The Gamble – The Stanton Bikes Story

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em.” Imagine betting your dreams on the turn of a poker hand? Lose and you go back to your retail job, win and you get the chance to start your own bike company.

As we drop into the sleepy village of Tansley, in a deep bowl-like valley, the early morning mist still hangs firmly in the air. There’s an eerie remoteness to the place, deep in the Derbyshire Dales. In the 1800s, the village was famous for its coachbuilding company founded by the resident Strange family, whose descendants still own most of the buildings to this day. Imagine the early days where people travelled over the moors by horse and cart, making their way over the hill and dropping into the mist of the “valley where the Stranges live.” The village is now also home to Stanton Bikes HQ, and as we pull into the courtyard outside the stone-built unit, it’s clear that the day is already in full swing. Staccato bursts of intense light from welding torches throw shadows out of the open roller-door. As we get our bearings, a figure strides confidently over. Softly spoken he shakes our hands warmly, “Hi, I’m Dan Stanton, welcome to Stanton Bikes.”

If you ask any UK rider to name their top hardtail brands, Stanton Bikes will be at the top, or very near to the top, of their list. Stanton’s steel and titanium Swich9er, Slackline and Switchback hardtails have become almost iconic, fusing intelligent engineering with balanced geometry to produce immensely fun bikes. Indeed, the 631 steel Switch9er aced the competition in our hardcore hardtail group test. Never ones to stand still, Stanton has just released both the Switch9er FS and Switchback FS full suspension bikes. There are also signs of change in the workshop with new machines being installed and workspaces being refurbished. Stanton is bringing all production from Taiwan back in-house to the UK.

Let’s start from the beginning. It’s fair to say that Dan Stanton never intended on starting a bike company. Like many others, he was following the standard academic track which would lead inexorably towards a doctorate and then a professorship. But riding 4–5 times a week and building jumps all weekend he was also a passionate rider. “Back in those days, I always rode a 4X bike when I was trail riding as they were so much more nimble and playful than the steel XC bikes of the time. I used to put up with breathing-out-of-my-everywhere on the climbs so I could enjoy the descents. The turning point for me was when Dirt Magazine dropped its iconic ‘Hardtail Edition’. It had a Bomber and a Razer in there and the hype was crazy. I knew that if I had the opportunity, I could build those bikes too. It came to a head one day when I was sitting with my wife and explaining my doubts about my current trajectory. It was then she asked a simple question: what did I want to do?”

I said I want to start a bike company, after a brief pause, she said, “Well go and do that then.” That’s when it all started.

Within half an hour, Dan had walked around the corner to the local bike shop to speak to the manager Nick and secured himself a job. These were the wonder years. The industry was growing, and many of his shop colleagues went on to work in the industry as frame builders, designers and marketers. Dan would spend time on the phone quizzing distributors about what products come in at what price, learning who was making what and where. He taught himself the basics of CAD, always with the thought of building bikes at the back of mind. His first bikes were perhaps a little radical for the time, so Dan pulled the numbers back a little and had a template to work from. He produced a few models and sent his first bike to Dirt magazine. “I rang up and was passed around and quizzed heavily on the phone. Finally, I managed to speak to the head honcho.” He convinced them to look at his bike – a gamble with his fledgeling company. The gamble paid off and when the magazine hit the shelves, the review was glowing. The Stanton Bikes journey had begun.

Looking at my first bike now, it wouldn’t look so absurd, but at the time it was radical. It ran 140 mm forks with a 64-degree head angle, with a 35 mm BB drop on 26-inch wheels.

With few resources and no capital, Dan realised the enormity of the task ahead of him. He needed help. Fate would deliver it in a strange way. It was during a regular poker night with a mixed group of engineers and people who had made money, that Dan found himself opposite a shrewd investor. Dan took the risk. “If I win, you give me £ 7000 and I’ll give you half of my new bike company.” The cards were played, and Dan had the strongest hand. To this day, he won’t say if he was bluffing or not. A new partnership was born and the money was put towards the first 50 frames. Luckily the orders started coming in before the frames even arrived. The first 10 covered the shipping over the water and Dan pumped the profits from the remaining 40 back into the next 100 frames. The next 100 quickly sold out just as quickly, Stanton Bikes started gaining momentum.

The big catalyst arrived, as it does for many, when Dan’s first boy arrived. With all his eggs in one basket, he needed Stanton Bikes to work. In the beginning, spreading the company name was not easy. Dan would be at every event going with demo bikes crammed into the boot of his beat-up estate car and armed only with a tatty 3x3m E-Z UP. With a shoe-string budget, Dan had no choice but to run the business from his house. “We had to move three times to find enough room to put the stock in. The kids lost their playroom and bike boxes became forts. We realised we could not keep doing this or we would end up needing to buy a mansion.” Dan developed his own self-titled “cross-pollination marketing” partnering with other emerging brands and joining forces to share both the risks and benefits.

There were some sketchy times for sure, a business in a constant state of growth is tough. There were times when I did not have the money to order enough frames. We were constantly selling out a month before frames were arriving and then I would have a 4–5 month lead time to navigate.

Stanton Bikes has now grown into a larger company but is once again in a state of change, bringing the manufacture of frames from Taiwan back to the UK. At a time when consumers are becoming more ethical with their purchases and looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, such a move makes good business sense. Dan explains further. “Looking at the industrial revolution, we took agricultural people and drew them into these new institutions that were set up to systemise processes. One job, one person acting mechanically until you end up with the desired product. Think of Henry Ford, one person standing and pushing a pedal all day, one person welding, all just cogs in a machine. To maximise profits, you bring people in from cheaper areas. Our society outsourced such work as health and safety became more restrictive and costly. We shipped out the business model to Taiwan and China, who were struggling with their failing economy due to communism. Now we’re at a point where the health and safety and the cost of living in Taiwan and China are not far from our own. Now, these corporations are farming out the trade to Cambodia, Laus, Northern Thailand, building new factories, and the cycle continues.”

I think the nut is cracked and starting to unfurl, media is becoming more available and people are more aware of what goes into the manufacture of their bikes.

The Taiwanese companies do not want to lose their contracts, but the cost of production is now so incredibly high that it’s just not cost-effective. We have two choices. We can either keep feeding that situation or, especially with the currency dropping so much, we can employ people and do it ourselves in the UK. Manufacturing in-house also allows reactivity to the market and more freedom in optimizing for the good of the business. The biggest benefit is that the old business model limits creativity for the consumer and limits the opportunity for them to express themselves.” Taking manufacture in-house means that Stanton can offer custom tube sizes, custom colours and far more flexibility. If you would like your hardtail or full suspension frame with a shorter seat tube, but a longer top tube, then that’s no problem.

As we walk around the busy unit, there’s a stark contrast. On one side welding torches spit and crackle, paint sprays and customers drop in to pick up demo bikes, while on the other side new milling machines stand ready to be fired up, awaiting the start of full UK production. Another gamble, but with his highly-skilled team, Dan is confident this will be a new chapter in the Stanton Bikes story. With an almost cultish following for their hardtails, it’s clear they are a business on the rise. As we chat, Dan pulls a bike from the demo rack and stands back admiring it proudly. However, that’s another exciting story…

For more information about Stanton Bikes, check their official website and our review on the Stanton Switch9er FS.