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Stif Squatch

49K views 126 replies 34 participants last post by  Steve.E 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I just took delivery of my Stif Squatch frame this week. As soon as I saw it launch last week I knew that it ticked all the boxes for me. I've been experimenting with geometry, mainly reach, seat and head tube angle for a few years and was considering having another custom frame made, but aside from the out there bb height of this bike it's exactly where I'd want my custom frame to be.

I'll post up some ride impressions when I have some to share.

In the mean time the main details are:

SA 78°
HA 64°
Reach 480mm size large
Chain stay 430mm
Seat tube 450mm
BB drop 80mm = 293mm BB height

29x2.6" tyres experimenting with cushcore to run lower pressures as I'm used to 3.0" tyres on my hardtails.

Any questions please just ask...



 
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#66 ·
Managed to get out on a moors ride on the Squatch today, the bike is really very good and it’s a shame it’s not seeing more coverage than it is really. I love the comfort of the bike, I really don’t think you’d see the level of suspension that the shape of the tubes offers on any other hardtail I know of, not even if you went custom.

I’m getting more used to the low BB now, didn’t cause many problems for me today at all. The bike absolutely rails turns though and is so easy to hop, jump and manual, I was hitting everything I could. Bottomed the tyre against the rim once today as I was really trying to see how the Cushcore would handle things, which it did with aplomb.

The bike also climbs very well, it’s so direct and quick to accelerate on the power.

It’s a genuine full suspension worrier this bike, I love it.
 
#91 ·
@Just J

since you asked for some pics.. finished last details today.
Upholstered the saddle with some buck leather, wheels are hand built with Flow MK3s.
9-46 e13 12 speed cassette with SRAM shifting, the rear derailleur was converted to 12 speed using the e13 conversion kit.
Rear holds a Nukeproof ARD insert.
Rides like a carving ski, and very compliant.

Bicycle Tire Wheel Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Land vehicle


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Cheers and thanks for starting the thread!
 

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#63 ·
Coming from the road side you probably have some muscles to compensate the weight (at least that was my approach).
The weight is fine for me, but I was also more interested in a bike that's gonna be durable and low maintenance for 10+ years. And I am still in top-10 range for the local strava climbs with the weight and higher rolling resistance.
Their finishing kit isn't on the weight saving side (maybe apart from the Pike Ultimate as far as trail forks go), you can probably easily chop of 1 kilo by going carbon handle bar, lighter saddle, lighter tires.

Pretty much depends on what your looking for in an MTB?
For long tours I have my carbon road bike, my MTB routes are 8 to 30km with a lot of steep ups and downs and for that the Squatch is perfect.
 
#79 ·
I took the Squatch out for its first ride on my local trails today. But before I had even got there I knew that this was a special bike. I took a right road corner at speed, not really thinking anything of it - I was just looking forward to getting to the trails, but as it went round it felt like it was on rails. It took me completely by surprise. I don't think I've ever ridden a bike that felt so composed going round a corner. It kind of stopped me in my tracks, but was also a sign of things to come.

On the trails themselves I found the Squatch to be a joy. It felt 'poppy' and very confident descending (unlike me). It also climbs brilliantly both seated and standing.

Before today I was worried that the steep seat tube and low bottom bracket would comprise my enjoyment of the bike by limiting where and how I can ride it, but I needn't have worried. I mean I did have a couple of pedal strikes but no more than I would have had on another bike.

I don't think I've ever had as good a first ride on a bike as I have today, and I've not had as many rides that have been as much fun, despite me being very rusty, not having been out on the trails since last year. Stif have done an amazing job designing this frame. It feels like a very special bike indeed. I cannot wait to get out and ride it again.
 
#80 ·
I took the Squatch out for its first ride on my local trails today. But before I had even got there I knew that this was a special bike. I took a right road corner at speed, not really thinking anything of it - I was just looking forward to getting to the trails, but as it went round it felt like it was on rails. It took me completely by surprise. I don't think I've ever ridden a bike that felt so composed going round a corner. It kind of stopped me in my tracks, but was also a sign of things to come.

On the trails themselves I found the Squatch to be a joy. It felt 'poppy' and very confident descending (unlike me). It also climbs brilliantly both seated and standing.

Before today I was worried that the steep seat tube and low bottom bracket would comprise my enjoyment of the bike by limiting where and how I can ride it, but I needn't have worried. I mean I did have a couple of pedal strikes but no more than I would have had on another bike.

I don't think I've ever had as good a first ride on a bike as I have today, and I've not had as many rides that have been as much fun, despite me being very rusty, not having been out on the trails since last year. Stif have done an amazing job designing this frame. It feels like a very special bike indeed. I cannot wait to get out and ride it again.
I did a 50k "XC" ride on it yesterday and it felt exactly as you described it. This is the moat comfortable and most composed hardtail I have ever ridden.

Sent from my IN2020 using Tapatalk
 
#2 ·
Great build, hope it rides as good as it looks!

What's your crank arm length? My own ht stock with 130mm fork had a BBH of 300mm and the ends of my 170mm cranks soon looked like the dog chewed on them. Increasing the travel to 140mm raised the BB by 4-5mm and made a surprisingly big difference. Going with shorter cranks would probably have the same result.

Mentioning this because at 293mm this is the lowest ht bb that I know of. Next up is 297mm (Whyte 901/5/9)
 
#3 ·
Great build, hope it rides as good as it looks!

What's your crank arm length? My own ht stock with 130mm fork had a BBH of 300mm and the ends of my 170mm cranks soon looked like the dog chewed on them. Increasing the travel to 140mm raised the BB by 4-5mm and made a surprisingly big difference. Going with shorter cranks would probably have the same result.

Mentioning this because at 293mm this is the lowest ht bb that I know of. Next up is 297mm (Whyte 901/5/9)
Thank you! [emoji4]

My crank length is 170mm which is what Stif advise along with a 130mm Pike Ultimate but we'll see how I get on with it... [emoji51]
 
#4 ·
Sweet looking bike! Excellent series of pics!

BB height: that's LOW. I'll be honest I'm not a fan of super low BB's. My newest hardtail (Honzo ST) has 65mm of drop and 310mm height in stock trim. I jacked up the front end with a longer fork (and -1 headset) to gain a little more BB/crank clearance. I also do not want to switch to shorter cranks, not a fan. It's fine now but I really wouldn't want to go lower.

My Krampus has 70mm of drop, but that's running 29x3.0. I run 180mm cranks with no issue. This bike also has a significantly shorter wheelbase which also helps. The Stif has a (not surprising) long wheelbase, which I think also contributes to crank/pedal strikes.

Curious to hear how you get on with it. I'm assuming 170mm cranks?
 
#7 ·
Sweet looking bike! Excellent series of pics!

BB height: that's LOW. I'll be honest I'm not a fan of super low BB's. My newest hardtail (Honzo ST) has 65mm of drop and 310mm height in stock trim. I jacked up the front end with a longer fork (and -1 headset) to gain a little more BB/crank clearance. I also do not want to switch to shorter cranks, not a fan. It's fine now but I really wouldn't want to go lower.

My Krampus has 70mm of drop, but that's running 29x3.0. I run 180mm cranks with no issue. This bike also has a significantly shorter wheelbase which also helps. The Stif has a (not surprising) long wheelbase, which I think also contributes to crank/pedal strikes.

Curious to hear how you get on with it. I'm assuming 170mm cranks?
Thanks very much, glad you like it.

I've got to admit that I would not want to go shorter than 165mm cranks, mine are 170 and I'm comfortable on that length on my Ibis bearing in mind that I have ran 175mm forever prior to that bike.

The proof is in the riding of course and I can't wait to ride this thing!
 
#10 ·
I'm psyched that there is experimentation happening with geometry -- we can't know what works, nor improve on it, unless we fiddle some.

That said, I'm looking forward to the pendulum swinging back the other direction. Reach and BB drop trends are cray cray right now.
 
#18 ·
First proper ride out this morning on the Squatch and my first impressions are:

That steep seat tube angle is fantastic, climbing is a joy.

The frame is ultra compliant in a good way, like you'd want a well dialled steel frame to be. I've ridden harsher full suspension bikes but it only flexes where you'd want it to.

The bike is really quiet, I love that. The new XT just works very very and I think that's a contributing factor to it as well as the cable routing.

The bike rips corners.

The low BB height was only a problem on more gnarly climbs and when rolling off drops. It actually surprised me that I only had a couple of pedal strikes today. I think I'll be choosing which rides this bike goes on but it's an absolute hoot to ride and feels really fast.

 
#25 ·
First proper ride out this morning on the Squatch and my first impressions are:

That steep seat tube angle is fantastic, climbing is a joy.

The frame is ultra compliant in a good way, like you'd want a well dialled steel frame to be. I've ridden harsher full suspension bikes but it only flexes where you'd want it to.

The bike is really quiet, I love that. The new XT just works very very and I think that's a contributing factor to it as well as the cable routing.

The bike rips corners.
and thanks for your short ride review, Just J - looking forward to my frame even more now!:thumbsup:
 
#21 ·
Thanks Tommy! [emoji846]

Yeah I'm glad I went with teal, I originally had a bone on order (one of my custom hard tails is silver so that wasn't in the running this time) but changed to teal. Stif were fantastic throughout the process.
 
#23 ·
One other thing I forgot to mention and it’s a big thing for me but the Cushcore in the 2.6” tyres feel fantastic and I definitely didn’t feel that I missed the plus tyres I run on my other two hardtails, which was the main reason for buying this bike.

I’m running 18 psi in the rear and 17 up front but I’m still experimenting there. I’m currently weighing in at 210lbs so they’re pretty low pressures given that I run 16/14 on my 29x2.8/3.0” wheels.
 
#36 ·
Nice!
Can't wait to ride mine but it seem Stif is stilling waiting for some parts to be shipped to them for assembly :/

One thing I was wondering, I assume a saddle bag won't fit as it will be too low with a low seat post but the frame also has a bit weird shape. Has anyone a good fitting frame bag for the front of the triangle?
I can't ride with them at the back of the triangle due to my knees frictioning against them.
 
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