Cotic Unveils The New Soul

2018 will mark fifteen years since the first Cotic Soul, and they’re updating it accordingly with a fifth generation frame.

The new Soul comes in four sizes from XS to L, and depending on size the seat tubes are now 5 – 20mm shorter than before, and reach gets a bump upward ranging from 10 to 40mm. Stack height has grown by about 4mm on all sizes, the head angle is 2 degrees slacker than the previous generation, and 100mm forks have dropped off the geometry table entirely, which instead shows only 120mm and 140mm options. The 2018 Soul is actually slightly slacker and longer than the 2016 Bfe was (though of course nowhere near as cartoony as the latest Bfe).

They’re calling this Longshot Geometry, of which they say: “This new approach has brought larger reach steps between sizes to allow everyone to get their stem nice and short. We recommend aiming to size your bike with a 35mm stem if possible. Wide bars and short stems make for very responsive steering, so we have slackened the head angle to balance this out, and steepened the seat angle to keep you in the in middle of the bike. The result is a beautifully balanced ride, with stable, confidence inspiring feel at speed, with think-and-you’re-there steering and amazing front end grip for slicing through the singletrack. If you prefer your handling slightly more conventional, simply size down, add a 50mm stem and a longer dropper post to get your pedaling height and away you go.”

The tyre clearance also lets it go up to 27.5″x2.6 tyres, or 26″x3.0 tyres. Also new this year if you look at the complete builds is the Cane Creek Helm air fork, which Sam the demo man has been riding every time we’ve seen him this year (look out for an upcoming review of the one we’ve been testing for the past few months).

The new Soul comes in three colourways, with the chrome ones actually painted. Complete builds currently start at £1979, though when stock is replenished there’ll be a £1699 SLX build too. Frame only is £599. Visit Cotic for more information.