a hard tail you're not going to mistake it for a full suspension but it just feels i don't know how to define it it feels elegant it just feels super high quality this frame has set the benchmark for me for what a steel frame can feel like when designed properly anyway back to the bars stanton offers these and they can even cerakote them to match your frame which is pretty cool i wish i had six sets of these bars to run on all my review bikes oh this bike just encourages you to smile and soak in the scenery and enjoy the ride you can still jump and play around on this thing but if you're not into that or you're an older rider or a more cautious rider or catching error doesn't interest you this could be a great option especially for people who don't love the modern stretched out slack aggressive riding position that some bikes require this bike feels a lot more neutral and will be an easier transition from people coming from road or people who've been riding an older bike like a 10 year old bike for years and want something modern that doesn't feel tons different oh thank you so much good morning it's just me have a great day
here's our public service announcement toilet paper doesn't magically disintegrate please pack it out if you pack it in now we're pointing down this is really where you feel the stiffness of a frame
you can feel it on the climbs too sometimes hello
thanks it's just me appreciate it
this bike's still plenty playful
it's way slacker than people think when they see the numbers it's not like a slack hardcore hardtail you can still charge on this i feel a little more composed on this bike than my spot rocker as far as taking it down double black diamonds but it's just such a great all-rounder especially if you love a steel israel smooth feel just really special i've not yet found a taiwanese frame that has this ride characteristic
really fun bike
man no matter how soft your hardtail is you still get buffed around on that stuff
oh yeah first try no problem these bars are really nice now it's not night and day and i'd argue there are more important ways to spend your money on your bike build
but if you do not like hand fatigue these are the best riding bars i've found yet these in those roost tie bars it's maybe oh seven percent less vibrations than a carbon bar kind of feels like you're running two psi lower some people are real sensitive to that and other people aren't
man it is such a beautiful day it's great to be alive we're on this flat little traverse now this bike is smooth like i said it's still a hard tail so you still feel bumps but it just takes the harshness out of them with this wonderful frame i don't know if this sherpa could be my only bike of course it could be but i think i'd wish for something a little more rowdy for where i live if it was my only bike but i think the sherpa is a perfect compliment to someone that's got like a ripmo or a high tower or a 140 to 160 mil enduro full suspension when you get a hardtail on top of those you actually don't really want it to cover much of the same ground the purpose of getting a hardtail is to have a different ride experience so i always recommend something a little less travel a little less aggressive geo to help the blue and green trails come alive and this would be a great fit for a lot of people for that
this bike is such a fantastic choice and there are so many trails out there like this in the world where you're not shuttling or bombing down a black diamond and i always encourage people to fall back in love with their green and blue trails in their area we have this machismo that says we gotta ride the hardest trails possible to prove something but on a little bike like this man blue and greens are just as much fun as a black diamond they're safer it's just a different experience you soak in your surroundings a little more i get a little more of a workout lower adrenaline but more therapeutic to the soul all right that was fun i love this mint green shirt but it's one of my all-time favorite bikes this thing is so special it's time to go to the shop strip this all down put it all on the 4130 frame that stanton sent me that'll probably take me three hours then i'll be back here on the trail same exact trail to compare how it rides see in a second we're back built up beautifully the only hard thing on this frame is the internal routing for the dropper because everything's steel so your little magnet thing gets stuck inside but everything else swapped over beautifully this mocha gray is such a cool color i really like it the paint isn't perfect and the paint's done in the uk when you get a custom paint like right here we've got some gray speckles in it and right down here too they don't film that way it just looks like they didn't quite get the coverage or there was a little bit of gray speckled in the clear coat now the frame weighed 0.46 pounds heavier than my 8531 so it's a little bit heavier um a little bit more affordable the welds i think are a little bit more aesthetically pleasing on this taiwan is cranking out perfect welds on their bikes depending on the factory you go with and so apart from those two blems on the paint the paint looks great as well all right let's go hit the trails see how it rides compared to the 8531 interesting that there was as much of a weight difference as there was i didn't think it'd be almost half a pound but that reynolds tubing is specifically designed for being light and strong 4130 is chromoly steel reynolds 853 is chromoly steel but reynolds is a brand of tubing this thing is every bit of joy to climb on as the other one it should be everything's identical except the tubing i don't feel the weight difference it's hard to feel that that's like the difference between drinking a few ounces of water on your water bottle so yeah frame weight came into 6.28 on this frame oh what a pleasant ride this is i think this is gonna be a little stiffer on the downs we'll see
what a zippy bike hello thank you
thanks a lot
hello
still very much that same
playful energetic exciting ride feel
man that little step cast 34 is good
i'm getting a little more bounced around than the other one my calves kind of tighten up and clench up a little bit more when i ride stiffer bikes yeah this is it definitely is i'm having to hold on a little tighter at the bars to maintain control my calves are closer to a charlie horse just from the repeated vibrations but it's not as stiff as the tie one
i'm gonna say the 853 is ten percent softer it's impossible to quantify but having ridden them back to back i feel the difference this reminds me of the sour crumble for taiwanese frames this and the sour crumble win for most comfortable most compliant i do feel like with these slightly stiffer frames when you put down power in a hard gear they propel the bike forward just a little more it's really hard to put into words but that that's how i feel it like just a little more energetic under pedaling see if we can get this tricky one no problem
they're both very good and i'd be happy on either but i'm going to keep the 853 it's just a little bit more refined for everyday slow riding through this stuff not a huge difference but when you pick up speed and hit the chatter then it feels like you're running maybe three or four psi more in your tire and if you can't tell the difference when your tires are over inflated by 4 psi don't get the 853 one there's no reason if you're pretty sensitive to stuff like that i think you'll be glad you sprung for a little more for the uk 853 frame now remember this only applies to this frame i've ridden eight five three frames that were stiffer than this current frame and i've ridden eight five three frames that were way more supple
oh this bike just puts a smile on my face i fear myself bouncing a little more when the rear end hits a bump then with the 853 version kind of like the difference between cush core and no kush core just that micro bit of vibration damping
and i don't think it's all in my head like i'm believing i want to like the cheaper one more
everybody wins when that's the case but i do think that uk 8531 is just 10 more refined in the ride feel this bike just makes you want to soak in your surroundings it's just a it's an experience
and it's weird how a few angles and pieces of metal tube welded together can change your perception but i really do feel like it can
now i'm five six 175 pounds if you weigh over 175 you can get stiffer frames to feel good for you but if you're a petite rider like my wife who's 110 pounds every hardtail feels stiff especially the stiff ones she is more particular about frame stiffness than i am even and she's been reviewing some hardtails over on her channel lately so if you have a female rider in your life or if you're a lightweight rider and you want her perspective check it out it's pretty awesome she's doing that her channel is called dusty betty i'll link to it in the top right if you ever come to visit sedona to ride here please stay on the trail that helps us have a good relationship with the forest service to be able to make more trails oh that's scary
i feel like this frame falls right dead between the 853 steel and the tie one
it's not as stiff or light or snappy or zippy as the tie one but it's not as comfortable as the 853 one kind of right in the middle and i think it's priced appropriately it's a beautiful frame very well built same exact geo and angles as the uk one this bike is totally a modern version of your favorite 90s hardtail yeah this one's definitely stiffer i wasn't sure if i was feeling it at first i definitely feel it now even in my hands so if you want to do a little experiment on your bike to see what it might ride like between a supple frame and a little more compliant frame add 5 to 10 psi to your fork and go on a ride and then remove that 5 to 10 psi and see if you can tell the difference between the two
that was really fun i love getting experimental and trying different things back to back on the onset of the ride i didn't notice a huge difference it wasn't night and day but at the end of the five miles by the end of the loop my joints were feeling a little bit more fatigued a little bit more tired i felt like the back was bouncing a little bit more it felt like my tires had three to four psi more and three to four psi more in my fork as well it's still a fantastic bike for the price and i think the pricing is in the sweet spot between this and the 853 you can get 90 of the same ride feel as far as suppleness goes with the 4130 sherpa the geo and ride position and attitude are completely the same between them so if you're on a budget and you want a sherpa i say get the 4130 once you load these up with weight and bags and gear and water the difference is very subtle and these ride way more supple with weight on them same thing goes for you guys who are heavier and bigger riders if you're 190 pounds and up i think you might actually like the stiffer one it won't feel quite as flexy under power and you'll get this to flex the way i get the reynolds 8531 to flex if you're super light like under 150 pounds definitely get the reynolds three one it will make a huge difference to you so the smaller you are the more important a supple frame is in my opinion and the bigger you are or the more you load it up with bags the less importance it is and for some of you who are gonna be riding buff flowy single track it's not going to make much of a difference anyway the weight you could take it or leave it i don't think it's worth getting the 8531 just for the weight savings i would focus on ride quality that's a benefit that it's almost a half pound lighter but it's really that ride feel that makes it so special stanton told me i got to keep one of these and you can bet i'm gonna be keeping the eight five three one and if you can spring the extra money i do think it's worth it for the uk made reynolds8531 stanton isn't telling me to say this in fact when i ask them they say oh they ride so similar i can't tell the difference i can tell the difference and it's been fun to do back to back and get experimental and this information has really helped me to consult with my bike consultation patrons when they're looking for the right bike being able to ride the tie versus the 4130 versus the 853 has really helped me be able to fine tune the right bike for each of my viewers if you need help finding your next bike you want to pick my brain on how to build your bike up or which components to get or which frame you should be getting i do that through patreon.comtealparty that's my main business my main job and i'd love to help you over there i love helping people navigate the crazy world of geometry and frame materials and marketing hype and help them select a bike that's perfect for their trails and their writing style if that's you and you need that head on over to patreon it supports this channel and i love working with people but if that's not in the budget or if you don't need that please keep enjoying my free reviews if you enjoy them hit that like button and subscribe thanks for getting experimental with me there's a party in the mountains and you're invited
you
i need to pick a line instead of just going for it i'm missing my longer bikes my knees keep hitting the bars get the rock nice and wet yeah nicely done
man it keeps pulling me over here i need to do two more tries there it is ah
you all right i mean i broke my finger oh no straight now straight ish
yeah we got it straight whoo that was spicy oh just went in that hole oh almost made that all right we're good my finger's not going to fit in the glove anymore but we'll see how this goes that's my first broken bone in 25 years of riding you know i earned that one though i was almost there and couldn't dismount fast enough came down stuck my hand in a hole and it grabbed my pinky and just went and then i just pulled it right back straight hopefully uh hopefully it grows back together the right way and that tape does its job let's see if i can keep riding
oh that was so good cody yeah so much fun riding with these guys josh is prepared with the ibuprofen 400 will be great thank you sir all right we'll keep riding see if i can finish out this review because this bike is too cool to stop now so sometimes when you push it you get hurt i am feeling the shorter top tube on really technical climbs like this i actually like longer slacker bikes for really technical climbs i've got a little bit more room to move around i can feel my knees hitting the bars on this and let's be honest uh most people don't have terrain like this to ride on their trails and most people aren't going up them on 120 mil hardtails so i think we can give the sherpa a pass i don't think it was meant to do that but i have made it up that on other bikes that had a little bit longer cockpit all right let's keep riding well if my bones are going to grow back crooked at least they'll grow back in a handlebar shaped position this bike climbs really well this bike is fun it's like your kid brother that's just the life of the party that everywhere you bring him you have fun this is such a compliant hardtail this is probably my favorite steel hardtail at the moment and that's saying a lot i haven't bike packed with this yet but i have a feeling it's going to be my favorite bike packing bike so one thing about this bike you have to remember that all stantons are measured at sag so this bike has a 440 mil reach at sag which means it's a shorter reach when unsagged so when you're comparing it to other bikes a little two foot hook there so when you're comparing it to other bikes you kind of have to calculate one of them to sag to match this or calculate this one to unsagged so that you can compare them so when the fork's higher your reach is actually shorter
and you feel that on this when you're doing big technical fast moves but that's not what this bike's meant for 27.5 plus is way slower than 29ers this bike is completely at home on blue trails like this
so much fun and despite the 435 chain stay it still wants to dance easy to bunny hop easy to manual just a joy just you just grin the whole time you're riding this thing i've had it on double black diamonds and it handled it but not at the speed i like to go and it was sketchy compared to what i normally ride but it did it what a great little bike just goes to show 120 mil can be plenty for a great hard tail on the right trails but yeah this is a really relaxed riding position it's not a modern feeling bike where you really have to get forward and wait that front and all the corners you can ride pretty neutral kind of old school still steer through your feet but not have to really muscle the bike around but yeah you're just in a real comfortable riding position so for an all-day ride i'd feel right at home i'm not hunched over not reaching for the bars
but when you're on a 27.5 plus bike your buddies on 29ers drop you
29ers are faster you have to sneak in extra pedals wherever you can on these 27.5s to keep up
and this bike rides really great as a 29er i've got some other bikes in for review and i'm having a hard time reviewing them because i just keep choosing this bike to ride instead
so this bike reminds me a little bit of the chameleon not quite as easy to manual as the chameleon but almost reminds me of that johnny rotten by ionic said this is significantly cheaper it reminds me of the spot rocker a little bit but a metal version but this is what steel hardtails are all about people one of the most supple bikes i've ever ridden and dan has that secret combination down to make his bikes
ride just the way he wants him to so his enduro bikes like the switch niner is a little stiffer he didn't want it quite this compliant and smooth because it's gonna be rallied and pushed hard and all of stanton's bikes ride a lot slacker than their geocharts suggest yes they're measured at sag but even when you calculate that out they still ride slacker than they look oh this is the perfect bike for this stuff it's not quite as attack fighter jet as the spot rocker i'd definitely be faster on the rocker i'm just having a joy on this trail though what a fun day
oh this is what hardtails are all about is this kind of riding right here so much fun very few bumps you just feel connected to the trail when you put power down it translates into movement you don't have some squishy suspension back there today would have probably been a little better on 29er i just don't need the cushion and traction of the 27.5 plus but this is how i've been riding it lately and it feels a little bit more aggressive and 27.5 plus like it just has a little more travel even though it doesn't
that hurts with my pinky i won't be doing a whole lot more of that today
fun bike man
i just can't stop smiling having a blast so smooth and man this mint green that i chose it's a custom color you can have custom colors on your bikes it takes a little longer to get them painted oh it's the most beautiful bike i've ever had in the shop can't wait to try the thai one it's like almost two pounds lighter
but this bike does not feel heavy at all a lot of steel bikes these days are overbuilt and they just kind of feel like tanks
this bike doesn't it feels like the best bikes of yesteryear with modern geometry this has a much more modern geometry than a johnny rotten i've got a riser bar on it because it's only got that 120 mil fork on it oh my goodness this is amazing what a day
i do not know this trail
this little bike likes to jump likes to play it's not faced by these big chunky rocks
yeah so i can't climb as fast as these guys right now so i'm not even going to try but i would like to talk about how this bike climbs it's got a nice modern seat angle and because the reach isn't super long i don't feel like i need a super steep seat angle
we need to be careful whenever we look at one number like head tube angle or reach or seat angle because they only tell part of the story but yeah this is a really comfortable climbing position so this is a super comfortable climber i love the climbing position i feel like i could sit in this position all day and not have back pain or feel hunched over which is why i think it'd be a great bike packing bike
oh what a fun area
you do feel the shortness of this bike and most people are going to love that a lot of people are having a hard time adjusting to the long bikes that i like
and sizing charts have changed and people recommend different size bikes than they used to
and a lot of people haven't adapted their riding style to suit those new longer aggressive bikes if that's you you're gonna like this bike
so just because it's not super long and insanely slack does not mean it's not fun or capable you just ride it differently than the switch niner or the banshee paradox or my new bike that i'm designing
you just ride them differently and people that like a more traditional comfortable relaxed pedaling position where you don't have to put quite so much body english in they're gonna love this thing i love this bike it just makes me happy really great riding feel and i love that i can fit a 150 mil dropper with double water bottle mounts inside the frame
never realize how much i used my pinkies before especially on technical climbs and bunny hops i'm noticing today oh that's fun
give that another go i definitely feel the short front end
so yeah that front's wanting to lift a little more on the really big power moves and that's the nature of a shorter bike
still doable though you just have to change your technique
picking our way through the boulders super fun
love rock slabs we're at the village goofing around fun little spot
man i'm struggling on these ups with this bike i need to get used to it a little more there we go
a little bit shorter wheelbase taking me a while to get used to
yeah these are fun love it
tricky one that's hard to get smooth
such a playground up here cody's putting on a show tonight let's see if he can short start this
that's big that's 40 inches there's no way
that is massive i think i got it so much fun riding with cody he always pushes me i like to think that i push him you do you got this up and over smooth go cody you got it go that's so big
there it is nice work cody yeah that's how it's done ladies and gentlemen always ride with someone better than you they will make you better and cody's a positive fun upbeat dude
you've got to be kidding me
that was beautiful
man i'm just having dismount problems all day
there we go i am having a harder time keeping the front end down
yeah that was a great move if you guys aren't subscribed to the penny pinching cyclist yet go do it he's our trail guide today keeping us from getting lost it is amazing here i get lost every single time
sometimes dragging your brakes helps in technical moves
all right nice work you got it
that was so sloppy but i got it
man i am missing my gloves all right cody
my pedal was right in the way all right let me try that again i can swing a little wider
i love this climb
right there
all right here goes josh he's got it all day long yep look up yeah there it is nice work all the way up yeah
nice work so if you couldn't tell i absolutely love this bike but i do think it has its limits as you could see i struggled on really steep power moves it was just a little bit short for that and if i size up the seat tube is going to be too long and i'm not going to be able to run a long enough dropper but that's not really what this bike is meant for that's more the switch niner territory and the switch niner climbs this stuff super well so for what this is designed for holy cow i think it is one of the best bikes for blues and greens if you want a metal frame if you want to see what the steel is real feel is all about this has it in spades this has jumped up to my favorite steel bike and i can't wait to take this bike packing because the riding position that shorter cockpit it's just going to be super comfortable to spend all day in the saddle on this thing i'm not going to be super stretched out it's the perfect head angle perfect chain stay length it just fits really well if you're not doing big power moves or double black diamond trails i've had it on double black diamond trails and it'll handle it barely and i still have fun but it's not as controlled or composed or collected as my bigger enduro bikes with a longer reach so who's this bike for this bike is for people who don't love the ultra long ultra modern ultra aggressive geometries that are coming out on so many bikes these days it's for people who like to sit and spin put down lots of miles get a bike that they can just hammer and put away wet and pull out and just ride and ride and ride low maintenance not having to think about it too much it's just like a labrador it's a great friend it's ready to go play whenever you are but it's not like a race bike to me it's not a hardcore enduro bike it's a fun trail bike and most people haven't ridden a fun trail bike hard tail like this so this bike's for people who are looking for fun who are riding blue and green and a little bit of black diamond trails but who just really want to know what a comfortable steel frame feels like that isn't too stretched out you know somebody that's been on an older traditional bike kind of more old school bike if you like the way old school steel hard tails rode you're really gonna like this this is like the new school version of what those great steel hardtails in the 90s were like it's light it's not overbuilt i think it's the most beautiful bike i've ever had on the channel especially in this mint green and stanton knocked it out of the park now make sure you're subscribed because soon i'm going to compare this back to back on the same trail with the titanium version to compare how they ride and what the difference is between them and i will have 29s on for that because i think we've explored it in 27.5 mode pretty well here but i know that the 29 inch tires give it another flavor and i want to make sure that flavor is represented in the upcoming videos of this as well so make sure you're subscribed and stay tuned and if you need advice on bikes and you're not sure which bike to buy and you need help talking through all the options or understanding the geometry or wondering how this bike compares to the common saw meta ht i have a service for that called patreon that's how i make money doing this this is my full-time job youtube does not pay well at all but my patrons support my work and that's how i'm able to keep doing unbiased unsponsored reviews like this so if you enjoy my work and want to support it that's a great way to do it head over to patreon.com hardtailparty and if you're not ready to pay that's okay feel free to keep enjoying these free reviews
fun stuff so it'll handle going down steep spicy stuff you just have to reel it in a little and use a little more skill and a little less bike to handle it for you my big long bikes i can let the long front end keep me from ending this one i have to position my body a little better oh man you do not realize how much you use your pinkies until you break one when it gets dark my gopro stabilization stops working and it gets all shaky giving you an idea what it's really like riding a heart deal because it's not all smooth all the time this bike handles extremely well at lower speeds
it's just real easy to ride you don't have to put aggressive movement movements into it
now we're riding a black diamond here and some aggressive moves are needed to get through this but it's a very neutral feeling bike
if most of your trails aren't super rocky or very steep this is probably the one to go for oh this bike makes you feel like a kid again it's just plain fun descending i'm going to give it a 9 out of 10 on black diamond stuff 10 out of 10 on greens cornering under 20 miles an hour 10 out of 10. but cornering over 20 miles an hour i'm going to give it a 8 out of 10. playfulness i'm going to give it a 9.2 out of 10. especially at slow speeds that short compact reach just makes it fun for throwing around long days in the trail long day's seated i'm going to give it a 10 out of 10. it is so comfortable
dan you knocked it out of the park on this bike this has raised the bar for what a steel hardtail can be steel is real on this one so much special sauce in this bike thanks for watching there's a party in the mountains and you're invited
i'm super excited to share this review with you i've had this bike on about 10 different rides now and i've really gotten to know it it's going to be featured in many more videos and i'm going to still be comparing it to the tie frame i haven't ridden the tie frame yet but today we are just reviewing the stanton sherpa steel and i'm with some special guests this is josh from the penny pinching cyclist and dan also from prescott and cody aboard the bc podsole yep i know you guys like that frame we've got this setup as a 27.5 by 3.0 so in plus mode it's great it's a 29 or two but i really like plus bikes and if you're gonna set this up bike packing this is how i would do it don't worry you'll get to see it in more configurations but this is how we got it set up today and i've also swapped out the fork for a fox 34 step cast because the sid that was on here it would rub with this tire this tire would not clear in the sid so a stepcast 34 is a great lightweight 120 mil fork that will still fit big 27.5 plus tires i've also swapped on my pawl clampers my cable actuated disc brakes that i loved so much i bought a couple pair and we'll be breaking them in on this ride just here to have a fun ride
hopefully these brakes start working
i do not know prescott very well but i'm excited it's been raining for the last 20 minutes before we got here and now the sun's out we're gonna have a good time
oh this bike is awesome so dan stanton designed this bike and dan stanton is one of my heroes he is a hardtail genius he understands just how thin you can make tubing while keeping it supple but still strong and he has the best feeling bikes out there some of the best and this bike feels so good remember that johnny rotten i loved a couple years ago at outer bike and it just blew me away this bike's even better than that
this is what hardtails are all about so this bike's designed around a 120 fork and it's meant to be lightweight and zippy crush out epic long rides bike packing blue and green trails just having fun on trails without getting too crazy wild they have the switchback and the switch niner for those that want to get a little crazier
this bike is so fun though so today we're comparing the uk made stanton sherpa reynolds 853 to the taiwan made stanton sherpa 4130 chromoly
so a lot of people are wondering can the cheaper taiwanese 4130 stanton sherpa get the same ride feel as the more expensive uk reynolds 853 tubing sherpa both are steel i'm gonna ride this trail then go to the shop put all the same exact parts on the 4130 frame same day bring it back out here and ride the same loop back to back and see if i can tell a noticeable difference between how the frame rides i'm as excited as you guys are for these results all right let's hit the trail i'd pick kind of a petally mellow excish trail and i think that's where this bike really comes alive this is such a special bike i have a discount for stanton frames for my patrons so if you want to save some money on a stanton frame while supporting this channel while getting great bike advice from me become a bike consultation patron i'd love to help you over there
appreciate stanton sending me three versions of the sherpa the tie this 853 and now the 4130 it's been really fun to compare them back to back and it's important to remember that my results today do not apply to any other bikes other than the stantons i really like this bike got a little bit of a low stack and a compact reach it's not very stretched out like some of the more modern bikes that i ride but man it really captures what made steel hardtails great in the 90s with some modern geo and standards it's got that lively soft ride feel
really a special bike and even though the reach isn't as long as like the switch niner or my banshee paradox after you've been riding it for 20 minutes it feels totally natural look at these shiny bars these are new from stanton they were just released 30 mil rise titanium bars this bike is zippy
it feels so much lighter than it is i love it if you ride in places that don't have a lot of steep terrain this sherpa sure makes greens and blues and long distance days and bike packing really fun a lot of people wonder how titanium bars ride compared to aluminum and while i can't speak for all tie bars i've ridden these and the roost titanium bars and they both have micro vibration damping better than carbon even better than the one up carbon bars which are pretty compliant these are next level these are a little bit heavier than carbon bars but man i'll take these every time the one bummers are 31.8 so if you have a 35 mil stem you either need an adapter or to get another stem but i'd argue that's the right decision anyway for a bar like this where we're going for compliance going bigger would just make them more brittle if we kept them the same weight so for metal bars 31.8 makes a lot of sense in my opinion this is such a smooth bike it's just so refined feeling it's still a hard tail you're not going to mistake it for a full suspension but it just feels i don't know how to define it it feels elegant it just feels super high quality this frame has set the benchmark for me for what a steel frame can feel like when designed properly anyway back to the bars stanton offers these and they can even cerakote them to match your frame which is pretty cool i wish i had six sets of these bars to run on all my review bikes oh this bike just encourages you to smile and soak in the scenery and enjoy the ride you can still jump and play around on this thing but if you're not into that or you're an older rider or a more cautious rider or catching error doesn't interest you this could be a great option especially for people who don't love the modern stretched out slack aggressive riding position that some bikes require this bike feels a lot more neutral and will be an easier transition from people coming from road or people who've been riding an older bike like a 10 year old bike for years and want something modern that doesn't feel tons different oh thank you so much good morning it's just me have a great day
here's our public service announcement toilet paper doesn't magically disintegrate please pack it out if you pack it in now we're pointing down this is really where you feel the stiffness of a frame
you can feel it on the climbs too sometimes hello
thanks it's just me appreciate it
this bike's still plenty playful
it's way slacker than people think when they see the numbers it's not like a slack hardcore hardtail you can still charge on this i feel a little more composed on this bike than my spot rocker as far as taking it down double black diamonds but it's just such a great all-rounder especially if you love a steel israel smooth feel just really special i've not yet found a taiwanese frame that has this ride characteristic
really fun bike
man no matter how soft your hardtail is you still get buffed around on that stuff
oh yeah first try no problem these bars are really nice now it's not night and day and i'd argue there are more important ways to spend your money on your bike build
but if you do not like hand fatigue these are the best riding bars i've found yet these in those roost tie bars it's maybe oh seven percent less vibrations than a carbon bar kind of feels like you're running two psi lower some people are real sensitive to that and other people aren't
man it is such a beautiful day it's great to be alive we're on this flat little traverse now this bike is smooth like i said it's still a hard tail so you still feel bumps but it just takes the harshness out of them with this wonderful frame i don't know if this sherpa could be my only bike of course it could be but i think i'd wish for something a little more rowdy for where i live if it was my only bike but i think the sherpa is a perfect compliment to someone that's got like a ripmo or a high tower or a 140 to 160 mil enduro full suspension when you get a hardtail on top of those you actually don't really want it to cover much of the same ground the purpose of getting a hardtail is to have a different ride experience so i always recommend something a little less travel a little less aggressive geo to help the blue and green trails come alive and this would be a great fit for a lot of people for that
this bike is such a fantastic choice and there are so many trails out there like this in the world where you're not shuttling or bombing down a black diamond and i always encourage people to fall back in love with their green and blue trails in their area we have this machismo that says we gotta ride the hardest trails possible to prove something but on a little bike like this man blue and greens are just as much fun as a black diamond they're safer it's just a different experience you soak in your surroundings a little more i get a little more of a workout lower adrenaline but more therapeutic to the soul all right that was fun i love this mint green shirt but it's one of my all-time favorite bikes this thing is so special it's time to go to the shop strip this all down put it all on the 4130 frame that stanton sent me that'll probably take me three hours then i'll be back here on the trail same exact trail to compare how it rides see in a second we're back built up beautifully the only hard thing on this frame is the internal routing for the dropper because everything's steel so your little magnet thing gets stuck inside but everything else swapped over beautifully this mocha gray is such a cool color i really like it the paint isn't perfect and the paint's done in the uk when you get a custom paint like right here we've got some gray speckles in it and right down here too they don't film that way it just looks like they didn't quite get the coverage or there was a little bit of gray speckled in the clear coat now the frame weighed 0.46 pounds heavier than my 8531 so it's a little bit heavier um a little bit more affordable the welds i think are a little bit more aesthetically pleasing on this taiwan is cranking out perfect welds on their bikes depending on the factory you go with and so apart from those two blems on the paint the paint looks great as well all right let's go hit the trails see how it rides compared to the 8531 interesting that there was as much of a weight difference as there was i didn't think it'd be almost half a pound but that reynolds tubing is specifically designed for being light and strong 4130 is chromoly steel reynolds 853 is chromoly steel but reynolds is a brand of tubing this thing is every bit of joy to climb on as the other one it should be everything's identical except the tubing i don't feel the weight difference it's hard to feel that that's like the difference between drinking a few ounces of water on your water bottle so yeah frame weight came into 6.28 on this frame oh what a pleasant ride this is i think this is gonna be a little stiffer on the downs we'll see
what a zippy bike hello thank you
thanks a lot
hello
still very much that same
playful energetic exciting ride feel
man that little step cast 34 is good
i'm getting a little more bounced around than the other one my calves kind of tighten up and clench up a little bit more when i ride stiffer bikes yeah this is it definitely is i'm having to hold on a little tighter at the bars to maintain control my calves are closer to a charlie horse just from the repeated vibrations but it's not as stiff as the tie one
i'm gonna say the 853 is ten percent softer it's impossible to quantify but having ridden them back to back i feel the difference this reminds me of the sour crumble for taiwanese frames this and the sour crumble win for most comfortable most compliant i do feel like with these slightly stiffer frames when you put down power in a hard gear they propel the bike forward just a little more it's really hard to put into words but that that's how i feel it like just a little more energetic under pedaling see if we can get this tricky one no problem
they're both very good and i'd be happy on either but i'm going to keep the 853 it's just a little bit more refined for everyday slow riding through this stuff not a huge difference but when you pick up speed and hit the chatter then it feels like you're running maybe three or four psi more in your tire and if you can't tell the difference when your tires are over inflated by 4 psi don't get the 853 one there's no reason if you're pretty sensitive to stuff like that i think you'll be glad you sprung for a little more for the uk 853 frame now remember this only applies to this frame i've ridden eight five three frames that were stiffer than this current frame and i've ridden eight five three frames that were way more supple
oh this bike just puts a smile on my face i fear myself bouncing a little more when the rear end hits a bump then with the 853 version kind of like the difference between cush core and no kush core just that micro bit of vibration damping
and i don't think it's all in my head like i'm believing i want to like the cheaper one more
everybody wins when that's the case but i do think that uk 8531 is just 10 more refined in the ride feel this bike just makes you want to soak in your surroundings it's just a it's an experience
and it's weird how a few angles and pieces of metal tube welded together can change your perception but i really do feel like it can
now i'm five six 175 pounds if you weigh over 175 you can get stiffer frames to feel good for you but if you're a petite rider like my wife who's 110 pounds every hardtail feels stiff especially the stiff ones she is more particular about frame stiffness than i am even and she's been reviewing some hardtails over on her channel lately so if you have a female rider in your life or if you're a lightweight rider and you want her perspective check it out it's pretty awesome she's doing that her channel is called dusty betty i'll link to it in the top right if you ever come to visit sedona to ride here please stay on the trail that helps us have a good relationship with the forest service to be able to make more trails oh that's scary
i feel like this frame falls right dead between the 853 steel and the tie one
it's not as stiff or light or snappy or zippy as the tie one but it's not as comfortable as the 853 one kind of right in the middle and i think it's priced appropriately it's a beautiful frame very well built same exact geo and angles as the uk one this bike is totally a modern version of your favorite 90s hardtail yeah this one's definitely stiffer i wasn't sure if i was feeling it at first i definitely feel it now even in my hands so if you want to do a little experiment on your bike to see what it might ride like between a supple frame and a little more compliant frame add 5 to 10 psi to your fork and go on a ride and then remove that 5 to 10 psi and see if you can tell the difference between the two
that was really fun i love getting experimental and trying different things back to back on the onset of the ride i didn't notice a huge difference it wasn't night and day but at the end of the five miles by the end of the loop my joints were feeling a little bit more fatigued a little bit more tired i felt like the back was bouncing a little bit more it felt like my tires had three to four psi more and three to four psi more in my fork as well it's still a fantastic bike for the price and i think the pricing is in the sweet spot between this and the 853 you can get 90 of the same ride feel as far as suppleness goes with the 4130 sherpa the geo and ride position and attitude are completely the same between them so if you're on a budget and you want a sherpa i say get the 4130 once you load these up with weight and bags and gear and water the difference is very subtle and these ride way more supple with weight on them same thing goes for you guys who are heavier and bigger riders if you're 190 pounds and up i think you might actually like the stiffer one it won't feel quite as flexy under power and you'll get this to flex the way i get the reynolds 8531 to flex if you're super light like under 150 pounds definitely get the reynolds three one it will make a huge difference to you so the smaller you are the more important a supple frame is in my opinion and the bigger you are or the more you load it up with bags the less importance it is and for some of you who are gonna be riding buff flowy single track it's not going to make much of a difference anyway the weight you could take it or leave it i don't think it's worth getting the 8531 just for the weight savings i would focus on ride quality that's a benefit that it's almost a half pound lighter but it's really that ride feel that makes it so special stanton told me i got to keep one of these and you can bet i'm gonna be keeping the eight five three one and if you can spring the extra money i do think it's worth it for the uk made reynolds8531 stanton isn't telling me to say this in fact when i ask them they say oh they ride so similar i can't tell the difference i can tell the difference and it's been fun to do back to back and get experimental and this information has really helped me to consult with my bike consultation patrons when they're looking for the right bike being able to ride the tie versus the 4130 versus the 853 has really helped me be able to fine tune the right bike for each of my viewers if you need help finding your next bike you want to pick my brain on how to build your bike up or which components to get or which frame you should be getting i do that through patreon.comtealparty that's my main business my main job and i'd love to help you over there i love helping people navigate the crazy world of geometry and frame materials and marketing hype and help them select a bike that's perfect for their trails and their writing style if that's you and you need that head on over to patreon it supports this channel and i love working with people but if that's not in the budget or if you don't need that please keep enjoying my free reviews if you enjoy them hit that like button and subscribe thanks for getting experimental with me there's a party in the mountains and you're invited
you
i need to pick a line instead of just going for it i'm missing my longer bikes my knees keep hitting the bars get the rock nice and wet yeah nicely done
man it keeps pulling me over here i need to do two more tries there it is ah
you all right i mean i broke my finger oh no straight now straight ish
yeah we got it straight whoo that was spicy oh just went in that hole oh almost made that all right we're good my finger's not going to fit in the glove anymore but we'll see how this goes that's my first broken bone in 25 years of riding you know i earned that one though i was almost there and couldn't dismount fast enough came down stuck my hand in a hole and it grabbed my pinky and just went and then i just pulled it right back straight hopefully uh hopefully it grows back together the right way and that tape does its job let's see if i can keep riding
oh that was so good cody yeah so much fun riding with these guys josh is prepared with the ibuprofen 400 will be great thank you sir all right we'll keep riding see if i can finish out this review because this bike is too cool to stop now so sometimes when you push it you get hurt i am feeling the shorter top tube on really technical climbs like this i actually like longer slacker bikes for really technical climbs i've got a little bit more room to move around i can feel my knees hitting the bars on this and let's be honest uh most people don't have terrain like this to ride on their trails and most people aren't going up them on 120 mil hardtails so i think we can give the sherpa a pass i don't think it was meant to do that but i have made it up that on other bikes that had a little bit longer cockpit all right let's keep riding well if my bones are going to grow back crooked at least they'll grow back in a handlebar shaped position this bike climbs really well this bike is fun it's like your kid brother that's just the life of the party that everywhere you bring him you have fun this is such a compliant hardtail this is probably my favorite steel hardtail at the moment and that's saying a lot i haven't bike packed with this yet but i have a feeling it's going to be my favorite bike packing bike so one thing about this bike you have to remember that all stantons are measured at sag so this bike has a 440 mil reach at sag which means it's a shorter reach when unsagged so when you're comparing it to other bikes a little two foot hook there so when you're comparing it to other bikes you kind of have to calculate one of them to sag to match this or calculate this one to unsagged so that you can compare them so when the fork's higher your reach is actually shorter
and you feel that on this when you're doing big technical fast moves but that's not what this bike's meant for 27.5 plus is way slower than 29ers this bike is completely at home on blue trails like this
so much fun and despite the 435 chain stay it still wants to dance easy to bunny hop easy to manual just a joy just you just grin the whole time you're riding this thing i've had it on double black diamonds and it handled it but not at the speed i like to go and it was sketchy compared to what i normally ride but it did it what a great little bike just goes to show 120 mil can be plenty for a great hard tail on the right trails but yeah this is a really relaxed riding position it's not a modern feeling bike where you really have to get forward and wait that front and all the corners you can ride pretty neutral kind of old school still steer through your feet but not have to really muscle the bike around but yeah you're just in a real comfortable riding position so for an all-day ride i'd feel right at home i'm not hunched over not reaching for the bars
but when you're on a 27.5 plus bike your buddies on 29ers drop you
29ers are faster you have to sneak in extra pedals wherever you can on these 27.5s to keep up
and this bike rides really great as a 29er i've got some other bikes in for review and i'm having a hard time reviewing them because i just keep choosing this bike to ride instead
so this bike reminds me a little bit of the chameleon not quite as easy to manual as the chameleon but almost reminds me of that johnny rotten by ionic said this is significantly cheaper it reminds me of the spot rocker a little bit but a metal version but this is what steel hardtails are all about people one of the most supple bikes i've ever ridden and dan has that secret combination down to make his bikes
ride just the way he wants him to so his enduro bikes like the switch niner is a little stiffer he didn't want it quite this compliant and smooth because it's gonna be rallied and pushed hard and all of stanton's bikes ride a lot slacker than their geocharts suggest yes they're measured at sag but even when you calculate that out they still ride slacker than they look oh this is the perfect bike for this stuff it's not quite as attack fighter jet as the spot rocker i'd definitely be faster on the rocker i'm just having a joy on this trail though what a fun day
oh this is what hardtails are all about is this kind of riding right here so much fun very few bumps you just feel connected to the trail when you put power down it translates into movement you don't have some squishy suspension back there today would have probably been a little better on 29er i just don't need the cushion and traction of the 27.5 plus but this is how i've been riding it lately and it feels a little bit more aggressive and 27.5 plus like it just has a little more travel even though it doesn't
that hurts with my pinky i won't be doing a whole lot more of that today
fun bike man
i just can't stop smiling having a blast so smooth and man this mint green that i chose it's a custom color you can have custom colors on your bikes it takes a little longer to get them painted oh it's the most beautiful bike i've ever had in the shop can't wait to try the thai one it's like almost two pounds lighter
but this bike does not feel heavy at all a lot of steel bikes these days are overbuilt and they just kind of feel like tanks
this bike doesn't it feels like the best bikes of yesteryear with modern geometry this has a much more modern geometry than a johnny rotten i've got a riser bar on it because it's only got that 120 mil fork on it oh my goodness this is amazing what a day
i do not know this trail
this little bike likes to jump likes to play it's not faced by these big chunky rocks
yeah so i can't climb as fast as these guys right now so i'm not even going to try but i would like to talk about how this bike climbs it's got a nice modern seat angle and because the reach isn't super long i don't feel like i need a super steep seat angle
we need to be careful whenever we look at one number like head tube angle or reach or seat angle because they only tell part of the story but yeah this is a really comfortable climbing position so this is a super comfortable climber i love the climbing position i feel like i could sit in this position all day and not have back pain or feel hunched over which is why i think it'd be a great bike packing bike
oh what a fun area
you do feel the shortness of this bike and most people are going to love that a lot of people are having a hard time adjusting to the long bikes that i like
and sizing charts have changed and people recommend different size bikes than they used to
and a lot of people haven't adapted their riding style to suit those new longer aggressive bikes if that's you you're gonna like this bike
so just because it's not super long and insanely slack does not mean it's not fun or capable you just ride it differently than the switch niner or the banshee paradox or my new bike that i'm designing
you just ride them differently and people that like a more traditional comfortable relaxed pedaling position where you don't have to put quite so much body english in they're gonna love this thing i love this bike it just makes me happy really great riding feel and i love that i can fit a 150 mil dropper with double water bottle mounts inside the frame
never realize how much i used my pinkies before especially on technical climbs and bunny hops i'm noticing today oh that's fun
give that another go i definitely feel the short front end
so yeah that front's wanting to lift a little more on the really big power moves and that's the nature of a shorter bike
still doable though you just have to change your technique
picking our way through the boulders super fun
love rock slabs we're at the village goofing around fun little spot
man i'm struggling on these ups with this bike i need to get used to it a little more there we go
a little bit shorter wheelbase taking me a while to get used to
yeah these are fun love it
tricky one that's hard to get smooth
such a playground up here cody's putting on a show tonight let's see if he can short start this
that's big that's 40 inches there's no way
that is massive i think i got it so much fun riding with cody he always pushes me i like to think that i push him you do you got this up and over smooth go cody you got it go that's so big
there it is nice work cody yeah that's how it's done ladies and gentlemen always ride with someone better than you they will make you better and cody's a positive fun upbeat dude
you've got to be kidding me
that was beautiful
man i'm just having dismount problems all day
there we go i am having a harder time keeping the front end down
yeah that was a great move if you guys aren't subscribed to the penny pinching cyclist yet go do it he's our trail guide today keeping us from getting lost it is amazing here i get lost every single time
sometimes dragging your brakes helps in technical moves
all right nice work you got it
that was so sloppy but i got it
man i am missing my gloves all right cody
my pedal was right in the way all right let me try that again i can swing a little wider
i love this climb
right there
all right here goes josh he's got it all day long yep look up yeah there it is nice work all the way up yeah
nice work so if you couldn't tell i absolutely love this bike but i do think it has its limits as you could see i struggled on really steep power moves it was just a little bit short for that and if i size up the seat tube is going to be too long and i'm not going to be able to run a long enough dropper but that's not really what this bike is meant for that's more the switch niner territory and the switch niner climbs this stuff super well so for what this is designed for holy cow i think it is one of the best bikes for blues and greens if you want a metal frame if you want to see what the steel is real feel is all about this has it in spades this has jumped up to my favorite steel bike and i can't wait to take this bike packing because the riding position that shorter cockpit it's just going to be super comfortable to spend all day in the saddle on this thing i'm not going to be super stretched out it's the perfect head angle perfect chain stay length it just fits really well if you're not doing big power moves or double black diamond trails i've had it on double black diamond trails and it'll handle it barely and i still have fun but it's not as controlled or composed or collected as my bigger enduro bikes with a longer reach so who's this bike for this bike is for people who don't love the ultra long ultra modern ultra aggressive geometries that are coming out on so many bikes these days it's for people who like to sit and spin put down lots of miles get a bike that they can just hammer and put away wet and pull out and just ride and ride and ride low maintenance not having to think about it too much it's just like a labrador it's a great friend it's ready to go play whenever you are but it's not like a race bike to me it's not a hardcore enduro bike it's a fun trail bike and most people haven't ridden a fun trail bike hard tail like this so this bike's for people who are looking for fun who are riding blue and green and a little bit of black diamond trails but who just really want to know what a comfortable steel frame feels like that isn't too stretched out you know somebody that's been on an older traditional bike kind of more old school bike if you like the way old school steel hard tails rode you're really gonna like this this is like the new school version of what those great steel hardtails in the 90s were like it's light it's not overbuilt i think it's the most beautiful bike i've ever had on the channel especially in this mint green and stanton knocked it out of the park now make sure you're subscribed because soon i'm going to compare this back to back on the same trail with the titanium version to compare how they ride and what the difference is between them and i will have 29s on for that because i think we've explored it in 27.5 mode pretty well here but i know that the 29 inch tires give it another flavor and i want to make sure that flavor is represented in the upcoming videos of this as well so make sure you're subscribed and stay tuned and if you need advice on bikes and you're not sure which bike to buy and you need help talking through all the options or understanding the geometry or wondering how this bike compares to the common saw meta ht i have a service for that called patreon that's how i make money doing this this is my full-time job youtube does not pay well at all but my patrons support my work and that's how i'm able to keep doing unbiased unsponsored reviews like this so if you enjoy my work and want to support it that's a great way to do it head over to patreon.com hardtailparty and if you're not ready to pay that's okay feel free to keep enjoying these free reviews
fun stuff so it'll handle going down steep spicy stuff you just have to reel it in a little and use a little more skill and a little less bike to handle it for you my big long bikes i can let the long front end keep me from ending this one i have to position my body a little better oh man you do not realize how much you use your pinkies until you break one when it gets dark my gopro stabilization stops working and it gets all shaky giving you an idea what it's really like riding a heart deal because it's not all smooth all the time this bike handles extremely well at lower speeds
it's just real easy to ride you don't have to put aggressive movement movements into it
now we're riding a black diamond here and some aggressive moves are needed to get through this but it's a very neutral feeling bike
if most of your trails aren't super rocky or very steep this is probably the one to go for oh this bike makes you feel like a kid again it's just plain fun descending i'm going to give it a 9 out of 10 on black diamond stuff 10 out of 10 on greens cornering under 20 miles an hour 10 out of 10. but cornering over 20 miles an hour i'm going to give it a 8 out of 10. playfulness i'm going to give it a 9.2 out of 10. especially at slow speeds that short compact reach just makes it fun for throwing around long days in the trail long day's seated i'm going to give it a 10 out of 10. it is so comfortable
dan you knocked it out of the park on this bike this has raised the bar for what a steel hardtail can be steel is real on this one so much special sauce in this bike thanks for watching there's a party in the mountains and you're invited
Looking for personalized recommendations for your next bike?
Sign up for my bike consultation service here.