Views/comments on the Simple? It's a Soul without the geary bits 😉 Simple is still 130mm tubeset spec, but apart from that all the same.

muddyfox courier – Your mates Soda will be sweet with Mav's on. They're actually fairly short for their travel so you'll get some nice trail handling out of them. Give 'em a go. Thanks for the kind words too.

Christowkid – Yeah, drilling holes in high stressed parts of frames ain't great. That's why you'll not find Crud bosses on a Cotic. Interesting that a couple of you have had chainsuck. Me and the team genuinely never have, and speaking for myself (I know the others would be upset with me grouping them in this) I don't really go to town on washing my bikes after each ride. Bit of a squirt/wipe/lube really. The only thing different on a Cotic is fairly short chainstays which will cause a slightly more acute angle on the chain in extreme crossovers, but stuff like middle and big, or little ring and 3rd/4th shouldn't cause any trouble. Oddness.

I have a Simple. Mine is all stealthy black, with Pikes which I have set at 125mm, hope disks, 2.35" tyres and a Gravity Dropper.

I love riding it. It is really fun, light and easy to move around. Uphills out of the saddle are easy because it is lightweight, and with the saddle dropped going down, I love flicking it about, hopping over things. It encourages me to pump and flow and ride smoothly. It is an excellent ride.

Chain Suck weird innit..
I actually rang Cotic about a chain suck plate as i have suffered since i got my soul 2 years ago..
Tried loads of different lubes,as suggested, new complete drive chain and still get Chain suck.
I swapped the complete drive chain from my soul to my other bike and vice versa guess what, Chain suck on the Soul but not the other bike..
Just can't work it out…

Can i run 130 for on my Soul safely cant remember what the specs where for that model bought it Feb 2008

Ta Nog

I ride a very old Mk 1 Soul with a 130mm Magura fork. Its bashed, scratched, rusty, bent (the bars come closer to the top tube when I turn them left than when I turn them right and the headseat bottom cup is loose, unless I pack it with ptfe tape) and welded by my local garage where the chainstay snapped.

It feels fine to me, but I've nothing else to compare it to.

My cure for chain suck: Deore steel chainrings and 3 in 1 chain lube. Or singlespeed.

BigJohn

Got a steel middle ring..

I like to go fast so gears are essential..very sceptical that lube can make any real difference….

Comment on the Simple Cy? Absolutely stonking!!

I've got an espresso one with 100mm magura durins, hope wheels and brakes, king headset, thomson bits, gobi saddle, basically my dream spec including some lovely middleburn cranks.

It rides fantastically and is so much lighter than my previous P7. Its a rocket uphill with the fork lockout definitely helping.

I'll be interested to see what you do with it when you order the next batch.

Well, any next batch of Simples is a while away. It'll obviously sprout the front end of the new Soul for CEN reasons, but I'm mucking about with the idea of chucking the oversized BFe seat tube in it to make it stiffer under stomping. Dunno, it's a long way off and a lot of other stuff to do first.

Just wondering if anyone of around 6'5" has any positive or negative experience of riding a Soul – the website states the Large goes up to 6'3" and there aint an XL. I know it depends on how you ride, etc. but I thought I'd ask anyway. Cheers.

Whatever you do, don't give it an EBB or anything silly like that! I was concerned about getting the rear wheel out on slot drop outs with disc brakes but I've had no problems. Keep it erm…. simple 😀

Not noticed too much flexing from the back end under stomping although I'm not the most agressive of riders.

I ride a medium bfe and Im 6foot2 n a bit. 65mm stem and some 2 inch riser bars. the saddle also goes high enough for off road stuff without any problems. You should be ok on a large.

BigJohn – I suspect your bars are bent!

Nope – unless both of the ones I tried are bent the same. But as I always seem to fall to the right, that might not be impossible.

But anyway, when I look from the front I can see the headtube and seattube are not quite in line. But as we all turn differently left and right, it makes no difference at all.

Cy, I agree with Clembo, can you please not do anything crazy to the Simple, just keep it…er…simple! I ride a small, so I suppose that makes the frame stiffer (is that right?), but I have to be honest I've never really felt it flexing like that in a bad way, even when grunting up the steepest climbs. Get it CEN compliant like the Soul, ready for 140mm forks and release it to your adoring public.

your adoring public.

now this is getting silly

when will there be a feature on Cy in O.K! magazine? i'm sure his 'adoring public want to see pics of him relaxing on the sofa in chino's with his adorable wife watching a Humongous plasma tv while chinking gaudy gold rimmed champagne glasses full of don-perignon.

I'm sure Cy would too. 😉

LOL@MrSmith

Been thinking about a Soul to replace my current hardtail – a Chameleon. But this talk of chain suck worries me. Never suffered from this problem before so not really au fait with it.

As I understand it, it's fairly misunderstood though some frames seem more prone to it. Is it a geometry problem? This isn't a Cotic bashing post – I have a RoadRat and love it, I'm just concerned about buying a frame and opening myself up to a problem I've never suffered from before.

Don't forget he has to be bare foot with a labrador and new born baby close by… 😀

How can chainsuck be caused by a frame?

I cured chainsuck on my Sanderson by tweaking the bottom bracket length (2mm longer in my case). Problem solved.

Just out of interest – How many Large Simples left? – Just out of interest

"How can chainsuck be caused by a frame?"

It can't, but frame clearance can mean that a near-suck moment becomes a suck moment, as it were. Like the old Inbred. But I don't think the Soul has any problem here tbh, certainly never hit me at all. I did manage to chainsuck on my testride on a Soul but that was a full-on chain wrapped around the rings, not frame clearance.

But this talk of chain suck worries me.

Don't let it, Shibboleth.

I think it's safe to say that chainsuck on Cotic Souls tends to be isolated cases. I've had a Soul, a BFe, and now a new Soul; all have had different drivetrain and I have never had a problem with it.

never had chainsuck here in 3 years.

yea , thanks Cy .
I think part of it , as I said , was optical . The mavericks having no forkbrace look a bit off .
I think also , it hasnt got the big burly look of a typical 5" ish fork HT , so you kinda think it should be on a 4" , more XC-ey/racey setup.

I'll try and prise him off one week and give it a thrashing .
Or will I ?
Maybe I'll just take it easy , and maybe stop a while , and take in a nice view .
Cheers , TIM

Sorry, didn't mean to highjack into a Chainsuck paranoia thread.
Mine occurred going from granny up to middle, on an XT setup. Eventually took off the chainset and I did notice a bur on the granny. No idea why or how it got there cos I'm too much of a wuss to go log jumping etc. Anyway, I asked a general question on here about burs, bought a chain guage and now realise it's time for a new chain, which might have something to do with it! Today bought a new chain, so hopefully will be ok next time.
I've wrapped rubber tape arounfd the chainstays and a row of zip ties, so if it does/did suck, that prevents damage……but finges crossed I'm sorted with a new chain.

Shibboleth: I bought my Soul having never ridden or even seen one, purely on trust and the fact the sizes and angles were similar to what I was already riding, but my od bike couldn't take new forks etc. without upsetting geometry, had a 1" headset etc.
It is a superb bike, climbs like a dream ( if only my legs did!!!) feels really good and I'm seriously wondering about the new frame and transferring my kit over. It is a very nice frame to ride.

cheers
Q

Sighs

I have an 06 Soul (I think might be an 07)
anyway I was running it with 130mm Revs.. sagged to about 95 to 100mm..

and it was good and great to ride.. with an easy wind down option to 100mm for XC race duties as required.

but the Revs needed some TLC like alot of it..
So I took my Lyriks and put them on. wound down to 135 to 140mm sagged to about 115mm..

very different ride – the Revs up front, the bike was nimble and fast through singletrack.
the Lyriks up front – the bike was distintly heavier but it doesnt half plough through a trail with the backend flicking about.. its lots of fun..

Did a demo at Dales Bike Centre this weekend and fell in love – I'm now a fully paid up member (literally) of the Cy fan club.

This thread is giving me lots of useful ideas for the build so keep it up please! (Admittedly I was planning on keeping it cheap and transferring stuff across from the old bike but all these nice builds are making me very jealous 😛 )

Stirlingcrispin:
" I cured chainsuck on my Sanderson by tweaking the bottom bracket length (2mm longer in my case). Problem solved. "

Just re-read the thread. Exactly how did you increase the bb length?
Another possibility to consider maybe if the new chain fails to work.
cheers
Q

Big John,

Are you riding the Soul I used to have then? I know 'Thighs Of Oak' put some nice gouges in the chainstay before I had it, and it broke after I sold it to Del…I assumed it went to frame heaven after that.

Erm, think we've got one large Simple left in Builders' Tea. Got a few mediums in Espresso and Builders' Tea.

If there's clearance for the rings, it's possible to alter your chainline on modern cranks by putting the spacer in the BB on the non-driveside.

Good thread fellas. LOL @ OK Mag comments. (sitting on sofa next to lovely wife watching 15 year old telly in baggies and wolly socks).

Builders Tea for the win baby!

Absolutely Love the way it rides, just cant get enough of it!! just spot on! mine comes in at 25lb but rides like its 20!
shame i have a Stinking cold and wisdom tooth ache to keep me wrapped up at home! 🙁

i do now prefer the builders tea colour over the other options, just nice to have something a little different!

Oh just to redress the balance about chain suck as my comments may seem like im Cotic bashing 😳 , its not all the time, just now and again randomly sometimes with months inbetween,thats what baffles me..despite this its still the best Hardtail i have ever owned and would buy another instantly if this one died or was nicked…and i could kill Cy for bringing the new one out in Orange..Bloody Gorgeous, as are most Orange things… 😀

And Cy ya need ya socks off for true Ok style…… 😀

Timmo, what size is the frame and how tall are you?
Thanks.

No chance of a chainsuck plate. You're the only person who's ever asked!

Really? Not even JamesD when he destroyed the chainstay on his Mk1? I know my Mk1 took a bit of a chewing before I moved to a 118 BB.

And my Mk1 is full of fully-matured 6 year old awesome, thanks!

If you're getting chainsuck every few months then it's your drivetrain's way of telling you that you need a new drivetrain! I guess I ride a lot, and ride in gritstone areas, but even spread across two main bikes I'm lucky to get more than 6 months out of a chain and middle ring.

Nice to a see a Builders' Tea frame being appreciated. Lovely colours they were, but not many people thought so unfortunately. The orange is to die for though 😉 [looks at the THREE crazy orange bikes in the garage and smiles]

Hiya Will. Is there going to be enough snow for the Olympics then?

I think your old Soul might still be around but mine's the one that Scruff had and resprayed white. That had a few gouges but it also developed a crack, spreading out from the little drain hole on the chainstay by the dropout. Nothing that a little blob of weld didn't put right.

sweedish, its a M i htink, 18", and am 6ft,
pretty much never move the seat post either, set to the leg straight with heel on the pedal.
such a great ride though,

Thanks Timmo, at 6,2" and liking a long bike I guess I'll need a large, although I alwaýs like the look of a bike with a lot of seat post out of the frame.