UK-based Stanton Bikes is a new company that has just launched a range of hardtail mountain bikers, starting with the Slackline and the Sherpa models.

“Having spent years riding all styles of mountain bike, both competitively and recreationally, we set out to design what we think is the ultimate range of mountain bike frames,” Stanton Bikes Jon Lumb tells us. “With the Slackline and the Sherpa we think we’ve created something special, a versatile bomber and a cross country charger.”

He continues: “We are meticulous about every aspect of our frame development process. For the Slackline and Sherpa we have spent over a year in design and development, building prototypes and testing them to ensure the final product is perfect.”

Available at launch is the Slackline 853, an all-mountain ‘hardcore’ hardtail frame influenced heavily by 4X and slalom riding. Designed to offer nimble geometry with a low bottom bracket and short chainstays, it boasts a tubeset picked to provide a bombproof quality.

Versatility is a key feature of the Slackline, and as such will accept forks from 120mm to 160mm in travel so you can build it up light for nailing singletrack in a XC style or as an aggressive freeride build.

In the pipeline is the Sherpa, a frame that has been six months in development and is aimed at XC and trail riders. There’s also a 4X titanium frame in the offing too, based on the Slackline but with geometry tuned to run a 100mm suspension fork.

More at www.stantonbikes.com