Here you'll find the latest news from our ambassadors. They're a great bunch of people, flying the Cotic flag around the UK and sometimes beyond!

Chris has been a Cotic Brand Ambassador for years, and we've been avid followers of his podcast from episode 1 onwards, and have known him far longer. In a bit of a twist, Neko Mulally is interviewing Chris on his own podcast... a great opportunity for you to find out who Chris is and what makes him tick, and the podcast work. Warning... contains plenty of car nerd content...

Whilst we were cowering inside against the wettest winter in years, our Ambassador Abby Popplestone (@abby_popplestone) was on the adventure of a lifetime, riding her Cotic Cascade across Africa. It was an incredible trip, and now she’s back, we wanted to celebrate her journey and let her tell the story.

On Friday 7th June 2024 we are having an Abby’s African Adventure day here at Cotic HQ in Chesterfield.

It starts with a late afternoon gravel ride on our local, for a nice, sociable 15-20km or so (around 1.5-2hrs) on our local byways and lanes with Abby and some of us from Cotic. Any gravel bike or XC mountain bike will be suitable.

Once back from the ride around 5ish, we’ll have pizzas for tea and a few beers or ciders laid on as well.

At 7pm we’ll head into the Cotic Showroom and Abby will talk us through a slideshow of her incredible photos of her ride, with a Q and A afterwards. This will be wrapped up 8.30-9pm, but if it’s a nice evening we’ll probably hang out for a while for another couple of drinks and chat.

This is open to anyone, not just Cotic owners. If you want to hear Abby’s story, come for a nice ride and eat some good pizza, you’re more than welcome.

The full do, including ride, pizza, drink and talk is £15. If you can't make the afternoon ride and pizza, then you can get a ticket for the talk and Q and A only for £5.

There are just 30 tickets for this event. Sound good?

Where?

Cotic HQ is here...
Googlemaps : maps.app.goo.gl/h8G9iqHzxjob2gYk9
what3words ///ramp.rails.taps

Address is:

Cotic Bikes
1B Broom Business Park
Bridge Way
Chesterfield
S41 9QG

Phone number is 07970 853 531.

We have parking on site for about 20 cars, and on the estate roads round and about too.

It's about a 10 minute ride for Chesterfield train station.

When?

Friday 7th June 2024. The ride rolls out at 3pm, so if you’re riding, please aim to arrive by 2.30pm latest so we can roll out on time. It’s not a supported ride, and we aren’t qualified guides, we’re just showing you around our local trails. Bring spares, water, clothing and food as appropriate for riding for a couple of hours.

If you can’t make the ride, pizzas will be from around 5.30pm, talk starts at 7pm, and will be wrapped up 9ish.

Demo?

We have the Cotic demo fleet available, so if you’d like to demo, you’re more than welcome. Please book in by emailing demo@cotic.co.uk with the bike and size you would like to try.

If you would like to demo, but would prefer to ride your own bike on the group ride, that works too! The Cotic Showroom will be open from 10am so you can go for a spin on our 45min demo loop earlier in the day if you would prefer. If you want to make a day of it anyway, pop in for a coffee and you can head out on the demo loop before the event starts. We’d be happy to see you.

This is going to be fun!

Tom's been a friend to us at Cotic for a long, long time. We're so proud to have him as our newest ambassador. He's just picked up his new Jeht for some European mountain adventures. That lines up alongside the beautiful Hope equipped Cascade he bought about 18 months ago.

To save us having to big him up and explain what's he's about and what he's up to... he's given some nice long answers to the tongue in cheek questionnaire we get all our riders to fill out... read on below...

We're so excited that Tom's now officially along for the ride. We know he's going to help us experience the big and far, and appreciate the small and near.

We'd like you to give a warm welcome to our newest (and youngest) ambassador Esme Ward.

Esme's parents are hopefully taking the family to the BMX World Championships next year in the USA; they asked if there was any way we might help out with her extra training since she's outgrown her old mtb and keeps borrowing her dads BFe. As luck would have it, the new stock of our awesome 27.5 BFe frames had just arrived and we've been wanting to support a younger rider for a while. The stars aligned and Esme took delivery of her new bike last weekend.

Helped out by our super friends at Hunt Wheels and Sprayway, and with some choice kit from HopeTech, we put together a proper pocket-rocket bike that'll look after her when the ground isn't as smooth as the BMX track.

If you're from a BMX background it's forbidden to visit Sheffield and not ride the hallowed Bolehills track. We surfed the yellow waves for an hour or so then after some warming tea we rolled down the hill to the Velosoloutions pumptrack in Hillsborough to catch a few more laps under floodlights.

We're spoilt for accessible, skill-nurturing spaces in Sheffield, and Hillsborough park is no exception. As long as you keep both eyes open for rogue scooter kids hiding in the bottom of the berms, you'll have a proper blast. It's best suited to smaller wheels but if you're passing it's well worth a visit. Our other ambassador Gareth (A Line coaching) runs regular club nights there with kit to borrow if you're new to the sport.

The next day we joined the Women of Steel at the Steel City DH track. Jo, Kelly, Bron & Mel all made Esme and her sister charlotte feel super welcome and had a hoot towing them down the course.

The BFe performed brilliantly and within a couple of laps the others were having to work hard to keep up. As the frost melted, the slush appeared; We just felt bad for Bron as we'd forgotten to put a mudguard on her bike! Sorry about that.

Say hi if you see the crew out and about at their local haunts - WindHill, Flyup or Andover BMX track. We can't wait to see the adventures her bike takes her on and are really looking forward to hanging out at a couple of events next year.

If you want to build your own perfect pumptrack play-bike up then we have these BFe frames in stock right now. This is the final batch of 27.5 bikes so be quick if this is your bag. If you're hardtail curious but have already migrated to 29" wheels, then check out our BFeMAX - the same flickable fun but in a slightly larger package.

Jo is the newest addition to our roster of awesome ambassadors. Hailing from Essex, now in Wakefield, Jo is a teacher at a Pupil Referral Unit and one of the main instigators of the Trash Mob Academy.

Jo got in touch with Dom from Trash Free Trails back in 2020, asking to use their logo on a set of lesson plans she was developing to help her kids. Things snowballed very quickly and we ended up working very closely on the Trash Mob academy project and through that got to know Jo better.

Her passion for connecting her pupils with nature and easy-going attitude when faced with all manner of issues is what endeared her to us. Jo is working with us to bring cycling & nature to more diverse communities who might not feel like they have a voice in this area. More people on bikes is only ever going to be a good thing. You can read about the TFT project here.

She was introduced to mtb by her partner Gavin and has since spent more than a lot of time riding her bike in the mountains of France and the mini-mountains of the Peak District. After riding a FlareMAX on one of the many sessions at Leeds Urban Bike Park, she was convinced that a Cotic would be her next bike but with a few bikepark and uplift trips planned, a Jeht was a better choice.

"Joey Jeht" was put together around a Gold Eagle build - Cane Creek suspension, Hunt wheels & WTB tyres. Burgtec finishing kit is on its way but since she was keen to just get out on the new bike, we found some spare bits to get her rolling.

Who is Jo?

Profession/passion: Work within an alternative provision for students with Social Emotional mental health needs and have been excluded from mainstream education. It is my professional passion. I am also a passionate Trash Free Trails ambassador that loves to incorporate their core values and nature connection into my teaching.

First bike: Pink Ladies Rayleigh Zest, got it second hand brakes only worked for me and only had 4 working gears… I was the only one that loved the bike 😍💗

Current bike: Cotic Jeht 😍🖤😍

Favourite trail: The Return ride from Morzine to Les Gets

Dream trail: Not sure… somewhere in BC or New Zealand would be a dream to ride.

Best mtb invention in the last 10 years: Good E-bikes - I’ve seen so many people being able to continue riding thanks to them.

Pick two cyclists from history to be your parents: Missy Giove and John Tomac

If you could be anyone for a day who would it be: I’m quite happy being me right now… although I’d love to be the person who knows all the government secrets… that would be cool 😎

If you could do another job for a day what would it be: Food Critic on Master Chef

What would be the title of your autobiography: Just Jo…

One thing people probably won't know about you: I used to be in a street dance hip hop crew and I’m really good at chess. (I know that’s 2 😝) xx

We're super stoked that Jo is part of our crew. Cotic ambassadors all bring something a little different to the table. Click on the links below the photo to have a read about our awesome family and follow their adventures on our socials.

We have just about caught up on sleep and rest after a fantastic weekend at Ard Rock Enduro. After a very challenging few years the Ard Rock Reunion was a really special event, and it was so great to see it back. It felt brilliant to hang out with the mountain bike community again, with smiles and laughter all around it was clear to see that everyone was feeling the same.

Having spent a couple of days last week digging out our EZ-up, flags and other bits of our expo stand which had been lying almost forgotten for the past 18 months, me and Rich headed north to the glorious Yorkshire Dales in a rental van. Boo is no more I'm afraid, having been sold last year when it became clear demos weren't happening any time soon. We arrived in beautiful Grinton to the Ard Rock site and a palpable sense of excitement, even before any racers had arrived, it was clear this was going to be a special weekend, despite a few less people in attendance.

Sunshine out and tunes on, we set up the stand while chatting to some familiar faces in the industry, we weren't the only ones buzzing to be back in the wild and at a bike event. The first day felt like a group therapy session for bike industry staff! The stand mostly set up and well strapped down in preparation for the varied weather forecast, we swung by the Hunt Wheels stand and grabbed Dan and Paddy for a bike ride. We headed for a quick lap of the old demo loop, which if you've been before you'll know is just as spicy as some of the stages. The view down into the valley looking over the event site is pretty special, at least until the rain rolled in, not for the last time that weekend. After a dose of classic Swaledale singletrack we met Paul at the BnB and headed for a pub tea, a big weekend ahead.

Friday is practise day for those racing the main Enduro and Sprint races on the Saturday. We were on deck sharp to put the finishing touches to the stand and greet the biking public. If we thought the excitement was there on Thursday, it was nothing compared to Friday. Many stoked faces chomping to get stuck into practise and check out the stages. The famous deluge and flooding of 2019 had made a mess of a few of the sections, so there were a few new parts to learn, a nice challenge for the seasoned Ard Rock veterans. We waved our riders Dave Camus, Chay Granby, Hannah Saville and honorary team rider for the weekend Stu Bailey off up the hill. Big shout to Mel Fife and Kelly-Jayne Collinge who were sadly both 'pinged' at the last minute and couldn't make it, next time ladies!

Even before our first brew of the day, the new UK made limited edition Jeht was getting a heap of attention. The Stealth Gritstone colour clearly a popular look, with many people coming back for another ogle and considering their next trail bike. If you are thinking of getting one of these, I'd advise you to act fast, judging by the reaction this bike got at Ard Rock they won't be sitting on the shelves for long.

As lunchtime came round, riders began to roll off the hill back into the arena, most of them looking a bit muddy and there were some interesting expressions going around. The damp weather had made a few of the stages very slippery, and a good few egos had been kicked back into line. In previous years we've had wall-to-wall sunshine at Ard Rock, with dry shale for your tyres to hook into and grassy turns boasting velcro-like levels of grip. These had been transformed into soapy wet limestone and off camber turns slick as glass. All action, no traction. The riders were beginning to realise getting round clean would be the aim of the game on Saturday's race. Speaking of which, Dave had lost a fight with a drystone wall, and Hannah had hit the deck too. Her hand held awkwardly and looking a couple of glove sizes bigger. She's made of tough stuff though, and cracked on regardless.

Me and Paul decided we probably should scout out a route for Saturday evenings Cotic CC owners ride, the first one in almost 2 years. Rich manned the stand for an hour and we kitted up and went for a pedal, I had a trail in mind I'd vaguely remembered from a Dales Bike Centre ride a few years ago but definitely needed to remind myself where it went before taking a group out. A savage headwind up the road climb was most unwelcome, but the trail was worth it, and perfect for the CC ride. Back in the pits, after an afternoon figuring out the stages the riders had got their mojo back and were fired up for race day. A few beers into the evening and everyone was feeling nice and relaxed, the racing almost playing second fiddle to the sociable festival atmosphere. Wheelies in the dark back to the BnB topped off a brilliant day.

Rich awoke early Saturday morning, he'd managed to sort himself an entry to the enduro race to follow our riders round and document the day. A solitary breakfast with just pre-race nerves for company he was up on the hill before me and Paul had opened the stand for the day. In an attempt to avoid being held up in traffic on the stages and dodge the worse of the forecast rain, our racers had opted for an early start. We recommend doing this if you are chasing a good result, but most people go to Ard Rock to ride round with their mates for the 'race within a race' and bragging rights in your riding group. Rich had teamed up with local eco friendly clothing legends Banana Industries, and had decked out our riders in party shirts with a lairy cartoon vegetable pattern. They definitely turned heads and wearing matching outfits with your mates bolsters the team vibe, sure they were all after a good race result, but after everything that's happened in the world, fun was the main aim.

Stage 2 was already claiming victims with it's super slippery wooded section near the bottom, and Hannah hit the floor again, landing on her injured hand. She jumped back on and made it to the finish line, but some patching up was required. Bitter shandies at 10am in the pub after stage 2 certainly helped, our team were the first to the bar!

Me and Paul had a big day on the stand back in the event village, lots of interest in the bikes so thanks to everyone who swang by for a chat. It was great to be able to chat face to face with customers again, and lots of you enjoyed seeing the bikes in the flesh after months of drooling over pictures online. It was also lovely to see so many happy Cotic owners coming by to say hello, putting faces to names was great, and seeing everyone's Cotics with their own personal touches being enjoyed was a treat.

By mid afternoon, just after the rain had set in, our team riders were back. Thanks to the early start they had managed to ride 6 of the 7 stages in the dry, with only the final stage being a wet one. Mud covered and grinning like idiots, they were all back in (mostly) one piece and absolutely buzzing. After 2 years of no racing, Chay bagged 10th place in vets, a top result. Despite crashing, bits of the inside of her hand becoming 'outside', and what she would later discover was a broken thumb; Hannah Saville took 10th in a stacked women's field. She even beat EWS under-21 winner Polly Henderson on one stage! Seriously impressive stuff, heal up quick Hannah. Camus got 44th in the huge masters category, remember there is no elite category at Ard Rock, so he was up against the likes of Joe Barnes and Craig Evans, a great result. Media man Rich took an admirable 57th, and judging by the mud all up his arm, that included a bit of lie down on the last stage too.

Despite looking like it was set in for the evening, the rain lifted in time for the Cotic CC owners ride on Saturday night. We scoffed a pizza and 10 stoked Cotic riders coaxed their legs into action for a nice social ride on the route me and Paul had scouted, I can confirm the road climb was much more bearable without the headwind. A real mix of bikes with a couple of Souls, Jehts, FlareMAXs and RocketMAXs, all looking resplendent in the evening sun. We rode rocky singletrack down a gully which wouldn't have been out of place on one of the race stages, flat out grassy trails, a techy stream crossing and a steep chute to session. The Yorkshire Dales really is a mountain bike heaven, in just an hours ride we had a great mix of trails. Rolling back into the event village for a beer after a fun ride with mates, man how we've missed that sort of behaviour. More Cotic CC things to come for sure.

The beer flowed, a bottle of port made an appearance and the Cotic stand was busy into the night with tales of racing, crashes and heroic saves. Hannah got a fresh mohawk after a few beers and the DJ played 90s bangers all night, the festival feel was in full swing. Proper.

Myself and Paul took it steady though, as we had managed to bag entries into the intro race on Sunday morning. We were greeted by sunshine and a dry forecast for the morning, so party shirts on and a hungover looking Rich left to hold to the fort, we set off. It's a good couple of years since I've done a bike race, and I don't do many of them, so I was a bit nervous that morning. The intro race is one of the slightly shorter races on the weekend, taking in stages 4 – 7. The sprint race on Saturday uses stages 1 – 3, and either are a great option if the idea of the full size race is a bit daunting. The long transition to the start of 4 would be a lovely ride in the dry, as we passed the bottom of stage 2 we could see why so many riders had had a sit down. The greasy chute at the end looked horrendous, here's hoping for a dry weekend next time.

Eventually getting the long climb done, we caught our breath and dropped into stage 4. Moorland singletrack quickly fed into a fast gully with blind crests and big berms, the addition of a number board to our bikes and tape either side of the trail seemed to flick a switch in both mine and Paul's heads, we were flying! A well spotted high line here, sending a blind drop there and it was over pretty quickly. It felt good to get a stage ticked off, and the nerves were long gone.

Paul cleaned most of the climb up to 5, which is very much his forte. I had a go, but decided my energy was better saved for the stages. 5 was a proper laugh; fast and open with amazing corners and some jumps that had I looked at first, I probably wouldn't have sent! We were both saved by the longshot geometry on our Jehts at one point, as we came over a blind crest to find we really should have turned left. Somehow the bikes got us through the rocky ditch on the inside of the corner and kept us upright, thinking perhaps we should reign it back a touch.

Heart rates back under control, we had a quick snack and dropped into stage 6. Everyone who raced the previous day had told us how fun this one was, and they weren't wrong. Fast and flowy through the moonscape with more jumps and berms. Paul was fully pulling away from me when I heard a marshal ahead shout “ohh unlucky mate!”, he'd punctured the rear tyre. Fortunately the transition from 6 to 7 involved riding (pushing) up past stage 6, so I was able to rescue him with a tube so he could finish the stage. Gutting though, he was on a heater.

The nerves had crept back in ahead of stage 7, the last one. We were expecting a slippery grease fest. What we got though, was a brutal wind. As soon as we passed through the dry stone wall at the top, the wind almost stopped us dead. Pedalling down steep rough trails on tired legs into a gale was hard work, but the wind had dried out the trail nicely so traction wasn't an issue. We caught a couple of other riders on this one, which cost us some time, but neither of us are serious racers so it didn't bother us too much. The great thing about Ard Rock is that riders of all abilities are welcome and encouraged. It was really good to see such a huge variety of people riding all sorts of bikes.

Steep grassy turns and blind jumps dropped us to the bottom of the stage just as the heavens began to open. 4 dry stages, definitely a win as far as we were concerned. Timing chips handed back in I was surprised and very happy to see I was sitting in 5th place in the senior category, which held until the end, my best race result ever. Very happy with that. Paul was either 3rd or 4th on all the stages other than 6, so without the puncture he'd most likely ended up 3rd in vets, seriously quick. A very enjoyable ride, thanks for manning the stand that morning Rich!

There really is no event quite like Ard Rock, after a very challenging few years for the organisers it was amazing to be back in Swaledale again. A huge thanks to the Ard Rock team for pulling it off against all odds. Having the bike community back together was very special, in a strange and busy time in the industry with new challenges every week it was a lovely reminder of why we do this. Seeing so many happy faces and feeling the joyous atmosphere was very special, thanks to everyone who came by the Cotic stand to check out the bikes and share the stoke. The stages were amazing, banter flowing, the food top quality and being outdoors in a breezy field definitely helped quash the Covid apprehension.

We strongly advise you get yourself entered to next year's Ard Rock Enduro Festival, when it will be at full capacity again with families and spectators back. We will definitely be there.

Big thanks to Vicky and Rhubarb at The Laurels BnB in Reeth, the Ard Rock team, Banana Industries for the rad party shirts, Dave, Hannah, Chay, Stu, Rob, the good folks from Hunt for the stoke and everyone who came by the Cotic stand. See you next year.

Our first "big" meet-up of 2021! Finally! We decided to meet up at Bolehills, a large pumptrack in Sheffield. The Bolehills crew have worked so hard on the track during lockdown, it was great to go back and see what's been done. The track has something for everyone, with a pumptrack, roll-able jumps and moving up to the big jumps. That week we happened to have Lauren and Lily from the local school for work experience! Hannah now wasn't the only girl at Cotic HQ! We invited them along to our Women of Steel Bolehills event, here's how it went:

Lauren writes....

At first, both Lily and I were nervous to get started as it had been a while since we last rode our bikes. But once we got comfortable, it was a really enjoyable evening. It really helped that everyone there was super supportive and considerate to the fact that we were beginners.

When we first got there, we were both really nervous about what to expect. We worried that we would need to be more experienced riders to attend. But Cy assured us that that wouldn’t be the case. And it wasn’t. Everyone there made us very included, and they all encourage us to push ourselves. This attitude made us (and no doubt other beginners) feel welcome at the event. Another thing that helped us to feel more comfortable was that so many other people (of different levels of experience) were there.

We decided to start out on the pump track, instead of going straight onto the proper track. We did this to get used to being on our bikes again, after a while. Lily also rode around the field opposite the track to familiarise herself with riding her bike. After a while of stumbling around the pump track, we attempted the back straight on the actual track. We chose this part of the track because it was easy enough for our ability, but still challenged us. Cy made sure that we were okay and guided us around the track when we first got started. The whole event had an amazing atmosphere. It was really laid back and relaxed. Meaning we didn’t feel pressured to be on the track the whole time or having to ride at a certain standard.

Lily writes...At the end of the night, Rich bought fish and chips for everyone there. Everyone was chatting to each other and sharing bikes (and food). It felt really special. We both felt really inspired by all the experienced women riders there. They are incredible! And they made us want to continue riding in hopes of becoming as experienced as them in the future. Thank you to everyone who came out for the event, it was a really great night!

Cy Writes.....

A couple of weeks ago I had one of my better work days by heading out for a ride with Rob Weaver from MBUK / Bikeradar. I was collecting the RocketMAX they had tested on Enduro Bike Of The Year.

Chris from Downtime was along as well, so we sat down and chatted about the real relationship between brands and testers. You can read the full Bike Of The Year round up over on Bikeradar.

You can still find a lot of cyncism out there about bike tests, but I have yet to meet a tester who wasn't in some way committed to providing the best advice they can. Rob is the absolute epitomy of this, and for us as a brand, that integrity is important. If more people believe tests are rigorous and accurate, the better it is for us as a direct selling brand when we get a good write up.

Anyway, I won't spoil any more. Grab a brew and have a listen to the player below, or search for Downtime Podcast on Spotify or iTunes and make sure you get subscribed.

Last summer our ambassador Wayne (Chamonix MTB) LINK took his Rocket on a pretty big day out. Living in the birthplace of modern mountaineering, when Wayne says it was a big day out, you'd best believe it. Have a look...

After a 7am start in Chamonix, it’s time to load up the trailer and head out to Crans Montana, Switzerland to ride the Plaine Morte. Plaine Morte is an epic trail that follows an ancient bisse/aquaduct all the way to the valley floor, ending in the town of Sion in the Swiss Valais.

Getting to the summit involves some logistics but multiple cable cars and a few hours later we are stood at almost 3000m, next to the Glacier Plaine Morte roughly translated as the dead flat glacier. Unfortunately the atmospheric cloud we ascended through managed to block the incredible view we’d been promised!

Fortunately, we weren’t just here for the views and after a quick flowy, rocky single track ride to warm up we were straight in to the only uphill/hike a bike section of day – with 44km of descending ahead of us, a short climb was to be expected.

Shortly after arriving at Wildstrubell Refuge we were straight in to the descent and a rowdy start to the ride – a rocky, loose, off camber moonscape of a single tack laid out ahead of us.This trail definitely isn’t for the faint hearted, with steep committing chutes to descend, but the amazing surroundings help to take your mind off the tech.

By the time we reached Lac Plan des Roses the cloud was clearing so we took the chance to stop for a speedy lunch. With more than 2,000m of descending still ahead of us we kept it quick and cracked on. Leaving the loose rocky tech behind us we entered the high alpine pasture, which is less steep and a lot more flowy and fun. The beautiful Barrage de Tesuzier lies ahead and then s the fun really begins.

The bisse takes us over sketchy bridges and through small caves where a good head for heights is vital - did I mention the ride involves some via ferrata? ;-) Hike-a-biking through a network of caves definitely adds to the adventure and is actually a more recent addition to the trail - health and safety thought it might be a good idea to bring these walk/aqua ways in to the mountainside rather than tacked on to the cliffs.

After navigating the caves it’s back out into the trees, with blue skies above us and some amazingly fast singletrack under our wheels. This was a big day but it was well worth it - 45km, 2900m of descending and around 500m of climbing throughout the day, together with the views and the trail, made for one hell of an amazing ride!

What was your lockdown project? Sourdough bread? A morning fitness regime? A pallet-wood garden seat?

Ours was a dirt-jump bike..

With so many of our ambassadors continually extolling the virtues of a session at the track, trails or pumptrack, we knocked some very talented heads together and sketched out a design.

For the working prototypes we called on Sheffield framebuilder Matt Bowns of 18 Bikes to metal glue-gun us together 4 identical frames.

We sent these 4 frames up to Five Land bikes for a bath in the E-coat and a few layers of lovely glossy black paint.

Finally back to Sheffield for some custom graphics from HKT Products (the keen eyed will notice these as a tester for the amazing Afterburner paint on the new Jeht).

3 frames went out to the ambassadors - King of Bolehills Dave Camus, A Line coaching Gareth Jones and Perennially steezy Will Easey. The last one stayed in the family as a test / photo / pumptrack mule. We had some help from Mark at Fabric who supplied each of the bikes with Magic saddle and grips but obviously Camus went much further with his build... No bolt was left un-anodised, and the whole thing looks like it fell backwards through the Hopetech factory - in a good way.

Built with Reynolds 853, tough 26" wheels and top notch parts, these bikes ride like a bloomin' dream! They're light, tough and lightning quick.

They're also not for sale!

We don't know about your local, but Bolehills BMX track has been at (socially distanced) capacity morning, noon and night, for pretty much the whole of the summer. Reliable, small and uncomplicated bikes like these have saved the sanity of so many people (and parents) this year. Unfortunately with the massive delays on production in the far east, the thought of upsetting the (already brimming) apple cart by adding in another new model isn't the most sensible idea right now so whilst the project has been more-than fun, that's all it is at the moment. Please don't email us about getting hold of one of these, it's not happening in the near future. However, if you're in the market for a pump track bike then you could do a lot worse than try the BFe 27.5 More than a few customers have already purposed a BFe for track razzing duties.

So rather than sit on a bunch of media for a bike that might not see the light of production for a long while, here's a selection of sunny photos which will hopefully inspire you to venture to your closest track and see what all the fuss is about.

Young Joel Blomfield of Shralp Clothing borrowed his dads old Mongoose kit for a little session. It's a funny one when your "new" clothes are twice as old as you.

You can get pretty lucky with conditions at places like Bolehills. Surfaced tracks are built to drain well and withstand thousands of hours of use. You might find that they are still running well into winter, when all the usual trails are a soggy mess. And the newer tarmac ones are even more reliable. Be sure to check out the BMX and Pumptrack directory for your closest spot.

Most of these places are built with love and passion. Sure a council might occasionally pony up a little cash, but most of the time the scenes are built by volunteers; you can pay back your stoke by lending a hand at dig days, picking up litter or sometimes just buying a t shirt or sticker from the locals to help pay for some more surface. Cotic donates a percentage of its profits each year to trail maintenance schemes and it's not just mtb routes that reap the benefits. As the artist Cy Whitling says, "Being local isn't defined by how much you've taken from a place, but by how much of yourself you can invest into it."