26 Ain’t Dead! But it’s dying slowly

Known for their staunch marketing position against the proliferation of new wheels sizes (check the video at the end of this story) , Cotic have finally thrown in the towel on their long serving and founding product, the 26 inch Cotic Soul.

According to the Cotic website the 26 inch version of the Soul will soon be no more as they have taken the decision to discontinue this diminutive, iconic Northern hardtail in favour of producing more 27.5 versions. It’s not all doom for the Cotic 26 range as they have also confirmed that the 26 inch BFe26 will continue, despite a temporary shortage of medium frame sizes at the moment.

From the Cotic website…

…unfortunately for our founding product we have decided that the current batch in stock is the end of the road. Whilst BFe26 sales are still strong, at the lighter weight, higher end of the market the 27.5 and 29 inch wheels have pretty much taken over. At the current level of sales compared to the 27.5 Soul and 29 Solaris we can’t justify another batch of Soul26. We need to be able to move at least a batch per year, and over the last 12 months it has dipped below this point, whereas Soul275 sales have rocketed right from the moment we introduced it. We’re sorry to be saying this, and it’s weirdly emotional for us given that – as I said – it’s our founding product. However, the Soul lives on in the 275 version, and times change. We’ve always said we are all about building Modern Steel Hardtails. If that doesn’t include 26″ wheels anymore, then so be it.

So, this is your last chance to grab a 26 inch Cotic Soul. As the old saying goes, when they are gone, they are gone.

Here’s Cy talking to a less beardy Mark at the Cycleshow way back  in 2009 about the Soul, among other things.

Read our review of the Cotic Soul 275

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

Mark has been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years and co-owns Singletrack, where he's been publisher for 25 years. While his official title might be Managing Director, his actual job description is "whatever needs doing" – from wrangling finances and keeping the lights on to occasionally remembering to ride bikes for fun rather than just work. He's seen the sport evolve from rigid forks to whatever madness the industry dreams up next, and he's still not entirely sure what "gravel" is. When he's not buried in spreadsheets or chasing late invoices, he's probably thinking about his next ride.

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