[Closed] Cotic Bfe stealth(ish) build - will I regret...

You sir, have a very nice looking bike. Even with a triple.

Probably still look pretty cool with white forks.

Why, thank you! 🙂 Going double & bash after payday....and new pedals when I can get the old buggers off!

Being a BFe-ist myself, I fully blew my load at this picture. Nice work fella. WHite forks or not, it looks cool.

Yes, you will regret it. 160mm forks on s hardtail, pointless. Fit some short travel forks, far more fun.

What the hell, here's mine (plus white Pikes):

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i reckon it would still look great with white forks.
and it looks great now.

Also, get rid of the stickers and red bits, its hardly stealthy

I think you might have just helped me make up my mind to go for a BFe over a Soul. That bike looks very tidy.

I kind of agree with davidtaylforth; although you will probably just get used to 160mm, it is a little over the top (unless you plan on using the bike for DH only). I went from Lyriks to Pikes and much prefer the experience. I stick the travel at around 120mm for most things.

no no no... he def need some 40s, Boxxers or Lyriks on there (maybe even Supermonsters if he can find a set). if you are going to have an ugly badly handling pointless bike there should be no half measures. 😉

what a ****ing mess, I applaud your utterly failed attempt at stealth too.. musta taken some doing

Spot on. Stick some Boxxers on there. Better yet, stick some 40s on top of the Boxxers and have two pairs of Lyriks for handlebars.

Thanks guys - still can't make my mind up though!

davidtaylforth - Unfortunately I have pretty severe arthritis in one of my wrists which made it impossible to ride for quite a few years. I've found that by using a good quality, long travel fork, (I've got a 36 TALAS on the other bike), and using snowboarding wrist guards,I can still get out and ride more often than not. If I was riding rock gardens or drop-offs with a 120mm my wrist would be be buggered!

Wow. I've only glanced at three threads this evening, and in each one GW has come across as an utter arse. Now that musta taken some doing.

A severe case of small man syndrome i reckon.

do keep up robob 😉

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Grey forks is an option, I run 160mm on my bfe and it's aewsome do t miss my old full suss at all,
especially when there totems 🙂

I've just built my gritstone BFe up this afternoon, had the choice in my shed of black Pike 454 dual air u turns or coil Sektor u turns, despite wanting a stealth build i prefer the ride of the Sektors so i've gone for those and to be honest it still looks pretty decent. I'll post pics up tomorrow.

I suppose when I said "stealth(ish)"[notice the [i]ish[/i] bit], I really meant black with whatever bits were available off the last bike and in the bits box...sorry to offend any literalists hanging out on the forum 🙄 😉
Actually I think the ProII freehub would give me away before I could stealthily sneak up on anyone on my bike.

Some good pics there though - those Totems look tasty audicoupedave.

Picked them up super cheap, there solo airs and just threw an all travel spacer in and hey presto 160mm
Much cheaper than lyrics, vanillas and talas etc

Got white forks (Lyriks) on my BFe (blue frame though). Looks lush, would be nice on a black frame too.

I've (permanently) reduced mine to 140mm though and I can't imagine wanting more than that on the BFe, would feel a bit wrong. If you've got wrist issues, fair enough, but going from 150mm to 160mm is definitely want vs need!

Gritstone stealth-tomorrow it gets black Lyriks and the blackest widest carbon bars around. 😀

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Snakebite - No, no, no - that's not stealth! You've got a red quick-release and a bit of brown on the saddle! 😉 Very noice indeed bud!

Steveomcd - Agree with the 150/160mm issue - it's more of an adjustability thing. There may be other solutions but so far the only forks that have not created problems with the wrist are Lyrik U-turns and 36 talas - the larger diameter stantions seem to make a difference. Can't go for Lyriks as it's my left wrist which is most affected and a lot of the time I haven;t got the dexterity/strength to adjust the u-turn on the fly. Talas works well but I can't swap forks from the full sus (Tracer) as they're 1.5 headtube.
If there's a 36 stantioned fork that does 100/140 or similar then I'd definitely give that a go.

Here's my new build (only new bits are frame and pedals though). I'm sure it would look better with my black Pikes with black decals as originally planned but i though i'd go for the better fork seems as they both come in around the same weight. Just downsized to a small from an orange medium BFe which i loved, just wanted something a bit more playfull.
Also to add that Cotic have been brilliant to deal with once again, great customer service and always happy to answer my questions.

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coil Lyriks on a gritstone BFe here. They don't usually go above 145mm in practice though.

I run Sektors on my Soul and they are much more lightweight forks than the Lyriks (or Pikes for that matter). Too weedy for what a BFe can do IMO.

You need to go 1x9 for sure albino.

Sektors too weedy? They didn't do too badly last time they were used at Gawton (where dirt mag do the 1:04)on my old Pitch. Mine are coil, not quite as stiff as the Pikes but not weedy IMO.

Would look good with matte black wotans methinks, like my C456.

maybe weedy is the wrong word. What I mean is the BFe suits being ridden hard, and rides better with Pikes or Lyriks. If I ran my Sektors on it (as I do on my more-XC orientated Soul) then I suspect I'd feel under-forked. Not suggesting that Sektors are rubbish or anything - I like them on the Soul - but just not quite suited to a BFe.

Sod the forks, what you really need is a new rear Ardent to even up the shocking size disparity between the front and the rear wheels! The front looks like a monster truck wheel ... 😯

Would look good with matte black wotans methinks, like my C456.

Yeah, I have been looking at Wotans but nobody seems to stock them, especially in black.

As for the tyres - they're just the cleanest ones I had to hand when putting it together 😀 Once I'm riding again I'll be going for high volume all round.

its not a red QR, its a DT Bolt thruQR.. 😀

if you are going to have an ugly badly handling pointless bike there should be no half measures

What's pointless about this?
Badly handling in general?

reggiegasket - Member
maybe weedy is the wrong word. What I mean is the BFe suits being ridden hard, and rides better with Pikes or Lyriks. If I ran my Sektors on it (as I do on my more-XC orientated Soul) then I suspect I'd feel under-forked. Not suggesting that Sektors are rubbish or anything - I like them on the Soul - but just not quite suited to a BFe.

What differentiation are you making between Sektors & Pikes? They're basically the same fork.

White forks will look great, not stealthy but great; but just to warn if you do, you'll then want white rims, bars and seatpost....

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pikes are stiffer, and heavier, than the Sektors George. I've had both.

white kit is for tarts, and roadies.

white kit is for tarts

maybe weedy is the wrong word. What I mean is the BFe suits being ridden hard, and rides better with Pikes or Lyriks. If I ran my Sektors on it (as I do on my more-XC orientated Soul) then I suspect I'd feel under-forked. Not suggesting that Sektors are rubbish or anything - I like them on the Soul - but just not quite suited to a BFe.

BFe's being hardtails, ride far better with shorter travel forks and a rider who actually knows how to ride a hartail fast over rough ground.

So ALL hardtails should only be ridden with a max 100mm fork?

should they? 😕

I don't know. You tell us. A slammed Pike would indicate 95mm, or Argyle at 100mm according to your post.

BFe's being hardtails, ride far better with shorter travel forks and a rider who actually knows how to ride a hartail fast over rough ground

Yeah yeah yeah

Meanwhile, everyone else just gets on with enjoying themselves, riding what every they like.

prezet - a Slammed Pike can be a lot less travel than 95mm.
an 831 would also indicate 100mm but a maxle Reba could be 80-120mm.

I purposely didn't mention an exact amount of travel 😉 is that all too much for you cope with?

is that all too much for you cope with?

It'd just be nice to quantify your post - rather than general statements that benefit no one. As you always seem to come to these types of posts to give your "I know far more than all of you" superior attitude.

if that's how you feel I'm not sure why you'd ever need anything I've ever said quantified? 😕

Yeah, I have been looking at Wotans but nobody seems to stock them, especially in black.

Magura stopped doing the Wotan last year. Probikeshop.fr had them in their sale last month for just €299, but I think I blagged the last one 😀 Lovely fork if you find one though.

if that's how you feel I'm not sure why you'd ever need anything I've ever said quantified?

BFe's being hardtails, ride far better with shorter travel forks and a rider who actually knows how to ride a hartail fast over rough ground

I'm not really sure what all this means but my original point wasn't actually about travel (Pikes/Sektors/Lyriks are all with 20mm or so of each other). Rather it was saying that the Sektor isn't quite stiff/burly enough to handle what the BFe really likes, which is more extreme riding than that which suits, say, a Soul.

I hate to say it but I'm with GW. Long travel hardtails IMO are a terrible idea. If you need some cushioning and feel longer travel would help, get an FS bike, the balance of the bike as a whole is much better...

You simply need to take a quick look at the almost exclusively XC set-ups here to see there's no way any of the BFe's on this thread are being ridden harder than any of those forks are capable of handling. the only thing hard hitting about them is the massive forks and I'd bet most still have the standard medium divey spring in.