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Pay day is today... another ocassion cotics lack of options for a big man leave me going elsewhere as i dont like those other colours, not for £600 anyway.
"lack of options for a big man"
?
An XL big wheeled model, with proper reach, produced in three colour options… just selling out fast. Anyone wanting any other size will be in the same position very soon I suspect.
If its sold out (because such a small amount were ordered) its not an option is it i guess?
bit like xl soul back in the day...
The Dark Metal and Cosmic Black options have proven to be very popular…
Stop it you filthy enablers! I don't need to replace my mk1...
But... Hypothetically, I wonder if I'd fit a small or a medium? I'm 5'7 on a good day and female. My other Solaris is a small but I've always felt it too small. These are so different though.
I've always ridden large Souls (not the latest version). I've held off on the Solaris 'till now, as the medium was too short, and the large too high. The new Solaris in medium is perfect for me. You may well be a small. I'm 5'11'.
@kelvin - I guess lack of options is a reference to the fact that preferred options have sold out in just a couple of weeks.
Fully intended to buy one but I'm between sizes and really want to sit on one but sold out in two weeks? 🙁
Hats off for great bikes and a successful business, but work to do on supply chain logistics?
It's a fast seller. Act quick, or wait for a future batch. Not sure what other recommendation to make? Plenty of XL in Green still. Others sizes still in stock in all colours (although medium Green nearly all gone, as are Large in the two "new" "colours"). I suspect lots of people have been waiting for this model since they'd seen the other longshot hardtails, hence a lot of interest the moment it went on sale to the public. Get on the COTIC mailing list if you want first dibs on anything coming in future.
Where's everyone elses build photos?
Some feedback from me- I've done about 80 miles now of mixed riding. I live on the Ridgeway, so it tends to be steep up, flat, steep down, flat, then rince and repeat. I've used the same build kit that was on the Whyte, bar a shorter stem and different bar.
The build- few niggly bits when I first built it up, but soon rectified or got used to. Mainly a few burs on the seattube slot that cut up my new dropper post. The external cable routing (vs. internal on the whyte) takes some getting used to and I've had to apply much invisi tape. Interestingly, I've noticed that the seatube has a sleeve bonded (I assume) in. It's light though and the colour is really nice.
So, climbing- it's longer and more stable than the Whyte, and despite the slacker headangle and short stem (32mm), the long chainstays and wheelbase prevent the front wheel from popping up. It's comfortable climbing and benefits from winching rather than standing and sprinting or husseling it up as on an XC bike. It got me a PB on a steep lose rocky climb without adding anymore effort. That's the bit that blew me away. It's a nasty climb with deep ruts and lose chalky rocks and gravel on top, yet the bike just dragged me up. In general though, it's fine and get's the job done. You just need to take your time. Something I'm not used to. I tend to try and get the climbs out the way as qucikly as possibly.
Cotic 1, Whyte 1.
It deals with the flats very well. Carries speed better than the Whyte over the dry chewed up trails. I would say that the trail chatter feels about the same. This might be because of the QR + alu on the Whyte, vs Steel + boost on the Cotic. No disernarable difference either way. I found myself in higher gears and general matching my PB (either exceedeing or riding 2nd-3rd time) which is good going considering the headwind recently and not feeling 100%. Early days, but it's more comortable with the long TT, even with the shorter stem. I could see myself riding this all day without issue to cover lots of distance.
Cotic 2, Whyte 1.
Descending, leaving the best till last.. it's the most competent descending hardtail I've ridden. I was pretty happy with how it rode until I reached one of my favourite descents- about 2 mins worth of Singletrack. Then it blew me away. The way it picks up speed is phenominal. Once up to speed it is remakably stable, yet playful enough to kick the back end out and manual or pull the nose over trail features. I was so comfortable that I could carve it lower and fast, staying off the brakes where I've never been able to in the past whilst staying lose. The lower ST, long wheelbase and slack HA are so noticable, and I was a skeptic to begin with. I have smashed every descent PB I've ridden, and it's generally where I excel. I've ridden these trails hundreds of time on different bikes (inc. LT 29er FS bikes, ST 29er FS bikes) but the Cotic has categorically been the most fun and quickest. I can certainly feel the stiffer back end over the Whyte QR, but this make the bike feel more direct and gives a bit more confidence, at the expense of comfort. I've been laughing and shaking my head in dibelief at the bottom of every descent. Looks like an LS geometry 29er is the perfect tool for my local descents.
Cotic 3, Whyte 1.
Other musings.. Geometry- It's very easy to manual, which doesn't really make sense to me. I can just pop it up and hold it without too much bother. However, it's more difficult to kick the back out. I assume this is down to longer CS and wheelbase. I can still do it mind. Jumping also requires a little more effort over the Whyte, but with the added speed I'm able to clear larger features.
Dropper- I'm running a 150mm dropper which has been a weird sensation. Previously 120mm is the longest I've run, but with 150mm the dropper just disapears. It's made me realise how much I used to use the saddle for support, but also how instrusive it is. With it completly out the way, you can get really low and push the bike right over.
Debonair Airspring- I changed the travel to 130mm a month ago in anticipation of this bike, so ordered a Deonair Airspring from Bird (big thanks to Ben). This is one of the best upgrades I've made, despite it only costing £15 more! It's added the small bump sensitivity that the Pike's been lacking. I've ridden Pike in various forms since the 35mm version came out. I've akways liked them, but the small bump sensititvty has been poor. This fixes it, and with 2 tokens, it makes the fork nice and linear, with just enough tokens to ramp up at the end for the big hits. Big fan!
Gearing- despite running the same gearing, 32x10-42t, I find that I'm in between gears more so I'm shifting more. Not sure why, but I think I'm carrying a little more speed in general, so I'm sitting inbetween gears. I might need to play with a different sized chainring.. 34t oval maybe?
Overall, it's a lovely bike and am very pleased. I wouldn't say I suffer from new bike syndrome as I just move them on if I don't gel (sometimes after a couple rides). I would highly recommend a test ride to anyone and mines available near Didcot, if you fancy a ride. The LongShot geometry is really good and has challenged my preconseptions in my head. Ignore the numbers on the page and go ride one. I think this might be the best bike yet for my local trails. I'm glad I waited and didn't go for something else. Good job Cy and team!
Good review that, nice job
Nice write up cokie - I'm in the North Wessex Downs, but on the hills you'd see looking south from the Ridgeway.
I have an Absolute Black oval 32t if you wanted to try it? It won't fit what I have ordered.
Mine is here. In a box. Looking at me. STW were right about cosmic black, though my kids are calling it Beetle Shell
Eagle on order, Levels too, wheels about to get clicked on. Economising with pre owned tyres, saddle and seat post, dropper will have to keep a bit (never had one so likely won't miss it). Can't wait now.
Cheers for the review Cokie, excellent right up... I had a feeling that was Ridgeway when you posted pics last week. I'm down in west berks btw.. I run a 34t oval on my original Solaris (it works well), if I go for new version, I'll run the same with 120 upfront
Bike looks mint cokie.
Really looking forward to my test ride on Sunday now!
Can anybody tell me what type of CK headset you need for one of these beasts?
Inset 7
More generally…
ZS44 top / EC44 bottom
Thanks Kelvin.
XL green frame just arrived!
I have to say the green colour looks much less bogging in the flesh than it does on the website. I think maybe the green is just not a photogenic colour.
Frame feels pretty lightweight.
BUT.... 15 quid for that tiny tiny spare derailleur hanger!!??
Syntace hanger is much the same price everywhere. Personally, I'm glad it's not a proprietary hanger.
The Green XL is now sold out… but one Cosmic Black XL is available, due to a cancelled order… act quickly if you want it.
That XL is gone now… other sizes down to last few.
Photos don't do the paint job justice - was wavering a bit seeing the green & metal finishes but glad I went with it.
Before anyone says it, not my garden 😀 - seatpost has gone way up since that was taken too.
Had a few quick rides, still tweaking position but so far it's everything I hoped for. Built up it feels lighter than expected too. Many thanks to SW Cycle Workshop for doing hte build - it was deserving of a bit of professional pixie dust, and has come back just so.
Brassneck, that looks fantastic and really purposeful! Almost like a BFe.
Still loving mine. Out 3-4 times a week at the moment. So much dust covered hardpack up here is making some of the descents really sketchy. Now that I've got used to the handling, it's smashing all of my records and my general trail riding is quicker. Few cherry picked strava runs (mostly descents, but theres a climb in there too).
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Nicely! Is that above Wantage? Did a CX ride after a race with no. 2 son over winter up there.
Wasn't dusty then 😀
I'd agree even this early it needs relearning a bit - it really seems better being hustled a bit over the forks, so I need to 'princess and the pea' fork and tyre pressure, although even with super high back pressure to ensure the tubeless seats well it's comfy.
Had one of the first (I think) Hunt MTB wheels. - wide XC 29ers - light (1600g), true and the clickiest freehub in Christendom. Will wait to see the longevity but so far they seem an utter bargain for £320.
Levels are good enough, but I think some non stock pads will be in order. Again for what I paid they seem great value.
In short - after all my hmming about the 'extreme' geometery - I think they got it right. It's just a lovely mountain bike.
Yeah, Wantage monument. Great view over Oxfordshire from around there.
I think the longer back end took me the longest to get used to. On the Whyte I used to hang over the bars on climbs to keep the nose down, but then you'd sometimes lose traction. No such problem with the Solaris. I originally thought it was a sit and winch bike, but now I'm used to it you can really get the power down on the climbs.
Agreed, geomtry just seems 'right' (whatever that means..).
Cokie... what length forks are you running (apologies if mentioned above, I scanned but didn't spot it)
@sheck 130mm debonair airshaft.
I’ll be fitting 140mm on the next fork service. I think it would suit it quite well.
Finally got to build and ride my new bike, an XL Solaris Max in Dark Metal. This arrived whilst I was away on holiday, so it’s taken a while to find the time to service old bits, to build up the new bits, and the shakedown ride was on Saturday:
Build notes:
The frame was delivered nicely prep’d. The headset and seat clamp were fitted by Cotic. The frame weighs in at 2600g (allowing for 100g of fitted parts). The BB shell to be perfectly faced and chased. The seattube is reamed for the top ~150mm (no sleeve suggested by Cokie), but the seatpost goes past this point no problem.
I have fitted new 140mm Pikes, with a 42mm offset. After much deliberation I chose these to make the bike as different as possible to my previous bike, an XL V2 Scandal with 100mm travel Floats. This bike is an ‘all-round trail bike’. The climbing ability is very important because I spend more time going up than going down. Whilst I think 120mm forks would be the more natural choice, I want to try the most extreme setting to see how ‘bad’ it can be.
A small niggle with the DT Swiss wheels is that the decals for these wheels are in the traditional orientation, but on the rim side walls. This results in them being upside-down to the tyre labels. The wheel decals are also offset to the valve hole, but in a different direction on opposite sides. So despite having aligned the tyres to the valves, I think I will do differently next time.
The brakes, controls and drivetrain have been moved across from my old bike. Non-Boost single ring cranks with a 30T chainring have fitted with ok clearance.
The 30mm stem is dinky:
Cotic include a neoprene chainstay protector in the box, but this is really too short for the 440mm chainstays. I think I prefer innertube wrap anyway.
The under top tube routing for the rear brake hose and gear cable are ok, but the clips for the bosses on the downtube are a minor irritation. I hope they open out a bit and aren’t too frustrating when fitting or removing bottle cages. The hole in the seattube has sharp edges which scratch up the cable outer. A grommet is included in the box, but this needs to be fitted before the cable.
I can fit two 750ml bottle on the downtube, but I need a side loading cage for the lower position at least. These have been ordered to try.
Looking good. Another reason that raw colour may score, I scratched the top tube at the weekend 🙁 yeah yeah its a mountain bike get over it, but its still a new bike!
This weekend was a family bimble around Pewsey Vale which turned into an extended wheely contest along the towpath (I lost, age not toolset). Just have a big fat smile everytime I ride it. Speaking of which, it's lunchtime, would be rude not too....
Ahh yes. I knew I'd forget something. With such a slack head angle, and with the bars slammed, I get a big clash between controls and the top tube upon bar rotation. I have used some waxed cotton cord whipped around the frame to offer some protection.
I have the first gen Solaris Max in medium I share with my daughter. I'm 5ft11, she's a couple of inches shorter and it's just a bit small for me. It's been brilliant fun tho for 2 hour rides in the local woods. Always run it chubby.
After talking to Cy, I'm having another M in the Longshot variant. Will be running it with a 140mm pike and some Carbon 42mm wheels. Prob run it 29 in the winter.
This is part of my 'I have too many bikes' reduction strategy. My RipMo is so good, I'm just not going to ride my Mojo3 so that's getting added to the sale pile that has my smuggler in it. I've convinced myself this has been an evolution where I end up with 1xFS 29 and 1xFS chubby/29 and that's all I need. Others who know me better may have a different view!
Anyway this will be my 7th Cotic and the Solaris Max was my current fav (with my now sold Flare Max just behind) so I have high hopes...
I've had my Solaris Max in plus mode a couple of weeks now and really enjoying it. The amount of traction on loose climbs is amazing, plus I'm much more confident on the steep downs.
I'd speced it with 130mm fork travel, but it arrived with them set at 140mm. First ride I found the front end a little wandery on the steeper climbs compared to the mk1 and 100mm forks I'd been riding.
I've dropped the stem 10mm and its a little better. Don't wish to drop it any further and risk bar contact with top tube.
I'm more than happy with its performance on the descents, but I'm a strange one and generally enjoy climbing more than descending
Cotic have offered me to send forks back for them to adjust, but I wanted to poll what others are running? And thoughts in general which it rides best with? How does it ride with 120mm?
Thanks
I too came from a 29er hardtail with 100mm travel forks, but something a lot steeper, a V2 Scandal.
For the LS Solaris 120mm forks were my initial consideration to keep handling sharp etc. But I have ended up on 140mm forks to see how good/bad it is. I have even chosen a short offset (42mm) fork.
After a couple of rides I can say that I do notice the steering wandering about a bit when I'm tired or lazy, but not to a degree that has caused any problem. The same goes for steering flop at stationary or v slow speeds. I notice it, but it doesn't detract from the ride. The bike actually has incredible stability and grip when climbing. I have found myself choosing steeper routes trying to find it's limit, some that I have never ridden before. I have the stem and bars slammed very low. I need an XL frame so I am used to my bars hitting the top tube on every bike, so I have made a protection pad for my Solaris.
On the Pikes that I have it is possible to change down to 120mm of travel, but I'm not going to rush in to changing it. I think I will get some rigid forks for the winter, and then see how that is before perhaps altering the forks down to 120mm next year. That might be a change rather than because I think it will be better.
130mm here. Wouldn't want less.
130mm here too. Seems to be the Goldilocks zone.
I've slammed the stem too, bars don't hit (Cotics own) but controls do. Might go with a neoprene cover I think.
130mm for me too.
Feels great and certainly wouldn't go lower.
Tempted to try 140mm when I next service the forks.
What bar and stem combos are people running?
Running 32mm stem (Turbine R) with 800mm bars, but tempted to run 40-45mm stem..
I ordered 130mm forks, I’m not 100% that they’re not set at 120mm though... how much stantion length should you have on McQueen HLRs at that height? I’ve got ~135mm.
im happy enough with it though whatever though(so not really gone down the hassle Cy route, well at least not yet... 🤣 ). No wandery front end experience for me at least. Found climbing easier on the new than the old if I’m honest (with 120mm forks).
im running renthal 800 fat bars on Cotic 35mm stem. Contemplating cutting down to 780mm, but just not yet...
Sold out in large in all colours now till December.
Gutted that my order is now on hold till then
I'm in the process of building my XL up right meow, I'm going to go for the 140 pikes initially but I expect to lower them down. I guess it's not a difficult job, but I've never done it before. The aim is to get out this week on it, if I haven't forgotten something I need!
Sold out in large in all colours now till December.
Watched the medium grays go away, then when the greens disappeared as well I had to get a black one...
Thanks for the helpful feedback.
Mine is a large, running chubby with McQueen HLR forks, 35mm stem and Cotic bars.
Mine have 144mm of stanchion and when I let all the air out it used it all up, so I was pretty sure mine were 140mm.
@Metalheart, sounds like you have 130mm
Just back from a short ride with some steep bits in and you can't argue it's a phenomenal climber, just think a lower front end would make it epic. Going to send them back (whilst I'm on hols) and try them at 130mm which sounds like it could be the perfect balance, and what I rode when I demoed at FOD
I'm liking the Mcqueens, what pressure and settings are others running? I'm at 73psi on bottle no hydration pack, no HSC and 5 click of LSC. What really surprises is how little movement I have on smooth tracks and Road, despite no lockout. Think I could go a little lower on pressure.
Ive also got myself a digital pressure gauge and put in the pressures in I thought my pump was telling me, only to find it was a much harsher ride. I'm a 90kg rider, what are others running in 2.8 tyres?
Did give it some tonight, but knocked 2 mins off my best over a 13 min climb despite this being 4lbs heavier than my Mk1....go figure....I'm loving this bike and looking forward to trying it with lighter 29er wheels sometime
Ta
Cheers ponty, that’s reassuring to hear.
im a bit of a FF and have (literally) just reduced my pressure by 5 to 80. Found similar to yourself. Not tested out at that though.
I’m running 1-2 clicks (maybe 3 on the lower, non-gold, one) on both.
Size advice
missed out on large frame at 6 ft is the xl too big ?
Planning on running 30mm stem.
general natural trail riding
XL might be ok if you like a long bike. It is 30mm longer then the L.
Ponty - reducing fork travel by 10mm will reduce sagged bar height by 7mm. That is sod all whichever way you look at it. I think that if you really find the bars too high after giving it a chance, lower the stem or fit lower rise bars.
Before
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/930/43668674892_380d6fd25d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/930/43668674892_380d6fd25d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/29wRnDN ]Cotic Solaris Max v2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
After
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/934/41907264940_2b624af69d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/934/41907264940_2b624af69d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/26RcFQG ]Cotic Solaris Max v2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Ridden
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/931/41982331690_b9a38a2f03_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/931/41982331690_b9a38a2f03_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/26XQqz1 ]First ride of the SolarisMax V2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Celebrate with a beer 🙂
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/928/29920816158_54a04d64fe_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/928/29920816158_54a04d64fe_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/MA11dE ]First ride of the SolarisMax V2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Wrote a thing: http://pickled-hedgehog.com/?p=4146
Cosmic Black loving here 😀 - don't lean it against the metal post! Looking good in plus.
re: Stem & Bars - running 35mm RSP stem, with 780mm Cotic bars. One 10mm spacer under stem (just becuase I wasn't 100% sure) and a 5mm on top (I always do this, carbon steerer thing I just like now).