Cotic Launches the New 4th Generation Rocket
PRESS RELEASE: Cotic Bikes
First of all, we hope that you are all safe and healthy. What strange days these are... What we hope to do is bring a little bit of normality and joy back with a good old product launch.
May we ask for your attention for the new, 4th generation Cotic Rocket:
The new Cotic Rocket Gen 4 in Sunny Yellow or Metal Grey
New for this generation:
- Front triangles now hand made and complete frames finished in the UK
- Cotic designed, exclusive HD Reynolds 853 tubeset is stiffer, stronger and more durable whilst being no heavier.
- 165mm rear travel, lowered leverage ratio, revised kinematics for a more plush, capable feel.
- Revised geometry with steeper seat angle and longer reach to better suit the longer travel.
Our iconic 27.5 enduro bike, the Rocket, now has its front triangle made in Scotland by the talented fabrication wizards at Five Land Bikes. The Rocket is our wildest and most exciting full suspension bike and will get you down the rowdiest trails with the biggest grin on your face.
Our daft ideas man/art guy/marketing manager/provider of stoke Rich Baybutt rides a Rocket for pretty much everything. It's the Goldilocks bike; not too hot, not too cold, just right. Over to him:
“I can pull it from the shed and head out on any adventure, safe in the knowledge that it’s 100% got my back. Epic pedals, uplifts, sketchy home-cut lines, manicured trails, dual races, off-piste terror, sloppy stumps or swoopy sunset singletrack. It’s literally like a partner in crime, nothing is a stress when I’m on my Rocket; if I can’t do it on this bike then I can’t do it. Its confidence turned up to 11, without any hint of bullshit. I’m not a passenger, I’m the pilot. It’s made me a better rider in every single aspect of cycling - skills, fitness, confidence, balance and mojo.”
And you'd better believe it. Rich has raced the Megavalanche on his Rocket, he's also ridden the Peak200 on it. That's 200km of Peak District off-road riding in 24 hours. He even slept in a ditch for a bit.
Evolving from the previous Rocket, the new bike increases rear travel to 165mm, and the subtly supple Reynolds 853 steel frame gives you ground moulding traction in the corners, to keep you trucking through the chunkiest rock gardens and most sketchy chutes you can find. Cotic designed HD tubeset gives you all the confidence you need.
Our signature Longshot geometry gets a slightly steepened seat angle, and we have now published actual seat angles at different saddle heights on the geometry chart. This puts you more central on the bike to help on those steeper climbs and maintains a similar dynamic geometry to the Gen3 bike despite the extra rear travel and 170mm fork. As with all our bikes, the Rocket is developed mainly on tough Peak District trails, so happily scrambles up a technical climb with bags of traction. The long reach and 64° head angle keep your hands behind the contact patch of the tyre at all times, giving tonnes of confidence in the corners and on steep terrain, while the 35mm stem keeps the handling direct and responsive. You really would be faster on a rocket. It says so on the sticker, so it must be true!
As well as growing in travel, the new Rocket features a revised shock rate which helps use the mid-stroke more effectively. Corner grip is improved, with more control and a more bump swallowing feeling. The bike still retains it's engaging character though, making you skip and pop down the trail with ease, matching the nimble handling of the 650b wheels for a lively yet confident ride. If you're after speed and style, this is the bike for you. Just watch our Will in the video above for confirmation. When he's not shredding corners or winning duals he is building bikes for us.
The new Rocket is also showing off our brand new headbadge and graphics. We've worked hard on these over the past few months, and we are really proud of how they've turned out. In keeping with the clean lines brought by the steel frame, they are a reflection of where Cotic is today; people and place.
The Rocket is available in 4 sizes, small to XL, and two great colours; Sunny Yellow and Metal Grey, both hand painted by Five Land.
Frames are £2,199 / approx EUR2,420 / approx $2,235 with the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock, or £2,399 / approx EUR2,640 / approx $2,440 with the Cane Creek DB Air CS Piggyback.
As with every Cotic, each bike is built to order. Bikes start at £3,199 / approx EUR3,520 / approx $3,250 for the Silver build. The popular Gold builds are £4,449 / approx EUR4,895 / approx $4,520, and for all the toys, our range-topping Platinum is £6,999 / approx EUR7,699 / approx $7,115. That does feature Cane Creek eeWings ti cranks though, amongst other lovely, lovely things.
All prices - frames and bikes - include free shipping to UK, Europe, USA and Canada. We ship anywhere in the world, direct from the Peak District in the UK.
Frames are £2,199 / approx EUR2,420 / approx $2,235 with the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock, or £2,399 / approx EUR2,640 / approx $2,440 with the Cane Creek DB Air CS Piggyback.
As with every Cotic, each bike is built to order. Bikes start at £3,199 / approx EUR3,520 / approx $3,250 for the Silver build. The popular Gold builds are £4,449 / approx EUR4,895 / approx $4,520, and for all the toys, our range-topping Platinum is £6,999 / approx EUR7,699 / approx $7,115. That does feature Cane Creek eeWings ti cranks though, amongst other lovely, lovely things.
All prices - frames and bikes - include free shipping to UK, Europe, USA and Canada. We ship anywhere in the world, direct from the Peak District in the UK.
All the information is over on the website: http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/rocket
Of course, our demo tour is currently grounded due to the Covid-19 situation, and we are closed to visitors at Calver. But once we are back on the road you are welcome to demo the new Rocket. And don't forget our new Love It Or Your Money Back offer. Buy a bike, ride it for 30 days, and if you're not completely satisfied, return it for a refund.
In the meantime, we are all working remotely and are happy to chat about the bike, any sizing or spec questions you may have. Comment below and we'll get some answers posted.
Thanks,
Cotic
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Either way, props to you
How do they pedal with these basic (single pivot) rear suspension designs?
What do these frames really weigh?
They are lovely, that's for certain.
If I haven't put you off, the big thing droplink allows me to do is control the progression rate of the shock really finely, which is (in my opinion) way more important to how a bike feels, assuming the other basics are sound. Our bikes don't have a lot of anti-squat, but the flipside of that is really nice traction rich feel through the pedals, so you can get a sense of how much grip you've got. They climb well because the weight of the rider is controlled well by the frame rate (progressive frame rates stop the rider sagging off the back as you climb up something steep, as well as making the bike feel lively and rad when you're shredding down the other side).
Hope that helps. The Cane Creek guys are hopefully running some bikes on their demo tour this year, so maybe you'll get a chance to throw a leg over one.
Cheers,
Cy @ Cotic
geometrygeeks.bike/bike/cotic-rocket-gen-4-2020
One other thing I'm wondering, how much does 26" vs 27.5" matter? I'd probably be looking more into the Cotic Flare if I'd get one, but always thought I needed the bigger wheels for those. But the other day I compared my front wheel (26x2.4 tire on a 29mm inner width rim) to that of another guy on a Giant Anthem (27.5x2.25 or so I think) and it was pretty much the same. Maybe one cm difference or so. As you also offer your Flare with these more narrow tires, wouldn't the frame also be compatible with 26x2.4, in the sense that it performs as intended. I'm not necessarily trying to stay 264life at all costs and all, but being able to swap tires back and forth between hardtail and fully is nice.
Congrats on the new bike!
As for adding a 29 wheel & fork, with no upset to geometry on a 27.5 design, typically the fork travel will need to be reduced by ~40mm.
27.5” ~ 700mm
29”~ 740mm
That’s the diameter so you want to subtract the radius from fork travel
yeah wheel radius difference for a 29 wheel compared to a 27.5 is basically 20mm. but dont overlook the added fork axle to crown.
If you take a 27.5 bike and put a 29 front end on it, you would need a 40mm (ish) shorter travel fork to keep your geo about the same. That is 20mm less travel for the A-C and another 20mm for the wheel radius. but yeah its fun to tinker with stuff!
I don't understand all this talk of how a mullet bike upsets the geometry. Just design the bike to be correct from the start. Don't bodge it, do it properly!
www.cotic.co.uk/product/flare
I think you are confusing it with the FlareMAX, which is our 29er trail bike.
www.cotic.co.uk/product/flareMAX
If you went for the Flare, and you have nice big volume 26" wheels and tyres, then it will work fine. The BB will be a touch lower, but so long as you have 27.5" wheel forks in the frame, it won't ruin the geometry.
@fingerbangextreme : I suppose tubes are one size fits all, aren't they? I've never heard of anyone having trouble running a 26" tube over a 29" rim so it surely can be done (or otherwise it can surely be attempted). We need more guinea pigs.
@Coregrind: I get what you're saying but I'm not 100% sure. If you get a 27.5" wheel in a 29" frame it would lower the rear loads too. But yeah I get that a bigger front wheel with both require a longer fork along with a bigger wheel so the change in geometry is even more radical. It just doesn't drop the bb as much. That said, if someone is doing something like this they're after a change in geometry in the first place. So they way to go would be to identify what you're after before you resort to a way to get there. If you're happy with the standard geometry, leave it as it is and just ride it