While most plus-tyred bikes will take 29er wheels, there aren’t that many out there that are explicitly built for both. Cotic’s newly released 120mm travel FlareMAX, along with its longer travel brother, the 140mm RocketMAX, are specifically designed to run both wheel sizes.
Cotic built its name around steel hardtails, and this legacy is evident in the new frame, with its steel front triangle clearly taking inspiration from the Solaris. Reynolds 853 tubing makes up most of the front triangle, while at the Boost spaced rear an alloy swingarm is used.
The Cane Creek DBInline rear shock is driven by Cotic’s ‘Droplink’ suspension system, effectively a linkage driven single pivot. The back end is held together with a bolted Syntace X-12 axle, for security and stiffness. Heel clearance is good, and although we didn’t clip our calves, the seat-stay linkage bolts do stand out a touch. A cowled pivot housing and threaded BB shell means the bike should be easy to work on when parts start to wear out.
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Up front, Cotic supplied X Fusion’s new McQueen Boost fork. Supply issues meant we didn’t have the Roughcut HLR damper version, which will come on retail bikes, but even without this, the performance of the fork impressed, offering decent compliance and support. The 34mm chassis fits in line with the feel you’d get from a Fox 34, so only felt a touch overwhelmed in bigger terrain.
Shimano’s XT groupset is paired with Race Face Turbine cranks for a drivetrain that simply works. A rolling change on Shimano brakes has quelled the dodgy bite-point issues we’ve had this year, on this set at least.
Wheelie good?
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