Viewing 35 posts - 1 through 35 (of 35 total)
  • Cotic >X
  • Mister-P
    Free Member

    Does anyone have a Cotic >X< yet?

    Thinking of a commuter / general riding bike and this looks like it would tick a lot of boxes. So I am looking for some rider feedback on it.

    GasmanJim
    Free Member

    No, but there’s an interesting review over on Road CC. I was all set to buy one until I read that.

    bristolbiker
    Free Member

    Interested as well. Full build got a bit of a panning here http://road.cc/content/review/28748-cotic-x-weekday and for commuting the bit about the front mech cable running over the mudguard hole could be a problem

    EDIT: Too slow… again!

    GasmanJim
    Free Member

    I’m still a little tempted but not at that price for a F&F. Needs to be absolutely bob on to justify £450 IMO.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    if the rear end is 135 spacing, will the fork fit an mtb hub too? i’m tempted, but i’d be fitting road discs anyway so the brake judder is not an issue and i ride 29ers so non “lazer guided” steering wouldn’t matter either

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    Road and QR MTB forks are 100mm spacing so yes you can run an MTB or road hub.

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Much as I am a big fan of Cotic (and a happy Soul rider) I regard their Road Rat and X offerings as road bikes for mountain bikers who’ve never ridden a proper road bike.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    Mister P – Member
    Road and QR MTB forks are 100mm spacing so yes you can run an MTB or road hub.

    cheers, 29er wheels with narrow tyres it is then 🙂

    younggeoff
    Full Member

    Ok to redress the negative vibes here I’ve had my >X< for a couple of months now and love it. It’s disked up with BB7’s and suffers no brake chatter / shudder. Got full guards fitted to it (Had to bend the stays thru the brakes) but it all looks very neat and fitted a small boss to mount the rear guard using the hole in the bottom bracket with no affect on front mech performance. I had to get the large cos I’ve got long legs and it fits me a treat

    more photo’s here http://www.photobox.co.uk/my/album?album_id=624318674

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Much as I am a big fan of Cotic (and a happy Soul rider) I regard their Road Rat and X offerings as road bikes for mountain bikers who’ve never ridden a proper road bike.

    Sadly, I agree. I too am a Soul rider (had it 7 years, I think). Cy’s someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t a fan of drop barred bikes. While I don’t doubt his abilities as a designed, the bikes lean too far towards the MTB side of things for me.

    Shame, as there’s a lot to like about it.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    IT being more like an mtb is what attracts me tbh

    aP
    Free Member

    Oh, well that’s ok then, all the advantages of a mtb with none of the advantages of a cx.
    In that case – I’m out.

    younggeoff
    Full Member

    I’m still getting bad vibes here, it’s a bike a very good commuter in my opinion, granted it’s not as twitchy, fast or climbs hills like my road bike but then again I can’t ride singletrack on my roadbike but it does cut thru traffic better than a mountain bike and the steering is plenty quick enough for me, but everyone’s different.

    It would be nice to see more comments from actual owners than prospective buyers

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

    Much as I am a big fan of Cotic (and a happy Soul rider) I regard their Road Rat and X offerings as road bikes for mountain bikers who’ve never ridden a proper road bike.

    Well to be fair I don’t think the Roadrat or X frames are designed to be road bikes.
    Not sure about the X as I haven’t ridden one, but the roadrat makes perfect sense and given what it was designed for I think it is spot on.

    Maybe they are designed more for MTBers rather than roadies and maybe that is why the Road.cc review wasn’t a glowing recommendation. Perhaps if someone from a more MTB background were to review it then it would score better? A review is just one persons opinion at the end of the day.

    cy
    Full Member

    I’m going to chuck in my opinion here, as I’m getting a bit irritated by one persons opinion killing my perfectly nice bike (possible hit-a-nerve content):

    Firstly, regarding the whole ‘MTB’ thing. With the exception of it having a slightly sloping top tube and the family graphics of a Cotic, it’s all very classically drop bar bike. It’s short of top tube and back end, reasonable tyre clearance but not MTB tyres by any means, cantilever compatible, low BB, rigid forks. It’s looks like a Cotic, which may by association make it look like a mountain bike as that’s what we’re known for, and yes it’s got disc mounts, but all CX bikes will have by the end of the year. That’s about it in my opinion.

    Second, the handling. I have spoken to Jo about this, and we just have to agree to disagree, but for me the bike is the best handling drop bar bike I’ve ever tried. I know I’m somewhat renowned for not liking drop bar bikes, but I love my X. It’s shorter of top tube and slacker of head angle than anything ‘my size’ I’ve ridden before with drops, and it feels lovely, long but not too stretched, easy to look ahead, nice and confident on rough surfaces (and that’s most roads these days, let’s face it). I didn’t just pull the geometry out of the hat, it was tried and we liked it this way. The short RoadRat had a 72deg head angle and according to several people who had those set up as CX bikes, and our own testing, that’s a bit of a handful offroad and was a touch long. I backed it off to 71 and shortened it up based on research and my own thoughts for Kate’s X prototype, and she loved it. So I got one and I loved it, as did the people who tried it. Figured that was good enough for us. It’s been more than good enough for the people who’ve bought them too, as we have had quite a few emails from owners who’ve seen the review and reassured me that they don’t agree with the review. It’s a relaxed, fun bike to ride.

    Thirdly, the brake judder. I was surprised there was trouble with that as it’s not something we’d got with other brakes, but to be fair to Jo he tried everything he reasonably could do in the test. I got a bit of judder on my Tektros initially in the road setting up, but after half a ride it’d stopped and I figured it was just bedding in. It’s also worth noting that the exact bike road.cc tested went straight to Bicycle Buyer magazine (not via us, but straight to them so no tampering or fixing on our part) and they’ve not mentioned it at all, and the editor’s asked if he can buy a frameset, so I think that’s a positive review on the way. I’m not saying Jo didn’t experience the issue, he clearly did, but it’s certainly not something we’ve had feedback from customers about and not something we’ve had trouble with either. As Geoff mentioned, discs work great.

    Finally, pricing. A few people have mentioned this, but it’s largely the carbon fork that drives the difference over the RoadRat, so from next week (as we’ve just received the shipment) we’ll be doing the X with RoadRat forks for £350 frameset, £900 for the Weekday and £1200 for the Sunday.

    So there you go. I should probably delete all of this and just call it cathartic, but I didn’t. It’s for this to sound dispassionate because I don’t just chuck ideas on a page and order them, it do my homework and everyone here really, really likes this bike.

    Flame away.

    cp
    Full Member

    well said.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Now, in spite of what I’ve said up there^^^, I really like that Cy has come on here and defended his product(s) in an open way.

    Good on you, Cy.

    (But, alas, it’s not light enough for what I want (racing cross) and I already have a dropped bar commuter with relaxed HA that I don’t mind battering off road.)

    JoB
    Free Member

    Maybe they are designed more for MTBers rather than roadies and maybe that is why the Road.cc review wasn’t a glowing recommendation. Perhaps if someone from a more MTB background were to review it then it would score better? A review is just one persons opinion at the end of the day.

    the bike was tested primarily by someone that’s been riding mountainbikes for about 25 years, and cross bikes for about 15, and reviewed in the context and experience of all the bikes ridden over that time, and then the bike was lent to several other people with a background in both MTB and CX and their opinions incorporated into the review, as Cy says, an agreement has been reached to disagree on certain issues 🙂

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    so, how heavier are the road rat forks compared to the carbon?

    Mattie_H
    Free Member

    I have an X in its off-the-peg commuter guise. Since the snow disappeared it’s been the bike I’ve ridden most on and off-road this winter. That’s included short blasts in our local woods, long afternoons out on road, the recent CX Sportive in the Chilterns and a fair bit of the muddy field stuff. It’s been a blast. I haven’t had the problems with brake judder mentioned in the Road CC review and I’ve found the handling to be stable and accurate. It’s coped just as well with some of the tight singletrack in the woods as it has with the doubletrack and gravel. It might be because I’m coming to it from mountain bikes (Santa Cruz Superlight and a Cotic Simple) but it just works for me.

    badlydrawnbiker
    Free Member

    I’ve got one – I read the Road CC report – but got it anyway.

    I’ve just finished building it and it hasn’t turned a wheel yet, but it looks right therefore I believe it WILL be right.

    Incidentally I’ve also got a Maverick ML8 – which gets slagged of in some road tests – I bought it 6 years ago because I liked the look of it – never had a test ride – and it’s great.

    Finally I’ve got a Genesis i0 – four years old – guess what it gets slagged off in some test reports. I bought it ’cause I liked the look of it, never had a test ride – and it’s great

    mattsccm
    Free Member

    I have one and I am rather liking it. I had 1 or two minor issues which have been sorted and are to some extent mine as much as the bike. I would make changes such as ditching anything linked to rim brakes but as the nice chaps at Cotic said they have to cater for a variety of uses. Mine was bought as a geared cross bike with decent brakes. I don’t race so generally I want to stop and have been spoilt by both modern road brakes and MTB discs. (why do I put up with V’s on my SS cross bike then?). I use the bike as a jack of all trades. It rides nice on the road ( yeah a 15lb carbon thingy is lighter) its great on blue level mtb stuff and on the crappy back roads its first class. its running 37mm hybrid tyres of the missus’s bike as they were about the shed, traditional 28/38/28 chainset with 10 speed Campag on 10 speed Shimano hubs laced to Mavic CXp33’s ( they were 2nd hand).
    Just like anything non main stream it will only suit those who want one and if you don’t they are crap. Its better of road than a cross bike in many ways as it stops when you need to. I am happier on the FoD downhills than the above SS CX bike.
    It could be better. The mudguard mounts should not need the stays chopping about, a seat tube bottle mount would not cause any hassle for those who wish to carry it although the double down tube mounts are great.
    I do get some judder but stopped the front by using a round disc. I reckon its pulsing from the waving discs coupled with the way cable discs work that does it. All I need now is to find a 140mm round disc for the rear.
    Cy. we talked about the rear mudguard mount on the BB. I am going to stick a Rivnut in there. I did try a chain ring bolt which worked but was a bit mark one.
    Oh yeah, personally I think the Cotic logo is a bit BMX-y for the black frame but thats personal. Why not produce a light steel fork for it? I mean 753 light.
    Is it perfect? No buts its 9/10 and thats enough. Want to try one in the FoD? Give me a shout. Chaingang cycles in Hereford have a very nice one built up as well. Thats where mine came from.
    I wish it was a touch lighter but as Singular Sam said current regs make it very hard to do so as a mass produced bike at a reasonable price. having said thats its 531 light whch is just the job really.
    My recommendation is if you want something like that its worth a go.

    mattsccm
    Free Member

    Yeah, so I contradict myself a bit.

    GasmanJim
    Free Member

    Curses to all of you, I’d almost talked my self out of getting one. Now I’ll have to go and tart myself down the private hospital!

    nickname
    Free Member

    You should get one, and if not, get a RoadRat, which is also a perfect commuting / general use bike 😉

    I read the review, and personally I wouldn’t have a clue if the rear end felt ‘keen and eager’, and the frontend was ‘ponderous’. If it’s for commuting, you just want something that’s comfy, won’t fall to bits, can take guards, and works in crap weather. If it’s anything like the RoadRat, it’ll be heaps of fun too.

    bullheart
    Free Member

    JoB – Member
    “Maybe they are designed more for MTBers rather than roadies and maybe that is why the Road.cc review wasn’t a glowing recommendation. Perhaps if someone from a more MTB background were to review it then it would score better? A review is just one persons opinion at the end of the day.”

    the bike was tested primarily by someone that’s been riding mountainbikes for about 25 years, and cross bikes for about 15, and reviewed in the context and experience of all the bikes ridden over that time, and then the bike was lent to several other people with a background in both MTB and CX and their opinions incorporated into the review, as Cy says, an agreement has been reached to disagree on certain issues

    My goodness! Jo, you’re alive!

    There were some folk on here trying to get in contact with you. Something about key-rings, trinkets etc. Did you manage to catch up with them?
    😉

    Woody
    Free Member

    Now I’ll have to go and tart myself down the private hospital!

    LOL – a few minutes work for hours of pleasure seems like a small price to pay 😉

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Looked like it would be my perfect off road commuter but you forgot the pannier rack mounts on the seatstays Cy!

    (I hate P clips)

    aP
    Free Member

    What you need is a Trek Portland 😉

    Steve-Austin
    Free Member

    I would happily buy one if i needed a crosser type bike…but i’m not keen on orange or black, but the rest of it looks fine to me.

    GasmanJim
    Free Member

    Yes Woody, but think how dirty I’ll feel afterwards!

    Woody
    Free Member

    Look upon it as using your expertise to support the UK bike industry, a worthy cause 😉

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    but for me the bike is the best handling drop bar bike I’ve ever tried.

    what others have you tried?

    gryffx23x
    Free Member

    younggeoff – Bike looks good, am contemplating something similar however not sure whether to go for off the peg (tektro brakes)or self build (BB7’s). Can you give details of your spec, in particular the cockpit. Cheers

    Merak
    Full Member

    Righto.

    I have to laugh at the clowns on here sometimes. Re; the less than favourable review on road cc. Do you believe everything you read on the internet? Have you ridden a X? No? Then I put it to you that, you don’t know what your talking about. I wouldn’t think to pontificate about a bike I know nothing about, never having ridden it.

    So having ridden it in anger here is a review.

    It feels sprightly for steel. Its not a thouroughbred Supercar so I wont kid on I can feel the nuances of any handling characteristics. It handles just fine. On the road its very much like a roadbike. The disc brake set up is great, far more progressive and reliable than grabby rim brakes. I am looking forward to the benefits of them in the wet, where they will be well worth the extra £75. I was unsure about cable actuated callipers but I have to say they compliment the drop levers alot better than I had hoped.

    A word about the compact geometry. This was the main reason I bought this bike as standover is important to me on what is a predominantly, and for me, exclusively an off-road bike. There is a school of thought that believes the traditional geometry of a horizontal top tube for ease of shouldering is the way to go for x bikes, that’s not for me though as my last cross bike was traditional geometry which never inspired my confidence. On this bike there is plenty of room to lift the bike and carry it on your shoulder and the twin set of bottle bosses on the down tube keep the seat tube clutter free.

    Re the brake bosses. On the rear stays they are obviously removable which leaves cleaner lines if using the disc option. The front, I can only assume is a static arrangement because of the involvement of carbon. Its clean enough for me with the stoppers on the bosses. I doubt I will ever use cantis but its nice to have the option. I certainly wouldnt let it stop me buying it though, and I am a right fussy swine.

    Its the best of both worlds, a cross bike that handles like a road bike on the road with mtb like geometry. Ideal.

    As a B road blaster, toe path, trail centre, cross racing, commuting, training, touring, miles muncher then its hard to beat. Definitely spec the discs though.

    As a footnote, to handle the kind of terrain I encounter I swapped out the 105 rear mech for a Deore mid cage with a 11-32 Sram cassette which when allied to the compact will get me up those slippy steep inclines.
    I love mine. 😛

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