First debuted all the way back in 2012, Cotic’s 27.5″ 150mm Enduro racing Rocket has been a popular bike for trail shredders around the world looking for a ride with a bit of soul. Pairing a heat-treated steel front triangle to an alloy swingarm, with its steel seatstays and link-driven shock, the Rocket does a good job of using steel where its strength and ride can shine, with stiff machined aluminum bits where they can work their tire and chain clearing mojo and ensure maximized power transfer.
Now after years on the drawing boards and test tracks, Cotic has brought the same suspension setup and ride feel to a new 27.5″ 130mm Flare to create a more agile trail bike. On top of that they’ve grown both bikes with their new MAX concept that drops 10mm of travel but gets it back in bigger wheels with both 29″ and 27.5+ build options. Check out the details on the three new bikes below the crease…
Cotic designed their proprietary DropLink compact, linkage-driven single pivot suspension design to give their suspension bikes the same characteristics that they push for across all of their bikes. That means not just a good, predictable rear wheel path and tuned shock curve, but the same interactive handling feel you get from riding a steel bike and a simple uncluttered look. At the heart of the system is Cotic’s custom designed and heat-treated steel seattube, that with its large pivot points makes for a solid frame and gives a super-stiff platform on which to build the suspension system. The frames do include the provision of a single water bottle mount on the underside of the toptube.
The Flare is the mid-travel trail bike that Cotic owners have been demanding almost since the Rocket debuted. It combines 27.5″ wheels and 130mm of travel in a lighter bike that is meant to be as much fun to pedal to the top of the hill as it is to fly down the other side. It’s meant to build off the feel of Cotic’s steel Soul trail hardtail, but to keep things together when the trails get rough.
The Flare sticks with a Syntace X-12 12x142mm rear end for its 27.5″ setup. Long time members of the long cockpit crowd, the Flare joins the rest of Cotic’s range with what is now called modern trail geometry. Tying together the 853 main triangle is a Cotic’s 44mm tapered steer headtube, a 31.6 post with stealth and external dropper routing, and ISCG05 mount, and a standard threaded bottom bracket.
The standard Flare will clear a 27.5″ tire up to 2.5″ wide, and comes in three frame sizes – S16″, M17.5″ & L19″. The frame only is available for £1500 with either a X-Fusion o2 or Can Creek DB Inline, or in complete bike builds from £2800. Cotic’s Gold spec build has a claimed complete weight of 28.8lb/13.1kg without pedals with an XT 1x setup for £3600.
