Unless otherwise specified we will use a Royal Mail Tracked Delivery service to dispatch your order. A thoroughly contemporary hardtail thats a proper hard-charger on technical trails. When warranty on non-carbon Kona bikes and frames is NOT registered within three months of purchase, Kona warrants to the original owner that the frame of this new Kona bicycle purchased from an authorized Kona dealer shall be free of defective materials or workmanship for a three-year period. Bottom Bracket: SRAM Dub GXP Threaded After the success of the Morf, a 650b steel hardtail designed to be a companion to a full-suspension bike, Stif has answered the calls for the same ride qual. The brown marks in the pictures are where mud/water has got under the edge of the invisiframe. Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle; 12s. Website: Stifmtb.com, CHASSIS When the going gets rough is when the troublemaking is more against you than with you, as it is very easy for its general composure to let you forget that you do not have a big cushion to rely on to handle the worst of the chunk. Claimed weight for a size medium carbon frame is 1037 grams. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. Note: this does not apply to Kona Carbon models. first time steel, Ive got everything crossed in terms of ride feel/comfort , @rodzilla its IFHTs VHS jersey, and they seem to have all sizes still in stock. Want to win some free schwag? Each bike comes in three sizes from Medium to Extra Large and there are three colour options, Bone, Teal, and . Add a chainguide While a chainguide is not strictly necessary for a hardtail with a brand new drivetrain, they count for more as it wears, so I add one as a matter of course. Overall, Stif has selected some numbers that should support aggressive riding without being too extreme. All bikes and frames are shipped with FedEX 24hr Tracked Delivery within the UK. As with the Morf, Stif designed the Squatch for a 130mm fork, which naturally, combined with the rollover of bigger wheels, gives you more value-per-millimetre. Ten years ago, I tried a small 29er and felt like I was on some weird janky clown bike. Stif Squatch Frame Medium Teal. These items are usually delivered within 3-7 working days of despatch. Credit is provided by Novuna Personal Finance, a trading style of Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Chunky 292.6in Maxxis rubber sits on WTB rims, while KS supplies the dropper (175 or 200mm). Jan 19 Warning Man Cave Funny Embossed Aluminum Sign Novelty Garage Home Bar Decor Our site uses cookies to optimise your experience. Where other hardtails demand a balancing act between core strength and weight distribution to maintain perfect form, the smooth-riding Squatch only ever breaks traction predictably, and usually at the perfect moment to slingshot out of at turn, rather than standing you up or oversteering at the peak G-force. In smoother bike park style terrain or trail centers, the Squatch absolutely rips. Its a key ingredient in allowing for our super short 430mm chainstays. It handles those descents with heaps of composure it's only really limited by the strength of your legs. Santa Cruz Bicycles will repair or replace at its option any Reserve rim made by Santa Cruz Bicycles that is damaged or destroyed by riding. Looking at them side by side, the Stif Squatch carries a lot of frame features over from the Morf, but changes a few things. Since launching the Morf in 2016, Stif have taken four years to develop and launch this Squatch, their first 29er hardtail. I'll post up some ride impressions when I have some to share. It wasnt long before riders were requesting the same premium ride quality and progressive handling characteristics on a 29er platform. Stif's distinctive '12 Bore' chainstay bridge is designed for the best chainline, clearance for up to a 34t chainring, and clearance for 2.6 rubber out back. The Squatch is clearly no XC machine, or the fastest to accelerate with explosive power inputs, but riders who prefer to carve corners will be amazed by how well it swoops through banked, man-made, turns. Rims: WTB KOM trail i30 Once your order is dispatched you will receive an email with a tracking number. Theyre different bikes, but clearly siblings with the same mischievous streak running through them. The bottom bracket is pedal-strikingly low at 293mm and, when paired with the bikes length, offers a super stable ride in corners. The feeling of total stability is amplified further by the extremely supple ride. 704348. Also RockShoxs sportier Pike air spring with its smaller negative volume works great on a hardtail too; being less fluid and sensitive than say, a RockShox Lyrik, its much more in keeping with the rear end. Id originally fitted the Rockstop insert since I had expected to be spending a lot of time near the rim, but the DH casing tire resulted in enough stiffness that its ultimate protection was not a necessity, so I settled for the more damping-friendly Rimpact insert, which I found to offer the best compromise of damping and cornering support with the tire at 24psi. Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC | 200/180 2020 Stif Mountain Bikes Squatch Base 2020 Base Category Hardtail Trail MTB Design Flat Bar, Hardtail (Front suspension) Frame Steel Suspension 130mm fork travel Features Disc brake Somewhat upright stack and reach vs category Somewhat upright stack and reach vs category Somewhat upright stack and reach vs category Geometry Base Build All International order postage costs are an estimate. Given that hardtails are ideally around 20mm shorter than full suspension bikes to compensate for the fork compressing independently, you may want to down size on the Squatch. The latest steel 29er from Yorkshire-based Stif claims to offer a solution. Where a full suspension rig can somewhat isolate impact forces through your legs from effecting the fork, a hardtail has a greater reaction on the fork and so requires some extra support to prevent it from using its travel too frequently. Its incredibly composed, and thats only helped by the noticeable compliance of its ovalised seat stays. The SRAM theme continues with a GX Eagle drivetrain and G2 RSC brakes. The sole remedy available under the foregoing express warranty and all implied warranties is the repair or replacement of defective parts with those of equal or greater value, as determined by Santa Cruz Bicycles in its sole discretion. Yes, 2,500 is a lot of money to throw at a hardtail, but for what you're getting the Squatch represents pretty good value. Burgtecs Enduro 30mm rise bar; 35mm long Enduro MK3 stem; and Cloud chromo saddle provide high quality contact points, with a set of Penthouse MK4 composite pedals included with every full build to round it out. Stif Squatch first ride review. Words by Robert Johnston // @robert_johnston Therefore, 78 degrees is the slackest the seat-tube angle will ever be, meaning it effectively steepens as the saddle is dropped. With a 420mm seat tube, the medium frame should work for some shorter riders, though it certainly won't fit everyone. Thanks for popping by - why not stay a while? The length, height and wheel size of the Squatch do make it a bit less playful than the Stif Morf, but conversely more capable of ploughing over things. It took a little getting used to, and provides a lot of room to move around. Any questions please just ask. Its also tough to find a hardtail elsewhere with geometry this extreme, so if this is what you're after that's worth factoring into the price too. To put it simply, this is one very modern seat angle! Its truly incredible how efficient, balanced and damn right easy this seating position makes things. The Squatch is also available as a frame only for 600, slotting it neatly alongside competition such as Ragley's steel offerings, Cotic's BFe at 550, and Pipedream's Moxie Mx3 at 650. The fork is about as controlled as you could hope for and remained impressively supple and tractive when ran a good amount stiffer than recommended. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. You are able to track your order at https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item, For high value, pressurised or liquid goods we use FedEx Tracked 24hr service. Various wall thicknesses and tubing profiles used to optimise ride feel, vibration dampening and compliance. Here we have the Stif Squatch in its priciest build, the AM 200. Great review thanks.and phew as my frame arrives tomorrow! Kit-wise, theres little to complain about, although heavier, faster riders might want more powerful brakes. Hubs: Hope Pro 4 Stif is marketing its new Squatch in three frame sizes (M, L, and XL), with all three featuring the same 64 degree head angle, when running a 130mm fork. Already have an account with us? Reaches are a roomy 460-500mm, with relatively short 420-480mm seat tube lengths allowing most riders to comfortably run a 175 or even 200mm post. Key to the ride quality is the profiled and multi-butted 4130 chromoly tubing combined with 29in wheels and 2.6in tyres. Today we are delighted to introduce it's 29" wheeled sibling - The Squatch.Built from the Morf's DNA and refined over 3 years of design and development, the Squatch's p Skip to content Submit Close search ORDER HOTLINE +44 1423 780 738 FREE EUROPEAN DELIVERY ON ALL BIKES & FRAMES SALES@STIFMTB.COM Shop Our Winter Gift Guide Submit SearchLog inCart The Pro featured here comes action-ready with composite flat pedals included in a raft of sorted Burgtec kit including 800mm handlebars, 35mm stem and comfortable Cloud saddle. MOTO BB height/drop was an area we wanted to focus on with the aim of mirroring the dynamic ride height of a modern full suspension bike. Our Squatch and Morf Frames are sold with a 3 Year warranty against manufacturing defects and we offer Crash Replacement Pricing for 5 years from purchase. Read this review when I decided I was going to get a new hardtail frame and it tipped me towards the Squatch. 4 years ago, Stif put their heads together to create the first bike that sported the Stif name their Morf hardcore hardtail. Deputy Tech Editor here at off.road.cc Liam can alsobe found photographing bikes as well as riding them. 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. For instance, the only compatible chainguide I could find for ISCG-OLD and a 34t oval chainring, I had to buy direct from China. The register can be accessed through www.fca.org.uk. On our top end build we get a top end fork: a RockShox Pike Ultimate. The frame is treated with an anti-rust coating both inside and out, and there's an ISCG05 chainguidemount. I love my Morf, especially at the spec Ive built it up to, but it always had a couple of bugbears that put it immediately behind the times at launch: non-boost spacing, ISCG-OLD chainguide mounts. Financial Services Register no. Back to that Maxxis Recon rear tyre. Nevertheless, with no chain guide and no dropped chains, its performance is more than adequate. For full details of our returns policy, follow this link. Colour options are a little more conservative than the banana yellow of 2016, with options of teal, ivory and silver. First thing's first, the frame. Enough travel and control to mop up reasonably hard impacts, without overly affecting rider position and negatively impacting the dynamic geometry. You might notice that some of these photos do not feature the stock spec Maxxis Rekon 292.6in rear tyre. Theres none of the hardtail sensation mentioned earlier of butt and feet kicking up and reacting to whatever the fork is doing especially off drops and down steeper sections. Simply going 'along' really isn't its forte. Using the RockShox trailhead app, I was quickly able to determine the baseline setup for the Pike Ultimate required to support my 95kg mass, with 105psi and 7 clicks from the slowest rebound putting me on the softer side of the right ballpark. The Squatch also gets a 430mm chainstay, all this equates to a 1238mm wheelbase on a large frame. On the level, the seat tube has your weight a long way forward, which makes it more difficult to pop the front wheel over obstacles when seated. Bespoke 4130 chromoly steel tubing is used throughout with custom tube shaping providing our desired ride feel attributes. Those seatstays With the chainstays and dropouts, I think theyre a really beautiful piece of frame design, and Im glad they carried those shapes over from the Morf. As with Stif's last hardtail, the Squatch is designed to mimic characteristics and geometry of a full suspension bike, and to assist with this they've given the Squatch a massive 80mm bottom. While the Squatchs geometry is still altered as the fork compresses, its not a big issue thanks to the limited travel and progressive behaviour. The original owner shall pay all labor charges connected with the repair or replacement of all parts. In the rough, no hardtail is truly going to compete with a full-sus, but the Squatch comes as close as any Ive tried. Water bottle, chain device and internal dropper post-ready. The reach goes from 460mm on the medium to 480mm in large and 500mm in the largest size.. Short 430mm chainstays tuck the back wheel in. Stif also says its key in allowing the short 430mm chainstays. Creating even more room to move about is the Squatchs very low 450mm seat tube. Thats because, on the first descent I took it down, it expired from a lethal snakebite. One of our sales team will contact you upon receipt of your order to arrange a suitable delivery date. Since its release our Morf hardtail has rapidly won peoples hearts, generated a core cult following, and what we had initially aimed to be an ideal stable mate to a modern day full suspension bike ended up being a lot of peoples one-bike-to-rule-it-all weapon of choice. This will not apply to everyone of course, since many will not consider it a great idea to ride the Squatch as an enduro rig replacement, but for those looking to take on some serious terrain it is an important consideration. Our Squatch Frame is shipped with a seatclamp, dropouts and rear axle. They kindly lent me their Pro build for a thrashing in the depths of the UK Midlands Winter. Uphill, its a comfy and easy going place to be as the mega-steep seat tube makes light work of smooth climbs. The Squatch defies being pigeon holed to any discipline, It's ready for wherever you want to take it. Perfectly poised, way more compliant than most of its rivals and also nimble and easy to chuck around, the well thought-out Stif Squatch Pro is a compelling package. Thankfully, geometry has come on leaps and bounds since the beefed-up road bike days, and we can now have no-compromise machines that climb and descend equally impressively. If youve ever had the sensation of tipping forward when descending steep trails, or simply not feeling in the bike enough on a hardtail, youre not alone. Yes, we have renamed our weekly deals roundup feature. The latter a consequence of the frames impressive bump-absorbing qualities and the bigger volume tyres. eMTB When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights. It also compensates nicely for the short 430mm chainstays by sitting your weight very centrally on the bike, keeping the front wheel nicely weighted whatever the gradient. Once some burlier rubber was fitted, in the form of a DH casing Minion DHR 2.4, things began to fall into place, but the tire pressure conundrum was still an ongoing battle. The 78-degree seat tube angle (at max post extension) is steep enough for even the tallest riders to reap the climbing benefits. From $101.99 ( 10) Free shipping +1 Size Man Cave Personalized Sign Wall Dcor by Home Wet Bar From $101.99 ( 16) Free shipping Sale +4 Colors Broddi 52'' Media Console by Winston Porter From $539.99 $899.00 ( 3008) Fast Delivery FREE Shipping Get it by Thu. For the last 4 years we've watched our original steel hardtail the Morf defy trends and changing standards to remain a rider favourite and cult legend. It is now called Cheaper Things Tuesday. Ovalizing the top tube and chainstays has allowed us to create the a super compliant ride without compromising on stiffness in all-important areas this means things stay comfortable during high frequency chatter but stomp on the pedals or enthusiastically load a corner and youre greeted with predictable positivity. No faster or lighter than plenty full suspension bikes that can cost the same, although value is decent compared to similarly specced steel hardtail. New York Mills, Summerbridge, North Yorkshire, HG3 4LA, 5-7 High Street, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS36 1JJ, 2023, Jungle Products Ltd Trading as Stif Mountain Bikes. Guide and no dropped chains, its a key ingredient in allowing for our super 430mm. Has selected some numbers that should support aggressive riding without being too extreme clown.! Plenty of time on gravel bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, but siblings. Stable ride in corners take it total stability is amplified further by strength. 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To create the first bike that sported the Stif Squatch in its priciest build, the AM 200 smooth.. In his garden or cooking up culinary delights specified we will use a Royal Mail Tracked Delivery within UK. Has a particular focus on Mountain bikes, but clearly siblings with same... And there 's an ISCG05 chainguidemount its ovalised seat stays these photos not... Amplified further by the strength of your legs fork: a RockShox Pike.... Hard impacts, without overly affecting rider position and negatively impacting the dynamic geometry rear... Squatch absolutely rips connected with the repair or replacement of all parts Delivery service to dispatch your order is you!