A couple of weeks ago Cy got to sit down with Chris from Downtime Podcast and talk about all things RocketMAX.

They talk through where we start from with each new project, what the drivers and constraints are, the tools we use and some of the processes applied, and a bunch of other things besides. They even chat about the front hubs Cy designed and had made when he was 17!

There is some detail about why the bike needed to change from the Gen3 frame, the variations in geometry and travel we tested, and how some of our pre-conceptions were proved wrong as we worked through the process.

Chris is Cotic Brand Ambassador and has been riding a RocketMAX Gen3 for over 2 years. Before the recording, Cy and Chris went for a quick ride on my local where he got to try the Gen4 for the first time, so he was able to share his thoughts on the leap between generations as well.

If you are keen on a RocketMAX, the good news is that our UK production is now mostly caught up with initial demand, and we have all size/colour options in stock or imminent for delivery. We are well stocked on Zeb, Lyrik, HELM and Fox38 forks, plus all the shock options and a bunch of different built kits. We can deliver you most of our builds within 2 weeks at the moment.

We have just been told that we are a finalise for the Singletrack Reader Awards Bike Industry Paying It Back Award. To say we are chuffed is a massive understatement. We try to be better than 'just another bike company', so to be recognised in this way is really, really lovely.

VOTE FOR COTIC

Ever since I read Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia founder Yves Chouinard, I changed how Cotic worked to support the sport and the people that support us. That started over 10 years ago with giving some money and time to refurbish a local pump track. That then escalated into doing a lot of volunteer work and fundraising for Ride Sheffield, our local trail advocacy group.

We donate part of our turnover each year to trail organisations, and we have supported Ride Sheffield, Bolehills BMX Track and Tweed Valley Trail Association.

A few years ago, we were approached by Dom Ferris to help him our when he founded Trash Free Trails. It's so important we all look after the countryside, and our planet in general, a bit better. This is a really pro-active way to do something good. Leave A Positive Trace.

We now support their Trashmob Academy programme, which Richard emailed about earlier this week. He's been a driving force behind this at Cotic, and if you didn't see it, it is one of the most important things we have been involved in.

We founded the Women of Steel group 5 years ago. When Hannah - our first female employee - joined we realised pretty quickly that we couldn't just be "not against" women in mountain biking. To make a difference we had to actively, positively promote women in mountain biking. It's been amazing to watch that grow into something really important and powerful to people.

More recently we have helped get the Colour Collective off the ground, giving staff time and expertise to get this important movement going. Their aim is "Celebrating and increasing the participation of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds within Mountain Biking." We couldn't agree more.

Reading this back now, in some ways it seems like a lot, but more often than not when putting effort into these things I wish we could do more. To me it's just being a decent human and, by extension, a decent company.

If you're reading this and you own a Cotic, you are a part of all of this, because that frame or bike sale allowed us to do all these things. Thank you.

And if you would like to see our little brand celebrated further for trying to be better, please go over to Singletrack and vote for us before 25th October.

Vote FOR COTIC

Thanks,

Cy

Cy wrote a packed newsletter this morning to our Mailing List handing out a bunch of useful tips he's learnt over the last couple of years of development work. If you want to make your Cotic work better, have a read.

Read Cy's Suspension Tuning Tips

To keep up with this, and lots of other Cotic related information, sign up to the newsletter.

Sign up to the Cotic mailing list

Our new Cascade is a bike that defies classification in some ways. We have noticed this particularly at mountain bike events this year, where it has been a real hit on our stand. You can see people stop as they spot the bike: "That's cool!". Then you see the puzzlement. The drop bars. The big tyres. The dropper post. You can almost see them ask the question, "Why is that cool?!". This usually leads to a conversation with us and the dawning realisation that it's the bike they weren't looking for, but actually need. As I say to people, it's the perfect mountain bikers' Other Bike. Certainly my personal two bike garage of RocketMAX and Cascade feels very fit for purpose.

Last week, Harvey (a serial Cotic owner, for which we thank him very much), sent a lovely email expanding upon the journey he went on, from suspicious sceptic to enthusiastic owner. It really struck a chord with me, and Harvey's agreed to let me share it with you.

Harvey writes.....

A while back I received an email from Cotic advertising the Cascade. I watched the VT of bikes loaded with a surfboard, etc. and the bohemian weekend break such a bike brings to you. Got to be honest, that VT is not me. Personal opinions aside, it was a well-produced/edited advert and I know, singularly, I am most definitely not the soul target audience for all Cotic products.

I admired what Cotic achieved with the Cascade, but I could not see me using/needing it in place of my Tonic, Soul or Flare. Accordingly, I dismissed it as not relevant to my riding.

Roll forward a few weeks and Cotic open a Saturday demo day. I checked the date and realised I was child-free (as a single parent, I think we appreciate ‘downtime’ a little more than the average 2.4 family). After a quick (read long) phone call, I was booked for a test-ride on the Cascade. My logic being I would gather the evidence with which to quantifiably dismiss it.

At this point it may be worth mentioning that during said phone call with Paul, he did suggest I might be eating humble pie. His thoughts on the Cascade were possibly similar to mine, then he rode one!

The demo day arrived, I met up with the always friendly "Sam the demo man". We had a good chat about bikes, before Sam proceeded to explain one or two of the details found on the Cascade. As well as some subtle differences between the demo bike and Cascade bikes available to order.

The demo bike had an 11-46 cassette - thus a large step between 1st and 2nd on the cassette, and GRX600 shifters - needing an external thumb operated dropper-post lever. Thankfully a Gold build Cascade uses GRX800, which utilises the front mech lever (made redundant through being a 1X transmission) to actuate the dropper-post – a much more ‘integrated’ solution! The production models 11-51 uses optimised gear ratios to reduce steps between the gears.

Sam adjusted the saddle height and I looped the car park to check everything felt ok. Time to find fault; I started Strava, had a final route check, then set off.

Immediately I notice the riding position felt fantastic! The big 2.4 Rangers offering huge cushioning, to smooth out the road imperfections. Within a few hundred yards I turned off up a bridleway. At first this was tarmac smooth, but after a while turns into a compacted hardcore track with gulley’s where rainwater has scoured its way downhill and the associated loose/broken rocks to clamber over. No problem – drop a gear, remain seated and spin my way up. The large wheels and soft tyre pressure maintained good traction and the fantastic steering helped me climb like a goat!

It is the steering I notice most on the climbs, on a slack 29er MTB, I sometimes spin lazily up a hill and find the steering wanders about a bit. I need to think more and keep it pointing where I want to go, not where the bike wants to go. Not at all the case with the Cascade. Resolute and sharp. Think about your line and that is where you are going!

I did find on the climbs, especially when the going was steep, the Shimano 11-46 cassette has a large step between 1st and 2nd, I needed a gear between the two. For me I would fix it by upping the front ring form 36T to 38T.

But, as explained by Sam, the demo bike was thrown together, quickly, from spare parts, to get something rideable out there [during the parts shortege earlier this year]. The production Gold Build bikes have an 11-51 cassette with more evenly spaced ratios. I have crunched the ratios in a spreadsheet, they work better for me!

At this point I realised I was perched upon a stock Cotic saddle, something I am not ordinarily a fan of. Yet on this Cascade it felt comfy, maybe the longer top tube and drop bars helped reposition my hips.

After some more climbing and a few gates, I found myself on the faster gravelly lanes. On these surfaces the Cascade felt lovely and stable. I blasted along with the tyres gripping tightly, soaking up the imperfections and quickly my speed built up. My Tonic would not be anywhere near this smooth or comfy. As things got steeper and rougher, the Cascade kept going, calm and comfy. This is where I really sense how good the Cascade is and the ‘game-changer’ behaviour begins to really shine through!

At first, I had my hands on the usual top-of-the-hoods position, with two fingers covering the brakes. But I became concerned that should a hand slip-off, I would over the bars and face first into the gravel. I tried tucking my fingers round the hoods and grip them better, but in doing so could not cover the brakes. Then it dawned on me, the Cascade is a drop bar bike. So why don’t I just use the drops? At this point things made sense and suddenly I felt secure and planted, but not too far over the front wheel, as can sometimes feel the case (for me anyway) on a drop bar bike.

After a few more minutes of letting speed build as my confidence increased, I realised my hips were too high, so I flicked the left thumb lever and dropped the post. As the terrain got steeper and sketchier, I got into the drops, pushed my hips back and down, and moved my body to hustle the Cascade around and surf my way down. This felt fantastic. At times I felt my speed was a bit frightening and squeezing the levers shed some velocity. The bike could deal with more speed, my nerves could not!

On a hardtail, I have never found the dropper-post a game changer, not this sort of terrain anyway. In fact, unless I am riding steep rocky conditions i.e. Black Rocks, Matlock, Shining Cliffs, I do not bother with a dropper post. However, on the Cascade, the dropper becomes a necessity. Initially I thought needing a dropper for XC/gravel was a negative and highlighted the compromise of a bike bridging genres. But dropping the post and pointing the Cascade downhill soon erases those preconceptions and simply replaced them with a huge grin. Using technology to broaden the capabilities and talent of the Cascade, has made it such an incredibly fun and confidence inspiring ride. I pushed the Cascade beyond my comfort zone, hoping its abilities extended beyond the limitations I would expect for a drop bar bike. Thankfully it did not let me down.

It is hard to articulate how good the Cascade, you just need to ride it to appreciate it!

Eventually the trail ended and I was on the tarmac. Elbows and knees tucked in, crank arms level, head down and we soon hit 50km/h. Traffic and the 30mph zone came into view, so I sat up and slowed down. Swung along with the traffic and back to Cotic HQ, huge smile radiating across my face!

I took a FlareMAX out around the same loop, to give me a reference with something I am used to. I have also been back and completed the loop on my own Flare. I turned up to the demo having dismissed the Cascade in my head and simply riding one to confirm that. I left with a build in my head and ordering my own Cascade.

The Cascade is a fantastic bike, it is the first bike I have ridden that has killed-off the old analogy: you need one more bike than you currently own.

Rubbish, you need less, but better, bikes!

I do not see me riding a hardtail anymore as this replaces them. I am looking at local rides that I would not have bothered with on a Soul/Flare. I plan to explore Yorkshire routes, if something is gnarly, I will mark it up on my map and return when I have enough rough sections to justify a spin out on the Flare!

Learn more about the Cotic Cascade

I hope you enjoyed Harvey's thoughts and experiences. It certainly keys with my own use of the Cascade, where I do rides and terrain that would be incredibly dull or hard work (or both!) on my RocketMAX, but I can ride much more varied offroad terrain with confidence and fun than an Escapade would allow.

Any questions on this (or anything else), Paul and Sam are here to help. Drop us an email or give us a call.

And if Harvey has convinced you that the Cascade is your next bike too, current build times are about 2 weeks and we have most things in stock.

Order your Cotic Cascade

Cheers

Cy

What a week... watching amazing racing, riding amazing trails, talking to amazing riders. We've been in Les Gets, getting our bikes in front of the crowds descending on the World Championships this week. With all of us out here, we've been taking it in terms to take compliments about our bikes on the stand, get out on the trails, and watch very exciting racing.

We've all worked together, lived together, and ridden together... it's been great. We've been riding a bit of a mixed fleet of droplink bikes, with many of us riding the new Jeht... because, well, it's fun EVERYWHERE. Cy in particular has often come back from a spin on off-piste rooty stuff singing the praises of this bike. He would do that, wouldn't he?! Well, when we get back... contact us for a demo and see why for yourself. Or order one risk free now, and we'll get it built for you on your return.

Right... it's getting VERY loud out on the hill now... better go and watch the fast ladies show us the impossible on that downhill course... see ya... back in about a week's time...

We are at the World Championships this weekend, and then next week we're taking a few days off to make the most of being out here in the Alps.

Please note that we are still taking orders online, and we recommend you do place an order as soon as possible to reserve your bike or frame. Some stock is very limited, and likewise some frames and components on their way to us are nearly all presold. So place an order promptly to avoid disappointment.

Drop us an email. We're back Friday.

We're closed Monday — Thursday this week.

We're open Friday, but we will be super busy, so next week might be better if you want to call us.

We're open Monday — Friday (9am — 5pm UK time) next week.

Reserve your bike by placing an order while we are away.

Place an order online

Contact Sales and Support

Last night's Cotic CC ride at Grenoside Woods was heaps of fun. Riding with friends is the absolute best.

Ahead of our Les Gets trip, we wanted to shakedown a few changes to our own bikes, test out new full face helmets and get Cotic CC events up and running again.

It was a very hot evening, but the shade of the woods was nice and it's always a treat to ride dusty trails in short sleeves. The pace was lovely and relaxed, we pushed up and sessioned sections of the trail, which has settled in very nicely after it's rebuild earlier this year.

One thing that had been bugging me personally was the re-worked 'Jolley's Gap' jump around half way down the track. I had it on lock before the rebuild, but it has been made bigger, with a faster run in and a steeper landing than before, and I hadn't ticked it off yet.

I'm not a naturally gifted jumper, I generally prefer steep and techy trails over airtime, but deep down I knew I had this jump in me. I'd rolled up to it a few times a couple of weeks ago, and decided not to go for it.

After some tips and gentle encouragement from Rich and Will, I dropped in behind them and decided if I got the jump before it nice and clean, which I had done on every run so far, I'd follow them over Jolley's. Repeatedly telling myself in my head; "stay relaxed, you got this" (does anyone else do that?!) I committed.

As Rich and Will had said, it felt nice and easy. Definitely big, but smooth and clean. I was very stoked.

This is exactly the kind of atmosphere we love about Cotic CC rides, whatever your level or goals, we always aim to foster a friendly and encouraging vibe, where everyone is welcome.

There was a great mix of bikes in the woods, well loved BFes, Rockets, Jehts and a brand spanking Magenta BFeMAX which looked stunning.

If you own a Cotic, no matter which one, new or second hand, you are already in the Cotic CC. Look out for more rides and events over the coming months.

Enjoy the sunshine,

Sam.

We've just about recovered from the biggest event of the year, Ard Rock 2022 was a belter.

We had a cracking weekend showing off our bikes, riding with Cotic owners on the CC rides, eating delicious food and drinking too much beer.

Our 'guess how many bottle boss bolt are in the water bottle' contest was good fun, thanks to everyone who had a guess. We've already emailed everyone who entered, but in case you are wondering, there were 893 in there! We're already working on more daft ideas for future shows.

It was a busy one as ever, and a much bigger event than last year; more stands, more riders and the same unmissable vibe. We didn't do any racing ourselves this year, but saw plenty of Cotics rolling around with number boards on, well done to everyone who took part, and thanks for swinging by the stand to share your stoke. We love seeing our bikes out there in the wild making people happy.

Chay managed to blag himself a last minute entry and had a fun day out on Saturday's Enduro. A couple of unfortunate punctures saw him roll into a respectable 17th in Vets, and he was still smiling at the end and partying well into the rainy night.

Big shout to Stu Bailey who took his shiny new Magenta BfeMAX to 62nd in Vets, and the second fastest hardtail in Vets! Matt Greenwood took his Army Green Bfe with lovely matching Lyriks to second fastest hardtail in the senior category too. Well done lads!

Even bigger shout to Daniel Andres who took his Gunmetal+Copper BfeMAX to fastest hardtail overall on the day, great effort! We've said it before; you'd be faster on a Cotic!

It's not all about the racing though, something we increasingly felt this year; Ard Rock really is becoming a true Mountain Bike Festival and not just a race. Our owners rides were a real treat this year, thanks to those who joined us. We promise to do more Cotic CC events, starting with an evening session at Grenoside on Thursday 11th August, see you there?

It was great to get some demo bikes out there again too, a highlight was one particular demo rider who came back to the stand after testing out the C2 RocketMAX, and was literally lost for words! He was grinning so much it took him ages to tell us how much he enjoyed the bike, a lovely reminder of why we do what we do.

We will of course be back next year, in force and between the tapes again along with demo bikes, beers and good craic. We're already looking forward to it.

Sam.

It's that time of the year again, the brilliant Ard Rock Mountain Bike Festival is this weekend 29th - 31st July!

We are heading up to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and will be exhibiting at the event, with some demo bikes and long awaited Cotic CC Owner's rides.

We're doing two social owner's rides this year:

• 6pm Friday
• 5pm Saturday - we'll be back in time for the raffle

The rides will be a chilled pace, around 60-90mins and all Cotic owners are welcome. The trails are classic Dales singletrack, a bit techy in places but perfectly rideable at a chilled pace on any Cotic mountain bike from a Mk1 Soul to a Gen4 RocketMAX.

Post ride beers at the stand on us.

Rides will depart from the Cotic stand at the times mentioned above, so if you're joining us please get to our stand in plenty of time, ready to ride.

It's a while since we've done a CC ride, and we're really looking forward to these.

We will have a few demo bikes with us at Ard Rock, so if you're heading along and want to test ride a Cotic, please get in touch to book a demo ride.

Email demo@cotic.co.uk or call 07398 189114.

Even if you aren't racing you can come along to the event, browse the expo area, demo a bike and take in all the action.

Hopefully see you there,

Sam.

Bikepacking.com have published their long term review of the SolarisMAX, and they loved it so much they bought it!

A few quotes from the review:

It took a couple of rides to get used to this geometry, but in the end, I fell in love with it. I honestly didn’t read about the Longshot philosophy until after I’d formulated an opinion, one that eerily echoed Cotic’s sentiment. This bike is extremely confident and composed, both going up and down. It has a knack for long and steep grinds and patient technical climbs alike. The long chainstays help maintain traction whether you’re in or out of the saddle. And surprisingly, even with the slack headtube, it doesn’t wander or feel twitchy by any stretch of the imagination. It’s perhaps one of—if not the—best climbers I’ve ridden. My favorite types of climbs and rides are cerebral and involve rooty and rocky situations that you have to think through and work out on the fly. The SolarisMAX handles this style of riding incredibly well, yet still manages to be adept when moving fast.

Given the longer chainstays and low stack height, one might expect this bike to feel overly planted and grounded. However, this is another don’t judge a bike by the numbers scenario. I found the SolarisMAX to inspire hops, jibs, and outright fun on most trails.

I ultimately fell in love with this bike and bought it.

SolarisMAX is in stock now and available to buy. We can turn around all in-stock builds within 2 weeks at the moment

Cy writes....

I went to Eurobike in Germany last week, and I drove out with Dom Mason from Mason Cycles. It was great to spend some time with Dom. We rode bikes, had a few small-bike-company-owner support group meetings, but also hit upon something that struck us as both ironically funny, but very important.

You see as part of our chatter, over several hours driving the van across Europe, we both at various points bemoaned recent online shopping experiences.

Incorrect, poor quality items, and even poorer customer service from a posh brand that appears to be just a front for a box mover for Dom.

Frustration for me at the waste of time, energy and resources of constantly sending back shorts I am trying to buy, because there is not enough sizing information on the websites, and no one to ask.

We were both in full ranty-flow saying how "WE JUST WANT TO GO TO A SHOP!" when we checked ourselves and realised it was pretty funny to be saying that when we both run direct to consumer bike brands.

So why do we do it? And what makes us different?

People and Privilege

Once we drilled down into our issues with our respective problems, it came down to two big things we do differently to these volume sellers:

People - Despite being an online retailer, you can contact and either email or talk to real people, who are keen to help, knowledgeable, and actually work for the brand you're dealing with. No fobbing you off with FAQ. No "computer says no". We want to help, and we are excited to get you on one of our bikes. The right one for you.

Privilege - I guess this could also double as "respect", but as a small brand in a big pond it is genuinely our privilege to receive the trust each and every one of you puts in our brand when you make a purchase. It's a huge deal to us, because we know it's a huge deal to you. We were upset about difficult online shopping experiences involving a few tens or hundreds of pounds. You regularly trust us with thousands of pounds of your hard earned money, and we feel that responsibility every time we make a sale.

And on the odd occasion something is wrong, we are still mortified to hear about it because all the people here at Cotic will have been directly or indirectly involved in your bike, and we want to get you sorted as soon as possible.

What I am saying at the end of all this is that not all online selling is the same, and at Cotic you touch everyone with your trust in us, every time you buy a frame or bike.

So, from Darren, Hannah, Kelvin, Paul, Richard, Sam, Will and I, thank you. If you ride Cotic, you are part of the family.

Thanks

Cy Turner

Founder and Director

We got the camera out in the middle of the heatwave to give you a quick but complete look at all our new and existing Cotic branded clothing. If you see something you like, all the photos link through to our order system for you... unless we've sold out of that item already that is... some of our mech is very limited in numbers.

They have arrived! The latest batch of BFeMAX frames are now in stock, and ready for us to build you your new bike. As previously announced, this batch sees an old favourite return, Bright Gloss Blue, and possibly the brightest colour we've ever done, Bright Gloss Magenta.

Next batch coming soon! As well as just receiving our new batch of Blue & Magenta frames, we can already announce the colours for the next batch... Fast Red, and, Smoke, both in a matte finish. These are expected to be in stock mid September, and are available to order now.

So, whether you want a bright glossy frame or bike NOW, or a subtle coloured matte frame or bike in September, place an order now, so that we know what you want and can work towards getting you out on the trails on your new BFeMAX.

Adventure & challenges are fun right? I'm never going to climb Everest but I'd like to feel something (even slightly) akin to that so I looked for a long local route where I could spend pretty much a whole day sat on my bike. The Peak 200 is a self supported, 225KM route around the Peak District, taking in gravel, road and chunky chunky bridal ways. And the closest it comes to my house is only about 20 mins pedal up the road. Sounded like a plan...

The best bike for an adventure is your own bike. In 2019 the only bike I had was my 27.5 Rocket. I love that bike, have ridden it everywhere and thought a gentle pedal from my front door would be a perfect way to spend a Friday night. I pumped up the tyres, got some bags for snacks, borrowed a light and set off at 6:30pm so I could listen to Annie Mac at 7pm when I was on the actual route. I'd also never cycled through the night and the plan was to finish in under 24hrs and be home in time for pizza and beer. Guess what - it worked!

In a nutshell the ride was amazing - familiar trails with a whole load of added gravel, new views on top of that, a couple of kips in a hedge, and the freedom to eat absolutely everything when I got home. I've never woken up at 3am and gone downstairs for slices of cold pizza and a bowl of cereal before. Was quite nice.

So a year later when we had Cascade prototypes ready to go, myself & Hannah Saville gave it another go. Bossman Cy joined us about half way for the craic. Even with multiple ice cream stops and a medium case of heatstroke mid afternoon (coffee was a bad choice), we sliced a good few hours off the time. It wasn't a race but the difference between a fast WTB ranger and a not-so-fast-on-gravel WTB Vigilante is marked.

Peak 200 .GPX file here

Most recently after rehabbing a pretty hectic & debilitating back injury, I did it again. Solo and snacky. No records were set (mostly because I didn't have Hannah with me to drag me up hills) but I had the best day looking at all the views and listening to how I felt. Sometimes I felt good, sometimes I felt shit. But feeling it all was a huge privilege.

To paraphrase the bikepacking Queen, Lael Wilcox; it's annoying when people say you must like suffering because non of this is suffering. It's hard but I chose to do it and I wouldn't chose to do something I didn't enjoy. Don't forget to have fun. Sing, dance, talk to the bunnies, deer, cows & birds, wave at people, lie in the middle of the trail in the sun for 5 mins because the grass looks soft, just enjoy hanging out with yourself for a whole day. I cannot recommend it enough. It felt more like a treat than an adventure.

I'm by no means an expert at bike-packing and a "proper" adventurer tourer would laugh at me for some of my food / kit / tyre choices. But who cares? Here, in no particular order, are some things I learned in my 3 goes and 700km+ round the Peaks. I hope that they're useful in your own attempt at something simple and silly like this...

Music is a nice pick-me-up but there's little signal in the countryside, so if you do want some tunes, don't rely on streaming. And don't miss the birdsong either!

A bum bag with two big bottles in it will weigh a lot and grind your bum into the saddle.

Also, one chammy is enough.

Eat whatever you like - proper food is better. You will be bored of all the food you bring - even the yummy home-made stuff. Unless it's a sushi burrito - Don't think I could get bored of them for a while.

Beeswax wraps are better than foil. My sandwiches got so shook that the foil disintegrated and the sticky bready was covered in silver glitter.

If you do ride a full suss, open your shock on the downhills. They're good & hard earned so you might as well enjoy them properly.

You will spook school groups out on nighttime walks near the reservoirs, but up on cut gate at night you'll spook only sheep.

There's water on route but if you start at a weird time (like early evening!?!) then a lot of spots will be shut and you'll have to furtle around for a tap round the back of a pub.

Beer is isotonic. Support the local economy.

Potato alley is rough and punctures are dull. Don't try and keep up with @pedalspanner

Also don't pump your tyres super hard - the descents are brutal and you'll be both slower and more broken. Ask me how I know!

Don't complain about every hill - there are a lot.

You will become very good at opening and closing gates.

When you're fully done you're only about 60% done - apparently. It's unreal what we're capable of but don't be daft. There are no prizes for hurting yourself.

A hardtail is probably the best bike for this route. It's very possible on a gravel bike but a dropper post and large volume tyres will make your life better if that's an option.

If you can think of anything you'd rather be doing then do that. It's supposed to be enjoyable - even though it's hard as heck.

The TPT gets busy. Suggest hitting that at a quiet time.

Don't sweat the 'training'. If you ride a bike then you're already more than half way there. Since hurting myself at Easter I've not spent longer than 3 hours on mine in one go. You'll be fine.

A chat to a friend for mojo is worth at least one energy gel. Not really "self supported" that way but I'm not your boss.

Full "rules" available here but do what you like - it's your bike ride.

In a nutshell, choose your own adventure. This post was purely to open your eyes to one that you maybe hadn't heard of and hopefully inspire you to give it (or something similar) a go, no matter your perceived fitness level or bike suitability. If i can do it then for sure you can. If you do want a properly suitable bike that's more than up for the task then check out the Cascade. Big tyres for comfort, dedicated bag for snacks, dynamo routing, confident handling. My vessel of choice. Enjoy.

Introducing brand new Cotic x Presca Eco Ride Jerseys.

Available to order right now in three gorgeous colours.

We have teamed up with Bristol based Presca for our latest ride wear, these long sleeved jerseys are state of the art; using 6 recycled plastic bottles each.

Presca specialise in sustainably sourced and ethically manufactured sports clothing, in their words:

“...the kind of kit we would look forward to training and competing in, but that didn’t make us feel guilty for buying and wearing it.”

The sustainable Italian fabric is made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester with excellent breathability and longevity.

Minimal impact, maximum performance.

In stock now in four sizes; S, M, L and XL. The fit is relaxed, and we've gone for a paired back casual look with subtle branding, in three natural colours; Sage, Grey and Raspberry with our headbadge logo on the chest and a small 'Cotic' on the back.

Stylish but technical, perfect on it's own on a warm day, or as part of a layering system in the cooler months.

The Raspberry colour is rather fetching... here's Sam modelling his new jersey outside in the brightest of sunshine, and inside in the cool of the shade. No ride photos because it was VERY hot when we grabbed these shots, and we were mostly getting on with work indoors with cold lemonades in hand...

These are all in stock now... but we don't have many... first come, first served...

Bikeperfect have had a Cascade on review for a little while and come up with their verdict, and it's 4/5 stars!

We have all the colours, sizes and build options available and the sun is shining. Time for your adventure?

Now the RocketMAX Gen4 has been launched, Cy can take you through the bike he's been riding for the last few months, which also happens to be the bike he raced at the EWS Tweed Valley last weekend.

Cy's bike is the prototype of the RocketMAX Gen 4, in what became the C5 size. The main differences between his bike and the production bikes are the reach adjust head tube, older style BB web gussets, janky powdercoat test finish (obviously not going to use that for customer bikes!) and test graphic. The adjustable head tube weighs about 1/2 a pound more than the stock unit too. It's all glamour this bike development!

We are in production in the UK on these frames right now. We have some sizes and colours in stock, with everything due in the next 6 weeks or so. We have build kits on the shelf ready to go, and we also have C2 and C3 size demo bikes.

With all that said....LET'S GET NERDY!

Better than Christmas, the biggest little race, Sheffield World Champs. Call it what you like, Peaty's Steel City Downhill 2022 was a brilliant day.

Absent from the calendar for the last couple of years, it was a triumphant return for the 10th anniversary of Steel City Downhill this weekend just gone. Held on a completely revamped track in Sheffield's Grenoside Woods, it was an unforgettable day.

We were on deck bright and early to set up our stand, in our traditional spot trackside at the top of the famous bombhole drop into the finish arena. After a cloudy start it soon became obvious we were in for a scorcher of a day, and not long after practise runs had got underway, spectators began lining the track in their hundreds. Huge shout out to the trail building crew led by JP, a total overhaul of the track had transformed it into a work of art. Early comments from racers suggested the biggest challenge was trying not to overshoot every feature it was running that fast. Fun to ride, hard to race. It was shaping up to be tight racing.

After not getting between the tapes for a couple of years, our resident FastLad Chay Granby seemed to have found a hunger as the day went on, and was absolutely hauling. Representing Cotic in the senior women's category was bike riding addict Mel Fife, also looking rapid in the increasingly dusty corners.

It was great to get both the latest Jeht and the Cascade on display, and lots of people were admiring the bikes in the sunshine, thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand to chat. It really does feel good to be meeting people face to face and talking about the bikes again. There were plenty of people staring longingly at them, and lots of nice comments too which was lovely. Remember, we are running demos at our Peak District HQ by appointment every Wednesday and Friday, and our next Saturday demo day is 18th June.

Racing got underway beneath a sunny sky, and clouds of dust filled the air. In fact they filled just about everywhere, I don't think I've ever seen conditions like it in Sheffield before. The Peaty's Trail Ale was flowing and even more spectators arrived to line the track. The atmosphere was superb, with every rider getting cheered down the track like a World Cup Downhill race.

Mel Fife bagged a great result with 5th in Senior Women's and then packed up to head to the Boltby Bash, where she raced all the stages blind to an amazing second place the following day! Amazing stuff.

Shout out to Dave Lavy taking his Rocket 275 to 14th in his first race in the Masters category.

Chay put down 2 storming runs and was loving being between the tapes again. 22nd in Pro-Am category and just a couple of seconds off Steve Peat's time. He'd have won Veterans by over 3 seconds too! Post-race beers well earned.

We spotted a few Cotics looking fast on track, well done to everyone, it's a daunting race to enter but one I can definitely recommend you have a go at one day. There's no other event quite like it, every rider gets cheered on as if they are famous pro racers. I think the biggest cheers I heard were for the inspirational Pat Horsecroft though. 78 years young and racing downhill, great to see Granny McGnarly complete another Steel City Downhill.

I'm not sure we've managed to get all the dust cleaned up yet, and we're already looking forward to next year's race. If you enjoyed the day, and like the look of the new track, you can donate to Ride Sheffield to help keep it running sweet. Work is already underway on revamping the other trails in Grenoside, and it's only possible with your donations. Hit the button below to help out if you can.

Donate to Ride Sheffield

We have a quick turn around this week, as we are off up to Fort William for the Downhill World Cup. Another brilliant event we've missed for the last couple of years. If you're heading to the Highlands to catch the action, be sure to pop by our stand in the event village. We'll have merch for sale (we have a card reader now too!), stickers to grab and pretty bikes to ogle and chat about. Hopefully see you up there.

We are off to Fort William this week with a stand at the World Cup downhill. We have a stand in the Expo area in the pits, so when you're not watching the action, head over and see some of the new Cotic's in the metal.

It's the first time we've been back since 2019, but it's always a great do. Cy, Sam and Will are heading up to show off some bikes, chat about them, watch some of the best riders in the world do their thing and occasionally ride bicycles on dirt.

Who's coming?

It's the Mayday Bank Holiday in England and Wales this weekend, and we're celebrating with something we very rarely do, a sale!

Big savings on UK made RocketMAX, we are knocking a whopping £400 off all the RocketMAX frames we have in stock.

Frame + shock from £1699

Full bikes from £3649

We have medium and XL available in Matte Army Green, and small available in Gloss Navy Blue.

RocketMAX is our flagship UK made 160mm 29er enduro bike; a fiercely capable descender that is more than happy to climb back up the hard way for another go. Reynolds 853 steel, droplink suspension and longshot geometry; hit the button below to grab bargain.

There are also a few bargains to be had over on the outlet page too.

Seeing as we 'outed' our ebike project a few months ago (if you haven't heard, head over to Our news story for details, or watch Guy Kes and I test and compare the prototypes in his excellent video further down this story) we decided we would be as open as we can be about the project development and where it's getting to.

The first ebike prototypes were signed off in mid 2019, but didn't arrive until late 2021. They were broadly an ebike version of the Jeht, with a 5mm higher BB (22mm BB drop static instead of 27mm on the Jeht). The thinking being we wanted an all round trail bike for our first ebike, and because you can pedal more up climbs you might want a slightly higher BB. It also had a slightly slacker seat angle than the Jeht because it was signed off about a year before the actual Jeht was, and in that time we learnt that we preferred the rider sitting a little further forward. Just as the production bikes eventually will, they use a Shimano EP8 based power system and an aluminium front triangle to house the internal battery in the down tube.

Following a bunch of testing, we found we didn't need the ground clearance quite as much as we thought. Firstly, because the power of the eeb means you don't need long cranks, and we have been using 165 and even 160mm cranks, where our regular bikes are designed around 170mm cranks. Also, the Jeht doesn't have a super slammed BB to start with, because we ride up knobly tech climbs and we don't want to catch our pedals all the time, so going higher than the regular bike wasn't really necessary in reality. This is why we prototype!

Also, the higher BB made initiating turns a little more difficult, which is exaggerated by the down tube battery. Having 5kg of battery and down tube with it's centre of gravity high up and forward of the cranks means there's a fair bit of inertia to overcome in order to move it away from it's upright position and lean the bike over for a turn. I got busy with offset bushings and different shock lengths and strokes to see what I could work out. Certainly dropping the BB helped, but another option I tried for dropping the BB was to mullet the bike - put a 27.5" rear wheel in. I started out with a 2.8" rear tyre to do the geometry changes in smaller steps, but have ended up with a regular 2.5", but with no offset bushings or anglesets involved otherwise. This has resulted in slacker angles and a 12mm lower BB (now 34mm static), but still with no pedal clearance issues because of the short cranks.

What this has also done is transformed the ability of the bike to turn in. The big advantage of a smaller rear wheel is that it makes turns easier to initiate, at the expense of a bit of grip once you're settled in the corner (smaller wheel = less inertia/gyroscopic effects, but smaller contact patch). Being tall, and with my style of riding, I can never feel this effect on a regular bike no matter how many times I test it. I can just drop a full 29er into a turn with no issues at all. I know shorter riders have preferred it on our bikes, which is why we now offer a mullet option on our droplink bikes. However, on the eeb, with the added battery weight resisting turn in as well, the effect is obvious and very noticable. Even using various adjustments to match geometry, the mullet setup just drops into corners so much more easily compared to the full 29er, and once it's lent over and set it just rips around. The extra sprung mass on an ebike generates impressively increased grip compared to a regular bike.

What's Next?

Off the back of all if this testing, plus some discussions about what we want out of the bikes and where the market is going, we concluded that the production bike would specify as follows:

• Retain big battery for range/power
• Keep steering geometry and frame kinematic from mullet prototype, and go dedicated mullet geometry for production
• Steepen seat angle and re-jig sizing to match current production bikes
• Bump up travel 10mm to 150mm rear, 160mm front
• Maximum 165mm cranks across all sizes - possibly drop BB even more

Even though these are relatively minor changes in the grand scheme of things, it was important we double check the changes and the quickest, easiest way to do with that was to go steel, hence the steel eeb geometry prototype.

This front triangle was built by our friends at Five Land Bikes in between building our UK production RocketMAX frames. It's full 853 - basically a RocketMAX tubeset with a slightly thicker wall down tube - with an external Shimano STEPS battery slung under the down tube so I can get our regular droplink suspension packaged in. Ironically in spite of it's looks this arrangement actually has better/lower centre of gravity position than the down tube internal battery.

The shock/linkage angle might look a bit odd, but it's just where my "join the dots" fell in order to replicate the proposed production kinematic using our toolbox of stock UK made links and shock mounts combined with the original ebike prototype rear end. On a bike carrying as much weight as a full power ebike, the 38mm chassis of the Zeb is just the tool for the job.

I told Five Land to paint it with whatever was going through at the time it was finished. Callum claims this was just using up "what was left in the gun". I suspect he was also showing off a bit, but I actually kinda like it!

First couple of rides have been encouraging, but have also raised a couple of questions about the proposed kinematic now it's giving out more travel on a longer shock, so there's some tweaks to try out. I'm still having no crank clearance issues on 165 cranks, despite having ridden straight up Devils Elbow (my usual suspension test track, but riding down) a few times, so wondering if there's scope to drop even lower on the BB. It's really interesting to see where these limits lie.

As for production, that's still looking like Autumn 2023. Our production slot is booked, but because delivery is driven by Shimano availability this is giving us the time and space to make these changes and hopefully make the bike as close to what most people want from one of these things.

As always on these kind of things, I super interested to hear your thoughts and feedback on where we're going with this. Do get in touch. Email cy@cotic.co.uk and let me know what you want out of a Cotic ebike, and what you think of the steel prototype.

Cheers

Cy

Singletrack have reviewed the FlareMAX as part of a "short" travel grouptest. It earned a coveted Singletrack Recommended red seal of approval. Go and have a read...

"This is not a stiff and efficient mountain bike in the traditional Lycra cross-country sense. It’s way better than that. It doesn’t ride like a hardtail. It doesn’t just give up a bit of off/on suspension when it absolutely has to. It has a rare combination of stability combined with whip-smart handling and traction tracking."

The review bike was built up around a blue UK Launch Edition frame, but we now have the more affordable Taiwan editions available from stock, in a glamorous gloss Hubble Purple, or super subtle matte Slate Grey. Totally customisable bikes start from £2999 for the Bronze build, with a Manic dropper post, microSHIFT ADVENT X 10spd Drivetrain, Rockshox fork and shock. Now we have plenty frames and components in stock, you could be riding your FlareMAX this month, rather than reading about one.

Cotic have always tried to run an efficient, low environmental impact business. We love spending time outside, and I think that makes us cyclists more acutely aware of changes to climate, weather, and local conditions. It wasn't until recently that we realised that we actually do quite a lot, and we ought to tell people about it. Partly to hopefully lead by example, partly to draw a line in the sand and say "this is what we do, and we still need to do more".

To this end, we now have a Sustainability page which tells why and how Cotic do things, and invite you as our customers and people who like our brand to tell us if you think we can do more, and what that might be.

If this subject interests you as it applies to the wider bike industry (and it really should), then have a listen to this podcast. It's got a lot of points worth considering.

Today in 2012, we did the press rides for the new Cotic Rocket; our second full suspension bike, but the first to feature droplink suspension, and steel construction. 10 years ago!

I remember being so nervous. There was a lot riding on this bike. We were still only me and Paul full time and Kelvin part time at that point. Tiny compared to today, and we had spent over 2 years and a lot of time, effort and money developing this bike. And it was steel. There were very good reasons for that, and actually the material used was the least interesting thing about the Rocket in my opinion. But, it was always going to be a tough sell.

We had 3 bikes available, and we booked in MBUK, MBR and BikeMagic in the morning. The guys came along and were friendly enough, but we did get quite a grilling about why we had made certain decisions about the bike. We went on a big ride in glorious weather. Paul chucked himself down a gravel byway and that was the end of his day. Ouch! We had a pub lunch and Jenn and Matt from Singletrack arrived. It was a slightly more chilled afternoon and we had the nicest ride out, and clearly they liked the bike. It was such a great day, but I was spent at the end of it! Their write up is still up on the website.

It was the start of something really big for us. It was pretty radical for 2012, with a head angle in the 65s and (for the time) pretty decent length. It was marked the time when we started becoming the modern Cotic. We spent a lot of the development time not only engineering the bike, but figuring out what Cotic was, what it meant to us and other people, and what a Cotic product should be. The Rocket was the first embodiment of this and - although refined over the years - that mantra has guided us ever since.

droplink suspension has been developed and refined through two other wheel sizes, single ring drivetrains, wider axle spacing, a huge leap forward in geometry, and some incredible shock development. However, the fundamentals are still there from that very first bike: The lively, poppy feel from a very progressive frame rate, simple and robust pivot designs, clean lines through the bike. If you rode a Rocket26 and a current RocketMAX back to back, they would be wildly different in a lot of ways, but I think you would also feel a distinctive and very obvious kinship in the way they rode too. The sweet feel across cambers, the life and pop in the suspension. It would all be there.

And if you're still rocking your Rocket, we've also got your back, because the pivot designs have remained broadly similar throughout as well. Not only does that mean we know we have a reliable product, but it also means that we have pivot spares for every droplink frame we have made. I spotted the Rocket26 main pivots this morning when I was at the workshop as it happens.

So here's to 10 years of fun, fast, steel droplink bikes. For everyone who's bought one over that time, thank you so much. You are a big part of Cotic's success, and we all massively appreciate you choosing one of our bikes in a world of carbon this and aluminium that. I hope they brought you as much joy as they have us.

And of course, no discussion of the Rocket could pass by without also celebrating 10 years of this guy....

Cheers, Cy

After a pandemic induced shutdown, followed by a turbulent period of component and frame supply, we are getting our demo service going again for you to test ride a new Cotic from our Peak District HQ.

The world is a different place since March 2020, and Cotic is no exception. The dramatic shift in both supply and demand has lead to a bit of a reshuffle in our roles here. I (Sam) once roamed the country in the demo van taking bikes everywhere for demo days.

Obviously that wasn't very Covid friendly, and I'm now handling most of the sales side of things from home, if you've emailed us over the last couple of years, it's most likely me you've been conversing with.

Darren has transferred his spannering skills into a full time mechanic role, building bikes and prepping frames. If you've taken delivery of a new Cotic recently, there's a good chance Darren built it.

We are now both going to be dedicating more of our time to helping you test ride a Cotic from our Calver HQ.

All demos will be by appointment only, and we have a handful of bikes built up for demo use to get started with. We have the following bikes available for demo:

Small FlareMAX

XL Cascade

We will have a Large Cascade and a large SolarisMAX for demo soon too, but they are currently away on media duties. We'll also be building up some Jeht demo bikes in Large and XL later this month.

For now, we are taking bookings for Wednesdays, Fridays and one Saturday a month; starting with Saturday 12th March.

After that, the next Saturday we'll be open for demos is Saturday 9th April.

You can bring your riding kit and take a bike for a spin on our demo loop, or just have a car park bounce to answer any sizing questions and chat with Darren or myself about your build. If you're going for a ride, you'll need some ID and some collateral such as a credit card to leave with us whilst you're out.

If you are interested in demo-ing a Cotic, drop an email to demo@cotic.co.uk or call our demo hotline on 07398 189114.

As with the before-times, all our demos are free of charge.

We won't be on the road with demos any time soon as we sold our demo van a while back, and now both Darren and I are busy in other aspects of Cotic. However it feels really exciting to be able to offer the opportunity for you to come to our HQ, meet us and check out the bikes in the flesh once again.

We're all really excited about this, and looking forward to filling the diary with bookings.

Hopefully I'll see you at Calver soon.

Sam.

Things are coming thick and fast in the first few months of 2022 here at Cotic, introducing the latest batch of our 140mm 29er do-it-all trail bike, the Jeht.

Taiwan made; Midnight Blue and Matte Nimbus.

Complete bikes starting from just £2999.

Arriving in the next few weeks, we have a fresh batch of Jeht frames made in Taiwan, in new colours.

First up is Midnight Blue, having proved very popular on the SolarisMAX we were keen to use this luxurious metallic paint on a droplink bike.

The second colour new to the Jeht is an even fresher one, Nimbus.

Introduced on the Cascade, this matte finished colour is a difficult one to describe, and photograph! It's part blue, part white, part grey; maybe even a hint of pale green in some lights.

It's a classy colour, and will wear some choice coloured components well if you're looking for a stand out bike. It's also one of those colours that looks great covered in mud too, bringing some light to the darkest rides.

The Jeht really is a do-it-all bike. 29" wheels, 140mm rear travel and a 150mm fork; you can ride it all day and merrily stick it down something steep and gnarly when you come across it.

Do you enjoy a mixture of trail centres, big days in the hills and the odd uplift day? The Jeht is perfect for you.

I've been riding mine for the last year for everything, it's a real quiver killer of a bike. Scrambles up techy climbs and has an engaging ride, sacrificing nothing in terms of confidence.

These frames are on the water right now, and should be in Calver in just a few weeks time.

Frame and shock from £1799.

Complete bikes from just £2999.

Every bike is built to order, so please get in touch if you have any questions regarding spec or sizing.

We expect to be able to start dispatching orders from this batch of Jehts in early April.

Can't wait that long? We do have a handful of matte Blue Steel and Silver Rave frames in stock, which we can dispatch next week.

We also have some UK made Jeht frames in stock now in some sizes too.

Full bike photos will be on the website soon.

Some exciting news for a stormy Friday, the next batch of BFeMAX frames see an old favourite return and possibly the brightest colour we've ever done.

Bright Blue, and Magenta.

The BFeMAX is our hardcore hardtail. 29" wheels, 140-160mm fork, bombproof frame that'll take all the riding you can throw at it and still happily go all day. Jumps, drops, pump tracks, singletrack, tech climbs, DH tracks; BFeMAX does it all.

Thanks to everyone who answered our recent poll after seeing Rich's sample Magenta BFeMAX bike. We took your answers onboard and I'm stoked to be able to say we're doing a production run of this awesome colour.

When he and head mechanic Will lined up against each other on the start line of a recent dual slalom mates race final, each on their bold coloured BFeMAXs, we knew what the other colour would have to be.

Bright Blue goes alongside Magenta perfectly. It's a less 'out there' colour, but a Cotic classic with a timeless charm.

We don't have a firm date for this batch of frames yet, so for now Summer 2022 is as accurate as we can say. As soon as we get a delivery date, we'll let you know.

You can reserve either a frame, rolling chassis or complete bike now with just a 20% deposit.

BFeMAX frame only just £575.

Complete BFeMAX bikes from £2125.

We do still have a handful of Sunny Yellow and Gunmetal+Copper BFeMAX frames in stock now, in both Small and XL, hurry if you don't want to miss out on one of these.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

The Cotic Cascade is our brand new drop bar adventurer. We designed it to have the fewest compromises so you can go the furthest. It drops neatly into that space between our super capable SolarisMAX hardtail mountain bike and our road/gravel Escapade. Cascade surfs around the grey area between tarmac and trail with the kind of progressive, confident handling you would expect from Cotic. If you’ve ridden, pushed and sweated your bike to the top of a mountain, you’re going to want to be able to ride down the other side.

Cascade has a chameleon character born of it’s ability to wear all sorts of build options. From stripped down desert racer with carbon rigid forks, through overlander with our bespoke steel fork and custom fit luggage, to drop bar mountain bike with 100mm suspension forks and a dropper, and any combination of the above. It wears any of these build with panache, and it is just as comfortable travelling for days through wide open spaces as it is snicking down your favourite local singletrack for a quick hour blast.

We have been working on this bike for over 3 years, and have been through a load of interesting and "interesting" hacks and prototypes to get it right. Rich has been the driving force behind the project, and both his and Cy's thought's on the bike - plus a load of frankenbike prototype pictures - are in the development story.

Ultimately, we’re coming at “gravel" from the MTB side, so when we get to a downhill we want the option to drop the seat, drop our heels, and crack on. The Cascade allows you to do that. It’s the off road connoisseurs drop bar bicycle.

You'd have to be living under a pretty big rock to be unaware of the current difficulties in sourcing bike parts at the moment, drivetrains in particular.

This is why we grabbed the opportunity to stock Microshift Avent X 1x10 drivetrains. We didn't just get them because they exist though; while they might not boast 12 gears, these groupsets are solid and reliable bits of kit which mean you could be riding a new Cotic sooner than you think.

With a cassette ratio of 11-48, paired with a 30T chainring this is definitely low enough to get you and your 29" wheels to the top of pretty much anything.

Rich has been putting the Advent X kit through it's paces on his new BFeMAX:

"I’ve been running Microshift for a few weeks now on my dream-build BFeMAX. I spent all my cash on Rev Grips and eewings so a budget groupset is ideal for me. It’s the component you’re most likely to twang off a rock round here so I’ve always gone for a cheaper but reliable mech option.

The 10 speed cassette is spaced perfectly with no huge jumps between gears and shifting is quick & smooth. My favourite aspect is that the chain is a bit thicker and will wear out a little bit slower than 12 speed. With all the gritty, muddy conditions I find myself in this time of year, that’s a big bonus. All in all I’m stoked with it."

Don't just take our word for it though, here are some glowing reviews of the Microshift drivetrains:

We have paired the Microshift parts with a Shimano Deore crankset to offer complete Bronze Builds on most of our models. You can also upgrade to Hope cranks or the stunning Cane Creek eewings if you'd like something lighter and shinier.

The Bronze Build uses Rockshox Revelation RC forks, Hunt Trailwide wheels, X Fusion Manic dropper post, Shimano Deore brakes and Wolfpack tyres. All brilliant parts we use on our own bikes.

Reliable, wide ranging, affordable; what's not to like?

If you have any questions about sizing, spec options or anything else please get in touch with us.

Remember, we offer 0% Finance up to 24 months and can accept several cycle to work schemes too.

We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Our resident photo wizard, PR dude, mechanic, marketing man, Vice President of stoke and all round legend Richard has build himself a new bike and be warned, you may need sunglasses to look at this one!

His new BFeMAX is a paint test frame, in this stunning Magenta colour, dripping with some choice silver componentry and ready for a winter of thrashing.

We are keen to know if you'd fancy a bit of this bright pink action on your next Cotic, so please take a second to answer this poll.

But first, over to Rich:

"New bike day is the best! Like a lot of you I've been waiting for this day for a long long time.

After spending almost 4 years riding the first production Rocket 27.5 frame to land in the UK, I've been wanting to build up another hardtail. Back (way back) in the spring of 2021, our designer Kelvin asked our factory to produce a BFeMAX in 100% magenta to see what a whole frame would look like. Luckily it was a Medium, my size, so I got first dibs. This isn't my first pink bike and remembering how much I loved that old Ellsworth Dare, I had to jump on it.

Parts have - as you probably know - been in very short supply so apart from the cranks, bars & seat post that I carried over from my Rocket, everything else had to be sourced. Hunt were first to help out with a tough-as-nails pair of Endurowide rims. (Autocorrect changed that to "tough-snails" but it's wrong, these are not slow wheels by any stretch). We met Rockstop at Ard Rock and they supplied one of their new rim inserts for the rear. Even if you're not the most dextrous at tubeless installation, these were a breeze to fit inside the sticky icky icky Wilderness Trail Bike tyres.

Hope sorted the bearings and the wonderful off-menu brakes. These are a combination of the new XCR levers with regular E4 callipers. They're monstrously powerful but with a lovely light feel. Massive thanks to the squad at Hope for accommodating me. Forks are Rockshox Lyrics at 150mm. I'm probably going to throw some tokens in to keep me propped up a bit.

Selle San Marco sorted the sitting duties and the Bikeyoke Divine has been my go-to dropper for a long while now. Grips were a posh purchase but after testing rev-grips I was amazed at (of all the benefits) they made me hop higher! Don't ask me how but they do. Worth it just for that but they also keep the vibrations down and the Raynaud's at bay. The cranks were carried over from my Rocket - the most ostentatious component purchase ever but they were a treat to myself after the PinkBike photo competition. (And they've had a very rough few years with zero complaints so I only have good words to say. Buy some eewings, you won't regret it).

Unite sorted the chainring, chain guide, bash guard (already heavily used in the first two rides alone!) and the pedals. All UK made and vouched for. Had a Unite bash guard on my old bike and wouldn't run a bike without one where I live. Drivetrain wise we've gone super low budget and I'm trying out the Microshift Advent X 10spd kit. No complaints so far.

Little shout out to Steve Hardtail Party and Allan at GaysOK cycling who's recently been in a bike smash and being in the US, has had some hefty hospital bills. Go buy a cap, support diversity and help a brother out.

So the big question is do we run this as a real colour that you can buy? Whenever we put these sort of ideas up loads of people say "oooh yeah" but then go and buy a quiet colour. Who out there would actually run this? Let us know in the poll.

So far so good getting back to hardtail school. The ankles and knees are warming up quick and I'm already feeling way more engaged with the trail. If you've spent a long time on full squish then I highly recommend a stint on one of these to get your eye in again."

I hope you had a nice break and managed to eat everything, ride your bike and get a good rest.

2022 is already shaping up to be a busy year here at Cotic towers. The long awaited BFeMAXs landed just before Christmas, and we had a full-on few days getting as many orders out of the door as we could. This week has been just the same, look out for lots of shiny new BFeMAXs being piloted by grinning new Cotic owners near you.

Here's a bit of an update on what we have coming into stock in the near future.

We have a small handful of BFeMAX frames available and in stock now. All sizes are available in Sunny Yellow, and we have some smalls and XLs in Gunmetal+Copper.

If you fancy a frame upgrade to keep you stoked through winter, we can dispatch a BFeMAX frame in just a couple of days.

Frame only just £575.

We can also offer complete builds, including a great new budget option. We have a fresh delivery of Microshift AdventX 1x10 drivetrains in stock, which is a great, simple and durable wide range groupset with an 11-48 cassette, and using a Shimano Deore crankset with a 30T chainring.

Microshift builds start from just £2175.

Your new hardcore hardtail could be with in a matter of days.

In other hardtail news, we have a lot of SolarisMAX frames currently on their way to us. The delayed Supernova Orange and Froggatt Green frames have run into a batch of Midnight Blue and Hubble Purple frames, and all will be arriving at our HQ early February.

What a stunning range of colours, good luck choosing a favourite!

These new frames feature an integrated seat clamp and more bottle bosses, including a pair on the underside of the downtube. They should be ready to ship in just a few weeks time. If you're looking for a light, tough and beautifully supple trail hardtail, this is the bike for you.

All colours and sizes available to pre-order.

Frame only £719.

Microshift AdventX builds start at £2315.

On the full suspension side of things, Taiwan made FlareMAX frames are due to arrive in matte Slate Grey early February too.

Our Downcountry scalpel of a bike, with 125mm rear travel and up to a 140mm fork, the FlareMAX strikes a perfect balance between quick-footed nimbleness and capable geometry when the going gets steep.

Hubble Purple frames are following on, and will be in stock mid-March.

Frame & shock from £1799.

Full builds start from £3339.

We have a small restock of UK made Jeht frames arriving from Five Land next week if you're looking for something a bit more capable. At 140mm rear travel and a 150mm fork, its all the bike you need for most trail riding.

Act fast if you'd like one of these beauties, welded and painted in Scotland, in either matte Stealth Gritstone or Gloss Metal.

Frame & Shock from £2099.

Complete bikes from £3739.

I hope you're managing to get out on the bike at the moment, any ride is worth going out on at this time of year, even if it's just a quick lunchtime blast of fresh air.

Winter miles for summer smiles! Hot chocolates post ride are highly recommended too, best enjoyed after rinsing off your new Cotic.

As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch via phone or email if you have any questions.