Originally developed as a trail-focused version of their UK-made Rocket enduro full-suspension bike, Cotic’s all-rounder Flare gets bumped up to 135mm for the new year. The Flare is Cotic’s shorter travel 27.5″ wheeled version of their DropLink linkage-driven single pivot suspension design, pairing a premium steel front end to a stiff aluminum rear for a solid performing trail bike for almost any terrain. And now, thanks to a bit of extra travel from the Cane Creek DB Air IL rear shock, it’s more capable than ever.
2020 Cotic Flare 27.5″ 135mm travel UK steel & alloy trail bike
c. Cotic; all photos by Richard Baybutt
Astute readers may remember that Cotic updated their FlareMAX at the end of last year, and pretty much any reader could be mistaken for confusing the two. The original Flare with 27.5″ wheels and a bit more travel was always meant to be a more playful trail bike, scaled down from the enduro Rocket, while the MAX version bumped up to 29er wheels but lost 10mm of travel to make extra space for 29″ or even 27.5+ wheels. So with extra travel coming to the FlareMAX with the longer stroke Cane Creek shock, it was no surprise to see the 27.5 bike get updated too.
New Flare – Tech details
Cotic says the Reynolds 853 steel front end lends the bike “toughness, durability, and a gorgeous, warm, grip-amplifying ride feel” while the alloy rear end & linkages deliver the stiffness for smooth suspension action and confident handling. The big update to the Flare comes by way of the longer 50mm stroke of a Cane Creek DB Air IL rear shock tuned just for the Cotic, now giving the bike 135mm travel mated to 140mm forks. (125mm travel versions are also still available.)
While the MAX goes full Plus, this standard Flare is still designed around 27.5 x 2.6″ wide trail tires, with plenty of mud clearance to spare.
The full-suspension Cotics are referred to as ‘UK-made’, with the Reynolds 853 steel front triangles welded in Scotland and a number of small parts machined in Lincolnshire, England. But all of their DropLink alloy rear ends and linkages are actually made in Taiwan, before coming back to the UK at Cotic’s Peak District HQ for final assembly.
2020 Cotic Flare – Pricing & availability
The newly lengthened 135mm Flare is available now as a frameset with the Cane Creek shock for £1999 (~$2165), including free delivery within the UK, Europe, US & Canada – with all of the small batch frame sizes & colors in stock.
Complete bike builds start at £3299 for Silver spec with SLX 12sp, and climb to around £6599 with Platinum builds pimped out with eeWings ti cranks, X01 Eagle, Hunt Carbon wheels, Hope brakes & Burgtec carbon bars. Plus, there are plenty of XT and GX Eagle builds, in between.
