OK, I've still got some work to do on narrowing down my Whyte HT choice, but otherwise it looks like I'm narrowing down to a choice between that or the Cotic Soul or Soda.
Has anyone tried something from both and therefore able to pass comment on how they compare?
There's only one way to find out...
I can now comment on this since I've tried both. I own a Whyte 19 Steel and have test ridden a Cotic Soda; both in Medium frame sizes with 120mm forks.
The big difference is that with the Cotic you sit "in" the bike and with the Whyte you sit "on" it - what seem on the surface to be very similar bikes do have quite different personalities.
There is a big difference between the bottom bracket height of the two with the Cotic having the lower by almost 20mm, which explains I think why I feel perched on the Whyte but ride in the Cotic. This gives the Cotic more stability and speed with a more racey feel to it, the Whyte however does not feel nervous which is usually what I find a high BB gives you. The reason for this is I believe the slacker head angle on the Whyte (67deg vs 69deg) which gives it great stability and stops it "stalling" when slammed into trail features, a trait I found occasionally with the Cotic.
Seat angle (71deg) and chainstay lenght between the two was nearly identical (Whyte dropouts in the middle) so for climbing they are very similar, although for techy work the Cotic did ding a pedal more frequently due to the lower bottom bracket (natch), but it also felt a little more planted than the Whyte.
For the rutted super sketchy gnar terrain I like they both performed well with the saddle dropped, but with different traits. The Cotic was harder to hold the line with and the front wanted to tuck under sending the back over, or that’s how it felt, like I had to get further back behind the saddle to keep control. I also had to take care with the pedals to prevent banging them, but it was all certainly fun and much better than old skool XC geometry.
The Whyte feels more sketchy dropping in but once in the flow the bike feels planted and to me more manoeuvrable as I didn't feel the need to be so far over the back. Neither of them is a plower like my big bike and they both needed plenty of input to keep them upright and going in the correct direction. When coming out of the gnar the Whyte was quicker to recover it's composure and sprint to the next obstacle like a mini BMX. For berms and chucking into fast corners the Cotic felt quicker as long as the trails were smooth; I found the Cotic tended to get knocked off line easier and suffered the "stalling" I mentioned earlier when the trails were not smooth or there was deep mud.
Note - I'm used to the Whyte and the Cotic was new to me so preferences will vary but I can say with certainty that both of these bikes are a hoot and either is great. Both are way better in the gnar and trails were I ride than traditional XC bikes.
I'd love to try something that steals what I see as the best of both bikes: Drop the bottom bracket height on the Whyte a little or kick out the head angle a couple of degrees on the Cotic.
Material issues – The Cotic which was Ti felt a little punchier than the steel Whyte under sprinting, but both were lovely and had the springy feel I like. The Cotic was the lighter bike but it was not really noticeable on the trails due to the hefty coating of mud acquired by both bikes.
I'll be sticking with my Whyte for the moment but if I had a Cotic I would be sticking with it too - different but equally brilliant fun. Now… what else can I try 
How many threads honestly do you need to make about the same topic without test riding them.
Oh and get the Whyte 19 trail in alu or ti 
Messiah: A Soul at 140mm will slacken things off by just under a degree...
I wish you'd quit keep on going on about the stalling as its making me nervous. I wouldn't mind but the gouge the big ring took outta my ankle on a similar stall should have reminded me. 
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