In order to give you an idea of what's possible with the Hemlock, here's some pictures of Cy's Hemlock from a Lakes ride the other weekend. It's running the short travel back end (with the new black rocker colour option) and Magura Wotan 160mm forks up front. It's fair to say that putting forks quite that big on the front of the short travel setup created a little bit of trepidation, but it's been fantastic. The forks give so much confidence and stability, and the back end doesn't feel out of it's depth, particularly for a regular hardtailer like Cy. The remote fork travel adjust is a peach too, with a flick of lever dropping the front end for climbing, with the short travel rear grabbing traction out back without any fuss.

The eagle-eyed will have also spotted the Fox shock. It's a 2008 RP23 that Cy's been running ahead of it's introduction to the range as an option. It's a lot more subtle in it's compression damping compared to the Pearl, so makes the short travel setting feel more capable. There's less in it with the long travel plates, where the Pearl's more assertive damping leaves it feeling less stretched under the higher leverage of the long rockers. We've been able specify our choice of rebound tune on the RP23, which we feel suits the range of adaptability really well.

The RP23 will be available for a £40 upcharge on the regular £950 frame price, from the first week in March. Favourable prices will also be available to existing owners wishing to change their shock. Drop Cy a line on cy@cotic.co.uk if you're interested.