[Closed] New Cotic Solaris Max, it has bottle bosses

That’s for a frame bag or something, surely?

The website explains it.

I got the email from Cy about ten minutes ago. It says this about the bosses:

There are some new bottle boss locations, with the downtube now lined with bosses at 64mm bottle cage centres. These give you the flexibility to run two bottles (as per the previous bike), or a bottle and an Anything Cage style luggage system. Or a tool keg, or anything else you can bolt to bottle bosses. As ever, they also double up for the neat and tidy p-clipped dropper routing.

Should have put three on the underside of the downtube as well - a good place for an anything style cage.

Taking out the bolts you don't need and putting some black silicone grommet blanks in there would tidy that up nicely. Like the orange too! Sadly my work situation means I can't commit to buying a frame and fork right now, if I was being made redundant I'd have the money to do a decent build and if I was keeping my job I could get a frame and build it up over time. Please don't sell them all by the time I can commit, like has happened with every batch of the last lot!

The bolts will be far less noticeable once there's a dropper cable and the cable clips installed, I'd say. The just look prominent in the pic with nothing behind them.

Hard to tell if the orange is actually a metallic finish or just a gloss orange, the BFeMax sort of looked metallic in the website shots but in reality is a more normal blue.

I think I've messed up by waiting - the reach ends up 10mm shorter on this than the BFeMax with a 140 fork, and that's sagged reach too, which makes it uncomfortably close to the bike it woul dbe replacing. Not sure I'd want an XL with a 495 ST.

Hard to tell if the orange is actually a metallic finish or just a gloss orange

It’s the sparkly paint, as previously used on the FlareMAX.

495mm seat tube on the XL is a bit old-school now, no reason why it can't be 460mm or even shorter.

The XL Flaremax that I rode for a demo has the same length ST but the TT possibly drops a little lower into the ST than on the Solaris.

I'd love an XL in that orange.

@Cy any chance of a CtoC for the ST on an XL please?

Those bottle bosses are hurting my eyes. Could you fit conical spikes for a maximum punk look?

^ Seat tube length on an XL is fine at 495mm, if you are 6,3" + even with a 175mm or 200mm dropper.

Double down tube bottles has a certain retro chic to it!

^ Seat tube length on an XL is fine at 495mm, if you are 6,3″ + even with a 175mm or 200mm dropper.

Yeah it's fine if you're tall.

I'm 6ft 3in and I've gone from a 523mm seat tube which fitted a 150mm brand x with maybe 20mm to spare, to a 485mm seat tube which will fit a 200mm dropper with room to spare. But the trend is for shorter seat tubes, if you're 6ft and want to size and up fit a 200mm dropper for instance.

That trend needs to continue imo. The bikes look less like a gate, everyone can fit longer droppers, and more people have access to bigger range of sizes.

All those frame zits!  Was the design outsourced to Bicycle Pubes😀

Wow.. 8 bottle bosses & 6 fixed cable guides. Half expecting a braze on front derailleur mount and removable v-brake boses too. I think it's using the huge ugly silver bolts that cheapens it all and makes it look more dramatic. Should have used black dome headed bolts and blanking plugs.

@Kelvin - why no bosses on the underside of the downtube? Would make it even better for bikepacking. They're the main thing missing from my Mk1 Solaris.

If I was getting one of these, I’d be ordering up a pack of black bolts, for sure. I can see someone more flashy getting a load of oil slick ti bolts!

Agree on the under downtube bosses as well… I really wish my old SolarisMAX had those, just for a tool pack down there when riding with the family. There are two on the BFeMAX, which was designed after this new SolarisMAX, despite arriving before it. Something for next year’s batch perhaps.

Is it possible to use Rivnuts to add mounts? I've done that on my Puffin but the tube walls are a bit thicker than on the Solaris.

Way above my skill set! I wouldn’t.

Has anyone seen some photos that actually give you a reference for the colour? The blue could be lovely or gopping from the ‘on black’ background.

Strangely, I’ve been waiting for one of these for months (in mercury!) and now I feel a little bit ‘meh’.

Just replace the bolts with Allen key grub screws (loctited)

Midnight Blue looks almost black in flat light… you need sunlight or a spot to see all the sparklyness. It is actually super subtle most of the time. Needs outdoor bike photos really… but there’s no spare kit to build photo/demo bikes at the moment… everything is going on customer bikes to get them out to them.

Midnight Blue frame on a white background for you…

yeah bit of a let down those colours

The blue is actually growing on me. Which is strange as it's very close to the sparkly black that I didn't like at all!

Midnight Blue frame on a white background for you

Ooooh, ok. That I think I like- thanks. And I’ve just found the email- got auto sorted by google somewhere unhelpful.

hmmmm, it's a no from me. Those bottle bosses and the colours, nope. I'm sure it will ride really nice and all, but i'd still have to look at it

Reminds me of Vivian from the Young Ones [orange one obs]

I like the orange - but just one set of mounts under the downtube was all that was needed. Just looks messy now.

Damn! I have recently bought one of the last batch and the minor alterations seem to address my minor criticisms - oh apart from the head badge which is a distinct retrograde step. Still it's not going to detract from enjoying the bike.

I'd be ordering (an orange) one if I hadn't invested enough in bikes during this pandemic already... I like the orange, but like others find Cotic colour choices a bit random/poor in general these past couple of years. I say that as a Cotic owner and self confessed fanboy.

I think it's just a bit all over the shop, some metallic, some flat, change of downtube logo, change of head badge, it's chaotic to say the least and doesn't really give the impression of an overriding brand image or style. Obviously as new models are released/old stock sold off the logos and badges will align, but personally I think it would be better to stick to one paint finish and colour palette somehow.

Things are more diverse look wise now that Cotic has grown, as lots of people collectively set the look these days, it’s no longer left to me (far from it). This may well mean things look less coherent (magnified by the fact a few models still use the old graphics style, while others use the new one) but as not everyone likes the same look, hopefully a wider range of paint finishes and colours might appeal to a wider selection of riders.

That looks hideous. What were they thinking?

Kelvin, I think the opposite- you’ve had a run of good paint jobs, I’ve liked almost every colour that’s come in over the last few years, it’s the just the ones I haven’t have almost all been on the bike I want to buy! Then the two I did like weren’t in stock. Bad luck for me.,.

The new graphics will never replace the downtube wrap but they’re sound and hark back to the originals. The head badge looks a lot better in metal. I didn’t like the change at first but I see why you’re doing it.

you’ve had a run of good paint jobs, I’ve liked almost every colour that’s come in over the last few years

I’ve liked every single colour, you’ll be unsurprised to hear. But the suggestion that they are more varied and less focussed is valid… they are coming from more people… and hopefully that wider variety is a good thing for more riders who can get bikes they like the look of.

Ultimately though… the ride and handling of the newer models is what really excites me… the longshot changes have vastly improved the bikes across the range.

I didn’t like the change at first but I see why you’re doing it.

I fully expect the initial “why has it changed” response from many will wane given time.

Quite like the new graphics, and the metallic paint finished look pretty good, the colours of them are a matter of taste, you can't please everyone. The new headbadge looks good too, although I do miss the manic grin of the old one, I'd have tried to incorporate him somehow.

Nobody seems to like the bottle bolts though.

Nobody seems to like the bottle bolts though.

If we’d been able to build bikes for photos, with dropper post cable in place, and used black bolts, there wouldn’t be the fuss.

If I was getting a new frame, and we weren’t all mostly staying put at the moment, I’d be looking at one of these…

https://backcountry.scot/product/drj0n-bagworks-double-trouble-triple/

The bottle bolts aren't a deal-breaker for me as I reckon by the time you've put a dropper cable down them and a bottle cage/tool chest or both on there they'll pretty much disappear. Add in some blanking grommets or low height black bolts and they won't be an issue. It would have looked better with only 5 bolts for two bottles and the cable mount at the top but I can see why they've done it.

The colours and decals look nice, but the new headtube badge is just bland. Bottle bosses look awful. Then again if everyone liked the same things it would be a boring world.

I like the new colours, don't mind the bottle bosses (they won't notice in real life) but have a slightly irrational but very strong dislike of the head tube badge - but I'd still buy one, (if I hadn't already got one of the previous gen. that I rode properly for the first time off road yesterday)!

P.S. all those lamenting the loss of the Mercury colour - you probably dodged a bullet. While I do like mine in that colour it is slightly frustrating how easily it scratches - I don't mean daily wear and tear - that would be fine - I mean coming into contact with it in any way at all resulting in another scratch - the Andrex puppy's tail would have it down to bare metal in a flash...

I’ve got the oldest Mercury Cotic… it was the frame the paint was tested on first…and love the way it’s aged. No, it doesn’t look like it did when it was new… loads of scratches, but I don’t mind the scratches the way I do on a bright coloured bike… the scratches showing the black coating, or even bare steel, fit in well with the paint, rather than jumping out as eyesores. I’d choose that paint again for my own bike, even if there are now plenty of other options that look better when box fresh.

Well if anyone wants to sell one their old outdated rubbish purple frames in large.... I'm your man 😬

I just bought a sparkly black frame last month and was a bit frustrated when learned this was coming last week.

However the changes are negligible and I really like the bike I have so in reality I am not fussed. All those bottle bosses do look a bit weird but I am sure once the cables are fitted you won’t notice.

Steeper (slightly) seat tube I get but not sure I understand the need for a longer head tube

New orange colour is nice though...and I like the new graphics and head tube badge.

Ive seen the Orange colour way on the Internet & in the real world & it looks brilliant on both! Great addition!

In general people don't like change but companies have to evolve, Cotic have made a lot of bold moves in recent years & that should be celebrated really!

Those bottle bosses do look a lil untidy, but in practice I wish my Soda Max had them so I could run x2 Cages & Hose clips neatly!

I'm a proven Cotic fanboi but I ****ing hate those bolts. I mean, that and the cable management along there was the only thing I'd change from the last model, but I didn't mean "make it worse".