Newbie questions coming up, ducks for cover.

Im looking upgrade my old trek hardtail to one of these. Id like to build the cotic upto a similar spec to the orange. It will be mainly used for hacking round the local woods (nothing too extreme), a few weekends riding at brechfa (never been but its the closest place with long trails to me) and hopeing to maybe do some endurance events as well.

Ive spent many hours pouring over reviews in mags and online but still cant make my mind up. Getting to a dealer to try one is a bit tricky as I live in the backend of nowhere when it comes to dealers.

Opinions on both these bikes would be great, thanks.

Put a post up here asking if there’s any local Soul/Crush owners to you.

Or just get a Soul as if you get a Crush you’ll always be wondering if you should have got a Soul

And there’s an Orange one in Medium that looks good over on the classifieds, no connection to seller

I’ve got a Soul and love it.
A friend has a Crush and loves it.

(personally I’d say Soul for the type of riding you describe)

I was leaning towards the soul but was a bit concerned it would be directed too much towards xc and when my skills improved I would find it too lightly built or lacking in other areas. Im sure both these bikes are far more capable than ill ever be and im thinking I need something more extreme than im actually capable of using.

Imaginary problems… the Soul is a trail bike, not some XC race machine.

Dean, my mates just thinking of putting Large Cotic Soul up for sale. Frame or complete bike. He says it’s awesome.

Read what Cy has to say about the Soul on this page:

http://www.cotic.co.uk/news/archive2013

Scroll down to 02/09/2013: Soul – Tough as Old Boots.

Still unconvinced get a BFe.

What size soul are you looking for? I’ve got a small (16in) soul that will be up for sale when I get back to the UK (south Wales) next month. Can give you more details of the full build if interested. It’s a 2007 model so wouldn’t be looking for a whole lot of money for it.
Ps I’ve. Ever ridden a crush but the soul is a far better bike for most people’s needs IMHO

Id be looking at a large I think, being 6’1″ and 34″ inside leg but ill speak to cotic to double check.

I thought a soul would do all i need but just needed to put my mind at rest.

I ride Brechfa alot and have had both a crush and Mk1 soul (both 26″). The crush was more capable on the descents but as an allround bike, the soul was much much nicer. Dont get fooled into thinking its just an XC bike, as its not, its a great bike.

I have a Mk1 Soul frame plus parts for sale in a large if you are interested? Lovely bike, just need cash and garage space…

Soul +1

I’ve owned a Crush and it was a very fun bike, but it was harsh ride. Which isn’t a bad thing at all on shorter rides, great having a stiff frame. I found it a bit harsh towards the end of longer rides though

the Soul is a trail bike, not some XC race machine.

For sure. I’ve got a weight-weenied Scott Scale and a Soul. One of them’s like wrestling with a crack-addicted weasel, the other’s like going for a stroll in the park with an old friend. No prizes for guessing which is which.
Brechfa’s out my back door so if you fancy trying out the Soul just let me know.

Edit: just saw the “looking at a large I think, being 6’1″ and 34″ inside leg” bit. Not sure a ride on my small (5’9″, 30 il) would be much help.
Just buy a Soul anyway. One of the best hardtails ever made IMO.

Soul.
Or Solaris.

Soul.

I’ve found my Soul to be a very complete bike – anything from canal towpaths to Lakeland hike-a-bike adventures.

Not ridden the crush but the Soul is in a different league to the Orange G3 hard tail I had. I used to love my Orange Five till the Soul made it redundant!

Thanks for the advice all, very helpful. I think I had my heart set on the Soul to be honest, just needed to put any doubts I had to one side. I do like the idea of spending time getting the right bits and building it up myself.

There’s a lot of Cotic love on this site 🙂 I’m a fan if not a fanboi, I’ve a Solaris and think it’s brilliant – I demoed an Orange Clockwork and the Solaris knocks it in to a cocked hat.

The Soul/Solaris may not be for everyone but those who’ve had one and sold it on do seem to miss them.

I’ve got a cotic soul and absolutely love it alot more supple than equivalent aluminium bikes like the crush also go 26 inch as there’s a load of uber top end parts going for peanuts on eBay

I am on my 3rd Soul, had to sell one due to financial reasons. Bought another and sold it to my brother and got the updated frame, sold that for a F/S then regretted getting rid of the Cotic so when my brother decided he wanted to sell it I bought it back then lost interest in bikes. Missed the bike so when I spotted the frame for sale again I snapped it up, built it up with 120mm Reba’s, 1×10 Shimano Zee, carbon seatpost and bars, Mavic 717 rims on superstar hubs and a Thomson stem. Weighs in at 24lbs and more than enough bike for me.

Climbs well, descends way beyond what you would think for the bike, predictable to fling about, corners like a startled gazelle and easy to ride on the limit. I have ridden mine at all the big trail centres, Nevis Red and loads of natural stuff without issue.

All in all a brilliant bike and one I’ll definately not be getting rid of again. Can’t really see past them or what I would need a “bigger” bike for.