m ay 2 019 mbr 87
and eyeballs. The bike killer. It’s almost taken as
a given these days that bearings will last and dirt
will, mostly, stay on the outside of the frame rather
than working its way inside. The adoption of single-
ring drivetrains has made bike design simpler, but
also made for a more durable, Peak-resistant bike.
It’s also improved tyre clearance, or rather mud
clearance. If there’s one thing that all British riders
love to talk about it’s mud. We’re connoisseurs of
the stuff and judge a bike’s ability to deal with it
accordingly. mud clearance is as much a talking
point as geometry for many. Cy points out you can
happily put 2.5in tyres in the rear of the Rocket max
and still have space for slop.
The contrast between the varieties of riding
and the speed at which it can be repeated are what
make this Cy’s go-to test loop, and the ideal place
for making back-to-back comparisons, but it’s not
the only place Cotic uses for testing. Five minutes
down the road from Lady Cannings is the infamous
Devil’s Elbow. This may not be on The Loop but it’s
one of Cy’s regular trails — another descent that
provides a good place to test bikes, and rider ability.
It has an old-school downhill track feel to it, with
plenty of rocks, roots, drops and turns to keep rider
and bike working. It also drains well — even after a
day of torrential rain there are no puddles or muddy
sections, testament both to local riders maintaining
the trail and the sandy soil on which it is based. It’s a
very different feel to Lady Cannings or Jumble Road
and shows the variety of riding in the area as well
as the need for a mountain bike that is as versatile
as possible.
Cotic has become the brand it is today in large
part thanks to the trails around Sheffield and
the Peak District. They have shaped not only the
bikes, but the attitude of the company. This is not
lost on Cy, and so Cotic is an active member of
trail advocacy group Ride Sheffield and donates
0.5 per cent of its turnover each year to local trail
projects. Putting back into the trails is the right
thing to do when you get so much out of them.
This acute acknowledgement of the fact that the
local trails are an intrinsic part of Cotic’s bikes is
probably best summed up by the map above Cy’s
desk: Grit & Steel.Long, low and slack
geometry took the
Rocket Max to a new levelJumble Road tests
suspension to the limit......while the uphills are sure
to flag up a too-low BB