Something a little more philosophical today. I have been considering this for a while now, but it's been quite hard to admit to myself.

I am more and more certain that becoming a Cotic owner is not a rational decision. You don’t buy a Cotic with your head. You buy it with your gut. Your heart. Something older than logic.

I consider myself a pretty rational person; I'm a qualified engineer for goodness sake! My profession tends to define ourselves a the epitome of rational people. But, when it comes to bikes, it's more than computer aided design and stress analysis. That's why I have always loved steel bikes. And I use the word love advisedly. It's a feeling.

When I started Cotic, it had to be a steel bike. I wasn't thinking about watts, or energy transfer or getting to finish lines first, I was thinking about something that felt alive in my hands in a way that other bikes in other materials simply hadn't delivered. If I had wanted the lightest/fastest/cheapest, pretty much any other material would have delivered those spreadsheet metrics, but let’s be honest, none of us are here for a spreadsheet.

Yes, our bikes are engineered with precision. Geometry dialled to the millimetre. Tubing chosen for longevity and strength. That rational part of me is very good at those bits! It isn't the whole story though, is it? I can't call any bike a Cotic unless it has that magic, that certain something.

The soul.

I read a great passage on this recently: "A bridge can be demonstrably right. Engineered to perfection in terms of strength, life, cost. Rational. All can be measured. But as soon as you deal with anything that interacts with a human, it all gets rather messy. Humans aren't rational. They make all sorts of decisions that fly in the face of rationality for all sorts of reasons. And just because they aren't rational, doesn't mean they are wrong. In these cases, there can be more than one way to get it "right". The opposite of a good idea can still be a good idea."

This really made me think. Take a long, hard look at myself, actually. The upshot is that Cotic is not rational, and it's not all science, but it is very human. I just love steel, and how it feels, and how it makes me feel when I ride it. I think you might too.

And since when has being rational had anything to do with why you ride?

Cheers,

Cy

Founder and Director