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Have you ordered a new frame?
Have you ordered a new frame?
Who me?
All I’m going to say is that nothing in your (quoted) post was news to me... 🤪
Not that you can get one, so this is a rather pointless question, but... those with sodamax's, what are the noticeable differences, apart from it being a bit lighter?
I'm 5'7 on a small Solaris with a 40mm stem 140mm fork. I was torn between which size to go for but on advice from Cotic I went with the small. Have only ever ridden medium size bikes, (usually in between sizes) but the small Solaris is the longest bike I've owned and it fits great. I also have a small Rocket Max too
SodaMAXs are like SolarisMAXs but just a bit more so...
Are they three times better? No?
Is it the best hardtail I’ve ever owned? To me; yes.
Not quite as laterally stiff. In fact, I’d still consider the SolarisMAX a better ride, just not as light, especially if responsiveness in the singletrack is your thing.
Ah, at least I'm not missing out too much 🙂
You can take mine from my cold dead hands though. I love it. But will be moving all the cheap burly parts off it back onto the SolarisMAX frame, and then build the SodaMAX back up light for big long rides in the summer (hopefully).
+1 for cotic having the most comprehensive and well explained geometry table I’ve come across. Some other brands give no clue as to whether theirs is at sag or not. I
I'll see your lack of sag info and raise you this:. Ragley have changed the geo and recommended fork travel a number of times for the BigWig over the last few years. The A-C they quote for the geometry has never changed from 540. A bit long for the 100mm they recommended years ago and a bit short for the 140-160 they now recommend. The for hasn't changed either. I can only assume the angles have got steeper so that they end up back in the same place with the longer fork but who can tell!
Yeah, you could easily be on a Small or a Medium SolarisMAX,
Ha, welcome to my world. You'd think being between sizes would make things easier. I beg to differ
I think the small would be the ticket. I'm thinking my next hardtail will be a 'down country' type thing 120ish fork, good for mashing out miles but enough for downs and ups and also makes the less fun stuff more fun (like my bmx when I was a kid - curbs, stairs, you name it.)
18" reach just sounds mad for me. Then again a 15.5" seat tube seems really short. Apparently Sonder's designer (Neil?) Is very similar in build to me and makes medium 'his' size. The small SolarisMAX is about the same in the important numbers. The good news is, back in the before times, the leftover smalls often go discounted! Ah, the good old days, when stuff went on sale!
But will be moving all the cheap burly parts off it back onto the SolarisMAX frame, and then build the SodaMAX back up light for big long rides in the summer (hopefully).
Have to smile at this as, at present, the SodaMAX has Trace 36’s and Specialized 2.5/2.6” rubber. Not exactly ‘light’ 🤦♂️
Was planning to move the Traces on to the new frame though (need to finally get my Helms serviced and back on the SodaMAX for then though).
I don't really have anything useful to add 🤣 but I am enjoying all this Cotic love/info as I'm currently eagerly awaiting a BFeMAX frame which I'm confidently expecting to be awesome.
Since a recent spell of bad luck on the bike front I'm currently back on my medium 2008 Soul frame, running as a single speed with 100mm forks. It's tiny, and bloody terrifying at times when pointed downhill, but I love how it pedals and general ride feel.
+1 for cotic having the best geo table. and I agree that it could be even better if it also listed the geo unsagged. at least that'd make it more compareable. i made the effort and 'calculated' the unsagged geo for a medium Solaris Max in BikeCad and it'd be as follows:
head angle: 64.7
seat angle: 73.t
reach:447
stack:619
doesnt look so long or low now .... only slack really.
For a short while we showed the sagged and unsagged figures for the Soul (RIP), to make it easier to compare to other people’s listed unsagged hardtail geom… but it proved to confuse more people than it helped. So we now stick to sagged only, for easier comparison to our (and other people’s) listed full suspension geom. And because when you ride a hardtail, the forks sag. The riding geom is what matters, and sagged geom is a good starting place for understanding that, and how the bike will handle. The unsagged head angle of a long travel hardtail, like the BFeMAX, is, for example, very misleading.
I was also looking at Solaris Max, Sherpa and also the Stanton switch9er. I spoke to someone who has ridden both &and suggested for someone coming from gravel riding the Sherpa is the more manageable bike for a first time buyer. Solaris Max looks great but the reach with a 120mm bike might be a bit long compared to the off road bikes I'm use to.
Can the Solaris Max fit 29x2.7 tires like the WTB ranger that bikepacking.com digs? I do not think the switch9er or the Sherpa can go larger than 29 x2.5?
Anyone have the geo numbers for the previous gen Solaris Max or where to get one in North America?
I do not think the switch9er or the Sherpa can go larger than 29 x2.5?
No. The Sherpa is quoted as 2.4 max. I have 29er 2.35s in mine and there is definitely some wiggle room, but 2.5+ wouldn’t be feasible, I don’t think even on something very low profile.
I have a pretty slack gravel bike and though there is a bit overlap between the gravel and the Sherpa, I find the Sherpa incredibly capable and have ridden it in NW Scotland, the Lakes and Quantocks trails.
@pizzagrinder - Cotic keep all the specs for all their bikes on their website.
https://www.cotic.co.uk/product/archive
Only place I can think of for previous gen would be e.g. Pinkbike. Check findthatbike.co.uk and see if someone on here will ship it to you. There is an owners group on faceache I think, where they buy and sell. Cotic ship fairly cheaply, although not as cheap as the before times. Plus they knock off the VAT.
Stanton site mentions the Sherpa can 2.5 and in another spot 2.4. hmm
I like the older solaris max as that was more of an xc trail bike and I've had people tell me the newer one is more short travel Enduro bike with some xc touches to the geo. As a first time proper ht buyer people suggested the Sherpa. I dig the frame space in the 17, which should fit me as someone around 172cm. But I think Id prefer the unsagged reach of the switch9er and solaris max. I also really want to ride with at least a 2.5 rear. I'm use to 29x2.5 & would rather not go narrower.
Did they not make the 1st Gen SolarisMAX in small? Just looked at the archive and only have from M up. 5'9" and taller. Odd. Why do they hate shortarses?
like the older solaris max as that was more of an xc trail bike and I’ve had people tell me the newer one is more short travel Enduro bike with some xc touches to the geo.
The new one is definitely in the new school err, downcountry, style. Seattube approaching 75, headtube around 66. Supposed to be good for xc mile munching without sacrificing more technical ability. I can't really comment cos I haven't ridden enough of that style - had a go on one and it was very nice. With the right offset fork and a short stem it does seem to counter the slower, floppier steering of the slacker steering angle on the flat.
There is (was) a Sirius 4G in the classifieds that is about halfway between.
My understanding is the Sherpa with a 130mm is more the down country bike while the new gen Solaris Max even with a 120mm leans more short travel Enduro vs the Sherpa. The Sirius' stack might be too short for my liking. If only the Sherpa had the reach of the Switch9er and the site was more clear if 2.4 or 2.5 is max. I don't have mud to ever worry about.
The sherpa with a 130mm would end up at about the same angles as the SolarisMAX with the 120? Anything else different about the geo?
@pizzagrinder - I can’t get to my Sherpa till Monday (didn’t spot the 2.5 v 2.4 thing), but when I do I’ll send you some photos with the clearance on my 2.35s.
A YouTuber mentioned he had 2.5 in his a d had some clearance for a 2.5wt in the comments section. But yes that would be neat for a pic.
The Solaris Max has a longer more Enduro style reach while the cotic looks more like a modern xc bike in terms of reach.
The switch9er looks good too but I'd like to have two wheelsets. One 29x2.5 for XC and the 27.5x3.0 for the chunkier trails. Sherpa and Max can but I don't think the switch9er can like the other two. Nor can two bottle fits but the geo with a 130mm fork seems perfect for what I want to do, chunky xc and xc trail.
🥴
I've had a 29x2.6 bontrager se4 in my smax which fit fine but haven't tried larger.
I think there's a guy, @reeksy ? who I think has an smax and a swith9er who could give you a bit more info. I think he had a comparison write up a while back. Could be worth a search..
How much space was there with the 2.6? A few sites say the ranger 29 x 2.6 measure out to 2.7. It's a good tire out where Im at near Vegas.
Tbh I can't remember, but I wasn't worried, and we have mud. And the se4 was quite a bit more voluminous than a 2.5dhf if that helps
My understanding is the Sherpa with a 130mm is more the down country bike
This is the problem with 'downcountry' - nobody even knows what it means 😄
Interesting. The Sherpa is shorter, both reach and ett. Although if you go from the 500 a-c to a 130mm fork, the steeper HT and longer fork increase the stack, which puts the ETT in the same ballpark. Ends up with much shorter reach of course.
The fly in the ointment is the BB. They quote 54mm drop with the short fork. Put a long fork on it and it's going to end up really high. Don't know how that'll feel.
This is the problem with ‘downcountry’ –
To be honest, I don't know what enduro, trail, XC mean any more either. The lines have become so blurred. To me, enduro is a short travel full suss. Trail is whatever you happen to be riding on the Trails at the time. XC is a short travel HT with fairly upright angles. Downhill is pretty reliable though, as is DJ.
Xc to means usually more flowly trails that doesn't require much travel. Since I'm in the desert our trails are more rougher than and more xc meets trail riding. pinkbike defines downcountry bike as a short travel bike you can ride on a lot of trails all day and not feel under gunned.
Interesting. Question of emphasis, I guess. I've always heard them described as developing from XC, good at going down, good at going up, more capable on trails and technical single track than true XC but mostly emphasis on their efficiency. Pedalling and so on. So all day riding.
The Sherpa was 20% off for black friday - maybe boxing day.
Switch9er was 20% off Sherpa was only 10% still pretty good.
I wonder if Stanton would take a custom order for Sherpa with Switch9er reach. I think Stanton use to accept modifications to geo on orders? Does Cotic offer that? Like get a SolarisMax in a medium with a 12mm shorter reach?
Okay saw a video and slightly oversized 2.6 just fit the switch9er so a true to size 2.6 would be no problem for the desert. I doubt it could be setup 27.5x3.0 rear like the Sherpa or Solaris Max, but I guess I could do 3.0 front and 2.6 rear for those rougher rides. I will be ordering the switch9er Monday morning. 👏 Yes new frame day coming up!
I think there’s a guy, @reeksy ? who I think has an smax and a swith9er who could give you a bit more info. I think he had a comparison write up a while back. Could be worth a search..
Yes, that's me.
I rode 3,500km on the original SolarisMax with Fortus 30 and a 36 Trace set at 140mm. I really liked that. It did everything, super capable downhill, if a bit heavy for 100km trudges days and big climbs.
Then I swapped the gear over to my Switch9er a year (and two days) ago and have done 2000km of singletrack on that. The shorter reach needed a longer stem (35 changed for a 50mm) to feel comfortable.
I've continued to get faster on downhills, generally keeping up with mates on FS bikes and hit the top 10 on a popular local fast flowy pedally 4 minute segment.
I've had so many rear punctures in the last year landing hard on rocks I'm running DH casing. I don't think it climbs as well as the SMax.
The SMax now runs a 140mm Manitou 34mm fork and Fortus 26 wheels and i've done 3000km of gravel/bitumen/singletrack commuting on it. It's way lighter and better for longer hauls. But I also know that if the Stanton was poorly i could swap the wheels and take the Cotic out in all the same places.
Thank you for the input. Stoked to get my Stanton
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Oh, just saw the 2.6 tyre comment. I fitted a 2.6 Dissector briefly on my Stanton and it rubbed the left hand side so took it off and run a 2.4 instead.
Would 2.5 fit then? Does Stanton normally do a boxing day sale?
I reckon a Maxxis 2.5 probably would, depending on the side lugs... my rear wheels always tend to have a bit of a wobble for some reason 😉
Did you put 120mm forks on the new version? That’s Cy’s favoured setup for a fast XC SolarisMAX build.
@kelvin - that is how I started out but just couldn't solve neck ache issues (after 15 miles) despite playing with spacers, bars, stems and seat position. In the end I just got a 140mm air shaft for the fork and problem solved. But it's also turned it into something not quite what I wanted.
It's a proper bruiser now.... but at the expense of a bit of all day rideability.
I prefer it fitted with the longer fork as well, and I don't find anything is lost in doing so. It's just a suggestion for those that don't find the handling "XC" enough... whatever that means. Modern geometry doesn't have any downside for me... just as good on climbs and long rides as far as I can tell, and then ready for anything on the downs.