Enjoy this short compilation of 'some' of our best bits - there's only so much we could fit in four and a half minutes - the cutting room floor is a flood.
Calling all Cotic guys and girls! Right now I need you to help us, and we are doing that by helping you.
Just like the rest of the industry, we are overstocked on parts. Cotic frames we are OK on, but we have a lot of parts.
We have too many forks and shocks, wheels and tyres, brakes and groupsets. All of this "other peoples' stuff" is getting in the way of the core business of doing cool Cotic shit. You are signed up to this email because you are here for the cool Cotic stuff, and I love you for it. It's why I'm here too! The positivity and support shown towards our brand is both beautiful and humbling.
Helping us Be More Cotic means more Cotic CC events like this one
So here's how you help us do more cool Cotic things: Help us clear the warehouse.
Hit the button and it will take you to our new parts webshop where you will find the best prices anywhere - on the internet or off it - on various Rockshox, SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo, Fulcrum and Panaracer parts. We have mountain bike and gravel bike kit. Go and have a look around and see what we have. Keep checking back too. We'll add more over the next month as we need to even stock out.
If any of these parts are interesting to you or your friends, please buy them from us instead of A.N.other place.
Most importantly, spread the word. Tell your riding buddies. Send them this email (there's a shareable "view in browser" link at the top). Share it on your social media. None of this kit is Cotic specific, or weird sizes. It's the great parts we spec on our complete bikes, so even if your mates aren't Cotic riders, there's bound to be something here for them too.
However you do it, if you love cool Cotic things, get the word out far and wide that Cotic the place for some bargain MTB and gravel parts for the next couple of months.
We win because we turn all this Not-Cotic stock into cash to invest in new Cotic projects. Really exciting things, like finishing kitting out and commissioning our in house frame production facility, turning our showroom space into a proper amazing area to hold more CC and Women of Steel events, and so much more besides. We will Be More Cotic.
You and your mates win because get some lovely new bits for your bikes at the best prices.
So, I'm asking you, help us move this kit to good homes where it will be used and enjoyed. Refresh that build kit or fork. All this helps us Be More Cotic. And when we are more Cotic, the world is a better place for you Cotic fans.
Now a staple in the Cotic calendar, our 'Beat the Winter Blues' Cotic CC ride is back.
Do you own a Cotic mountain bike? Join us on Saturday 27th January 2024 to pedal away the mince pies and January blues.
This is one of our favourites days out of the year, the weather always does something wintery and the vibes are always good. It is a sociable MTB ride in the Peak District, usually 2 or 3 decent climbs and descents at a chatty pace for Cotic owners.
Places are limited to 30 riders, and you need a ticket. Just £5 which covers your parking and your first post-ride drink in the pub. Anything left in the pot will go to Edale Mountain Rescue.
If you'd like to come, please email info@cotic.co.uk with your full name, billing address and phone number. We will then raise an order for your ticket and send a payment link email.
As ever, we are meeting at the Travellers Rest pub just outside Hope. We can park here while we ride, and then thaw out by their fires with a pint and a bite to eat afterwards.
Wheels rolling at 10:30, we'll ride for 2-3 hours depending on the conditions. Trails will be some classic Dark Peak climbs and descents, lengthy and technical in places but suitable for any Cotic mountain bike from a 26” Soul to the latest droplink bikes. We can adjust the route as we go, to do more or less riding to suit.
Couple of key points for the 2024 ride:
No gravel bikes. Sorry, but the trails are definitely too spicy for drop bars. This one is MTB only. We'll do a CC Gravel Ride from HQ later in the Spring.
Sorry, but we aren't able to offer demo bikes on this year's ride. If you're keen to try out a Cotic, you're welcome at HQ 10-4 Wednesday to Friday to come and have a spin on our local demo loop.
Most of us Cotic staff will be there, and we're looking forward to riding with you. If you own a Cotic, you are already in the Cotic CC.
If you don't own a Cotic yet, hit the button below, buy a frame or bike, and you could be joining us on the ride!
Today we are introducing our Special Deal Build, amazing value on a complete Cotic bike, saving over £1000.
You can now bag yourself a brand new UK made Cotic droplink full suspension bike, ready to ride from just £3199.
Yes you read that right, a UK made frame with a reliable and great value build at a brilliant price. Available on the FlareMAX, Jeht and RocketMAX.
Shimano SLX 1x12 drivetrain.
Shimano Deore M6100 brakes.
Tough and light Shimano MT620 wheels - 30mm internal rim.
Rockshox Revelation RC 130/150mm forks for FlareMAX and Jeht, or 170mm Domain RC on the RocketMAX.
The brilliant RockShox Deluxe Select+ shock. This is the same superb damper as the Super Deluxe Ultimate, but in a simpler 'fit-and-ride' package.
BikeYoke Divine dropper post, 125mm or 160mm.
Wolfpack or WTB tyres.
Cotic bars, stem, saddle and grips.
Due to stock availability, the FlareMAX Special Deal Build gets the excellent Cane Creek Air IL shock, so comes in at £3399. It's a class-leading shock which suits the frame perfectly.
Our Special Deal Build is a solid, reliable and great performing spec which makes it more affordable to ride a Cotic droplink bike than ever before.
We also have a Special Deal Build on our super versatile adventure bike, the Cascade.
The Reynolds 853 frame has our famously subtle and traction rich ride feel, with plenty of space for bags and bottles for long days in the saddle.
Cascade complete bikes now from just £1999.
Sram Apex 1x11 groupset and hydraulic brakes.
The awesome, light and fast Hunt XC Wide wheels.
Cotic seatpost, saddle, stem and Valley Bar.
Wolfpack tyres.
You could be crossing the map for less than you think.
As if that wasn't enough, the Special Deal Build is also available on hardtails, with BFeMAX bikes now starting at just £1495.
The new Solaris, with it's Reynolds 853 frame made in the EU, now starts at just £2199 for a complete bike.
You can also upgrade to include a BikeYoke Divine dropper post for just £200.
We have small and XL BFeMAX frames in stock, and the new Solaris will be in stock early in 2024. You can pre-order now.
There is still some flexibility on these builds with things like headset colour and tyres, but if you're looking for the full Cotic 'Your Bike Built for You' service, then start with a Silver, Gold or Platinum build and have a play around with the options.
As always, we are on hand to discuss the best spec for you and answer any sizing questions. Our Chesterfield showroom is open 10am-4pm Wednesday - Friday, you are welcome to drop in to check out the bikes in person.
We can accept cycle to work vouchers from several schemes on the Special Deal Build bikes, and also offer 0% finance over 6, 10 or 12 months with just a 20% deposit.
Don't hesitate to get in touch by emailing info@cotic.co.uk or call 07970 853531.
Our brand new flagship Reynolds 853 hardtail is made in the EU, and we have production samples in the building. These show the incredible quality production finish you can expect if you're getting one of these beauties. Check out these awesome photos.
The Solaris is our ultimate all rounder hardtail. Premium Reynolds 853 steel, 29 inch wheels, smiles for miles.
Now featuring our 5 step 'C-Sizing', 100-120mm fork, lighter frame and a slightly lower BB than before for better corning stability.
Over 20 years of hardtail heritage, development and character has distilled the Solaris into your hardtail allround tool of choice. It's confidence inspiring, agile and fun. A singletrack scalpel one moment, planted and fast on the rocks the next.
The Solaris uses our radical Longshot geometry for sweet, short stem handling, technical trail confidence and roomy cockpit for long distance comfort.
The Reynolds 853 frame has our famously subtle and traction rich ride feel, with plenty of space for bags and bottles for long days in the saddle.
All of this adds up to give the Solaris amazing adaptability. It can switch between a high precision trail centre carver, to a 2.4" tyre high traction monster truck. It's a light and lively XC blade, a bikepacking rig, map crossing smoothie, or just your Mountain Bike. Where will your Solaris take you?
The frames are currently in production at Fort over in Czechia. We were so excited to see these production finish frames after Cy inspected the raw frames at the factory in September. As soon as they landed we put them straight in front of Darren's camera lens. Will has declared "this would be good for dual racing"!
The colours are Ember and Forest; both with a matte finish and both looking stunning in the autumn woodland. Ember is C5 size, Forest is C3.
Solaris frames are due to get our Chesterfield HQ at the end of January.
You can place your pre-order now with just a 20% deposit.
Frame only is £1199.
Complete bikes start from just £2199 with our Special Deal Bronze Build.
As always it's 'Your Bike Built for You' here at Cotic, so please get in touch to discuss your new Solaris. Let's build your dream bike.
We can accept several different cycle to work schemes, and also offer 0% finance up to 24 months with just a 20% deposit.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. You can email us on info@cotic.co.uk or call 07970 853531.
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.
Esme, Kelly, Jo, little sister Charlotte, Bron, Mel
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.
We now have full stock of the last batch of BFe275 frames.
Yes, our legendary little wheel hardtail razzer is back!
The BFe is our rowdiest hardtail. It will take everything you can throw at it, from BMX track laps to the steepest downhill lines. A BFe has been ridden everywhere, from the Megavalanche to Whistler. 27.5" wheels keep thing lively and fun.
New for this final run is revised geometry, with a lower BB, steeper seat angle and more bosses than before.
This improves cornering (great for those all important dual races with your mates), makes climbing easier (never a bad thing), and gives it lots of versatility (BFe bivvy ride anyone?).
New colours are Gunmetal or Army Green. It's hard to choose, they both look amazing!
Maintaining an unbroken line right back to its introduction in 2005, the BFe has always been the tearaway of the Cotic family. You know the one - loads of fun, but a bit on the wild side? There's a lot of history with this little bike, but now we're into the final run, here's some highlights...
All these stories are just the smallest flavour of what people get up to on their BFe. One guy even did the Tour Divide on his in 2020. How's that for versatility?!!
As I mentioned at the start, this will be the last ever 27.5" hardtail from Cotic, so when they're gone they're gone. We love them, and are chuffed to be giving it a big send off with the best BFe ever.
As of writing all sizes are in stock now, in both of the new colours.
The new colours for the Cascade are matte Army Green and gloss Cosmic Black, both look stunning and we have frames in the building right now, ready to built into your dream bike for gravel riding and off-road adventure.
The Cascade is a hard bike to pigeon-hole. It can be built with drop bars or flat bars, you can razz round the woods for an hour grinning ear to ear, or load it up and ride round the world. There aren't many bikes like it, and there isn't much it can't do.
The bike has a colour matched steel fork with all the mounting options, and we also offer a Salsa Firestarter Carbon fork which saves a whopping 700g.
And if it wasn't versatile enough, the Cascade can also take a 100mm suspension fork. We have Rockshox SID Ultimate at 100mm travel in stock now.
Reynolds 853 frame with all the mounting options you can think of. Racks, 'anything cages', bottles, bags; you name it, there's a mount for it. It's a tough frame capable of being loaded up, but still has a supple spring in its step and a tearaway attitude on the trails.
Medium and Large demo bikes are built and ready for you to test ride from our Chesterfield showroom. We have perfect routes for the Cascade right from the door, and lovely coffee to help you warm up post ride.
Contact us to arrange a demo, or to talk through your bike built for you.
As of writing all sizes are in stock now, in both of the new colours.
I like Cotic’s approach to geometry.
The bike is certainly stable and confident when pointed in a straight line. I was happy jumping on it and hitting my top speed pretty much immediately.
At the same time, I found it easy to slither and slide the rear end around when confronted with tight, twisty and steep trails.
With the new Jeht it feels like Cotic has properly muscled in against the mainstream opposition, while keeping its signature style and steel ride vibe. It’s now tough and taut enough to take on the burliest carbon and alloy bikes in the ‘pushing components to the limit’ game, rather than shying away from the killer blows. Geometry, sizing and suspension is as good as anything else out there too. Thankfully it’s still got the smoothly organic, grippily damped character that separates it from the carbon and alloy masses on the trails. In an increasingly samey world of bikes, those points of difference feel even more valuable and visceral than ever. Those slim steel tubes still differentiate it aesthetically and ecologically too, especially now it’s primarily a UK-made bike. Considering the scale of the company, the amount of time and effort it invests in advocacy and community programs, its above-and-beyond reputation for customer service, and the premium FiveLand and RideWorks manufacturing, pricing is remarkably good too.
Whilst the geometry hasn’t really changed, there have been some a-shufflings with the suspension layout. Essentially bigger frame sizes get a more progressive suspension rate. Progression is 22% for the C1, 28% for the C5. Anti-rise and anti-squat remain the same by the way. C-what now? Cotic continue its move from unhelpful and outdated S, M, L, XL sizings to a system it calls C-Sizing. A total of five different C sizes reduces the reach jumps to under 20mm.
Well this is just lovely! Cotic have been shortlisted by Singletrack readers in the Community Builders Awards and Most Desirable Mountain Bike for the FlareMAX Gen5.
If you think we deserve one or both of these awards, hit the button and head to Singletrackworld.com to vote. You only need to registered on the website, but you don't need to sign up to anything other than that.
Paul Norris recently took ownership of a Cascade build and wasted no tim in putting some serious miles into it. Here's his recap of a ride from the very south east of the country (Dover), all the way to the furthest north west (Cape Wrath)...
"Land’s End - John O’Groats (LEJOG), whether on or off-road, divides the country SW to NE but what about the other divide SE to NW? Dover to Cape Wrath (D2CW)
Living in the SE it seemed to me to make more sense to plan a route starting locally and following a natural off-road line. Without going into too much detail, the main trails followed would be: South Downs Way, Kennet and Avon Canal, Welsh Borders including Offa's Dyke, Macclesfield Canal and then the Great North Trail ( An Turas Mor) to Cape Wrath. I was looking for a very capable, dependable but fast off-road bike - a bit sturdier than the usual gravel bike, knowing I preferred the variety of hand positions offered by a drop bar. I trialled Cotic's Cascade and it seemed to fit the bill. I have this weird habit of naming my bikes after famous horses this was to be Sgt Reckless (named after the unfaltering Korean War pack horse) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Reckless#
Setting out on the 25th August was a short train journey to Dover within a day I was on local turf (the South Downs Way) and a lapse of concentration saw me come off on some slippery chalk and flint on a descent. ( The worst fall of the trip) No damage to me or the bike but a reminder that I couldn't be too reckless! The Kennet & Avon canal was a chance to get a few km under my belt and the tow path was not too busy with walkers, but even so, a relaxed pedalling cadence began to settle in as the canal boats' pace of life seemed to dictate my speed. Passing round Bristol was fairly straightforward; the cycle lanes are pretty good around there but a major obstacle barred my way both on and off a crucial roadway bridge. Barriers had been erected to presumably stop motorised scooters but they also blocked any bike with handlebars wider than 40cm. There was no way I was backtracking, over the railings I went, bike carried aloft - just! Once over the bridge, two huge concrete sentinels blocked my way "you shall not pass" they seemed to say and offered a much more difficult problem. Fortunately, lifting the bike over the side railings and dangling it (and myself) over until the tyres reached the ground proved the solution. Soon I was racing towards the Severn Bridge Crossing, and arriving into Wales, once over, the creative graffiti marked my passing from the urban landscape - Los Pollos Hermanos - I ain't no chicken; brother.
The start to the Wye Valley was marked by a blocked and bramble covered gate, which resulted in a detour ride through a campsite to a footpath and eventual arrival at St Briavel's Medieval Castle YHA. It proved so good, and cheap there that I decided to have a rest day and even experienced seeing one of the many phantoms, from my dorm bed, that are a known inhabitant one of Britain's most haunted places! All that for £22.50 including an all you can eat breakfast I call that a bargain.
The Welsh Borders were wet, slippery and full of sheep, dead sheep and their shite. However the biggest problem was resupply of food. I’d seriously underestimated the lack of shops, but was saved by the landlord of The Roast Ox Inn, Painscastle who made me a cooked breakfast and an excellent packed lunch which stood me through until Clun. Three bikepackers seen early in the morning on the Offa's Dyke / Jack Mytton Way gave me people to talk to rather than sheep. One of them was riding a Solaris Max so we both started talking about how much we loved our bikes…
Heading under Manchester on the way to a friend's house in Glossop meant I travelled along the Macclesfield Canal, a place I'd never been before, I really enjoyed seeing the early industrial age bridges and access lanes with their spiralling snail-like forms.
Leaving Glossop I encountered the Pennine Bridleway, this for me marked the hardest riding as the September heatwave was in full swing and I found myself scanning isolated houses and farms for outdoor water taps. Here, a guy I'd never met, but had started following me on Strava, (Jono) met me en route around Barnoldswick. Riding with company for a while and him restocking me with water was a real boost and new friends made.
Delightful trails through the Dales with their limestone walls and solitary trees saw the difficulty ease a little, and I was soon close to my friend's house in West Cumbria. He must have been expecting a ravaged body as he had arranged for a sports massage from a friend of his. While I waited for him, I changed Sgt's brake pads.
My next destination was the Wainhope Bothy north of Kielder Water. The forest trails here were fast and flowy but a huge error was changing route after seeing 'road closed' signs. The detour I hurriedly planned, had me lifting locked deer fence gates off their hinges, tramping through bogs and a 'pick up sticks' jumble of fallen trees. Eventually, all things pass (even my swearing) and soon I was back on track and heading for the bothy. The last visitors had left some wood for the stove and some candles. I left one huge candle burning all night by the window. I told myself it was to light the way for others looking for refuge. Probably, the phantom of St Briavel's had me spooked. The mice scampering in the ceiling weren't helping…
A wild camp outside Innertheithen on Minch Moor saw a morning temperature inversion and a chance to get some new bar tape and breakfast in town. A fantastic descent but I was too early for the bike shop and couldn't see an open cafe. Scanning around whilst freewheeling on the road I saw a man and a dog on my left waiting by the road I looked behind me for a cafe, in the small period of time the dog and owner had moved into the road, I missed them by a whisker as they crossed and I realised my cardinal sin; guide dog leading his owner. I hung my head in shame and counted my blessings that I hadn't hit them. Cushioned and very orange bar tape fixed on at Evolve Bikes in Peebles helped the hard riding of the Pentland Hills which soon gave away to Edinburgh and the Grand Union Canal to Glasgow. A hurried, desperate, dark tent set up in a canalside woodland, in torrential rain and wind, had me worried in case I'd set up under a 'widowmaker' bough. I woke in the morning to find it worse than that - dog crap on the tent!
From Milgavie the route shares the West Highland Way for about 10km weaving around walkers. I occasionally saw a few bike-packers coming toward me doing the Badger Divide (Inverness to Glasgow). I would be sharing their route from here to Fort Augustus. Always happy to stop and chat (and maybe modestly drop into the conversation where I'd come from!) A growing number of comments were being received about my bike set up, especially from the thinner tyred gravel riders who were probably having to pick their way down the descents a little more tentatively than me. ( A couple of young riders on their first ever Bike Pack ( GB Divide) mentioned they stayed in Melgarve Bothy, after the Corrieyairack Pass, it was fun finding their visitors’ entry in the bothy as I was to stop there for a cup of tea in a few days time).
The next day saw me seek refuge at the Scottish YHA at Loch Ossian. Accessible only by Rail (Corrour Station being a mile away) or by foot or bike. It was a wet afternoon and I was glad I'd got there early to talk to fellow travellers and enjoy the Rainy Lochside. (Other Bikepackers I met the following day were making their way there and it seems like a perfect resting point on a trip through Scotland.)
I set off for the steepest pass on the trip the Corrieyairack Pass, I had full intentions of trying to ride up it. I failed miserably, far too steep and loose for me even with fresh legs. The descent down to Fort Augustus was a complete joy, fast and flowy. Hands on the drops, I kept saying to myself, I love this bike…this is such a great bike…
The highlight for the next day was Gleann Mor, a fantastic Glen, filled with Scottish Atmosphere. The next section, Strath Cuileannach, was great riding, slightly spoilt by flooded tracks. A deviation onto the side had me stopped in my tracks by the front wheel buried in a bog while i went over the handlebars in the slowest of slow motion. It was a soft landing but I decided to keep to the track from now on.
The high levels of rain had me thinking about the Cashel Dhu, an ancient fording place of the Strathmore River. I’d heard and read, it's usually a below the knee wade to an island then a dog leg to the far bank. It can be dangerous in spate. The next day was clear in the morning, perhaps I'd be lucky and the crossing would be possible. A great morning of fast riding through Glenn Cassley had me hopeful. It was coming… I pulled off a metalled track watching the river on my left hand side. The heavens opened just as I reached the bank. The decision was easy - it was totally impassable, the island was submerged and the wade looked more like a full on swim across a steady current. It wasn’t going to happen. I scuttled back to the road, knowing I had an escape route but a long boring one on the road (NC 500) and many motorhomes to contend with. However, tomorrow would be the culmination of my efforts - Cape Wrath.
I’d planned the trip to get to The Kyle of Durness well before the Ferry closes for the season (end of September) It wasn't a great day weather wise and I knew the ferry crossing was weather dependent. However, I wasn't prepared for total cancellation until May 2024! I hadn't come all this way to be stopped at the last stage. I rang the ferryman - no luck, the boat was out of the water. I contemplated hiking over to the Lighthouse, leaving Sgt behind. However, after half a days waiting around and asking around I found a friendly fisherman who agreed to take me over the Kyle in his small boat and within minutes I was riding up from the far quayside.
Two hours riding later, I was at the most isolated cafe in the UK - The Ozone (run by John and Angie) - a ring of the bell (it's open 24 hrs a day) the shutters opened and Angie was offering to cook up some beans on toast for me. I quickly went outside to take the necessary photos and was back inside tucking in and drinking coffee. I told her about my journey and said I’d planned to go down to Kearvaig Bothy for the night. She asked if I wanted some alcohol to celebrate and even offered some Malt Whisky from John’s collection. So kind, I wasn't turning that down!
Descending to the beautifully located bothy Kearvaig as the sun peeked through the clouds, a quarter bottle of whisky stashed in my front fork pannier on my reliable packhorse - Sgt Reckless- I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. It had been a journey I wouldn't forget.
Since we moved to our awesome new premises earlier this year, we've been talking about offering some servicing options for you awesome Cotic owners. You can now book your droplink bike in for a full pivot service at Cotic HQ.
A full frame strip down, new bearings and bushings and built back up ready for miles more enjoyment, all by our expert mechanics for £150 including parts.
While your bike is in our workshop, it's a perfect opportunity for some choice upgrades too. We can fit new forks, new drivetrain, fresh tyres and many other parts. Lots of options to choose from, and all are components we run on our own bikes here at Cotic.
Drivetrain worn? Upgrade to a brand new 12 speed system. We have Shimano and Sram groupsets ready and waiting.
Forks on their last legs? We can fit shiny new Cane Creek Helms or Rockshox options to suit all Cotics. Steerers cut, forks fitted to the bike and we'll help you get them set up too.
Get in touch with us to discuss your options.
Cotic Factory Servicing requires you to drop your bike at our Chesterfield HQ and leave it with us for a few days. Why not take a demo bike for a spin when you visit? You could try out a Gravel Bike while your MTB is getting serviced?
Once we've completed the work, we'll contact you to arrange collection during our showroom opening hours, or we can ship your bike back to you on a next day service. Just get in touch and we can provide a quote.
All Cotic bikes are designed to be enjoyed for many years, and regular servicing is key to their longevity. Book your bike in for a service today, we can service any droplink bike from the Rocket26 right up to the very latest Jeht and Gen5 FlareMAX.
This is just the start for Factory Servicing. We'll be introducing more options as we get going with it. We'd love to hear what sort of things you'd like us to offer to keep your Cotic rolling, drop us an email if you have any suggestions.
"The nights are drawing in, the air feels cooler – summer is over. But should a tear drip down your face at the loss of the ‘riding season’? Fear not – the best conditions are here, and with it comes dig season. The crisp mornings, perfect grippy dirt and a load of shovels moving in the woods. It’s the best time to get out on the bike.
For our riding crew and myself, the end of October and the clocks going back marks the start of dig season. We have always done work at Bolehills BMX track, our local riding spot, but a few years ago, with another dark winter looming in 2020-21, the prospect of dark nights stuck alone inside was too much to bear. We stuck the headtorches on, strapped the spades to our backpacks and headed to the woods. It became a solid, twice-a-week mission, slowly picking away and maintaining tracks. We’d sample our creations on the weekend where we could get out in the light – nothing is better than a trail you’ve had a hand in creating.
One thing lead to another, and the quiet dig sessions turned into birthdays in the woods - with tunes, cake, candles, big bags of 50p out of date beer, and a customary takeaway stop on the way home.
Years later and we are still going to the woods, twice a week without fail. It’s not just us that got the lockdown trail digging bug – loads of creations and maintained trails are now in our neighbourhood. It’s created even more of a scene for mountain biking in Sheffield. This has filtered down to the youth too – we’ve never had so many keen kids up at Bolehills helping us out. They even help beyond Bolehills and often show the local trail association a thing or two about how to shape lip!
Last weekend we headed out for POETS*, tools and cans in the bag. It was a treat to ride some of the fresh trails in the woods in the light. As darkness fell, the work lights came out and the graft began. Another trail ticked off the long list for winter maintenance, in only 3 evenings of hard work. 10pm and I was back at home tucked up with a takeaway – like a night out but with maybe slightly less alcohol and definitely more digging.
If you can take anything from my ramblings – get out, get involved in dig day with your local trail association, or take a pair of snips or a rake out on your ride and give your local a little spruce up. Or go get a bit tipsy in the woods and swing some mattocks about. You won’t regret it.
*Pi$$ Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday"
Shovels we can't help with (buy quality though - Bulldog are great), but bikes we CAN do. Dave rides a C3 Mullet RocketMAX with a Kitsuma coil and Lyrik forks, on Hunt rims with Sram gears and Hopetech brakes. Order yours on the link below
Last weekend Paul and Sam headed down to the Surrey Hills for a weekend of demos and a CC ride
Despite not having a huge amount of elevation (compared to our local hills at least!), it's a properly good area to ride a mountain bike. Accessible for many people, and chock full of lovely singletrack, the woods around Peaslake are one of our favourite spots to ride.
After a Sat Nav special saved us from too much M25 traffic, we arrived ready for a Cotic Owner's Ride on the Friday afternoon. A small but lovely group of keen beans joined us to share their local trail knowledge and enjoy a brilliant couple of hours of riding. All wheelsizes were represented, with a 26” Soul and a Hemlock, 27.5 Soul up to a Jeht, my SolarisMAX and Paul on a C2 FlareMAX demo bike. The grins were all the same size though; ear to ear!
Pints outside the pub to finish was a treat. Thanks everyone who came along.
Both days of demos were great, loads of happy riders testing out Cotics and answering questions such as 'am I C3 or C4'?' and 'do I need an Escapade or a Cascade'. The sun shone, and a good time was had.
We managed to sneak out for rides after packing down both days, which was a real treat. It's been a few years since I've ridden round there, and I was pleased I could remember a good number of excellent trails. Rooty woodland singletrack trails littered with kickers and berms aren't too plentiful locally, and my Wolfpack tyres were right at home in the Surrey loam. Lovely.
We'll definitely be back in Surrey next year for more demos, keep an eye on our mailing list, social media channels and the demo page
If you want to get a demo in soon, they can be arranged with us back at our base between Chesterfield and Sheffeld any Wednesday, Thursday or Friday between now and Christmas.
Singletrackworld.com: Ben @ Singletrack has spent ages riding his long term review RocketMAX, including testing just about every high end hard hitting shock and fork on it, so his full review has been much awaited by us...
"Fears no steepness, up or down. Hella grippy, everywhere. Just a joy, all the time."
"If you (correctly) appreciate the practicalities of external routing, you will love living with the RocketMAX."
"The RocketMAX will surprise many by just how much of an amazing ascender it is. It’s like an unflappable escalator."
"The Cotic RocketMAX Gen 4 is an amazingly capable mountain bike that exudes a level of calmness, control and – yes – comfort that makes it unique."
Peaty's Steel City Downhill is one of our favourite days of the year, and the 2023 edition was another classic.
The 11th edition of this completely unique event, The Biggest Little Race, went down last Saturday in Grenoside Woods, just north of Sheffield. Cotic was in attendance once again, with a prime trackside spot. Despite having been at every single SCDH since it's inception, this year was a year of 'firsts'.
Our gravel focussed brand ambassador Abby Popplestone swapped her frame bags and rigid forks for a RocketMAX and full face helmet, and tackled her first mountain bike event.
Over to Abby:
“My first DH race and second ever day on a modern MTB!
When Rich at Cotic asked me if I wanted to race, I was unsure. I mean, I was hardly qualified given I'd ridden a full sus literally ONCE before, but I find spicy descents so alluring it was hard to turn down, plus, I'm trying to say yes to things that scare me rather than discounting myself by saying 'oh no, I could never do that'.
What if I *could* do that?
So, I chucked it in the f*k it bucket and showed up.
I had no idea how it would go. I was nervous but Cotic geared me up with protective equipment, a solid, dependable bike RocketMAX and went with me to practise. It took a while to trust the bike. Everyone told me 'the bike will take you, trust it', coming from gravel that felt like a big leap of faith. When I realised how much the bike could absorb, it blew my mind! After a couple practise runs I relaxed into it.
This was the best race I could've started with. Steel City is so friendly! It's designed for everyone - the ages ranged from 4 to 80 years old! The track was lined with people top to bottom, it felt like flying through a tunnel of noise, cheer and support. I could hear people calling my name and shouting 'go on lass', I lost my footing a couple of times and when I did, someone shouted something encouraging. It was honestly the best feeling and I flew down with the biggest grin on my face. It felt like everyone wanted me to do well.
I didn't try to go quick, or do anything snazzy. The only goal was to get to the bottom in one piece. I came last in my category but feel like the biggest winner because I pushed myself, tried something new and had the best time! I'm now in love with DH.
Lucky for me I got to ride next to Kelly, who was also racing DH for the first time. Her stoke, friendliness and support relaxed me loads and is a big reason I had such a good time.
Thanks to everyone at Team Cotic for getting me to the start line and making me feel so welcome. Proud to be on your team.”
Well done Abby, you smashed it!
My wife Kelly also donned her full face and a number board. She's done a couple of enduro's before, but this was her first Downhill race.
Over to Kelly:
“I did a downhill race!
I had an absolutely fantastic day on Saturday at Steel City with the Cotic crew!
The noise and cheers all the way down the track was amazing and the atmosphere of the day is just so fun!
I was quite nervous about this race, I've been a spectator cheering from the side for a few years now, and only did this because of a conversation with Manon Carpenter last year about just giving it a go, and more women being seen riding!
Riding with Abby was so cool all day "It's just a ride with friends" she said, and yup it was!
Thanks to Cotic for the stoke on the day.”
The girls' energy all day was infectious. They both had such a great day pushing each other and keeping each other stoked, so good to see.
Chay had a tough day. It started off well, me and Cy were watching some practise runs from our stand and as fast rider came into view Cy said “oo this guy is on it. Oh it's Chay!”
Unfortunately he had an 'unplanned off-bike excursion' after hitting a tree at speed, which left him battered, bruised and shaken. Heal up Chay, we know you'll be back on it again soon.
Stu Bailey represented on his BfeMAX, a well seasoned enduro racer, this was only his second ever downhill race. As the first runs are unseeded, he caught the rider in front on his first race run and struggled to get past, which slowed him down.
Fortunately racers are re-seeded for the second run, based on their time from the first go. This meant a clear track and faster run, bagging 10th in category.
Special mention to local hero Pat Horscroft aka Granny McGnarly. 80 years young and lined up once again to race Steel City Downhill. Inspirational to all, and got the biggest trackside cheer of anyone. Be more Pat.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Cotic sponsored the 10-14 girls category and the 13-14 lads category too. Ace to see these nippers smashing it, many of them faster than I'd get down that track without a doubt!
We supplied cash prizes and merch bundles for the podium, a pleasure to support these up-and-comers.
We strongly recommend giving Steel City a go. It's been a few years since I raced it, and I will admit to having a bit of FoMo this year, even though the track really doesn't suit me at all! The tunnel of noise down the track is the closest most of us will ever come to feeling like a World Cup racer.
If you ride a Cotic and fancy entering next year, we'll be there to support you and cheer you on.
It's perfectly doable on pretty much any Cotic mountain bike; Abby raced our demo C1 RocketMAX, Kelly raced her gen3 FlareMAX, Chay was on his mullet gen4 RocketMAX and Stu raced his BFeMAX.
Thanks to everyone who dropped by the stand to check out our bikes and chat.
Huge thanks also to the Steel City Series crew for another fantastic event. We'll see you next year.
Blister have just published their really detailed review of the RocketMAX Gen4. It's a great piece of work, across two riders, 3.5 months and multiple locations. Really interestingly for us, and probably for you if you are shopping for a RocketMAX, is the comparisons they make to a bunch of other enduro bikes. Things like the Starling, the various Santa Cruz's, Geometron, Specialized, Pivot and more. Well worth a read.
"“Quiet confidence” is the phrase that comes to mind to describe the Cotic, and it proved to be an unflappable companion on every ride I took it on."
"...the most standout trait of the RocketMAX for me was just how comfortable it is at speed on rougher trails....it doesn’t entirely erase bigger bumps the way that, say, a well-sorted DH bike can, but the overall ride quality is truly excellent."
"It feels reductive and hack-y to just attribute that to the (predominantly) steel construction — and I’ve been on steel full-suspension bikes that don’t ride anywhere close to this well — but I think it is fair to say that Cotic has really nailed the tubeset in the RocketMAX, and paired it with well-sorted suspension kinematics to seriously impressive results."
"But I really think that the biggest piece of the magic is just how Cotic has dialed in the flex and ride quality of the frame.....It's excellent."
With a new Solaris and new colours of Jeht on the way, we could do with clearing out the remaining Small sized frames of these models. So, for you shorter riders, here's a bargain for you if you act quick... 20 per cent off Small Jehts and SolarisMAX!
These reductions on frames carry though to complete bikes as well... so for example UK customers get 360 quid off either a frame or complete bike.
As of writing we have small Jehts available in both Matte Nimbus and Gloss Midnight Blue.
If you're under 5ft 9in (approx 175cm) then these could well be for you. Taller ladies and gents... pass this offer on to friends and family please... all offers end when current stock lasts (so act fast).
We have a British XC Elite Mens World Champion. Now that was a good sentence to type!
I hope you saw the coverage of the XC World Champs at Glentress last weekend, what a race. When Darren and I were in the Tweed Valley for our demo weekend back in May, we saw lots of the new race track coming together and got very excited for the race. We also had the 'just-about-to-be-launched' gen 5 FlareMAX in the van, built to Downcountry spec.
After packing away for the day we kitted up and grabbed Darren's camera to bag some shots in the evening sun. While I'm very far away from having Tom Pidcock's bike skills, and even further away from having his fitness, watching the nail-biting action at the weekend reminded me of this evening spent razzing a light and fast bike around Glentress.
The bike is so agile and encourages you to take the hard way up. I really enjoyed taking the techy lines at the side of the climb, it has loads of grip and responds immediately, always egging you on.
It's no scary race bike though. Longshot geometry and the excellent SID Ultimate fork make high lines into rough corners a breeze.
I had a couple of go's at this root gap, it's a section which featured on the race track. I slotted the rear wheel nicely onto the back-side of the roots, landing really smooth and quiet. Surprised myself a bit with that one! The bike pops off trail features effortlessly, such a fun and engaging ride character.
Plenty of body language going on, but it felt so easy throwing the FlareMAX around.
Skids are for kids, Worlds track in the background.
This may be why I'm not an XC racer, but the locally brewed recovery drink hit the spot perfectly.
We have FlareMAX gen 5 available to order now, the perfect bike for trail centre razzing; confident, light and fast.
Get in touch with us to spec up your new, UK made, FlareMAX.
XL BFeMAX still available in Matte Smoke or Gloss Bright Blue
All reduced XL Jeht sold
All reduced XL Cascade stock sold (orders open for the next batch)
Here's something to brighten your day for you tall riders - 20 per cent off XL Cotic's!
We have ended up a little lop-sided on stock for the long of limb, so here's a little sweetener to get you over 6 footers onto a Cotic and enjoying these buff summer trails. Discount applies to any in-stock Jeht, BFeMAX and Cascade frame/frameset.
That makes the frame/frameset prices as follows :
BFeMAX:
- Reduced by £124, Now £495 / approx EUR540 / approx USD653
Jeht + Rockshox Deluxe Shock:
Reduced by £360, Now £1,439 / approx EUR1,470 / approx USD1,675
Cascade frame + Alpaca fork:
Reduced by £170, Now £679 / approx EUR721 / approx USD850
Frame discounts flow through to complete bikes too, and on other shock options on Jeht or fork on Cascade. So for example, on any Jeht bike, you'll save that £360 off the complete bike price too.
Build time is good right now and we have plenty of drivetrain stock, so you could be riding your new Cotic within a week or two.
We're just back from a fantastic week at the Fort William DH World Champs.
This year was extra special, as Neko Mulally was racing his Frameworks DH bike featuring a steel front triangle designed by our very own Cy Turner, and built by our friends Five Land Bikes.
Part of the Glasgow 2023 Cycling World Championships, where every rainbow jersey is being awarded in Scotland during a 10 day window, this year's Fort William trip was the best yet. Cy, Will and myself headed north with our expo stand to be part of the big show. We set off bright and early on the Tuesday for the long drive, it's always nice driving there as the scenery gradually improves until it is nothing short of spectacular heading through Glencoe.
This year we'd opted to bring ebikes for ourselves to ride, and what a smart move. Once checked into our accommodation we boosted the half hour ride into town for beers and pizza.
Henceforth; ebikes shall be known as Beer Scooters.
Wednesday morning we got the stand set up and ready for the weekend ahead, then jumped back into the van for the now annual Laggan Wolftrax ride. I love this spot, the trails have a great natural feel to them and the climbs are nice and techy to keep you on your toes. After a quick pitstop we crossed the road for some steep off-piste goodness. If you've never been to Laggan, make efforts to change that. It's a top spot.
Thursday was a quiet one in the event village, with mostly just practice happening on track. This meant I managed to hop onto the gondola and check out some action trackside. It's mind blowing watching what the worlds best can do in the flesh; watching Loic Bruni gap over an apex marker to straighten out a tight chicane is an image I won't forget in a hurry.
Friday was much busier, and the main draw of course was having Neko's spare bike on display on our stand. It was so exciting to have a proper direct connection to the race, and loads of people stopped by to ogle at the lovely steel DH goodness. Huge thanks to Neko and his mechanic Anxo for lending us the bike for the weekend. If you want to check out more of the story behind the Frameworks and Cotic collaboration, check out this video:
After a long and busy day on our feet, we inhaled a delicious Bratwurst from the food stand opposite us, which had been teasing our senses all day, and jumped back in the van for another ride. With electrical assistance, the idea of riding up a hill after being stood up all day was very appealing, we didn't have to dig deep for motivation.
We headed for a spot we'd clocked on Trailforks and had also come recommended by a few people, Glen Loy. What a place; steep, loamy, tight, fast, technical and flowy all at once. Hats off to the trail builders, this was genuinely the best ride of the year so far for all three of us. Stunning views from the climb up too, which was made more exciting by Cy's chain letting go on the first lap, and Will and I taking it in turns to tow him up the hill. Beer Scooters go well. We will 100% be back for more Glen Loy action.
Saturday was the main event, and was even busier! Stoke for Neko's bike, and all things Cotic was high. Thanks to everyone who dropped by the stand to check us out. If you watched the race, you don't need me to tell you it was a wet one! The heavens opened part way through the elite men's final, and Neko's run was one of the wettest. He's still recovering from a broken hip, so had no expectations, but a 52nd in that weather and only his second race post injury is highly commendable. We watched his run from the thick of the crowd, but after watching a couple more runs with no sign of the rain easing, we opted to watch the rest from the shelter of our stand on a phone!
The atmosphere as Charlie Hatton claimed his first elite win, on home soil, to claim the rainbow stripes was something not even the Scottish downpour could dampen. Incredible scenes, and astonishing riding from the top level guys to perform in those conditions, an awesome race.
As the crowds began to gradually thin, we packed down the stand and caught a bit of the Boxxer World Champs action. An annual competition which pits world cup mechanics against each other as they do a lowers service on a Rockshox Boxxer fork against the clock, with many other boozy challenges thrown in. Great, daft fun and a laugh to end on.
Its still not clear if there will be a world cup at the Fort again next year, but if there is, we'll definitely be back. Hopefully we'll see you there.
A couple of weeks ago we returned to our favourite event of the year, Ard Rock MTB Festival.
With the weather forecast looming large, we packed all the clothes and a whole bunch of demo bikes into the rental van and set off north to Swaledale. An annual fixture in our calendar, it's brilliant to see how the event has grown into the beast it is today, and this year was a fine vintage despite challenging conditions at times.
We set the stand up on Thursday and jumped on our bikes for a spin on the demo stages. One of which was a stage Paul and I had raced a couple of years ago, a proper top to bottom run with rocky corners, steep chutes and flat out grassy turns. This year was Cy's first Ard Rock since 2017, and even then he never got chance to ride any of stages. Something tells me after riding the demo stage this year he might be strapping a number board on his bike next year! A lovely pub tea in Reeth set us up nicely for the weekend.
Friday was a busy one. Shorts and T shirts all round, and I barely left the stand all day. Lots of demo customers and plenty of bike chat, the day flew by. It was ace to see so many wild Cotics, from pre-longshot Rockets with custom paint jobs to the latest gen 4 RocketMAXs all enjoying the Epic race and practising for Saturday and Sunday's races. Thanks to all you Cotic owners who dropped by the stand, we love seeing the bikes putting smiles on your faces.
Despite a bleak forecast, the weather held out on the Saturday, and it was another big day of demos and people checking out the Cotic range. As has become tradition, we held a Cotic CC owners ride late afternoon on the Saturday. We got rained on a little bit, but it was warm enough grinding out of the valley floor that we barely noticed. The loop on the opposite side of the valley to the race stages has become one of my favourite rides of the year, a lovely stretch of rocky singletrack down a gully which gets better every time. I heard my front wheel clang a rock not long after passing Darren's camera lens, followed by the hiss of air and the spattering of sealant. Thankfully it held til the bottom and I managed to plug the tyre. One of the riders wasn't so lucky though. It's always a hazzard of riding in the Dales.
Punctures fixed, we rolled on, scattering sheep and hopping over puddles. Riding fast open singletrack in a big train with the festival village in sight never gets old. Beers and chatter back at the stand rounded off a lovely afternoon before the rain came in.
That rain never relented, Sunday was very moist. Riders coming off the hill looked like they'd been away at war, but we still had some hardly souls braving the conditions to ride demo bikes, kudos to them!
As always, Ard Rock did not disappoint, I wish there more events like this in the UK, with world class trails and great festival atmosphere. I hope they manage to book some sunshine next year though! We'll be back regardless.
Thanks again to Vicky at The Laurels for the warm welcome and delicious breakfasts, thanks to the Ard Rock team for having us and thanks to everyone who came by the stand to chat, check out the bikes and take them for a demo ride.
We Are Hiring! Dispatch Administrator Maternity Cover: 15 Month Temporary Contract
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Cotic is a growing bike company based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, specialising in high performance steel mountain and gravel bikes, which we design and develop, market, distribute and sell directly ourselves.
We now need someone to join our team to cover the Maternity Leave of our current Dispatch Administrator. We need an organised individual to help us with packing frames and bikes, booking couriers and processing postal orders, and helping support events that Cotic attend.
No bike industry experience or even previous bicycle experience at all required, though it would be desirable to have some basic knowledge of bicycles and bicycle mechanics. The successful applicant will be first and foremost organised, motivated, a fast learner, you will need have an eye for detail, and not afraid to seek to improve processes. You will be good with people, and happy to talk on the phone and in person at events. You will be computer literate – competent with email, data entry, and social media.
The job requires you to work full time 37 hours per week Monday to Friday at our HQ in Chesterfield.
Event working at up to 5 weekend events over the course of the year is also required (mainly through summer - May to August). Dates for which will be agreed well in advance, with time off in lieu for any weekend days worked – i.e. if you work a Saturday and Sunday, you get two days off in lieu afterwards.
Cotic is a small, close knit team of 8 people. Our values are rooted in respect for our employees and customers. We champion diversity and inclusivity. We are committed to equal opportunity for all and we embrace new and different perspectives. As well as contributing to keeping stoke high by getting bikes to customers as quickly as possible, we welcome any and all ideas across any part of the business. You can be an influence as much or as little as you like.
Coordinate with the order processing and mechanic staff to make sure what goes in a box for dispatch is exactly what the customer ordered, and it's going to the correct customer.
Assembling and packing boxes for dispatch.
Booking couriers for UK delivery of customer frames and bikes.
The managing and booking of all import/export shipments, working closely with couriers to ensure a pain-free shipment process for customers, and suppliers and our ourselves.
Processing, packing and assembling small parts orders and merch.
Checking of frames and bikes before they are dispatched. Training will be provided.
Ensuring all ordered items well packaged for shipment.
Experience of packing items, booking shipments or shipping logistics would be desirable in the candidate, but not essential as training can be given.
Weekend Event Support:
Working events will involve customer facing, demo sign-ins, assisting in setting up and dismantling the stand, and tagging onto demo or Cotic owner's rides if you are into riding bikes (as mentioned above, bicycle experience is not essential).
Additional But Not Essential Duties:
Cotic is a small business, where all our staff perform a number of different roles depending on their experience and capability. Flexibility is key, and we all help each other out when we need to.
Here at Cotic, every single frame we sell is faced, chased and prepped by us, and every single bicycle we sell is assembled from the frame up, right here in the UK. As such:
Some prior knowledge of bicycle mechanics is highly desirable.
The ability to prepare frames ready for customers (facing and pressing in headset and fitting BBs).
Experience of maintaining or building bicycles, setting up suspension and changing bearings.
These are very much “nice-to-haves” and if you are mechanically competent and keen to learn, then training will be provided for you to get involved helping in the workshop.
It is also worth nothing that our current Dispatch Assistant set up and managed our Cotic Women Of Steel female cycling group and events, reported our Google Analytics and assisted with book keeping. Whilst not the core activities we need covered during her absence, any skills, experience or competence in some or all of these areas would be advantageous.
What Can You Offer?
You may not possess all, or indeed any of the “nice-to-have” additional skills we need with help with, but that shouldn't put you off applying. If you have something you think would be a useful addition to what we do, then let us know and tell us why it would be great. Our current Dispatch Assistant wasn't initially employed to do many of the things she now does for us, but she grew into the job, brought her own thoughts and perspectives, and Cotic is all the better for it as a result. What can you offer?
Terms:
This is a temporary contract for 15 months, with a start date of no later than 9th October 2023.
Salary offered is £21,500 per year, and includes a bonus scheme connected with overall company performance. There is no overtime, but semi-flexible hours during the normal working week, and time off in lieu for any additional hours worked is offered.
Benefits include a Workplace Pension, access to all Cotic's trade accounts for bike parts at cost and 25 days per year annual leave (pro rata).
At the end of the contract period we will review our ongoing resource requirements and decide whether to continue with an extended contract at that point. This is flexible in both directions and no commitment is required or offered by either Cotic or the Employee to extend beyond the 15 month initial contract.
Submit CVs and covering letters to hannah@cotic.co.uk by 5pm BST Friday 1st September 2023. NOW CLOSED.
Last week saw our second Cotic CC gravel ride from HQ. Since we moved to our new place, we have tried to make a bit of habit of doing these Friday afternoon rides, and it's been lovely to have so many of you join us for the three we have done so far.
The ride from HQ takes in some lovely bridleways and lanes and quiet roads. As is often the case with riding gravel style in the north of England, a couple of bits of the ride probably flirted with being mountain biking, but everyone loved it, even the guys on their Escapades! And for a 'quick local' ride, it certainly packed the elevation in. It didn't feel super hectic on that front, so I was quite surprised when we got back to see my Garmin telling me we had done nearly 640m of climbing in the 2.5hours we were out. Everyone voted for the extra hill though, so they can't blame us!
We had such a great, eclectic mix of bikes on this one. Everything from the more usual Escapades and Cascades, but also a 2007 Soul and at the other end of the spectrum an XC/Bikepacky FlareMAX. In the middle we had one of the first flat bar Cascades we saw, and Sam on and Darren on their SolarisMAX's, albeit in very different specifications.
Back at HQ everyone got a couple of beers courtesy of Komoot, some Cotic socks and tea, coffee and cakes. Bit of chat to round our a very nice Friday afternoon. See you at the next one?
Wideopen: Pete casts his thoughts on Cotic’s fourth generation long travel machine, the RocketMAX after some serious summer lovin’
"Somehow, Cotic have managed to breathe into the RocketMAX an air of grounded stability at speed, capable climbing and a playful nature through the slow and tech."
"In the RocketMAX, Cotic have managed to create a bike that may well be all things to all… humans. I couldn’t find a type of trail where this bike wasn’t fun. That it’s UK-made puts the asking price into the realms of the ‘why would you not?’ and the ride backs that up."
Back in September 2022 we hosted a ride out with HopeWMN from our then HQ in Calver, Peak District. It was a huge success, and was so nice to share our awesome local loop with everyone before we moved. When we moved (Jan 2023) we hatched a plan that once we were more settled and had mapped out our new local trails that we'd do a collab ride again, so on Tuesday (20th June) Women of Steel and HopeWMN headed out on the lovely new demo loop, from the new Cotic HQ for a fantastic after work evening blast along ancient trails and quiet lanes.
The route we did is actually our long Cotic demo loop, so if you come to HQ for a demo ride you may ride the same trails. We can't promise the sunshine and warmth we had for this lovely evening ride, though! We had a nice social ride, many having never ridden those trails before too - even though they're local, which is great and meeting new riding friends is always brilliant. After the ride we got back to HQ and had a drink and snacks - perfect! Already looking forward to planning the next one.
This week we launch our new Platinum MTB build spec option. ALL. THE. TOYS. Your dream bike just got even more dreamy.
Shown in the video being built onto our latest FlareMAX Gen5 frame, the new Platinum Build includes one of the lightest drivetrains possible:
Shimano XTR M9100 12spd mech and shifter
Cane Creek eeWings Titanium cranks
Garbaruk 10-52 Microspline cassette and chainring
Most of the rest of the build is provided by our friends at Hope:
Hope X2 brakes on FlareMAX Downcountry and Jeht Trail Light
E4 on FlareMAX Trail, Jeht Trail and RocketMAX Trail and RocketMAX Enduro
Hope Fortus SC30 Pro5 Wheels
Hope 35mm stem
Hope carbon bars
Hope Headset
The rest of the builds are finished off with the best suspension and tyres for each type of bike. And as it's Your Bike Built For You, you can tweak your Platinum build dream bike to your hearts content. Just head to the order page and check out the options there.
Cy and Rich have have been running eeWings for 4 years now and they are just one of the best parts on their bikes. So light, so beautiful and so tough.
Paul and Cy have both been running the Garbaruk cassettes for over a year and are really impressed. They offer lighter weight, better ratios and wider range than the equivalent Shimano or SRAM cassettes, and also look beautiful as well. Call us shallow, but it's important!
Look out for regular updates on the bike in the video, as it's just been delivered to MBUK magazine as a long term test bike.
Our demo at Cafe Adventure was a treat. We miss the Hope Valley a lot, and whilst our new HQ is fantastic in every other way, you can’t beat the views in the Peak District. We had visitors from both side of the hills and their grins spread to both sides of their faces. Delicious food, Amazing trails and glorious weather; what more could you want? Asides from getting a solid tan, we set up lots of people on many different bikes and made sure that everyone was completely confident in their set-up before they pedalled off. Some people were really exploring the type of riding they wanted their new bike for, others were already sold on them and wanted to double check the frame size. This won’t be our last demo commandeering the bothy at Hope, that’s for sure.
Cotic Demo Tour 2023:
Peak District Demo Day: 10th June, Cafe Adventure in Hope.
Forest of Dean Demo Weekend: 8th & 9th July, Cannop Cycle Centre.
Ard Rock Enduro Festival: 21st - 23rd July, Swaledale.
Fort William DH World Championships: 3rd - 5th August - Expo only.
With the launch of the FlareMAX Gen5, we have discounted the last few FlareMAX Gen4 frames. You're getting a fantastic bike, with same angles as the Gen5, just with a slightly higher BB and our previous 4 step sizing. Brilliant, lively handling, with that signature Cotic feel. Now an absolute steel with £350 off frames and bikes.
Neko and his crew have got the Cotic x Frameworks collaboration steel DH frames built and have been testing and comparing them against the aluminium versions. Have a watch and see which they preferred....
Bike Radar have published their "Bike of the Year '23" round up, including "contender" reviews of the RocketMAX and the Jeht. They chose to review mullet builds specced to their personal requirements and preferences... but remember, we'll build your bike your way!
Bikeradar's 4.5 star review of the RocketMAX Gen4 Silver Mullet bike
"Pros: Stable and super-confident through the turns; balanced suspension feel; carries speed well"
"On faster trails, the RocketMAX Gen4 was able to carry impressive amounts of speed where other bikes hung up or felt a little lethargic."
"This is most obvious when sling-shotting from turn to turn. Here, the Cotic’s ride position, and the balance and support through the suspension, mean you can slam into turns at warp speed, load the bike up and it’ll fire out the other side faster than a circus clown out of a cannon. There’s a chance you’ll have the same goofy clown smile plastered over your face too."
Bikeradar's 4 star review of the Jeht Silver Mullet bike
"Pros: Sorted geometry for steep tech; spec options to suit many budgets and preferences; smooth-feeling suspension when the throttle is left open"
"The Jeht really impressed me, almost squeezing into the top three bikes in our Trail Bike of the Year test."
"Let the bike run, and the rear suspension works well with the upgraded forks on my model. The geometry is on point, and the ability to alter the spec to match your pocket is a real bonus."
The nice folks at Havoc Bike Park on the outskirts of Todmorden asked us along to the opening weekend at their new location. We popped along on the Sunday, showed off our RocketMAX in its natural environment (on top of a hill surround by trails), and chatted with other riders. It's going to be great to watch this new site develop over the coming years.
"I have no hesitation at coming out and saying that the new Gen 5 FlareMAX is a winner. It takes the previous FlareMAX and just makes it a bit better."
"...the UK’s Cotic are still the only mavericks combining Reynolds 853 steel and short travel in their FlareMax 29er. The 2023 Gen 5 version gets finer sizing grades and significant frame changes to create a stiffer, tougher, better fitting bike but still delivers a uniquely dynamic, organic and charismatic flow state ride."
Further refined in search of the best ride possible. Our lightest, shortest travel, most infectiously fun droplink bike.
Made in the UK
FlareMAX Gen5 will be made exclusively in the UK by our friends at Five Land Bikes.
[ find out more... in the FlareMAX5 #origin section ]
FlareMAX Gen5 in Gloss Teal
FlareMAX Gen5 in Limestone
Rider fit has been improved with the introduction of our C-Sizing 5 step sizing regime first introduced on the RocketMAX Gen4. It aims to get more people their perfect fit by reducing the reach steps between sizes to under 20mm, and shortening the seat tubes for the C2, C3 and C4 sizes when compared to the old Medium and Large frames. It also introduces steeper seat angles on the C3, C4 and C5 sizes compared to the C1 and C2 to improve the rider fit on a size specific basis.
In practice this means you will be less likely to drop 'between' sizes, and with shorter seat tubes you will be able to maximise your dropper post drop.
[ find out more... in the FlareMAX #sizing section ]
Hannah, Sam and Cy ventured to Forest of Dean for a demo weekend at the new women's Ride Free Festival. A women's lead and run event, with a strong aim of inclusivity and inspiring confidence, and joining in not matter your ability. Here's how it went for us...
Hannah: Heading to Forest of Dean, and it dawned on me that I'd never visited and it not be raining! What a treat this was, stunning blue skies, and even bluer Bluebells carpeting everywhere as we arrived.
After setting up our stand we headed out on a Cotic social group ride, joined by 23 women who had also just arrived and got their camping tents up, and were keen to explore the area on a beautiful evening. Following Cy's Komoot route on his Garmin, as no one knew the route, we set off on an adventure! Straight onto a lovely piece of bluebell lined bridleway, the trails were nice mix of descents with some steep climbs back out the valley and home. Straight away the group felt relaxed, with a buzz for what was to come on the weekend.
The whole event continued to have that nice, social feel around it. Everyone just having a lovely relaxed weekend, enjoying riding bikes - despite the wet muddy conditions on the Sunday! Many demo riders trying something new, and getting stuck into the guided rides, riding and mechanic skills sessions, yoga mornings and evening campfire talks! It was great to see, and for us to be a part of.
Over to Sam...
What a lovely way to kick off this year's event season. Such a welcoming and relaxed weekend. After a long winter it was brilliant to see so many people out making the most of the sunshine, bikes and great company.
The biggest take away for me was the supportive and inclusive nature of the event, riders from all backgrounds of cycling with all sorts of experiences to share. Some who'd come with friends, some who'd come on their own, all getting stuck in with a very encouraging feel and no pressure to be the fastest or ride the furthest.
It was really affirming to be part of an event like this, and the UK needs more of this vibe.
Good cider too!
And over to Cy: From my point of view there were a few things that stood out. Firstly, I thought the fact it was a riding festival, not surrounding a race, made a big and welcome difference to the attitude and atmosphere. There wasn't any of that slightly distracted nervousness you get and big events that are hung on a race. I think there is something to be learnt there, as I think both men and women would have a great time at a festival where it was a bit more chilled and a bit more about just riding, rather than racing.
This might be because of the lack of racing, or maybe it was because it was a women only thing, but the riders were much more relaxed and open to chatting. It was so nice!
Another thing riders were open to, and curious about, was different genres of bike. There were a lot of gravel riders who hadn't ridden a modern mountain bike, and plenty of mountain bikers who liked the thought of a gravel bike to compliment their fat tyre flyer. The wonderful thing was that pretty much all the riders who tried something new came back absolutely buzzing having had a great new experience. It was infectious and made it such a fun event.
Finally, big thanks to Beth, Karen, Aoife and all the volunteers and riders that made it such an enjoyable event to be at.
Our latest Cotic CC ride really did put the 'mountain' into mountain biking. Our owner's ride up Snowdon was a fantastic day out.
Last Tuesday we tackled the highest mountain in Wales with some eager Cotic owners. With a watchful eye on the weather forecast on the days before, it was looking like we'd somehow booked the only decent day that week! The call was made and we assembled in Llanberis around lunchtime keen to get stuck in.
With temperatures set to be below freezing at the top, we layered up and set off. Straight into a 1 in 4 tarmac climb. Layers immediately came off again! It was a punchy start, and I'll admit it took some mental fortitude to keep my toys in the pram. Thankfully the gradient soon eased once off road and there was a steady section of pedalling to loosen the legs and lungs.
We ascended up the main Llanberis path, the later start meaning the mountain should be quieter by the time we started descending. This meant passing lots of walkers on their way down, the mix of reactions was great. 90% disbelief at the idea of taking a bike where they'd just walked up. It's always to nice to see people who have no clue about mountain biking being blown away by the idea of it and what is possible, and even nicer that the vast majority of people were totally happy to share the mountain with bikes as well as boots.
The steady spinning soon turned into loose and technical climbing, Paul was in his element. After being under the weather a few weeks ago and not getting enough bike time since, I was starting to struggle already so I went with the idea of 'yes I'll get there, but slowly'. It seemed to work, everyone else was blowing too, just moving faster than me!
The views the whole way up were outstanding, which really helped keep morale up. The summit was in sight before we knew it, and what a treat. There was barely a breath of wind, and 360 degree views. We wrapped up again, the forecast was right, it was cold up top!
Our plan had paid off, looking down Ranger's Path we couldn't see a soul. What a trail. It's no joke, and gets very hectic in places. The fast scree start lulls you into a slightly false sense of security. Just as I was thinking I might pull over to give my hands a break, the trail dropped into some serious chunk. Keeping a decent turn of pace was key, too slow and you dropped into the holes, but too fast and you'd not be able to change direction when it really counted. Ace fun, but I had a word with myself more than once, lots of concentration required.
'Mechanical of the day' goes to Tiff, who's break pads decided to have an off-bike excursion part way down. Miraculously we found them both, and managed to bodge them back into the caliper using what was basically a key ring, and he rode the rest of the mountain no problem. It's not a bodge if it works.
Serious kudos to all riders, the descent was double black diamond and everyone did really well. Self preservation kicked in a couple of times for me and I walked a couple of sections, live to fight another day and all that! I really enjoyed it though, riding in a proper big mountain environment is always great, and the sense of achievement cleaning some of the stuff I did unsighted was brilliant.
Looking back up at the mountain before the last razz down was a pretty special sight. Special mention to Liam, who piloted his BfeMAX down the mountain with aplomb. Chapeau sir.
We bombed down the bridleway back to the vans, some a little battered and bruised (Paul's ankle is pretty swollen now, but still works!) but all alive and smiling.
This was a proper adventure, it's great to be able to do stuff like this with the Cotic CC and we genuinely love seeing Cotic owners having such a great time on their bikes. We're open to suggestions for other days out on both gravel and mountain bikes, let us know if you have any ideas for rides you'd like to do. It could be something you've wanted to try but haven't had the chance yet, or a great loop close to you that you'd like to share. Give us a shout.
Like the sound of joining us for a ride on your Cotic? Our next CC ride is Friday 12th May in Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders, on the legendary Golfie trails. It's our favourite place to ride. Get in touch if you'd like to join Darren and I for an afternoon on steep and flowy trails, all welcome whether you're a seasoned Tweed Valley regular or want to check out the Golfie for the first time. The vibes will be chilled.
Well this is exciting! Neko Mulally's Frameworks Racing is going to be testing and potentially racing a Reynolds 853 steel front triangle designed and developed here at Cotic. I have been working on this for a few months now, and it's great to finally be able to tell you about it.
Fort William.
I first met Neko through our mutual friend Chris from Downtime Podcast. Neko is Chris' co-host on the excellent World Cup Post Race Shows, and we got introduced properly at Fort William World Cup. Neko came over to our stand and we had a good chat about frame design, details that matter. We was really open, and I am so impressed at how fast he has grasped the detail of suspension design. I gave him a bit of advice about trying to solve the fatigue cracking problems they were suffering from all last season on the aluminium frames. I am a just a big fan of World Cup DH racing, so we were all just super excited to have a bona fide World Cup racer chatting to us!
Worlds.
When we got to Les Gets Worlds last year, we found that there were race teams pitting all over the place. Literally IN town; on driveways, in parking bays, on street corners, everywhere! I rolled down from our chalet to the other apartment we were renting at the bottom of the hill, and I noticed the Frameworks Racing pit just opposite. I was just about to head up to say hello, when Neko rolled out on his training bike, rode straight over, looked me straight in the eye and said "I've been looking for you. We need to talk steel frames!". He had to get going right then, but it still counts as one of the coolest things that happened that week!
Next day Neko and his mechanic Anxo come over to the Cotic stand and we had a loooooooooooooooooooong talk about race bike design, and using steel in particular. The plan was hatched that I would design a steel version of the front triangle they were racing - same geo, same pivots, just in steel.
At the time they were still fighting the cracking issues and I could tell Neko was frustrated. I cannot even begin to fathom the mental toughness he has to drop into race runs on frames with cracks in them! A different breed....
Frameworks x Cotic Collab
Although through extensive use of gussets they seem to have got on top of the durability issues on the aluminium frames, Neko was still keen to run steel and see if the ride feel or any other attributes would be an improvement for the race bikes.
On the long drive back from Les Gets, I asked Neko to send me the tube specs for the aluminium frame. I set about doing some stiffness and strength comparisons in my notebook using some simple beam theory equations, to get a feel for where we were. Stress = My/I for all you equation fans out there.
The really exciting thing from my point of view was that on that first look, our stock RocketMAX Gen4 down tube was a good deal stronger and stiffer than aluminium down tube on the first Frameworks frames. I started working through all the tubes on the frame and it became clear that we wouldn't need to do anything completely new or crazy thickness to get much improved global strength and stiffness out of the front end. Neko is also using a ZS56 standard head tube, but I already had that covered in my design toolbox. I used the same size for the RocketMAX Gen4 development so I could use reach adjust headsets.
As I got further into the design and engineering, Neko's good friend Dan - the Chief Designer and Engineer at RAAW bikes - got involved to design review my work. It was great to work with Dan, having only known him to say hello to at races before. It's fun to bounce ideas around, and having someone as diligent as him checking things is a really great part of the process. Dan's helped Neko out with the carbon design on the rear ends, so it was nice to be able to tie both ends of the frame together in this way.
Ultimately, the Frameworks x Cotic front end uses the exact same down tube as the RocketMAX Gen4, then the same size and spec tube for the seat tube. The top tube isn't Ovalform as it would be on a Cotic. We kept it round because I was a little concerned about dual crown fork stanchions hitting the thin edge of the ovalised tube. It's also two wall thicknesses up on the RocketMAX, because downhill.
After that, it was about getting into the details of the tube junctions and trying to reinforce the frame, whilst nicely managing the stiffness out of the reinforced areas. There's a lot of gussets!
Details.
You can see the head tube and seat tube reinforcement. They're pretty obvious. The seat tube gusset design came from my experience with designing rocker link frames for our very first full suspension frame - the Hemlock - way back in 2006.
Neko wanted some adjustability in the frame for trying some different suspension rates, so the shock mount is a shuttle type design that can be flipped to move the shock pivot to reduce or increase the rising rate of the frame. There's also another shuttle for a third option. Lots of options!
Our friends at Five Land Bikes built the frames between runs of RocketMAX's, and we had it finished in Stormtrooper White by Cerakote Up North near Preston.
This is such an exciting project to be a part of, and I want to say a massive thank you to Neko and Anxo for putting their faith in me on this. It's been a privilege to get involved, but I'll admit to still being nervous. It's my first full blown DH bike, and although you can work the numbers and do the maths, it doesn't mean anything until the tyre hits the dirt.
With Neko's unfortunate hip injury, he'll be passing on testing to another rider, but we should hear all about it soon. I'll be on the Frameworks Racing episode where they go over it. There is still the possibility they will prefer the aluminium frame, but even if they do, I still got to design a World Cup DH bike, and that is so cool! Everything crossed it goes well!
Today Cy, Paul, Rich and Sam are with a few cotic.cc riders up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)... sorry about the FOMO. What a day to be out!
But fear not... we have another ride for Cotic owners this Friday... get the afternoon off, and book a place to join us!
On 28th April - ahead of Cotic being at the Ride Free Collective festival weekend - we will be running a Cotic CC ride on a chilled lap or two around the Verderer's at Forest Of Dean.
We will meet at 1pm in the Cannop car park outside Pedal Bike Away.
Kit Notes:
The Verderer's is a blue graded trail centre trail about 11km per lap. It's got a steady climb all the way to the top of the hill, and a lovely, swoopy descent all the way back to the car park. Smiles for miles. Any Cotic mountain bike will be perfectly fine for a ride around this one. I (Cy) will be on a Jeht in all likelihood. Kelvin will be on his SolarisMAX or SodaMAX.
Remember, we're not guides, and this is not a supported ride. Even though it's 'only a trail centre', punctures and making everyone wait are just as boring on a groomed blue trail as the top of a mountain. Bring tubes, pumps, tools, plenty of water and a snack. Check the weather and wear appropriate riding gear.
Important bit:
The ride is ticketed. We are keeping numbers limited as it's only the two of us. No turn up on the day places will be available.
Tickets are £5 which covers your place on the ride and we'll buy the first round of coffee/tea/beer at the cafe when we get back down.
If you'd like to come along simply reply to this email, or email demo@cotic.co.uk with your full name, billing address and phone number and we'll sort your ticket order and send a payment link.
You'll need to show us your email receipt on the day, printed or on your phone.
Please note that there will be no demo bikes available for this ride.
I'd never set up a camp outdoors on a ride, I've never woken up and had to get straight on my bike to avoid the cold. There were so many variables and potential risks to the Dales Divide that I could fall into the abyss thinking of any single one of them. To the point where I didn't want to do the ride at all in the weeks leading up to it. The weather was abysmal and the mojo was low. Somehow it all clicked in my head about 2 weeks before - "I'm going to spend the whole weekend riding. That in itself is a massive treat, whether I finish or not, so I'll enjoy what I know I'll enjoy, and deal with everything else when it pops up". From then on it was a go. The rest was just admin.
Here's a spoiler - all was well and I completed it. Rather than a blow-by-blow account of the weekend, here are some bits I enjoyed, endured and experienced in just under 3 days, in the hope it'll get you understanding that you are very capable of going well beyond what you think you can.
- Prep is good but shouldn't run / ruin your life. You'll never think you've trained 'enough' but my longest ride since last summer was about 4 or 5 hours of winch & plummet riding in the woods with my mates. Note the "with my mates" - that means there was a lot of chat! Yoga, digging, walking the dog, the gym, whatever. Moving is good, whatever it is.
- Kit prep is pretty important. There are lists on bikepacking.com about what to take on trips which are a great help but they sometimes put the fear into you and have you thinking "Do I take spare tyre sealant?" I've never used tyre sealant on the trail, why would I start now? I'm not likely to replace spokes either. My tool wrap was rudimentary but had everything I'd need for a fix or bodge on almost every part of my bike. That was it. There are shops en route and the very best prep is making sure your bike works in the first place. I'm more than happy to say I had zero mechanicals on the whole ride. Know your bike and how to fix / check it.
- Keep your chain wet! I put my lube in a very accessible pocket so I could grab it on almost every stop. I could have done with wiping it more than I did but as soon as you set off you'll notice the difference and thank yourself.
- Headphones worked for some flat, tiresome bits but I can't remember what I listened to, just the feeling of enjoying the rave every now and again. An Andy C mix got us the 45km to Catterick without food, early morning in the fog though, so I'll be eternally grateful to him for life.
- Eat. All the time! Even if you don't want to. If you can hear your belly grumbling it's probably too late. Eat anything you like and what you know won't upset your stomach. I found cool doritos went down really well even though I never eat them normally. Pasta salad meal-deals were a big treat. Double Macdonalds breakfasts too. It's so weird what you end up craving. Managed the whole thing with no gels or bars though.
- Turns out I really like a hill and the flat bits I'd been craving were actually super hard work. We pulled a long day on Saturday but as soon as the terrain got lumpy again I relaxed into it so much better. After a hectic Scarborough (mods, rockers, surfers, tourists, sunshine and us) the cyclepaths dragged but the quiet winch up to the forestry land was a absolute treat. Likewise another highlight was the ride up Camm High road - 45 mins, in a straight line, constant gradient, just tech enough to have to concentrate. The closest I came to falling into a trance. Nearly wanted to ride down just to ride back up again! You're really going to have to love the hills on a ride like this (or at least endure them without lasting mental damage).
- Spring was springing - lambs, daffs, rabbits, so many birds, owls, swoopy ground nesting birds, pheasants and tulips. Just a treat all day every day.
- It got COLD in the vale of York at night. You're low down, by water. If you're camping there find some trees for shelter. All my bivvy nervousness disappeared when I realised how tired I was. I ditched my bibs for the sleep and put on some dry tights, socks and a base layer. Did 30 star jumps then hopped straight into my bag. If anything I was too warm! The next night somewhere on the North York moors was the opposite. We were as low as we could get as it was baltic on the tops but even in the trees, it was foggy & cold. A simpler set up means a quicker pack up time and you can get back on the road (and therefore warmer) quicker. We had 5 hrs on the first night and 2 the second. It's utterly wild what the body can achieve on that little sleep.
- Be nice to publicans and they might be nice to you. Tony at the Arncliffe Arms in Glaisdale opened up the kitchen to make us some chips (for nowt!). The route kicked up through the village then headed on to the moors for a few hours in the dark so without that restorative pint and some hot food I might have been calling it quits and or in a pretty dangerous position.
- The phrase 'you make your own luck' rings pretty true on rides like this. Mostly my 'luck' came through listening really hard to what I needed at any moment. Sometimes it was simply a deeper breath, other times it was a stop for a stretch, toilet, chain lube, pint, food, sleep, photo, whatever. I had to be listening though, otherwise things went wrong like forgetting to fill my bottles, dropping something, missing a turn etc. That sounds really preachy but if I was masking how I felt with music for instance, I'd miss more junctions than if I'd just been chilling.
- It's a race, but the only person I was racing was me. The impetus to keep moving, make good time and not faff was brilliant. That doesn't mean I missed out on things, but if I wanted to go touring, I'd go touring. The first day seeing all the slow moving dots behind you was like a weird dream being chased by an unstoppable pursuer. Remember they're all feeling it too though.
- Read the route info! Chris and team have put together a phenomenal route and backed it up with a huge amount of support material. When you sign up you're sent maps, profiles, points of interest, descriptions, a piece on 'how to be successful' along with them taking care of organising car parking and even a feed station 80km in to the first day. The Dales Divide is billed as an introduction to ultra racing and the feeling of inclusivity & welcomeness is unmissable. I can't remember going to such a well-supported race ever.
- The Cascade was a perfect choice of bike. I wouldn't have minded a bit of suspension up front and some of the descents were pretty hairy so maybe a flat bar set-up would have suited better but overall yes. I'm so happy how it turned out and if I do this again I'll almost definitly be on it again. Or a KTM 250!
- Just after your first glimpse of the sea there's a huge downhill run so put your phone back quick and hold on tight. Now you know!
- You'll somehow get used to feeling simultaneously awful and fantastic at the same time. Focus on the fantastic and keep going.
- Chammy cream is my new favourite thing. No saddle sores in 600km. A miracle.
- Different layers and waterproof socks were my saviours. Sprayway and Sealskinz are actual lifesavers. Could have done with thicker gloves - my palms hurt but I'd brought compede which I stuck on for the last day. They were magic.
There are many more qualified people to tell you how to do something like this but no one is more qualified to decide that they can than you are. These sort of rides might not be for everyone but bikes are too fun to dismiss certain bits on a whim. You never know what you'll learn on a ride like this - especially about yourself. I'm probably not going to shut up about this one for a while so if you ask me about it, I'm going to assume you're curious and I will encourage you to ride well past sunset, sleep in a ditch, get cold & filthy, and have the best time doing it.
Rich rode his Cotic Cascade adventure bike on Dales Divide. Be More Baybutt: Get your adventure machine today.
Dales Divide was my first ever race and despite having a few long distance rides under my belt, I went into it with zero expectations because I had no idea how i'd perform under race conditions and if i've learned anything from the rallies i've already done, it's that nothing goes to plan and so much is out of your control that there's no point being married to an outcome.
Why race though? Good question. In all honesty, I didn't really care about the racing element, I only signed up because I got FOMO when loads of my mates and cool people i've been following on the Gram announced they were doing it, so I threw my name into the hat and got accepted immediately.
It was at that point I decided to have a look at the route profile.
Oh boy.
If you've ever been to Yorkshire you'll know it ain't flat. This route snakes its way into the most remote corners of this wild, rugged landscape. It's demanding, relentless and unforgiving, it chews you up and just when you think you've reached your limit, it spits you out onto an exhilarating descent with sweeping 360 views. Upon speaking to a few mates who'd done the route last year it became clear that a lot of my time would be spent squelching through bogs and negotiating yet ANOTHER gate latch, with that in mind, I decided to do the shorter 400km route instead of the full 600K. A wise decision (for me).
On the day of the race around 200 riders gathered onto the pier and nervous energy filled the air. I scanned the crowd and spotted familiar faces which was reassuring. Suddenly, the bell rang and it was time to roll out, the super keen beans whizzed off like a shot and I was still faffing with my bags. As the crowd dwindled I started to panic that I would be left behind, but then I looked up I saw my pal stroll towards me, espresso in hand, and right then I knew our racing career was over. What a vibe.
The entire weekend was spent like that. To be honest, I completely forgot it was a race, I was having so much fun. An hour or so into the first day we rolled past a gorgeous stream and I said to my pal 'ooh, shall we have a swim?' and she was like 'Abby, it's a race babes!'.
Oh yea!
10 mins later we were queuing for an ice cream.
I learned so much on this trip but my biggest takeaway is that I have zero urgency on bike rides. Despite trying hard to be efficient and not waste time, somehow, I lost hours to the faff and chat. I couldn't seem to make myself care about going quickly, and I'm totally okay with that.
Don't get me wrong, I love trying hard. I get a real buzz out of pushing my mind and body to their limit and seeing what I'm capable of. Looking back at a particularly hard section, or gazing into the distance realising you were on the horizon only a few hours before is incredibly satisfying, but I kept forgetting I had to go fast. I was just so happy to be there and among other riders, I didn't think about the end result at all and I don't think i'm the only one. The Dales Divide has a reputation of being a really friendly race, whilst there are obviously a proportion of people there to race hard, my perception is that a bigger percentage of folks are there for the craic.
Once Claire and I accepted we weren't going to be winning any awards we engaged holiday mode and bumped into another friend who herded us the rest of the way. It was such a laugh. The three of us rode the rest of the route together and we got up to all kinds of shenanigans and met an eclectic mix of people all while riding through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the UK. What better way to spend an Easter holiday?
Will I do it again? Maybe. This route was tough! We rode hard from early morning till late into the night dragging our bikes through ankle deep bogs, across rugged moorland and through rivers. Despite being slow I rode well and my body and mind felt strong, stronger than I've ever felt on long distance rides before which was so satisfying. For me, the marker of success is how much fun I'm having. I'm nowhere near fast or efficient enough to get decent race places, so I don't measure my success by my place on a podium. I just wanna ride my bike far and hard and have a right laugh while doing it.
If that sounds like your jam, Dales Divide could be a great one for you next year. Just remember your waterproof socks!
We have two demo loops straight from our front door which are great for test riding both gravel and mountain bikes. We also have a loop on more advanced trails just a short drive away if you want to demo a Jeht or RocketMAX on something a more spicier.
We have GPX files and physical maps for all demo routes. Demos are totally free, you just need to leave some photo ID and a credit card or car key with us while you ride.
If you just want to check out the bikes, have a spin round the car park to confirm sizing or have a chat with us in person this is absolutely fine too. Just drop by the showroom on the day. Just be mindful that Cy will be on his own so he'll be prioritising setting up demo riders, but you'll have shiny bikes to look at in the meantime, so that's nice!
Calling #CoticCC riders... we're off up a mountain.
On Tuesday 25th April we're heading up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and would love it if you joined us. If you haven't received our newsletter yet then simply email demo@cotic.co.uk with your name, address and phone and we'll put you on the list. Spaces are very limited as it's a big day out and we want it to be chill. It'll probably be chilly, but that's different.
Let's hope for weather like the last time we went up there. Watch the video below....
You are welcome to have a car park bounce on any of our demo bikes too.
If you'd like to do a proper demo ride on either our short or long loop from the door, or our more technical loop just a short drive away, please get in touch to book.
All demos are by appointment only so we can guarantee the bike you want to ride is available and ready for you.
We can't wait to welcome you to our place, the kettle will be on!
We've been busy behind the scenes revising our complete bike offerings for the last couple of weeks. Keeping our brilliantly flexible approach while hopefully making it easier for you to choose the spec that suits you best.
Our build kits, or at least the starting points from which you can spec your bike, have always been based on the traditional hierarchy of drivetrains. While we are still offering groupsets at various price points to suit your budget, our new build kits are now focussed more on the intended use of the bike.
Each model now has two different versions of build kit at each price level; one with lighter tyres, forks and shock and another with heavier duty tyres, fork and a more adjustable shock. All our mountain bike frames are versatile machines, which can be built up in different ways to best suit the trails and terrain you ride the most.
Of course there is still plenty of flexibility; the builds are just starting points which you can fully customise, or if this isn't your jam simply pick the build which suits your riding and you can trust it will do the job perfectly. Forks, shock, wheels and finishing kit are all customisable as they always have been.
For example, the Jeht and BFeMAX now have both Trail and Trail-Light builds using both Sram and Shimano drivetrain options. RocketMAX gets a Trail build, or a burlier Enduro build so you can spec a lighter long-travel bike for general riding; or a tougher, race ready machine for getting between the tapes or Alpine trips.
At the lighter end of our range, the Solaris and FlareMAX also get new build kits. Downcountry builds use light but tough parts for a perfect balance of all day pedal-ability and downhill performance. You can go even lighter on the Solaris with our XC build, or you can toughen up your FlareMAX with a Trail build.
As always, we are ready and waiting to chat to you about your new Cotic. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Our flexibility in how we build bikes remains, it's Your Bike Built for You.
This year we're doing our 'on the road' demos a little more focussed than we used to, these will be the only dates in 2023. We'll be bringing more staff and in most cases doing two full days of demos in the same place.
All demos are free, but must be pre-booked. Please get in touch to book on either by emailing demo@cotic.co.uk or call us on 07398 189114.
You can demo multiple models and sizes, to make sure you find the perfect Cotic for you.
The Forest of Dean weekend is still waiting for the official nod from Forestry England, so if you're interested in this one please get in touch, but all bookings for that one are provisional for now.
Fort William will be expo only, no demos, drop by our stand for a chat and browse the bikes.
Long time fans of Cotic will notice it's not quite the extensive Demo Tour like it was pre-pandemic. With this new and more focused approach we'll have more time, more staff and more bikes at each demo; giving you a better and more personal demo experience.
Also as we are now settled into our new premises you are more than welcome to come and demo a Cotic from our HQ. We have short and long demo routes right out the front door, and a more technical route just a short drive away.
We have maps and GPX files for these routes, if you'd like to come and demo a bike any weekday, please get in touch.
Our 'Pop-Up' Showroom is now open for visits Wednesday - Friday, 10am - 4pm. Please drop by to check out the bikes and have a chat. For demo rides please contact us in advance to check availability.
It's also worth mentioning, we'll be running Cotic CC Owner's Rides at all of the demo locations we're hitting up this year, so if you're nearby any of those places and want to join us for a ride, keep those Friday's free. More details will follow.
We're looking forward to seeing you at a demo this year.
Friday HQ ride number 2 is one for the mountain bikers. Join us on Friday 24th March for a ride around our new local.
Friday 24th March
We're riding from the new Cotic HQ in North Chesterfield, located here.
Please arrive around 1.30pm and we will be riding by 2pm sharp. The ride will be around 30km, or a couple of hours. Steady pace, nothing hectic. It's a combination of quiet roads and ancient bridleways.
The ride itself will be fairly similar to our gravel ride a couple of weeks ago, but with some extra offroad in there.
Important bit:
The ride is ticketed. We are keeping numbers limited to 16 riders so we can keep it manageable.
Tickets are £5 which covers your place on the ride and a few goodies, and we'll be having a cup of coffee/tea back at HQ afterwards. Any money left in the pot afterwards will go to Edale Mountain Rescue.
If you'd like to come along simply email demo@cotic.co.uk with your full name, billing address and phone number and we'll sort your ticket order and send a payment link.
You'll need to show us your email receipt on the day, printed or on your phone.
Kit Notes:
It's March, and this is not a supported ride and we are not guides. You need to bring spares for your bike (inner tubes, tyre levers and pump as a very minimum), water and food, and spare layers in case of bad weather coming in.
Because it's an afternoon ride at this time of year, please also bring some lights. We will aim to be back between 4 and 5pm, which is still plenty of daylight, but if we get delayed by punctures or mechanicals we could easily end up benighted. If that happens we want to be able to stay safe, but also still have fun on the offroad sections in the dark.
Whilst any Cotic owner is more than welcome, this is much more XC than enduro, so be ready for some reasonably long road climbs to get to the descents. All the descents are steady gradient, swoopy with some singletrack. Nothing gnarly. Focus is on having a fun afternoon out playing hooky from work, not progressing the sport with our hair on fire!
We will have demo bikes available. So, if you're interested in a new or different Cotic to the one you already have and would like to try it out, add in which bike you are keen to have a go on when you email for a ticket.
On Saturday 4th we're running a trail clean in conjunction with Komoot, up at Parkwood Springs. If you want to ride we'll be leaving the Workstation at 10am or you can meet us up there at 10:30 by the Dual track. Our great friends from The Bikes College are bringing a boot-full of prizes for most trash collected / best find / best dual performance etc. We'll do a trail clean and then have a play on the dual track. Smiles are obligatory.
Saturday 4th March PM
Later on in the afternoon, head honcho Cy Turner is running through the last 20 years of Cotic Bikes in 20 minutes at the workstation 'Outpost'. This (along with all the other talks over the weekend) is free but do register so you guarantee a seat.
Sunday 5th March
Cotic Women of Steel are running a group ride from the Norfolk Arms on Sunday 5th. It's a super-social ride and very beginner friendly. For more information make sure you've joined their facebook group.
All Weekend
Throughout the weekend in the Showroom (adjacent to the Workstation) we'll be displaying another unique art piece. We're not going to give you any teasers, you're just going to have to come down in person to see it in situ. We've worked with some amazing artists throughout the years and this piece is not to be missed.
Last week saw our first ever Cotic CC ride from our shiny new HQ, and our first ever CC gravel ride.
Something we knew as soon as we first laid eyes on our new place was that it'd be perfect for hosting rides and events. It didn't take long for us to figure out several route options out the door for rides, after all, some of these are the very trails we used to develop the Cascade!
Last Friday afternoon was the first one, the first 'drop bars only' Cotic CC ride. 13 of us including staff gathered in our pop-up showroom eagerly awaiting the gravelly goodness, and with the sun poking it's unexpected head out from behind the clouds, we set off. Almost immediately it became obvious I hadn't tightened the valve up enough on one of the demo bike tyres, oops! Just a quick fix, but it put the demo rider and I on the back foot, no steady warm up for us, time to play catch up!
We caught the group most of the way up the first climb, and thankfully they'd stopped for a gate and a chat which gave me chance to get my lungs back inside my body. I'd borrowed the Cascade demo bike for this ride, not being a gravel bike owner myself, and as we set off again past Darren's camera lens, I wondered if it would wheelie. Turns out with some effort, it does! My concentration face in full effect, but Chris's Escapade clearly loves back wheel:
Over the curly bridge crossing the bypass and a short double track descent soon fed into a short and spicy sprinkle of singletrack, bit of a wake up call to those on Escapades, but everyone soaked it up no bother. We then span up the road to do a short and sharp descent which features on one of our new demo loops. It's hilarious how much fun hooning down bridleways is on a bike which feels just about capable enough. You soon realise it's actually the rider holding the bike back! Once the eyeballs had stopped rattling, it was a steady road climb up to Holmesfield.
Time for one of the main events of the ride, Cartledge Lane. Paul was tweaking the Escapade demo bike he'd borrowed; brake lever reach in, saddle down, he meant business! This is a great descent, fun on a mountain bike, very exciting on a gravel bike. Nothing the bikes or riders couldn't handle though. It's a long one, over 1.5km of fast and loose descending with a bit of mud, rocks and roots. Everyone loved it.
Rested and a few energy bars scoffed at the bottom, we set off up the next road spin. Whippets at the front shot off and left Chris, Darren and I behind. We had a 50/50 choice at a road junction we hadn't seen which way the group went. We chose wrong. A bit of extra climbing never hurt anyone right? Regrouped again, we chugged up towards Jonnygate Lane. Climbs always feel better when you've got people to chat to, distracting you from the sore legs and keeping your mind from wondering how much longer it can go uphill for. Eventually we topped out, and dropped into another long and fun off-road descent.
Although not that far from home for me, this was one I'd not done before, and is at the 'spicy' end of gravel biking. Safely down and more grins all round, we cruised up the last road climb. I love how the stoke from a fun descent can carry you a good way up a climb before your legs start to complain again. It's also great how the mixture of Escapades and Cascades munched up these long, rough off-road descents and still span up the country lane tarmac climbs with ease. You really should give them a try.
More lovely singletrack followed, one highlight of the ride for me was watching Dan Trent desperately try to bring his under-tyred Escapade to a stop as the group in front of him anchored on to pass some walkers. Slick tyres probably weren't the ideal setup, but run what you brung eh!? Fair play to you Dan.
The slalom challenge of the appropriately named 'dog shit alley' successfully navigated (gross, please pick up after your dog people!) we razzed through the last lovely section of woodland singletrack past snow drops and bunny hopping off tree-stumps. That Cascade really does encourage hooligan like behaviour, I strongly advise following Tom Hill when he's riding his, scandi-flicks on drop bars are exciting to watch!
Riding straight up to our newly branded up front door at the end of a fun ride with everyone nicely tired and happy was a great feeling. Tea, donuts and chatter ensued with bikes to browse and lots of 'when is the next one' talk. I think we're on to something here.
We are aiming to do lots more Friday afternoon rides like this, both for gravel and mountain bikes. Keep an eye on the mailing list and social media channels for news of the next Cotic CC ride. Remember, if you own a Cotic, you're in the Cotic CC. Doesn't matter if you bought it second hand, or from us; last week or 20 years ago. You're in the club and we can't wait to ride with you.
Thanks to everyone who came, we really enjoyed it.
Although we have been doing gravel bikes for a good while (and doing very well at them too) we realised we had a bit of a blind spot on organising owners rides for them. So, without further ado, I would like to cordially invite you on our first Cotic HQ Ride Out to get your gravel on with us.
Join us on Friday 24th February for a sociable afternoon of lanes and bridleways out into North East Derbyshire.
NOTE: YOU NEED TO BOOK TO ATTEND, NO ON THE DAY PLACES AVAILABLE
We'll be riding from the new Cotic HQ in North Chesterfield, located here
Please arrive around 1.30pm and we will be riding by 2pm sharp. The ride will be around 30km, or a couple of hours. Steady pace, nothing hectic. It's a combination of quiet roads and ancient bridleways.
This area is my favourite place to ride my Cascade locally, and I have criss-crossed it many times on my drop bars. If you own an Escapade or a Cascade, it would be great to see you and show you where the bikes were developed.
Important bit:
The ride is ticketed. Because this is our first gravel ride and our first Friday afternoon get together, we are keeping numbers limited to 16 riders so we can keep it manageable and get a feel for gravel ride groups.
For those of you with Cotic hardtails and of a more XC leaning that think this sounds great, I appreciate that, but for this one we want to keep it Cascade and Escapade and see how it goes. This isn't the last HQ Ride Out we will be doing, so aim to keep some flexi hours or leave saved up to join us one Friday soon.
Tickets are £10 which covers your place on the ride, plus a Cotic water bottle and a few other goodies. Any money left in the pot afterwards will go to Edale Mountain Rescue.
If you'd like to come along simply contact us with your full name, billing address and phone number and we'll sort your ticket order and organise payment.
You'll need to show us your email receipt on the day, printed or on your phone.
Kit Notes:
It's February, and this is not a supported ride and we are not guides. You need to bring spares for your bike (inner tubes, tyre levers and pump as a very minimum), water and food, and spare layers in case of bad weather coming in.
Because it's an afternoon ride in winter, please also bring some lights. We will aim to be back around 4pm, which is still plenty of daylight, but if we get delayed by punctures or mechanicals we could easily end up benighted. If that happens we want to be able to stay safe, but also still have fun on the offroad sections in the dark.
Word to the wise for Escapade owners: Whilst this ride is all very much in the gravel realm, and totally doable on an Escapade, it needs to be an Escapade with reasonably offroad capable tyres. It's the UK in February, so mud will feature, along with extended sections of singletrack. In reference to the tyres we sell on the bikes, on 650b something like a WTB Byway or Panaracer Gravel King would be great, but the Horizon won't. On 700c, the Continental SC2 or GP4 Season tyres won't cut it, but WTB Resolute's or Raddler's would be great. If you're unsure, let us know what you're running when you email for your ticket.
I will be riding, and Sam and a couple of the other staff will be joining us. We will have the medium and large Cascade and medium and large Escapade demo bikes available too, so if you are drop bar curious and would like to join then add in which bike you are keen to have a go on when you email for a ticket.
This will be the first of many HQ Friday Ride Outs. We're not sure if we will manage monthly yet, but we will certainly be doing more. Our newsletter email subscribers heard about this a couple of weeks ago, so you'll need to sign up to hear about the rides first.
Remember, it doesn't matter if you bought your Cotic brand new from us or second hand; if you own a Cotic, you are in the Cotic CC. We're looking forward to seeing you gravel guys and gals for a spin.
We are fully open for Factory Collections from our new HQ in Chesterfield.
When speccing up your new Cotic, simply click the Factory Collection check box before you place your order:
What is Factory Collection?
Factory Collection gives you the option to come down to Cotic, where you can have a sit down and a chat and check out your lovely new bike, as well as have a look at the demo bikes for planning your next purchase!
Although we strive to have your bike as complete and set up as possible when we box them up for delivery (the gears, brakes and headset will all be adjusted, for example), there's only so much we can do when you're not actually with us.
With Factory Collection, one of us will set you up on your new Cotic; installing your pedals, setting up the suspension, tweaking the bar height and position, to make sure it's all spot on for you. We will talk you through all the features and how everything works on your new bike, and answer any questions you may have.
If you're keen, once you're set up you can take your new bike for a blast around our new demo loops which is straight out of the door. We have gravel and MTB options, and it will give your bike a proper shakedown before taking it away.
We also have our clothing and merchandise options right here, so you can have a look and try things on, check out the framebags and other luggage, or just grab a matching water bottle.
We're all looking forward to seeing you on New Bike Day.
What a treat it was to be able to do this again. For the first time since 2020 we ran our 'Beat the Winter Blues' Cotic CC ride a couple of weeks ago, and we were spoiled rotten with an awesome day of weather and people.
Usually a cold and snowy affair, this year was all sunshine and (pretty much) dry trails. 25 cheery Cotic owners plus staff and brand ambassadors took to the hills to pedal away the January blues, on some classic Peak District trails.
The long stream of Cotics pedalling up towards Hope Cross was a sight to behold, hardtails and droplink bikes of various ages all cruised up for a run down Potato Alley. This long, fast and technical descent is a brilliant descent and if you don't have a touch of arm pump at the end you're doing well.
Once eyeballs had stopped rattling, the crew winched up the other side of the valley to do Hagg Berms. Another classic bridleway descent which has evolved into what feels like a purpose built bike trail over the years. Gates held open, the corners were railed and the rocky lower section successfully navigated by all. Only a few exciting 'Megavalanche' style overtakes!
The only way to go from here though, is up a climb aptly named the Sh*t B*stard! It's straight and steep, with a few 'false summits'; just as you think you're reaching the top, the next section of uphill comes into view. At the top of here, one or two keen beans were up for another lap in the sunshine. It didn't take a great deal of peer pressure for this number to grow, so we split off with some heading down to the pub, and others for a lap of The Beast.
This one is a real classic, rocky, multiple line choices and rough. Thanks to it being Peak Gritstone though, it's grippy even in the worst of conditions. The slightly damp, dark rock provides plenty of traction and options to get creative with more sneaky overtakes. I followed Paul down this one, which is always entertaining, he has a knack for spotting some great lines.
This did however mean we had to grind up the Sh*t B*stard again though. Winters miles for summer smiles right?
Tanks running low, we razzed back down to the pub for food, pints and bike related chatter, any blues firmly beaten.
Look out for a lot more Cotic CC rides this year, we're making efforts to run lots more from chilled Friday afternoon pedals to big days out. Hopefully catch you at the next one.
All our Cotic.CC events are announced via our mailing list, so make sure you are signed up.
We have been getting some great reviews on a lot of our bikes over the last few months, both in magazines and online. Now some the magazine reviews have transferred online, we have updated the product pages with them. However, here's a rundown of the latest write ups in one place:
MBR - 9/10 in Grouptest against Hope HB916 and Orange Switch7
"The steel and alloy Cotic RocketMax offers zen-like composure and balance on rough stuff"
"Steel triangle for feel, alloy chainstay for power delivery. It’s a great combination."
"Get the RocketMax cranked over in a long arcing turn, and it holds a remarkably precise line. It’s also very calm and collected on off-camber trails where you’d normally be struggling for traction. And it’s hard not to attribute this zen like poise to the unique blend of steel tubing and the alloy chainstay assembly."
"On the plus side these traits make the Cotic the best pedalling bike in test, and the only bike here where the suspension doesn’t have a fit the minute you stand up to sprint. So as an effective, efficient trail bike the 150mm RocketMax has a lot going for it. Every time we took it out for a spin however, we couldn’t help but think that it would probably feel better in full enduro mode.
"
Over on bikepacking.com Logan spent a couple of months riding and rallying a Cascade around his home in North Carolina, and he loved it. It also attracted a great comments thread with lots of interesting views and questions. Worth a read:
"Cotic only makes steel bikes, which is one thing I love about the brand. They’re also known for pushing the envelope with progressive geometry. As evidenced in our 2022 Gear or the Year awards, I was blown away with the SolarisMAX, which made me wonder if some of their other bikes shared the same DNA—namely, a well-conceived tubeset design."
"The GRX drivetrain with a Deore 11-51 tooth 11-speed cassette and a Wolf Tooth Goatlink provides an excellent gear range for bikepacking and trail riding, and it’s nice to see a customized setup like this come in a stock build."
"The Cascade’s angles, long reach, and high trail add up to a bike that I found to be one of the more confident drop-bar descenders I’ve tried. That confidence is the cornerstone of what makes the Cascade special. Not only can it rail down gravel roads to no abandon, it’s also pretty sure-footed on singletrack trails. It offers a good mix of stability and handling that generally feels like a solid cross-country mountain bike in a lot of situations."
"The tubeset is one of the more comfortable I’ve tried in the drop-bar 29er category, too."
"It’s at home on gravel, singletrack, and loaded up for a multi-day trip, and it makes a versatile choice for those who like to keep their route options open. As the wise adage says: you can’t have too much of a good thing."
Cotic Cascade - road.cc Gravel and Adventure Bike Of The Year Finalist
This is more of a repost, as road.cc were the first people to do a review of the Cascade when we launched it. The really liked it, giving it 4/5 and we are chuffed to bits they have included it their 10 best bikes of the year in this category.
"Steel gravel bike that’s versatile enough for everything from fast blasts to multi-day bikepacking adventures"
Here's our moving schedule, so you know our plans for the next few weeks.
So big you can ride a bike inside
After a few years searching, we have found our new home. I’ve seen a fair few gloomy predictions for 2023, but ever the iconoclasts, for Cotic 2023 is the year of BIG TIME.
The new building is 3 times the size of our combined bases at Calver, and it’s going to be soooooooooo good. We will be way more efficient in the workshop and storage, so we will get you your new Cotic more quickly. We are going to build a showroom to show off our bikes that you can visit. We’re going to run rides and events. It’s so big Rich is even running a dual race in it before we move in and fit it out! BIG TIME!
So exciting, and we can’t wait to tell you more once we have it properly up and running.
More Cotic CC Rides like this at the new place soon
The Moving Plan:
This week - Open as normal and doing our best to get through the holiday order backlog as quickly as possible. If you did order, thank you.
9th-11th January – Workshop closed. From next Monday we are concentrating on packing up Calver and getting ready to move. Sam or Paul will still be on hand to answer the phone and email and process your orders though, so do keep in touch.
12th-13th January – THE BIG MOVE! We’re closing completely for 2 days to get all hands on deck to move into the new premises.
16th January – Workshop opens at the new place. Emails and phone will be turned back on, and we’re back into getting your orders out to you.
As a result of all this, it’s going to be taking us around 2-3 on frame orders, and 5-6 weeks to process bike orders received this month, so please bear with us whilst we get this move done. Assuming the move goes smoothly and the workbenches get set up easily enough, we should be up and running pretty quickly from the 16th.
We’ve been working for the few weeks before Christmas getting all the dull utilities and security stuff switched over and upgraded, so in theory we should be good to go from day 1. We'll get those lead times down once we're in and settled.
After the move, all phone numbers and emails stays the same, but our new address will be:
Hear about everything we do first - even before the media. News, events, offers and our regular Transmission newsletter. Don't forget to act on the confirmation email when you sign up (hint, it might end up in your junk folder).
For shopping and content, Cotic and the following need to use local storage or cookies: YouTube, Vimeo, ReCaptcha & PayPal.
To help us, we ask that you allow Google & Facebook to track your progress. The data collected can be used for targeted advertising. If this is okay with you, please hit the accept button to carry on. Thanks.
