Been saving for a few months now to buy a Cotic Soul ….test riding a friend’s over the weekend. From what i have heard on here they seem to be the holy grail of HT frames.

The question I am asking is ‘is there a frame out there that I should be thinking about other than the Soul?’

Will be built with Reba’s 15mm, Hope on Arch Ex, XT 1*10.

Open to any suggestions you can think of!

Thank you all!

They’re popular for a reason. There are more hardcore frames, there are similar but different frames, but “better” frames are pretty rare.

Carbon 456 maybe worth a look, the Pipedream also, maybe the Procuction Privee Shan or Stanton Slackline for a more hardcore bike.

No just do it

I wanted a soul but bought a trance caught up with the full sus hype

I got a 26er simple to replace my Inbred loved it but found that the Simple rode almost as smooth as the Trance

Sold the trance to go back hardtail but a 456 was £125 and the Soul was £475 no brainer and I bought a 456.

The 456 was a bit harsh in the ride ( bloody good though)

Bit the bullet and got a Soul and I am very very happy now

Yes.

Do it – love mine.

I’ve only ever ridden 3 hardtails that I’m completely and totally impressed with- Soda, Soul and Ragley Ti.

My C456 wasn’t in the same league, I can’t describe it without using words like “alright” and “competent” and “can’t complain at the price”.

Steel 456- not just not in the same league, it’s not even playing the same sport.

I’ll have to say go for it as well. Also, the setup you mention will be a fantastic fit.

Friend of mine has one & rides it everywhere from XC rides to podium at the gravity enduro hard tail class last summer, runs u turn revs 100-140mm & loves it

Still to early to say for certain but even after just one ride swapping from a Soul I’d Also strongly suggest looking at a Bfe.

Cove handjob is the best hard tail I’ve had , and I’ve had a few including a pipe dream and a bfe.

Do it…. really is the sweetest handling bike I have ever ridden, absolutely love my mark 3 and there is something about owning one, you just sort of feel superior knowing you have a soul between your legs!

Do it!

I’ve just built one and it NICE!
Hope hubs & finishing kit
SLX drivetrain & brakes
Revelation forks

Really chuffed with the outcome.

Just back from the maiden ride on mine – built similarly to el Gato Negro’s but with heavy MTX31/Superstar switch wheels… likewise, really chuffed. It’s so different to a full susser, it feels like it’s really ‘driving’ from the back with every pedal stroke rather than just going along with it, and one the descents it’s lively and wants to pop off stuff.
Really glad I bought it after spending ages lookin at the other suspects – 456 in both flavours, Ragley, Stanton, Genesis Latitude – and the BFe etc. It just felt right to buy and feels right to ride…

^ totally agree.
Its mega!

Had one, & yes they do have a certain feel to them.

Do you really want little wheels? How about 29?

I already got 26wheels otherwise I would have the Solaris shortcut!

Surely better not to compound the error by getting a frame. Swap out the wheels for some proper ones and get a Solaris.

Look beautiful, ride beautifully…the only real issue…is what colour?!

My orange is unbelievably eye catching…but so is the new green and duck egg.

Well, mine runs sweet, SLX 2×9,Reba 120, pro 2 on Arch Ex, and less than 12kg despite the Reverb. My lad likes it so much he just sold his Ragley to get one.

Not much of a duck egg fan. Green.

Everyone does it. Do something else.

honourablegeorge – orange and green are very vivid and draw lots of attention, but the matt blue looks understated in a refined kind of way I think.

Personally I’d loved a Soul in the Bfe/Solaris blue

The black was understated – mine is black. All black.

Mattjg…….. This was the original post. Everyone does the Soul but is there something out there you reckon I should look at??

Personally I’d loved a Soul in the Bfe/Solaris blue

^I’ve got one^

I wish Baldy Geek Towers had reserved the fantastic green for just the Bfe in much the same way as orange is a Soul colour and the previous Bfe was synonymous with the blue.

matt23 – the Pipedream, Sanderson, Slackline Sherpa (if it ever comes out) are some…but all miss a vital ingredient (not sure on the sherpa tho)…31.6mm dropper compatability (unless you’re happy with 27.2mm).

If you can get a hold of the 26er Genesis Latitude frame…they’re OK too.

Took mine out for its first ride of Saturday.
After just one ride I knew I’d made the right choice.

That slackline Sherpa looks nice but not sure if its going to have a dropper capability!

Yup. It’s a lovely bike. Light enough to be quick on the way up but capable enough to let you try and chase down people on full suspension on the way down. In fact, it practically encourages the latter 🙂

I want to keep my soul because its bloody fantastic. but I also want a stanton slackline for those days when I want to get a bit more rowdy on a hardtail – 4x or miniDH. I don’t know what to do :'( maybe I’ll try and swap components between frames as and when I want.

bikeactive had 26er Genesis Latitude frames in stock for ‘cheap’ money when I was looking… but in the end I thought – tapered headtube, 31.6mm seat tube, braze-ons for a dropper post… even if i never use a dropper or tapered forks, I’d rather not feel like I want to… I used the 30.9 post off my other bike, with a USE shim tonight. A couple of hours where I wanted the seat high for the pedally bits and just a tiny bit lower for the techy/downy bits…. I really missed my Reverb. They said I’d never go back, damn they were right…

dirtbiker100 – Member

I want to keep my soul because its bloody fantastic. but I also want a stanton slackline for those days when I want to get a bit more rowdy on a hardtail – 4x or miniDH. I don’t know what to do :'(

It might not be too good for 4X- I wouldn’t know- but I spent ages after I sold my Soul trying to find something that’d be as good or almost as good an allrounder but better at the downhill/enduro stuff. It’s madness basically, I went through 4 frames and tried every bike I could, totally futile… til I got my Ragley Ti. So far, it’s doing the job brilliantly. Not quite as good an XC bike but still excellent. And it wasn’t that expensive.

Try one if you can… The Ragley geo’s great but the other models all have their ups and downs.

I have a ragley ti as well, not ridden any of my other bikes since I built it up, I think that speaks volumes.
Only down side is step climbing you do have to show the front who is the boss.
I have had a lot of frames as well..

I did get dropped on our club ride last night but that’s not the bikes fault.

Personally, I adore my soul – for all the reasons stated above.

Shortcut – given your comments above, I assume that you have ridden both soul and Solaris and that you prefer the latter? Care to elaborate?

Mattjg…….. This was the original post. Everyone does the Soul but is there something out there you reckon I should look at??

I had a Soul and I sold it, not because I was dissatisfied with it but because I tried, and decided I preferred, 29ers.

Personally I don’t quite get the fanboi adulation the Soul receives, it seems to me to be up there with Apple sometimes, but it’s a no-risk buy if you know you want a 26 steel hardtail, you know you’ll be able to sell it and Cotic are sound.

But I think the reason most people really like them is because everyone else likes them.

I can’t really point you to alternative, I bought my Soul on its reputation on here. I don’t regret that at all but it turned out to be a transitory experience for me.

If you’re at all 29er curious I encourage you to be sure a 26 is what you want. In the 29er HT market I’d look at (in order of price), On One, Singular Swift, Genesis, Kinesis, Solaris, Niner, Santa Cruz, there are loads more.

There is no bad choice really.

ps Dialled have a 29er in the works I believe, I had a 26 of theirs (a Love/Hate SS) and really did prefer it to the Soul.

YES

Just got mine up and running ,its a smooth ride that accelerates well,
its a fantastic fun bike to ride , go for it.

First experience with cotic was with battleship grey BFE. Great for aggressive stuff, but harsh on longer outings. Headed down the SS route and bought a Simple. One year later, knack erred a knee so geared it with some DMR dropouts, ace bike. Updated a couple of years later to current generation Soul. PERFECT. Better than all the other susserrs and hard tails I’ve owned. Get one.