About to become the proud owner of a 2007, lovingly built up. Is it all it's cracked up to be?

ta

happy here

happy about my bike

unfortunatley a bike alone can never bring true happiness 😥

Love my soda 🙂

its the business.

I'm currently running mine with revelations, mavic 819s, XT finishing kit and Bonty Jones XC 2.35" tyres in 'relatively burly' mode, its also been in full XTR race mode and does that pretty well too.

you won't be disappointed

just in the middle of building mine now i cant wait for its test ride in cannock next week 😆

I had generally high hopes when I bought my soul.

I was not disappointed either. The best hardtail I have owned (although the Kona of yesteryear was the most loved).

Mine has always been built on the lardyarse side (for obvious reasons!)

I didn't like mine at all. Too steep, too flexy. The only bike i have ever really disliked. Friends used to groan when i took it out the car, i would always have a bad day on it.

It's a big leap up for me, but I won't get another chance to buy for a few years (house, car, child etc) so I thought I'd go for it- want a do anything bike at the best quality I can afford. Now just trying to bear the wait till next payday, when I can get enough scratch together to buy the thing. Here's the pics:

http://s759.photobucket.com/albums/xx231/whereisthurso/cotic/

just in the middle of building mine now i cant wait for its test ride in cannock next week 😆

my soul

Isn't it a bit late to be asking if they're any good!!

I blinking love mine – build is similar to Yardley_Hastings, but after nearly 3 years I've got a hankering for a change and am thinking of getting a 29er.

Used to have a Soda – loved it to bits and never got over it going – and recently bought a Soul frame off the Classifieds and finished building it a week or so ago. Only had a couple of rides (last night was excellent) but first impressions are very good. Really lively and fast (technical terms!). Running with Revs but everything else is a hotch-potch collection of what I could find in the shed and doesn't match – nothing very light either. Medium-term project to upgrade things (of course). Heavy front wheel first.

Enjoy – I'm sure you will.

liking mine here, running with 120mm maxle rebas

Ringo – Love the colour!

I was thinking metalic emerald green or orange for a respray – I think poo-brown might now be on the list!

yeah i love the colour need a brown saddle as well and my wheels are being built so it should all be built by monday

yes 😀

love mine, invested in mine as i didnt want to buy another bike for a while, 2/12 years on and some upgrades later its perfect. full xt, hope hoops, fizik gobi, thomson finishing kit, monkeylites, nobby nics and revs. spec started with what i had around and although changing bits and bobs, never wanted to change the frame!

totally love mine, lightish set up for racing , Magura Menja 100mm, X7,X9 rear mech, hope hubs, 717 rims, hope mini brakes- pretty rapid, very 'chuckable' real steel feel and loads of fun.

Ringo loves the ride so much he didn't notice the flat tyre and the missing chain, pedals and crank bolts.

Best bike I've owned, I would recommend one to anyone.

Matt

Ringo's Soul is the nicest looking bike I have seen in along while.

love both mine, one for best,one for shit weather/winter, still don't know what makes them so good coz they're nothing fancy by todays standards. Sold a perfctly good Flux with about £3k worth of XO and exotica because I reached for my Soul every time and barely touchd my flux for 18 months.

If these Merlin built Sodas ever get built I'll be having one though.

Ringo loves the ride so much he didn't notice the flat tyre and the missing chain, pedals and crank bolts.

Maybe that's why it looks so nice. None of that unnecessary clutter you so often get with bikes these days

I'm happy just knowing it's in the garage let along riding it.

Tim, I think you'll find a little difference over the frame you were riding around Gower. Won't make Llanmadoc Hill any easier on the way up though….

Having had marillions of bike frames in my time my quest is finally over with my Soul and Pikes.

I love my Soul… Wish it was just a hair slacker, but then maybe that'd spoil it in other ways. It's way better than I'm ever likely to be.

The way I sum up how it feels to me… I had a Scandal with a 130mm trail build, which I liked. Then, I went to Glentress for a demo day. Took out a Zesty, nice. Took out a KHS, nice. Took out the Soul, and in the time it took to get from the top to the bottom of pennel's vennel, I was more comfortable and faster than I ever was on the Scandal. We just get on.

I do wish it was warrantied/rated for 140mm though. That'd make it perfect. I'm tempted to go longer anyway, might do some day.

I started off with a 16" soul but found it a tadge small and sold it for a 17.5" Simple which fits me a whole lot better.

If you've got the right size you will not be disappointed. comfortable, accurate, precise, nimble..just a few words I'd use to describe it.

I've got 120mm forks on mine [Pace XCAM 41] which are possibly a little tall ; noticeable on steep techy stuff.

Enjoy it.

I never used to believe stuartlangwilson on this one, but having had a bit of a play on one recently he's right: reeeeeally steep and a bit scary. All subjective I suppose.

I had one for a few months and while it was nice to ride I found it a bit flexy. It also seemed to work better with a 100mm fork.

Its one of the most flexible bikes i have ridden in terms of geometry and build. 100mm forks and a light build its a cross country racer or bigger forks 130mm and drop the seat a little and its amazing fast downhill and still climbs all but the steepest stuff.
I believe the guys who find cotic's steep either ride with the seat to high up or just ride like bricks and don't move there weight around the bike enough.
I run rev's and big wheels and its the best HT i have ridden.

I rather like mine, although i've only ridin outside the house.

I see the consultant next week, maybe he will give me the green light.

> I never used to believe stuartlangwilson on this one, but having had a bit of a play on one recently he's right: reeeeeally steep and a bit scary. All subjective I suppose.

Indeed. I think they rock with 80-100mm forks.

Talk of "steep" confuses me a bit, with a 130mm fork, even sagged it's still 69 degrees which isn't really steep (remember a lot of frame geometry numbers are unsagged)

REDTED – Merlin built Soda as in THE Merlin That used to & probably still do, build some of the finest Titanium Bikes ever- What's this I hear – Veeeerrrrrry Innnterestiiing me thinks!!!! Needing a new Hardtail soon – Was thinking of something 853ish or TI – this could be a good option!!?? PS Don't tell Mrs Dusty T. 😉

just buy a merlin.