there has been a big movement back towards hardtail mountain bikes in the UK
because its so darn wet most of the year, the ground is softer (less need for full suspension) and the sheer value-for-money, direct "feel" for the trail, lack of maintenance and ease of cleaning makes the hardtail a great choice for many riders, especially for trail riders
now that the manufacturers are offering the highest quality steel alloys and carbon fibre, the hardtail can be engineered to offer a degree of comfort that has often been lacking from aluminium alloy frames (often 'harsh' on the rocks and roots)
I have been riding full-suspension bikes since 1993 but 2012 is the first season I only have a hardtail in my stable, and I am actually enjoying my riding more than ever
@hampsteadbandit i hear you man. the hardtail is still catching back up here stateside. where i use to live (near northstar) everyone has a big travel bike, i recently bought a stanton slackline and i love it. i took it to northstar and ripped on it. most fun ive had on a bike in awhile. dh bikes are awesome but its always refreshing to throw a little hardtail action into the mix. besides riding a hardtail will only make you a better rider when you ride a fully
They should have been on a mission from God.
I am really liking that fact that there are a lot of these videos that just show good old fashion Mt biking. A trail, A rider, A bike and fun that is all it is, Its not freeride, its not DH, its not XC, its not All Mountain, its not Enduro, it is just good simple Mountain Biking. I hate all the fake BS Terms.
Thanks for the great comments guys. Was such fun coming up with the storyboard for this one.
It's been mentioned a couple of times above, but just to make it official, if you're interested in a Cotic and you're on the other side of the Atlantic drop us a line at info@cotic.co.uk or sales@cotic.co.uk and we will help you out. We ship directly from the UK and offer full warranty support ourselves.
I ride a xs cotic bfe and I love it,so much fun on dh,4x,jumps etc and I can put my post up and go ride xc (it is quite a rare thing mind you) and it takes it all in its stride.want a true all rounder forget full sus go hardtail!!
I was interested to read the comments from the UK guys regarding HT in their neck of the woods and then started hitting myself in the head for being shown the bloody obvious. I went the HT route the last few years (first a charge Blender with 120 and then 130mm up front and more recently a Shan Production Privee with 150mm fork). I went to the HT because I found my riding had just become lazy and reliant on a 5" rear to absorb my shitty lines. The HT were awesome fun, and my riding has really improved, but I found myself really enjoying winter and hating summer. For some reason it never occurred to me that the rock hard tracks where I live from pretty much late Sep through to late May may be a part of this... DO-OH!! I am presently selling off the HTs and moving back to a Dually, but can thoroughly recommend this type of ride to those with a love of really feeling a trail (and perhaps a home trails that are not like concrete 8 months of the year).
Reluctantly - yes. I have a kid and a mortgage (and a crappy low paying job!) so keeping this bike as well is just too hard to get past the keeper (wife). I swear - every time I go near it with a set of tools to strip it down the bloody thing starts looking at me like 'Old Yeller'... it is a little creepy!
I got soul!! Mine must be the only Cotic Soul (that I've seen) on the N.Shore! Seen a couple of Be-Fe's too. Would love to see more people riding the trails on HT's, you can ride all the same gnar, just a bit slower.
Pretty nice simple looking Renolds 853 steel frame-set from Cotic. Would be nice if they came with versatile drive-train options since that is one of the biggest advantages of owning a HT frame.
Your best bet is to just email Cotic (info@cotic.co.uk) - I've been chatting to them about getting a Rocket frame and they're really helpful. Even if you have to get one shipped out, shipping to and from the US is relatively cheap.
I've got a BFe at the moment and it's awesome. Complete nutcase of a bike :-D
email cy@cotic.co.uk its about 700 with shipping included. id wait for the new bfe. (44mm headtube 31.6 seatube) they are out of stock until december though.
Good eye! I've got a '94 Race myself and love to take her out now and then. This is from Cy's development history of the Soul:
" Autumn 2003: Customer feedback on first frames is overwhelmingly positive, with some people suggesting minor changes. Taking these into account, V2 frame drawings are completed with s-bend chainstays to improve heel clearance for 'in swingers', down tube raised slightly to improve fork adjuster clearance with low stack headsets, and hose guides added to seatstay rear mech routing to improve the mud sealing of the gear cable leading to the now ubiquitous Cotic semi-outer gear cable run. Now working directly with a new factory, the dropout and disc mount are all integrated into one CNC'd piece at the suggestion of their production engineer. An XL size is also added for the second batch of frames with size specific tubing including stiffer down tube and wishbone compared to the other frame sizes. In addition to these changes due to field feedback, discussions with another frame designer and further research on frame design using the FEA models shows that the worst fatigue feature on the frame is the chainstay bridge. Deleting the bridge removes this problem and massively improves mud clearance, but it it also moves the stress 'hot spot' to the outer edge of the chainstay/BB welds. Addition of gussets at these locations solves this, and another now classic Cotic feature is born with the bridgeless chainstay design. Enormously proud of myself for this sweet little solution, it's only several months later that I discover Keith Bontrager had been doing the same thing on his steel frames since about 1990. A doffed hat to Mr B!"
there has been a big movement back towards hardtail mountain bikes in the UK
because its so darn wet most of the year, the ground is softer (less need for full suspension) and the sheer value-for-money, direct "feel" for the trail, lack of maintenance and ease of cleaning makes the hardtail a great choice for many riders, especially for trail riders
now that the manufacturers are offering the highest quality steel alloys and carbon fibre, the hardtail can be engineered to offer a degree of comfort that has often been lacking from aluminium alloy frames (often 'harsh' on the rocks and roots)
I have been riding full-suspension bikes since 1993 but 2012 is the first season I only have a hardtail in my stable, and I am actually enjoying my riding more than ever
cheers!
It's been mentioned a couple of times above, but just to make it official, if you're interested in a Cotic and you're on the other side of the Atlantic drop us a line at info@cotic.co.uk or sales@cotic.co.uk and we will help you out. We ship directly from the UK and offer full warranty support ourselves.
Either way those mormons can shred.
Pretty nice simple looking Renolds 853 steel frame-set from Cotic. Would be nice if they came with versatile drive-train options since that is one of the biggest advantages of owning a HT frame.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8870328
www.pinkbike.com/video/282407
The Soul too looks superb!
I've got a BFe at the moment and it's awesome. Complete nutcase of a bike :-D
Somebody knows the song?
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8873946
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8873946
" Autumn 2003: Customer feedback on first frames is overwhelmingly positive, with some people suggesting minor changes. Taking these into account, V2 frame drawings are completed with s-bend chainstays to improve heel clearance for 'in swingers', down tube raised slightly to improve fork adjuster clearance with low stack headsets, and hose guides added to seatstay rear mech routing to improve the mud sealing of the gear cable leading to the now ubiquitous Cotic semi-outer gear cable run. Now working directly with a new factory, the dropout and disc mount are all integrated into one CNC'd piece at the suggestion of their production engineer. An XL size is also added for the second batch of frames with size specific tubing including stiffer down tube and wishbone compared to the other frame sizes. In addition to these changes due to field feedback, discussions with another frame designer and further research on frame design using the FEA models shows that the worst fatigue feature on the frame is the chainstay bridge. Deleting the bridge removes this problem and massively improves mud clearance, but it it also moves the stress 'hot spot' to the outer edge of the chainstay/BB welds. Addition of gussets at these locations solves this, and another now classic Cotic feature is born with the bridgeless chainstay design. Enormously proud of myself for this sweet little solution, it's only several months later that I discover Keith Bontrager had been doing the same thing on his steel frames since about 1990. A doffed hat to Mr B!"
my response:
touche'