The long-awaited Cotic Flare is back, now with Cotic’s droplink suspension platform, and the final bike in the range to receive Longshot geometry treatment. Cotic’s Longshot geometry, first brought to the table with their Rocket enduro bike, can certainly be described as long, low and slack. These are the longest bikes that can be built out of Reynolds 853 steel tubing.
Cotic’s lively longshot Flare trail bike
The Flare is a 125mm travel steel frame mountain bike with 140mm travel upfront. It runs on playful 27.5″ wheels, and the frame is designed to accommodate tyre widths up to 2.6″. The large has a reach of 490mm and a wheelbase of 1236mm. With a 66 degree head angle and an effective seat angle of 74.5, this trail bike should give you enough confidence on the steeps but also a nice upright position for pedaling efficiency.
Though the swingarm is still made in Taiwan, the front triangle is now handmade in Scotland. We recently got the chance to see these very frames being made first hand on our workshop tour at Five Land Bikes in Edinburgh. Cotic have been working on the new Flare for around 18 months, with Paul leading the development. Working with Five Land Bikes has allowed Cy and Paul to get prototypes out for testing fairly quickly.
Cotic describe the new Flare as a lively trail bike, and a brilliant all rounder. Longshot geometry should make the bike confident and calm in hectic situations. Where it excels however is on tight and technical trail work. Wiggly singletrack, rooty tech, trials-bike-like maneuvers. The Flare should be lighter and easier to move around than the MAX 29er bikes, with more compact dimensions than the enduro focused Rocket, and the droplink suspension should bring more capability to the table than the hardtails.
Like the other Cotic bikes, the Flare features Cotic’s signature ovalform top tube which allows the frame to flex slightly through the plane of the wheel while remaining very stiff laterally. It is designed this way to deliver trail damping and to keep the bike stable and controlled with extra traction over rough terrain. As a droplink bike, it shares all of the features included across the range including the double duty seatstay pivot / brake bolt.
The rear end gets Boost148 spacing for additional stiffness and clearance. The dedicated 1x frame is designed with an integrated One Up chainguide, as well as ISCG05 lower mounts and the neat Syntace 12mm bolt through axle.
Frame pricing starts at £1749 (~$2273), with a Hope seat clamp, delivery and the X-Fusion O2 RCX shock. You can upgrade with the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock for £1999. Full builds start at £2999 (~$3898) for the Silver build, featuring X-Fusion Sweep RL2 forks, WTB ST i25 wheels and Shimano Deore brakes. The full dreamer Platinum Eagle eeWing build will set you back £6099 (~$7927) but with it you’ll get Cane Creek Helm forks, the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock, a HUNT wheelset, Hope brakes and an Eagle X01 drivetrain. Not too shabby. Limited stock is available now, with more in build due for early May.
