The Cotic Hemlock is our all new super versatile full suspension machine. Years
in development ; designed and engineered with the same painstaking attention to
detail and refusal to conform to the marketing led 'norms' of the industry that
brought you our award winning hardtails ; the Hemlock takes our trail bike
philosophy to the next step. Like its hardtail brethren, it allows the use of
long travel suspension without the excess weight or overt emphasis on one style
of riding.

A super low toptube keep the ride tight and chuckable, and a massively oversized downtube keeps both wheels pointing in the right direction for maximum handling confidence. There is, of course, enormous tyre clearance for up to 2.4" tyres, and a full length seat tube allows full saddle height adjustment. The cable routing is the same mud-repelling semi-outer design as our hardtails.

The heart of the frame is a 4-bar linkage suspension, complete with chainstay pivot. Why go for a multi-pivot bike in bearing hungry UK conditions? We simply prefer the way this type of suspension works and could achieve exactly what we wanted in terms of ride feel and performance. Don't worry though, this is still a UK designed and tested product, so all the practicality and functionality you expect from a Cotic is present and correct. For example, all the pivot points use double sealed off-the-shelf cartridge bearings, with a massive 15mm main pivot axle and double sided chainstay pivot bearings. This keeps stiffness high and bearing load low, and the use of easily sourced bearings means hassle free, cheap sourcing when replacements are required. How often might that be? Well, the bearings in the final prototype probably need replacing about now, after 2 UK winters and a whole Luchon summer season.

So what about the ride feel? Firstly, we have achieved a crisp pedaling feel around the sag point with lots of climbing traction: No fancy damper cheating required ! There's a small amount of pedal feedback, but that's a good thing in our book. It lets you know what's going on underneath you in those crux situations. We've cleaned technical climbs on the Hemlock that we've not managed on any other bike. Just after the sag point the axle starts moving back towards the frame. This minimises chain growth and gives that fantastic bottomless feel of a great 4-bar bike.

So how versatile is versatile? Some example setup combinations.

Short/Short:class=blackback>105mm rocker, 120-130mm forks.

Great for general XC, enduro's, singletrack and hard hitting trail centres, the shorter forks will give you sharp singletrack carving with the pert short travel suspension kicking under power and gripping in the corners. A long haul trucker with that extra security of knowing it can deal with anything the trails can throw at you.

Short/Long:class=blackback>105mm rocker, 140-150mm forks.

This is the option for those of you looking to step it up from your long travel hardtail without losing that precision and chuckability. The new breed of lightweight long travel forks give the frame a rock solid stance in the fast rocky sections, with the short travel rear end taking the sting out and upping the grip and grin factor in the corners. You still know what's going on underneath you, and there's 4" of extra margin for error without losing all of the purity of response when picking your way down those super technical descents. (this is Cy's preferred setup, using Pace RC41 Fighter bolt thru's)

Long/Long:class=blackback>150mm rocker, 140-160mm forks.

Great for those big rides in the hills and mountains where the rocks are large and the terrain is steep. Insane levels of climbing traction from the supple, long travel rear end, mean winching yourself to the top is only as hard as you make it, and with the forks wound down virtually nothing is unrideable. Dial in plenty of sag and full fork travel and there's loads of scope to crank up the thrills coming down the other side. Go light on the forks and wheels for a mega-mile muncher with serious trail attitude, or up the ante with hard hitting single crowns and super tacky tyres for your drops and DH mega adrenaline fix. (this is Ian's preferred setup for guiding in the Pyranees, with Rock Shox Pike Air U-Turn's)

Long/Short:class=blackback>150mm rocker, 130mm forks

When you want big travel out back to look after you rather than for outright speed, and your local trails aren't the wide open rocky wastelands of the Peak and Lake districts, then you want a bike that will turn in well and keep it's head down on the climbs whilst delivering you fresh as a daisy to the cafe at the end of the ride. Look no further! Shorter forks keep the handling sweet and bike light for tighter trails, with super comfort levels built in. If crossing maps is your thing, this a great mile munching option.

More Options!

Remember, these are just the starting points. It's all about the right option for the way YOU ride. How about taking short/short, but dialing in some more sag on the shock and sticking a stout fork on? Go and bang the berms and play tough on the dual track. Or maybe you want a super stable technical descender with pert 105mm rear travel but hard hitting 160mm forks? No flight of steps too steep!

Why Choose?

Why settle with just one setup? We're selling the rockers as separate items, so if short travel is plenty for the UK, but you want to play with the big boys when you go to the mountains, make sure you've got your long travel rocker sitting on the shelf ready to go. The options are almost endless, and that's great! It'd be a shame if we were all the same, all the time.

In developing this frame, we refused to define capability and type of use simply by how much travel a frame has: the Hemlock can be set up for the kind of riding YOU do.

Cotic Hemlock Specifications

• Custom drawn 7005-T6 Aluminium tubing, with super strong 7075-T6 rocker links.
  
• Rock Shox Pearl 3.1 air shock with floodgate and rebound adjustment. Super-smooth with fantastic end stroke control.
  
• Super-compact frame layout for maximum room to move, and full length seat tube for hassle free saddle height adjustment.
  
• Fully sealed standard cartridge bearings in all pivots. Frame fitted main pivot bearings with massive 15mm axle make for maximum accuracy and protection. Double sided chainstay bearings for increased stiffness and bearing life.
  
• Machined swingarm heads maximise stiffness and offer huge mud clearance for up to 2.4" tyres.
  
• One piece dropout/disc mount, with overhead disc mount location to ease wheel insertion and minimise braking effects.
  
• Long or short travel options available.
  
• Geometry for 130-160mm travel forks.
  
• Sizes - small, medium and large.
  
• Weight - 6.5lbs for the medium

Component Sizes



Seatpost diameter: 31.6mm (you'll probably need a 400mm, see our Bontrager and USE options below)



Front Mech: 34.9mm (conventional high clamp, buttom pull)



Bottom Bracket width: 73mm



Headset: 1.125" only



Shock: 200mm eye-to-eye x 50mm stroke

Price




£950 including Rock Shox Pearl 3.1 shock with shock pump, Hope Seat QR, and UK delivery.




DEAL PRICE - £1000 for frame package with both short and long travel rocker links.




Additional linkage (long or short travel) - £75



Price for other territories available on request. Available worldwide, except North America.



Mainframe Powdercoat Colour:

• Battleship Grey Powdercoat front/anodized black rear

• White
  
• Orange
  
• Red !!
  
• Olive