I have a Fox Transfer with wolftooth remote. Really like it, prefer the action to that of the Reverb, it just feels more positive.
Can’t comment on reliability or service costs yet as it isn’t that old, however before purchase I did check with my local suspension expert (Bounce MTB) who does all my servicing to check that he could do it and it wouldn’t be a main dealer only, as that would have been a dealbreaker for me.

The first Cotic I rode was the Orange Mk3 Soul demo bike from the Soul Brothers video back in 2012. Enjoyed it but it felt a bit small so bought & built a large black one, here pictured in 2014:

So, in 2013 I was after a full suss so demo’ed the 26″ Rocket pictured below. Really liked the frame and ordered one, however it never materialised due to the attempted move to UK manufacturing :(
On the bright side, was good to still see the old frame still going strong on the Cotic social recently :)

Fast forward to 2015 and I was ’29er curious’. Having ridden a few but not feeling totally at home on one, I got an e-mail from Cy about an upcoming demo day. Tried a Solaris and loved it, so sold my Soul frame to a member of this parish (was hoping to see it in this thread) to build this:

I must say it’s the most versatile bike I’ve ever ridden, especially in 650b+ flavour, I’ve used it for everything from all day epics in the lakes to a 60 mile gravel race in the states to our usual Wednesday night blast. It is definitely a keeper this one :)

Finally, after the whole 650b thing happened and falling out with my other full suss, after demoing a Flare and Rocket275, I’ve recently got round to building this:

You could get a nice pair of Pro 4’s built on to the new wide DT Swiss rims at Moonglu, they do finance and had a 10% off code on the website

What he said +1. I have a set of pro 4 / DT xm521s on my Solaris, I think they’re very good. You don’t get the 10% discount if you get them on finance though.

I had a soul, loved it.
Then I demo’d a solaris. That afternoon I put the soul up for sale.
Moral of the story, don’t rule out wagon wheels.

Have used one myself on flows and flow EX’s without any issues.

I have a Vango Icarus 500 deluxe that I use for me and the kids, it’s a great tent, I can pitch it in half an hour, it’s quite spacious inside and has 2 separate bedrooms. Currently on offer for 199 at go outdoors.

Yes.
Check out the ‘optimised for inline’ article in the geek section of the cotic website for all the info you need.
optimised for inline

Cotic Rocket.

Dt swiss XM481.

To be fair to Hope, shimano did used to supply both ispec A and B hardware with their shifters, certainly when I got my first one about a year ago they did. Recently they now only provide ispec B and you have to buy ispec A hardware separately. At least the hope problem solvers are considerably cheaper than buying ispec A from shimano.

Oh piss, really? What width are yours? holes?

Yes really! Heist 27’s, 28H.

I have DT XM481’s, they’re easily the best rims I’ve used. Light enough, tough enough to shrug off a few dings and blow up tubeless easily.
I also have Easton Heists on another bike that I’m currently going through a warranty claim with cracks round the spoke holes …..

Nowt wrong with the OO chunky monkey, it’s a great tough tyre for rocky trails, not great in mud though. Butcher is a better all rounder but not as tough. Depends on what you prioritise, you haven’t really told us much about where you ride and your riding style.

Is it groundhog day?

Did we not do this a few weeks back

Seems like it. I still say Vittoria Bomboloni !

I have the Wolf tooth ispec A version, got it from soho bikes. Seems very well made, can’t comment on longevity though as it’s only done 3 rides so far.

Definitely the NW ring, ran one for almost a year on a 1×9 setup and didn’t drop once.

I used to run a 650b fork on a 26″ Spitfire. It never killed me to death and it still handled fine.

^ What sprocker and kiksy said ^
Only used the transfer for 3 rides though so long term reliability TBC.

Mine are the latest ones which only come in one size.

That’s funny, my kids have bienn 24’s and a 2.1 Rocket Ron fits fine.

I have ODI rouges, Raceface Strafes and Superstar Excel on my bikes. Prefer the feel of the ODI’s to the racefaces. Superstar feel nice, are half the price but last less than half as long.

Funny you should say that, my CCDBAir was perfect until after the first service, it was only then that the air shaft came loose. Personally I think the issue is the servicer (you said that yours has been back to them) rather than the product itself.

Mine did that, turned out to be a loose air shaft bolt, sent it to tftuned who charged me £65 for a strip and rebuild to fix it :(

Err, the bridge doesn’t join the 2 sides, it should only be connected to one! It may not be broken after all.
For me, it’s only purpose seems to be to get in the way when threading the chain through the mech, It serves no useful purpose. The RADR cage that I have fitted to my mech at the moment doesn’t have one in the first place and still shifts fine.

Another +1 for the maxle stealth. I know it means you need an allen key to undo it but we should all have a multi-tool anyway and it just works.

I’d say they’re on a par with maxxis exo casings, it was certainly very similar to the rekon that replaced it.

There’s some pics of my old one here:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/vittoria-bomboloni-275-x-3

Bomboloni again :)

I like the ikon, that’s what I’m running on the back of my Solaris, however if I had room for a 3.0 it would be the Vittoria Bomboloni. Ran one on the front for a while and thought it was great, however didn’t quite have enough clearance for it without it rubbing the fork slightly.

If you were to look at the numbers on a maxxis ruler, iirc it would look like this:
2.0, 2.1, 2.35, 2.25, 2.3, 2.5, 2.4, 2.5WT

Yes. The main hub bearings are the same and the free hub uses the same bearing both sides as what the pro2 / pro 2 evo used at the outside. You actually need less tools for the pro 4 as it doesn’t have the oddball size inner freehub bearing.

I’ve ran both, prefer 650b+. More grip, comfier and IMO, if you get some decent tyres, they aren’t any slower on the boring stuff! My preference is Ikon back, Rekon front.

I’m the same height as you (I think you were going to by my spitfire before I found the crack?), prefer longer frames myself, I ride a large with 55mm stem and 750 bars. Fit is perfect for me, I wouldn’t want it any smaller.

I’ve had a 2.8 Ron in the back of my mk2 (with 30mm internal rim). It fits fine with about 4mm of clearance on the chainstays. If you’re riding it in mud I’d put a bit of heli-tape on to preserve the paint, otherwise it will be fine. Have also used an ikon which is a tiny bit smaller but the casing is a bit tougher imo.

I used to run 719s tubeless, they were a pain to get the tyres to inflate but once they were up they were ok. The booster should help there. No need to drill the rim. Leave the rim tape on under the stans strip to pack the rim out a bit and stop the spoke holes damaging the strip.

I always tape the cable and clothing rub points. My Soul did the same as theboatman’s. Don’t forget the top tube, especially if your Solaris is one of the gloss black ones.

Boost is 148 rear spacing. Description on planet-X site is wrong.

I’ve lost count of how many non-tubeless maxxis tyres I’ve successfully set up tubeless and none have killed me to death yet …..

I’m running a mk2 solaris with 30mm internal rims and maxxis 2.8 tyres, clearance is fine however I believe there is a bit less on the mk1.

I always pop the seals off and pack them with castrol bearing grease. My theory is that if it is full of grease then water or grit can’t get in because there’s no room!

Just to add a bit of balance, I have a pair and think they’re crap. Won’t stay in place, not particularly comfortable and forever falling down. I used to have kyle straits and loved them, have now moved onto 7idp pads and also find these a great fit. I do have treetrunk legs though, they may be ok in the smaller sizes.