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Slightly steeper seat tube, and longer head tube than the previous
I really don’t like all the bolts down the down tube though!
They probably won’t look so bad built up, or if you change them to a lower profile dome headed bolt (and maybe in black)
https://www.cotic.co.uk/product/solarisMAX
That’s for a frame bag or something, surely?
The website explains it.
I got the email from Cy about ten minutes ago. It says this about the bosses:
There are some new bottle boss locations, with the downtube now lined with bosses at 64mm bottle cage centres. These give you the flexibility to run two bottles (as per the previous bike), or a bottle and an Anything Cage style luggage system. Or a tool keg, or anything else you can bolt to bottle bosses. As ever, they also double up for the neat and tidy p-clipped dropper routing.
Should have put three on the underside of the downtube as well - a good place for an anything style cage.
Taking out the bolts you don't need and putting some black silicone grommet blanks in there would tidy that up nicely. Like the orange too! Sadly my work situation means I can't commit to buying a frame and fork right now, if I was being made redundant I'd have the money to do a decent build and if I was keeping my job I could get a frame and build it up over time. Please don't sell them all by the time I can commit, like has happened with every batch of the last lot!
The bolts will be far less noticeable once there's a dropper cable and the cable clips installed, I'd say. The just look prominent in the pic with nothing behind them.
Hard to tell if the orange is actually a metallic finish or just a gloss orange, the BFeMax sort of looked metallic in the website shots but in reality is a more normal blue.
I think I've messed up by waiting - the reach ends up 10mm shorter on this than the BFeMax with a 140 fork, and that's sagged reach too, which makes it uncomfortably close to the bike it woul dbe replacing. Not sure I'd want an XL with a 495 ST.
Hard to tell if the orange is actually a metallic finish or just a gloss orange
It’s the sparkly paint, as previously used on the FlareMAX.
495mm seat tube on the XL is a bit old-school now, no reason why it can't be 460mm or even shorter.
The XL Flaremax that I rode for a demo has the same length ST but the TT possibly drops a little lower into the ST than on the Solaris.
I'd love an XL in that orange.
@Cy any chance of a CtoC for the ST on an XL please?
Those bottle bosses are hurting my eyes. Could you fit conical spikes for a maximum punk look?
^ Seat tube length on an XL is fine at 495mm, if you are 6,3" + even with a 175mm or 200mm dropper.
Double down tube bottles has a certain retro chic to it!
^ Seat tube length on an XL is fine at 495mm, if you are 6,3″ + even with a 175mm or 200mm dropper.
Yeah it's fine if you're tall.
I'm 6ft 3in and I've gone from a 523mm seat tube which fitted a 150mm brand x with maybe 20mm to spare, to a 485mm seat tube which will fit a 200mm dropper with room to spare. But the trend is for shorter seat tubes, if you're 6ft and want to size and up fit a 200mm dropper for instance.
That trend needs to continue imo. The bikes look less like a gate, everyone can fit longer droppers, and more people have access to bigger range of sizes.
All those frame zits! Was the design outsourced to Bicycle Pubes😀
Wow.. 8 bottle bosses & 6 fixed cable guides. Half expecting a braze on front derailleur mount and removable v-brake boses too. I think it's using the huge ugly silver bolts that cheapens it all and makes it look more dramatic. Should have used black dome headed bolts and blanking plugs.
@Kelvin - why no bosses on the underside of the downtube? Would make it even better for bikepacking. They're the main thing missing from my Mk1 Solaris.
If I was getting one of these, I’d be ordering up a pack of black bolts, for sure. I can see someone more flashy getting a load of oil slick ti bolts!
Agree on the under downtube bosses as well… I really wish my old SolarisMAX had those, just for a tool pack down there when riding with the family. There are two on the BFeMAX, which was designed after this new SolarisMAX, despite arriving before it. Something for next year’s batch perhaps.
Is it possible to use Rivnuts to add mounts? I've done that on my Puffin but the tube walls are a bit thicker than on the Solaris.
Way above my skill set! I wouldn’t.
Has anyone seen some photos that actually give you a reference for the colour? The blue could be lovely or gopping from the ‘on black’ background.
Strangely, I’ve been waiting for one of these for months (in mercury!) and now I feel a little bit ‘meh’.
Just replace the bolts with Allen key grub screws (loctited)
Midnight Blue looks almost black in flat light… you need sunlight or a spot to see all the sparklyness. It is actually super subtle most of the time. Needs outdoor bike photos really… but there’s no spare kit to build photo/demo bikes at the moment… everything is going on customer bikes to get them out to them.
Midnight Blue frame on a white background for you…
yeah bit of a let down those colours
The blue is actually growing on me. Which is strange as it's very close to the sparkly black that I didn't like at all!
Midnight Blue frame on a white background for you
Ooooh, ok. That I think I like- thanks. And I’ve just found the email- got auto sorted by google somewhere unhelpful.
hmmmm, it's a no from me. Those bottle bosses and the colours, nope. I'm sure it will ride really nice and all, but i'd still have to look at it
Reminds me of Vivian from the Young Ones [orange one obs]
I like the orange - but just one set of mounts under the downtube was all that was needed. Just looks messy now.
Damn! I have recently bought one of the last batch and the minor alterations seem to address my minor criticisms - oh apart from the head badge which is a distinct retrograde step. Still it's not going to detract from enjoying the bike.
I'd be ordering (an orange) one if I hadn't invested enough in bikes during this pandemic already... I like the orange, but like others find Cotic colour choices a bit random/poor in general these past couple of years. I say that as a Cotic owner and self confessed fanboy.
I think it's just a bit all over the shop, some metallic, some flat, change of downtube logo, change of head badge, it's chaotic to say the least and doesn't really give the impression of an overriding brand image or style. Obviously as new models are released/old stock sold off the logos and badges will align, but personally I think it would be better to stick to one paint finish and colour palette somehow.
Things are more diverse look wise now that Cotic has grown, as lots of people collectively set the look these days, it’s no longer left to me (far from it). This may well mean things look less coherent (magnified by the fact a few models still use the old graphics style, while others use the new one) but as not everyone likes the same look, hopefully a wider range of paint finishes and colours might appeal to a wider selection of riders.
That looks hideous. What were they thinking?
Kelvin, I think the opposite- you’ve had a run of good paint jobs, I’ve liked almost every colour that’s come in over the last few years, it’s the just the ones I haven’t have almost all been on the bike I want to buy! Then the two I did like weren’t in stock. Bad luck for me.,.
The new graphics will never replace the downtube wrap but they’re sound and hark back to the originals. The head badge looks a lot better in metal. I didn’t like the change at first but I see why you’re doing it.
you’ve had a run of good paint jobs, I’ve liked almost every colour that’s come in over the last few years
I’ve liked every single colour, you’ll be unsurprised to hear. But the suggestion that they are more varied and less focussed is valid… they are coming from more people… and hopefully that wider variety is a good thing for more riders who can get bikes they like the look of.
Ultimately though… the ride and handling of the newer models is what really excites me… the longshot changes have vastly improved the bikes across the range.
I didn’t like the change at first but I see why you’re doing it.
I fully expect the initial “why has it changed” response from many will wane given time.
Quite like the new graphics, and the metallic paint finished look pretty good, the colours of them are a matter of taste, you can't please everyone. The new headbadge looks good too, although I do miss the manic grin of the old one, I'd have tried to incorporate him somehow.
Nobody seems to like the bottle bolts though.
Nobody seems to like the bottle bolts though.
If we’d been able to build bikes for photos, with dropper post cable in place, and used black bolts, there wouldn’t be the fuss.
If I was getting a new frame, and we weren’t all mostly staying put at the moment, I’d be looking at one of these…
https://backcountry.scot/product/drj0n-bagworks-double-trouble-triple/
The bottle bolts aren't a deal-breaker for me as I reckon by the time you've put a dropper cable down them and a bottle cage/tool chest or both on there they'll pretty much disappear. Add in some blanking grommets or low height black bolts and they won't be an issue. It would have looked better with only 5 bolts for two bottles and the cable mount at the top but I can see why they've done it.
The colours and decals look nice, but the new headtube badge is just bland. Bottle bosses look awful. Then again if everyone liked the same things it would be a boring world.
I like the new colours, don't mind the bottle bosses (they won't notice in real life) but have a slightly irrational but very strong dislike of the head tube badge - but I'd still buy one, (if I hadn't already got one of the previous gen. that I rode properly for the first time off road yesterday)!
P.S. all those lamenting the loss of the Mercury colour - you probably dodged a bullet. While I do like mine in that colour it is slightly frustrating how easily it scratches - I don't mean daily wear and tear - that would be fine - I mean coming into contact with it in any way at all resulting in another scratch - the Andrex puppy's tail would have it down to bare metal in a flash...
I’ve got the oldest Mercury Cotic… it was the frame the paint was tested on first…and love the way it’s aged. No, it doesn’t look like it did when it was new… loads of scratches, but I don’t mind the scratches the way I do on a bright coloured bike… the scratches showing the black coating, or even bare steel, fit in well with the paint, rather than jumping out as eyesores. I’d choose that paint again for my own bike, even if there are now plenty of other options that look better when box fresh.
Well if anyone wants to sell one their old outdated rubbish purple frames in large.... I'm your man 😬
I just bought a sparkly black frame last month and was a bit frustrated when learned this was coming last week.
However the changes are negligible and I really like the bike I have so in reality I am not fussed. All those bottle bosses do look a bit weird but I am sure once the cables are fitted you won’t notice.
Steeper (slightly) seat tube I get but not sure I understand the need for a longer head tube
New orange colour is nice though...and I like the new graphics and head tube badge.
Ive seen the Orange colour way on the Internet & in the real world & it looks brilliant on both! Great addition!
In general people don't like change but companies have to evolve, Cotic have made a lot of bold moves in recent years & that should be celebrated really!
Those bottle bosses do look a lil untidy, but in practice I wish my Soda Max had them so I could run x2 Cages & Hose clips neatly!
I'm a proven Cotic fanboi but I ****ing hate those bolts. I mean, that and the cable management along there was the only thing I'd change from the last model, but I didn't mean "make it worse".
What’s wrong with one bottle on the down tube and one on the seat tube like we always used to have? What’s wrong with internal dropper routing up the down tube as well? HT Cotics have always been elegant until now.
“What’s wrong with one bottle on the down tube and one on the seat tube like we always used to have?”
Dropper posts!
Guessing the dropper routing is to avoid making holes in any more tubes than you have to. I believe the end of the top tube to be somewhere you wouldn’t want to do it and with those narrow tubes it has to come out again above the bb anyway. Cotic like their thin walled steel and holes don’t go well in it?
Nobody seems to like the bottle bolts though.
I do 🙂. Nice and practical.
It's a bike frame, not a jazz mag.
Sorry to say it looks to me like it has warts. I've used small taper head ti bolts to make things look a bit cleaner before but there's only so much one can do when there's that many of them.
You complain when you don't get bottle mounts and then they give you bottle mounts and you complain!
Once you've got a bottle mounted you won't see them and for those of us who do use frame bags or carry our spares in a bottle this is great.
Fair play to them for trying something different.
As mentioned above, you'll barely notice once it's complete bike. Even without using them there will be a dropper cable running down there to hide them. They stand out because couldn't build bikes because we are so busy and as of this week we literally have zero unallocated stock, and no mechanic resource to bud them if we did. Nice problem to have. We also wanted to move fast because we know people have been waiting. There is actually only two more bosses than on the previous frame, and if you like those and a crushingly disappointed in these colours, oh look! The previous, nearly the same geometry frame is still available in two awesome colours at a knock down price!
cy - is there an engineering reason why you don't go for mounts underneath the down tube, as this would be great for bike packing using a frame bag?
I like it, especially the blue. Can’t believe people get hung up on a couple of cap heads 😄
Well said Cy. I'd assumed that it was also to further differentiate Solaris from Bfe. I had hoped that reach might be shortened a tiny bit for more XC or long distance stuff but hey ho.
Although I do wish it didn't have the syntace rear axle, maxle fitment is pretty much standard now making swapping axles for trailers, kiddy carrier, followme, spares, etc that much harder and expensive if a family's/mate's bikes don't share a "standard".
Lovely orange though (I'd still like the flat yellow or orange back....).
I know what you're saying about the Maxle but I do prefer the Syntace. It's just a nicer engineering solution. I like both the new colours, still I have a prev-gen black sparkly one so I'm probably not representative 🙂
My medium is shared with my daughter when she's home from Uni. I really can't justify a L Orange. But it's the only HT I'd buy another one of. Absolutely loved mine and it's the best of the three I've had (original, MK 1 SolarisMax and now MK2).
The bottle cage mounts on mine are the things I wanted to change, low one is too low and high one is too high. I'd have been happy with one in the middle!
People moaning about the bottle mounts are sorta forgetting what this bike is for. If you want to go full HT enduro then get a BfeMax BUT, if you want a bike that will do that AND allow you to ride into the hills for a week the Solairs is for you. Personally its exactly why I have one I can smash it around Surrey or back home in Wales all day throwing it down anything I would on my Rocket or take a 60+ mile loop from my house in London taking on roads, bridal way and any single track I find on route. Its a truly amazing bike.
People moaning about the bottle mounts are sorta forgetting what this bike is for. If you want to go full HT enduro then get a BfeMax BUT, if you want a bike that will do that AND allow you to ride into the hills for a week the Solairs is for you. Personally its exactly why I have one I can smash it around Surrey or back home in Wales all day throwing it down anything I would on my Rocket or take a 60+ mile loop from my house in London taking on roads, bridal way and any single track I find on route. Its a truly amazing bike.
Agreed. But why not put the extra mounts under the downtube? This is what most manufactures do for there all-round frames and it means you can use a frame-bag and a bottle or other storage underneath - ideal if you are riding in the hills for a week 🙂
Yeh I see your point personally I hate the idea of putting stuff under the downtube when the thing just gets covered in mud. Im waiting for the day Cotic do a rigid fork to compliment the Solaris for full on bike packing
You can please some of the people some of the time.....
I know what you’re saying about the Maxle but I do prefer the Syntace.
I agree but it lost out in the standards race. It is betamax to maxle VHS. Betamax was arguably better but for a number of reasons was never widely adopted.
I'd love a Solaris but the Syntace is a deal breaker just due to practicality. I'd need to buy 2 more axles for kiddie trailer and followme so another £130. If I buy one of the new Sherpas, scandals, or almost any other hardtail I don't.
You can please some of the people some of the time…..
+1
That sparkly midnight paint is growing on me...
Im waiting for the day Cotic do a rigid fork to compliment the Solaris for full on bike packing
I didn't look after my forks when I got the Solaris and the stanchions became scratched. I've now a set of Travers 29er Prongs carbon fibre forks on it. An instant 1kg weight saving! I've partly counteracted the rigidity by having a 2.6" tyre up front.
Just had a look at the old frame. Is £599 really the discounted price or am I being thick?
I thought people always moaned about bottle bosses under the downtubes not being suitable for British conditions.
I think Cy has been very polite. I'd have go told you to go **** yourselves.
Just had a look at the old frame. Is £599 really the discounted price or am I being thick?
They were £649 up until this Wednesday afternoon. I’ll make it clearer…
Well, after all my dithering, overthinking and thinking I'd missed the boat, seems I'll be getting my Cotic fix after all - kelvin kindly directed me to a large BFeMax for me from an unpaid order.
Well, I jumped on it. I think I’ve successfully pre-ordered a midnight blue. Once I’d stared at the colour from a few different angles it really grew on me.
Be interesting to see how many things I can physically mount on the downtube. Kelvin, do you think you could fit two bottles and one of those innertube-strap-mounting-brackets on?
Depends on bottle size and frame size, I suspect.
Would need side loading cages, for sure.
Colours look very nice, geometry revisions seem very sensible, new branding works well.
Thumbs up from me.
cy
SubscriberAs mentioned above, you’ll barely notice once it’s complete bike.
FWIW I totally do, on my last-gen model. It's literally the only thing on all of the 7 Cotics I've owned that I don't like looking at.
(well, obviously the Hemlock looked like one of those French swing bridges you see in war films, but in my incredibly biased eyes that made it functional and brutally handsome.)
I think Cy has been very polite. I’d have go told you to go **** yourselves.
Liar, Planet X / On One only has decent customer service when the stars align and you go back to work for them 😉
I’d love an update to the Escapade next. I’m looking for a gravel/commuter/not MTB bike at the moment. Had one of the older models in SS mode and it was a nice bike. Something a bit slacker, with a shorter stem (like the Gestalt or Friston) would be great from Cotic.
The more I look at the new Solaris paint jobs, the more I really like them.
the new headtube badge is just bland
If you cannot compete with the cool kids like YT and Canyon rebrand for the older end and then target a niche segment who go bikepacking , makes perfect sense.
It would if the full sus bikes didn’t exist. Not exactly designed for bike packing. Are YT and Canyon really seen as cool? If so I’m glad I’m not young and hip.
The old head tube badge was well cringe.
New one is decent enough and reflects the brand better.
Have you really looked at other brands head tube badges? Most are more bland than Cotic's new effort.
The old one was amusing and fun. A bit like grown men playing out on bikes. The new one is growing on me though.
New head badge has grown on me for sure
New headbadge is nice but a bit bland, in a designed by committee kind of way. Quite corporate.
The old one epitomised dicking about by grown men having fun on bikes in the woods.
I'd have preferred and updated one in plain metal rather than the redesign.
I agree with all the headbadge comments... they're all true in some way. The new one reflects all those who works at Cotic now, and where and how they live, work and ride. The old one predates all of them, and the move to Sheffield/Peaks for the company. The old one was more of a laugh, when Cotic was a side job even for Cy. It's not been changed in any major way for years... so no surprise the move away from it is a shock to some who have been following Cotic for all that time.
I basically completely changed my mind on the new head badge once it was a badge rather than a sticker. I ‘get’ it now, and I’m amazed that the change has made such a difference to how I perceive it.
The new downtube logo is fine, but the old downtube wrap is still just about my favourite bit of design going, so I’m going to miss it on the new bikes. I still resent the fact my (Northwind’s) Roadrat is too old to have it!