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@nearabighill: Bit of a snafu with mine so its not shipping until today. I was gutted when I found out.
presume the others went ok though.
@theghost: The new SolarisMAX better be different! There are a couple of things that I expect to be improved: Handling and climbing. The proof of the pudding however.... next week, next week....
@TheGhost, helpful - I thin the new Max is going beyond the Chameleon geo though, which is where my debate is - 90% I'm a chlk downs and singletrack type rider and I'm not sure which sits better - it is looking like the new Solaris may have reversed your overall conclusion though with the changes, so the Cham may be more XC than the cotic now.
Don't think I'd be wrong with either, and had the lower weight shading it for the Chameleon - now I'm seeing several posts about cracks around the swapouts on Facebook, same issue with one for sale on EBay etc.
I’m a chalk downs and singletrack kind of guy too. I own a Solaris in chubby mode. It’s an amazing bike.
i also test rode a new flaremax. The new geo is amazing. To the point where I think I may just swap out the the components on my existing Solaris to the new Solaris Max. Possibly the perfect hardtail. I want a flaremax too but annoyingly bought a new fs bike last year for the first time in a decade. May have to squeeze more than 12 months out of it before upgrading.
i wouldn’t be concerned about the slightly heavier weight of the Solaris over the SC. Some of my fastest climb times are on the Solaris which is 3lbs heavier than my race HT.
Geo is size dependant. The xl Chameleon reach is still longer than the large Solaris. These two are closer than comparing xl to xl due to the SC being crazy low. As these are the size frames that fit me I’ve only really looked at their numbers other sizes might differ. The new Solaris has a 1.5 degree slacker head angle. As I am running 140mm forks, the Chameleon feels slack enough but I’d love to see what it would be like 1.5 degrees slacker. My Sonder transmitter had a 65 degree head angle and it felt a bit floppy at low speeds. It was good downhill at speed.
SC have a lifetime warranty on the frames so if the dropouts crack hopefully they will honour it. I saw one on the web that had cracked because the bolts hadn’t been tightened correctly. Hope it’s not a thing.
I’m loving the sparkly black Solaris frame, if only they had made the stays shorter then I’d be keen. As I understand it, you have to add even considerable weight to a steel frame if you bend the seat tube to make room for shorter stays. So its a trade off, handling vs weight.
I’ll probably still buy one but it will be the next version with the super boost back end. 🙂
I really like the dark metal , would look lovely with hope orange bits but I still get drawn to the Stanton Sherpa in green. For me everything will be on hold till wife sorted with her spine. Or take the plunge and hang a frame in the shed? Decisions ??
I’ll have a green Sherpa in large going spare shortly...
Is it the next gen, as in anticipation of things improving at home I grabbed a set of Fox boost forks and a nice set of Hope orange boost hubs ( just for the parts bin as you do 😀)
Is it the next gen
yup. 142 rear. always found it a bit short (hence the LS SMAX)
I thought the next gen was boost 148x12
I'm bang average, so would be medium on either - already have some Boost Fox 34s for the front @ 130mm so just worried the Solaris might be too slack - theres maybe 1 or 2 routes around here I'd call steep. I'm edging in Solaris direction though, as I've loved every Soul / Solaris I've seen or begged a test on. Do like that Cosmic Black too.
Mccraque, yeah fair point on weight, but its one of those things its easy to get hung up about when pondering rather than riding.
Theghost
Who told you bent seat tubes add lots of weight? Mandrel bending an externally butted tube is perfectly feasible, and most of the tube makers offer a few pre-bent butted tubes.
I'm happy with a 27.2 post, so bend plain gauge 28.6 tubes which work out pretty much the same weight as oversize butted anyway.
Actually bending some tubes tomorrow - had a slightly surreal shop today buying bentonite clay kitty litter and a £10 food blender - making home brew foundry sand to pack tube with when bending 🙂
Cy has been pretty up front about preferring the longer stays to balance the longer front end. As he says, if you want a shorter rear, there are plenty of other manufacturers offering that.
I think it's the chainstay yoke required for tyre clearance that would usually add weight on a steel frame with short stays. There isn't space for tubes, and plate is heavy.
In my head I like short stays, but my Scandal has 440mm stays and that's lovely, so I really am very keen to get my leg over a Solaris.
Arse, just realised, it’s a bank holiday weekend. That means no Monday deliveries.
Now I understands cy’s delivery next week sometime comment....
bugger!
It was Cy himself who mentioned the extra weight on the PinkBike comments section after someone else asked why the long stays.
I’ve had 4 Cotics over the years and they have all been brilliant. I loved the last Solaris Max and the new one looks even better. I wouldn’t mind trading extra weight for easier cornering.
I’ve had a Mk1 (the ex-demo one Cy convinced me to try when I was demoing a 26in Rocket), the last gen I bought for my daughter but I’ve ridden it loads more, and I’m having one of the new ones.
My last one was a ‘M’ which was a bit small for me at 5ft11 but that didn’t stop me having loads of fun, mostly in the local woods on two hour summer evening rides. I’m very excited about the longshot- a L one of those with my Fox 34s 130 and borrowing the 42mm rimmed chubby tyres is going to be fab. Then I’ll run it 29 with some chunky rubber for winter.
What’s the deal with the head tube? Is that fat enough for tapered and the external headset bottom makes it all fit?
have gas lots of straight 1 1/8 abdxa few tapered headlines, not seen this setup before?
I wish they would be put up some more realistic photos on the website. They all look a bit filtered/ photoshopped.
Agree some of those nice 360 degree rotational pics that you can zoom in on each part of the bike for a better view would be nice
Well, it’s arrived.
just got to build it now.
pity I won’t get access to a bike stand until the weekend 😬
How does this compare to a Stooge? Unsure whether to upgrade to a mk3 stooge with a bouncy fork from my current rigid mk2 or one of these.
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Once again, Cotic quoting sagged geometry whilst almost everyone else quotes static geometry, is causing confusion.
The reach on the SolarisMAX is about the same, size for size, as the Chameleon. The head angle is getting on for three degrees slacker - a HUGE difference. And the chainstays are about 15mm longer.
I think they look great - much nicer than the current Soul. Would love to know how they ride. Think Cosmic Black and Dark Metal look stunning.
Yes Metalheart! Looks awesome.
Love the colour even more. Glad I went for it. Cotic need to get some natural shots.
Orange bits and other upgrades have started arriving. It’s going to be a long wait.
Whats your build?
Something i’m not clear on is whether they have ISCG tabs. All three colours on the site show them, but no mention of it in the description and can’t see it in MH’s photos.
That is making me feel more confident in my own choice of colour... 🙂
Did you say ISCG tabs?
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/42437465511_13d31228ca_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/42437465511_13d31228ca_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/27E46ZR ]Large dark metal SolarisMAX Mk4[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/77564901@N06/ ]Metalheart-UK[/url], on Flickr
Love it.
It doesn't come with bottle cage bolts then.
Came with 4 bottle cage bolts, 2 sets of them cable U clips and some bottle mount bolt cable guides. Along with the chain stay protector in a separate bag.
cotic believe in ‘everything you need is included’ iirc.
That's what I initially thought, so thanks for the confirmation.
Getting excited already, but have 3 more weeks to wait!
aaaaaaaaaand I'm spent. My last feeble objection is that the seat stays might not be thin enough (my eldest has a small Duster that just looks like the perfect steel hardtail) but more photos have shown that to be incorrect.
Cosmic black it is then(with some gold thrown into the component mix), but that dark metal looks dirty. Am I correct in assuming the stem should be slammed for function rather than fashion? Likely to pick up the Cotic stem and bars as I'm starting from scratch again unless anyone has a better pair for similar pricing?
“Am I correct in assuming the stem should be slammed for function rather than fashion?“
Depends on how long your legs are and how upright you like to have your back. I’ve found I ride better with my bars relatively high, even though I get quite low because my legs are long so my hip hinge point is fairly high.
All good points, but was just wondering if overall stack height was important to getting the right feel on longshot geo / other stretched & slack bikes... wouldn't like to stick 3 spacers 'just in case' if its missing the point 🙂
I run 20mm of spacers undr a 23mm rise bar on a Geometron, so not necessarily. It's personal taste, once you have enough weight on the front tyre that you're cornering OK
Put the spacers on, move 'em about to see what works best. Keep enough steerer to allow this… you can always cut again later, once you're sure of your setup.
That 'dark metal' finish looks a lot better in Metalheart's photos than it does on the website.
Keep the photos coming Mr Metalheart.
Also rather excited by the Dark metal as I have just committed myself to one 🙂
Whilst I'm gathering bits up, anyone know what ISCG mount it is? Assuming ISCG 05, inline with their other frames.
Thinking of getting a OneUp chainguide.
ISCG05, yes.
I'll add that info to the product page, thanks.
As for photos… yeah, current "studio" ones on product page were a bit rushed. Some outdoor photos are needed really, aren't they. Hopefully we'll get a chance to update them at some point. All three colours look amazing in the metal… still haven't decided which to have myself.
Do you get to have one of each bike, kelvin? For "research"?
Photographing metal(lic) paint finishes is a difficult task.
im happy with (Richards?) studio shots, they convey accurately enough the colour of mine anyway. It changes with the light intensity, so it’s not static.
some ‘in the wild’ photos would be a welcome addition to the website though.
for the record, mine are also processed before posting...
good news: I picked up a bike stand from that there scotroutes. He’s a good sort (for a short feller....🤣 )
bad news: yeller warning for rain tomorrow and Saturday... and I won’t get to a steerer cutter/sfn insertion tool until Saturday neither.
I have a hacksaw and a SFN tool but not good enough for you, eh?
I have <i>some</i> standards...
sandy has a park steerer cutting guide so thought I might as well do it properly for a change. Which means that that won’t get done until tomorrow.
plus, thought you were working this weekend.
Right, I had a bit of a mare with the build. It’s been knocking on 6 years since I last built a bike (the mk1green Solaris as it happens) so I was more than a little rusty. Cant recall if I’ve ever cut a steerer tube before but needless to say it took me about 30-45 minutes before I committed....
things just just took longer than expected and I ended up with the dropper post still to cable upthis morning.
and then I managed to completely knacker the front brake pistons (added an adaptor you don’t need on the mcqueens) and had an emergency visit to Bothy Bikes in Aviemore to buy a new one. Being a bit of disc brake novice I need some assistance in cutting the hose and bleeding. However Bothy Bikes were complete ****ing stars, let me use their work stand and gave me instruction and assistance. And all with me being known to them, but not really exactly what I’d call a customer. So above and beyond the call of duty and saved the day. Thanks guys!
so it was after three before I managed to venture out.
i can’t really give much of a write up as a) I was a bit frazzled after the build and b) the forks need the H & C settings sorted (in fact, they need set up properly period). This somewhat jaundiced my experience, and I only managed out for a couple of hours and didn’t really put it (or me!) under pressure.
anyway, my thoughts: it’s definite improvement on the mk3. No vagueness of steering, much better position for climbing, HA inspires confidence. And it was definitely a lot faster than the Sherpa with 2.8” B+ HR/DHR Maxxis rubber.
no pics, just didn’t have the time, as soon as it was finished and operational I was out on it. Might get some back garden weed shots done if I get the time.
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