24Seven Slacker ST review

Thrash it like a BMX

Our rating

3.8

BikeRadar©.

Published: October 10, 2007 at 11:00 pm

Our review
Small, strong and perfect for trails and parks where you can thrash it like a BMX, but watch those forks

24Seven have been building steel bikes for the aggro end of the market for ages, and this edition of the Slacker, a £700 complete 24in hardtail for street, dirt and park duties, is one of their new offspring. >

The frame

This is the seventh bike to carry the name Slacker, but instead of tweaking an existing design 24Seven have started from scratch, making it smaller with a longer top tube and shorter back end. Combining this with a steep head tube makes the geometry closer to that of a BMX. Other tweaks include a higher BMX-style BB and 14mm dropouts. >

All tubing is Japanese Sanku steel, the blue paint finish looks great and the new decals suit the bike's image. >

The detail

Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 3 forks up front take care of business, with a 20mm through-axle, rebound damping, one-piece lower legs and independently replaceable stanchions, so you don't have to buy a whole new crown if you bend the uppers - just as well, as we bent our set flipping in a moderate park session without even crashing.

White detailing is used across the bike, with 24Seven's own flanged grips, White Star pedals and white sealed bearing hubs. The Triad bars have comfortable sweep and rise and the cranks are 24Seven's own Superfat model.

The only thing the bike is missing is a set of chain tugs for chain tensioning as the Slacker doesn't come with them - this makes it harder to get the right tension, so if you plan on removing the back wheel for transport, get hold of one pronto.

The ride >

Shorter chainstays make for a solid, compact back end, so it feels fast off the mark and the balance point is moved forwards to encourage nosed in landings and long, easy manuals, and inspires confidence for tyre taps and handrail manuals. The forks let you ride out of harder landings with your wrists intact - just keep an eye on that crown. The 24in size makes spins and flips faster than on a comparable 26in. It also makes generating speed out of landings easy, again pointing it towards trails and parks.

>The Slacker ST is a solid, well sorted rig with only a few sticking points, built for hard riding. It takes the Slacker heritage and does it justice.

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