165mm rear travel, lowered leverage ratio, revised kinematics for a more plush, capable feel. Revised geometry with steeper seat angle and longer reach.

>>> Read the history of Cotic: Best of British, Cotic Cycles

Cotic Rocket, new for this generation

• Front triangles now hand made and complete frames finished in the UK
• Cotic designed, exclusive HD Reynolds 853 tubeset is stiffer, stronger and more durable whilst being no heavier

Our iconic 27.5 enduro bike now has its front triangle made in Scotland by the talented fabrication wizards at Five Land Bikes. The Rocket is our wildest and most exciting full suspension bike, and will get you down the rowdiest trails with the biggest grin on your face.

Our daft ideas man/art guy/marketing manager/provider of stoke Rich Baybutt rides a Rocket for pretty much everything. It’s the Goldilocks bike; not too hot, not too cold, just right. Over to him:

“I can pull it from the shed and head out on ANY adventure, safe in the knowledge that it’s 100% got my back. Epic pedals, uplifts, sketchy home-cut lines, manicured trails, dual races, off piste terror, sloppy stumps or swoopy sunset singletrack. It’s literally like a partner in crime, nothing is a stress when I’m on my Rocket; if I can’t do it on this bike then I can’t do it. It’s confidence turned up to 11, without any hint of bullshit. I’m not a passenger, I’m the pilot. It’s made me a better rider in every single aspect of cycling – skills, fitness, confidence, balance and mojo.”

And you’d better believe it. Rich has raced the Megavalanche on his Rocket, he’s also ridden the Peak200 on it. That’s 200km of Peak District off road riding in 24 hours. He slept in a ditch for a bit.

Evolving from the previous Rocket, the new bike increases rear travel to 165mm, and the subtly supple Reynolds 853 steel frame gives you ground moulding traction in the corners, to keep you trucking through the chunkiest rock gardens and most sketchy chutes you can find. Cotic designed HD tubeset gives you all the confidence you need.

Our signature Longshot geometry gets a slightly steepened seat angle, and we have now published actual seat angles at different saddle heights on the geometry chart. This puts you more central on the bike to help on those steeper climbs, and maintains a similar dynamic geometry to the Gen3 bike despite the extra rear travel and 170mm fork. As with all our bikes, the Rocket is developed mainly on tough Peak District trails, so happily scrambles up a technical climb with bags of traction. The long reach and 64° head angle keep your hands behind the contact patch of the tyre at all times, giving tonnes of confidence in the corners and on steep terrain, while the 35mm stem keeps the handling direct and responsive. You really would be faster on a rocket. It says so on the sticker, so it must be true!

As well as growing in travel, the new Rocket features a revised shock rate which helps use the mid-stroke more effectively. Corner grip is improved, with more control and a more bump swallowing feeling. The bike still retains it’s engaging character though, making you skip and pop down the trail with ease, matching the nimble handling of the 650b wheels for a lively yet confident ride. If you’re after speed and style, this is the bike for you. Just watch our Will in the video above for confirmation. When he’s not shredding corners or winning duals he is building bikes for us.

The new Rocket is also showing off our brand new headbadge and graphics. We’ve worked hard on these over the past few months, and we are really proud of how they’ve turned out. In keeping with the clean lines brought by the steel frame, they are a reflection of where Cotic is today; people and place.

The Rocket is available in 4 sizes, small to XL, and two great colours; Sunny Yellow and Metal Grey, both hand painted by Five Land.

Frames are £2,199 / approx EUR2,420 / approx $2,235 with the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock, or £2,399 / approx EUR2,640 / approx $2,440 with the Cane Creek DB Air CS Piggyback.

As with every Cotic, each bike is built to order. Bikes start at £3,199 / approx EUR3,520 / approx $3,250 for the Silver build. The popular Gold builds are £4,449 / approx EUR4,895 / approx $4,520, and for all the toys, our range topping Platinum is £6,999 / approx EUR7,699 / approx $7,115. That does feature Cane Creek eeWings ti cranks though, amongst other lovely, lovely things.