FEATURE
82 mbr M AY 2 019
he Peak District has always held
a special place in UK riders’
hearts. Part of this is down
toitscatchment area: with the urban
sprawls of Manchester and Sheffi eld sat
oneither side of it, the Peak is the default
playground for a huge number of riders.
Luckily for those riders their playground
ishome to some of Britain’s most iconic
trails—The Beast, Cut Gate and Jacob’s
Ladder are all bona fi de classics.
Despite packing a wide variety of
landscapes and trails into its boundaries,
thePeak primarily has a reputation
forbrutal trails that are a test for bikes
andriders alike. Rocky, steep, fast and
grittyare the words you associate with
a ride in the nation’s most popular national park.
The perfect place to base a bike company then.
Cotic Bikes calls the small Peak District town
of Calver home. Ten miles or so south-west of the
Yorkshire riding mecca of Sheffi eld, it’s also on
the doorstep of some of the Peak District’s best
known trails.
Things are busy at Cotic. Owner Cy Turner
explains that, despite being the perfect place for a
bike company, industrial unit space is at a premium
in the Peak. Still, with business on the up it has
had to expand into another unit that now acts as
Cotic’s offi ce. Above Cy’s desk is an illustrated
map highlighting the riding spots in and around
Sheffi eld, titled ‘Grit & Steel’. This perfectly
sums up Cotic.
Cotic uses steel for all its frames — hardtails and
full-suspension alike. While this was once rare,
there are now more brands using steel in preference
to aluminium and carbon to build full-suspension
frames, vindicating Cotic’s decision. This is a
company not afraid to walk its own path, yet it
doesn’t do things just for the sake of it.
Despite the proximity of Steel City (AKA Sheffi eld)
and Cotic’s association with the material, Cy is
more interested in talking about the Peak District’s
infl uence on geometry than material choice.ABOUT THIS SERIES
The UK is a world leader in mountain bike design.
We boast a proud engineering heritage and
a stoic pragmatism that has forged a reputation for timeless,
practical design. At the same time we are open-minded and
innovative, unafraid of pushing boundaries and reluctant to rest
on our laurels. From enthusiasts tinkering in sheds to large-scale
engineering fi rms, we are a nation of thinkers and doers, a point
evidenced by the number of bike brands that call the UK home.
We’ve more than just curiosity and engineering know-how to
thank for this though; the geography of the British Isles has played
an equally important role in infl uencing the design of our bikes.
In this series we’re going behind the scenes at leading UK brands
and exploring the trails that have infl uenced their design decisions.
We’ll be asking if there is one trail that informed a bike’s design,
whether a particular section of a ride led to a eureka moment and
how Britain’s landscape has shaped the bikes we ride today.Cotic’s fi rst bike was the Soul, a hardtail designed
to cover as broad a remit as possible. The Soul
was conceived in 2002 when Cy was living in
Nottingham and the majority of his rides were on
woodland singletrack. Weekends would be spent
riding in the Peak, so although the Soul had to excel
on tight and twisty trails it also had to be fun when
the going got rocky. For the time it was a forward-
thinking hardtail, able to run a 130mm fork and big
tyres along with ample mud clearance.
Rather than have to wait for the weekend to get
his Peak fi x, Cy decided to move to Sheffi eld to be
able to ride some of his favourite trails from the front
door. In the process, he began to ride tougher terrain
with riders that pushed him out of his comfort zone.
It’s no secret that Sheffi eld breeds fast riders.
Plenty of folk move to the city for the riding and
bring their skills with them. Others forge their skills
here on the challenging terrain that surrounds the
city. Cy credits his crew of local riders for drivingCALVER IS ON
THE DOORSTEP
OF SOME OF
THE PEAKS’ BEST
KNOWN TRAILS