Cotic Rocket – First Look

Nearly 15 years ago, Cotic produced the Soul, the iconic long travel hardtail. Since then they’ve produced some great steel hardtails, and developed a hearty following of riders looking for simple, fun and rugged bikes. The Rocket is the first of their range of bikes using the droplink suspension platform. It first appeared back when 26″ was the uncontested cool wheelsize, and has since been brought bang up to date with 275 and the RocketMAX in 29er. The Droplink has also spawned the Flare and FlareMAX with a little less travel.

The Droplink platform is designed to keep the bikes looking clean and simple, with styling borrowed from their range of hardtails. The front triangle and seatstays are Reynolds 853 steel, while the chainstays are 7000 series aluminium. The steel tubes have an iconic look, fresh in an era of hydroforming and carbon sculpting. The slim tubes give loads of clearance for big tyres and big feet, lucky as I have both of those!

• Cotic OFI bike fit with long cockpit, corrected seat angle for dropper posts and carefully placed BB to combine stability with a fun, interactive feel.
• Reynolds 853 Ovalform and DZB tubed front end brings precision, durability and strength
• 44mm standard head tube designed with external bottom cup for taper steerer compatiblity and zero stack top cup for minimal stack height
• Custom Cotic designed 35mm heat treated cromoly seat tube for super stiff support for the main suspension pivots
• 31.6mm seatpost size is dropper seatpost compatible. The frame has external and internal ‘Stealth’ dropper post remote routing
• ISCG05 mounts on regular threaded bottom bracket bring drivetrain security and reliability
• Rear mech cable routed internally through the steel seatstay for clean lines and low noise
• 2x drivetrain compatible. Routing and swingarm clearance in place for double chainsets and Shimano Sideswing front entry front mech
• 7005-T6 aluminium swingarm with Syntace X-12 142 x 12 rear axle
• 15mm pivots for BB and droplink thru axle style linkage clamp keep the frame solid front to rear
• Clearance for big tyres – 2.5″ DH tyres run with plenty of clearance
• 1 bottle mount
• Geometry for speed, fun and interaction using 150 or 160mm forks. 66deg head angle and low 13.3″ BB with 150mm fork
• 150mm of Cotic droplink suspension brings precision, fun and interaction via a strong progression rate on the linkage driven single pivot layout
• Sizes – Small (16″), Medium (17.5″), Large (19″) or XL (20″)

All the attachment points on the bike are the right mix of up-to-date and practical. A threaded BB shell is a godsend! 142x12mm rear axle is still (one of) the go to size for most riders, ISCG05 is still the best way to attach a bash guard, and a 44mm tapered headtube lets you run any sort of forks. Stealth dropper and straightforward internal routing down the seatstay keep the frame looking neat.

The Rocket is built for shredding, as it’s repeated podiums on the UK Enduro scene are testament to. 150mm of rear travel and a 65.5 degree head angle are the usual numbers people are after, in addition to that a pretty ‘reachy’ front end and a low BB height should keep things stable though high speed action. I’m building her up with a no holds barred build, with only one last decision to make… am I Rocketman or Straightline?

Frame RRP £1499 with an X-Fusion O2 RCX or upgrade to a DB Inline or Fox X2 for £250 or £450 respectively.

Weight – 3.4kg including shock

Cotic