@maxtorque – or you tell Jake at Sprung Suspension (based in the FOD) what you don’t like and he tweaks it and like magic, it’s a loaf better 🙂

Happy to lead a ride, would need to be a small one tho….

I’m dithering. But I think I’ll go with the x-fusion. It’s kind of simple and so am I. The Cane Creek DB Air CS I have on my Aeris just does my nut in. I know there’s a good setting somewhere but I can’t seem to make it work the way I want too.

If you’re average weight and speediness then the base tune should work pretty damned well. Apart from a few months early on with the HSR slower on my Spitfire I’ve had it in the base tune for a few years.

Note that twin tube shocks tend to feel a bit calmer than ones where the damping fluid has to reverse direction vs the valving, which I presume is due to much lower turbulence or cavitation. So a Cane Creek may feel less poppy but it usually isn’t, it’s just a bit more planted through all the little jitters.

I tried the XL RocketMAX on Friday evening and came away very impressed. For reference I’ve spent the last 3 ½ years on a Nicolai Helius AC 29er, with 150mm/140mm Avalanche tweaked Pike and DHX air, so big wheels aren’t new to me, and I’ve been spoiled by the Avalanche kit, but I think the biggest compliment I can pay the Rocket is that I immediately felt at home on it. The Drop Link suspension felt pretty damn good, even when pushed, and it felt surprisingly playful for an XL.
Compared to my large Nic the XL Cotic is approximately 35mm longer in TT, 25mm in Reach, 40mm in wheelbase and with similar 140mm forks it is 1deg slacker. The longer wheelbase was immediately noticeable through the tight twisty stuff, but it wasn’t unwieldy, and I soon adjusted, helped in part I think by the extra length in the TT and Reach which allowed me more room to move around. The 448mm stays didn’t feel as long as I thought they might (453mm on the Nic), easily managing to pop wheelies and manual over stuff, the rear end felt plenty stiff enough, and the slacker HA improved confidence on the steeper stuff without feeling too floppy climbing back up. So far so good.
On paper I thought the 505mm seat tube might have been a bit long and I had concerns about being able to fit a 150mm Reverb, but I think the demo bike was fitted with a 150mm RF Turbine dropper so if that was the case I should be ok. Need to double check with Cy or Sam though as I wouldn’t want to go back to a 125mm dropper.
Not sure what else I can add. 90 minutes on familiar trails is a great way to get a feel for a new bike and although I would love to have taken the Rocket to my local hill, which is a bit more DH orientated, I don’t think I would have any hesitation swapping the Nic for one.

The spec of the bike was as follows.

RocketMAX XL in red
140mm X-Fusion Trace with Roughcut damper
X-Fusion 02 shock (140mm travel)
XT Brakes
XT 1×11
WTB Ci24 rims / Hope hubs
WTB Vigilante front / Trail Boss rear
RF respond bars – 785mm
Stem – didn’t check but suitably short
Turbine Cinch cranks (I think)
Turbine Dropper

Overall weight – don’t know, but it didn’t feel any heavier than my Nic which is currently sitting around 31.5lbs.

Other things I learned. The new X-Fusion kit is very good, especially the Roughcut fork which was supple and very well controlled, and I think I would really need to be going some to faze the O2 shock. Oh, and I still don’t like Shimano brakes.

So, apologies for the ramble as I tend to struggle to convey in writing what I feel on a bike, but it was a cracking Friday evening out with Cotic and I learned a lot from it. I think there was 13 of us in total and everyone seemed to enjoy whatever bikes they were riding, whether 650, 29 or chubby. Plenty of swapping going on too. A big thanks to Joe at Bike Remedy in Stonehaven for organising, and thanks also to Sam at Cotic for taking the bikes up and listening to my ramblings.