Cotic Shakedown Ride

First ride on the new bike, just to bed in the brakes, check that everything is adjusted and tweaked to best performance, and that nothing falls off. Just a few km along wide/flat cycle track with plenty of braking, then decided to take it on a loop of the forest, mostly on fire lanes, with a bit of gravel, sand, mud, leaves and icy puddles.


Built, but brake hoses still need trimming

Surprisingly, nothing fell off, and gears front/back seem perfectly adjusted. Forks probably need a bit of attention (I only put in the minimum pressure), and tyres need a bit more air too. Rather impressed.

Skiing in Zillertal Arena

My first ski holiday of the year was a weekend in Zell am Ziller, in Austria, in January. Snowed all day on the Saturday, and was glorious sunshine all day on the Sunday. What I cannot wait for is my main ski vacation in Wengen, Switzerland in March.

Next trip is the snowHeads MSB 2008 :)

Cotic Soul Build pt2

Wheels and remaining parts arrived, so could progress with the build. Fitting Nobby Nic and Racing Ralph tyres was a bit of a pain (RR were trickier than NN). With wheels in place, the stem could be adjusted to work out where to cut steerer tube. Formula brakes fitted (a hint of rub on both F+R, which I'm hoping will go away when the pads are bedded in). Gear cables all installed, tensioned up, and adjusted.

Now just need to take it for a spin. Bed in the brakes, and adjust bits here and there as necessary.

Cotic Soul Build pt1

Most parts have now arrived, so started to bolt them to the frame.
Test fitted the Forks, Headset and Stem to the frame. These will have to be separated again later so the steerer tube can be trimmed. Really need the wheels installed first to test the height.
Bolted on Bottom Bracket, Chainset, Front and Rear Mechs, and fitted Saddle and Seatpin.

Pics can be seen here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/CoticSoulMTB

Cotic Soul MTB

My Cotic Soul MTB frame arrived just before Christmas. Bike24 and CRC supplied the components to attach to the frame.
Spec is:

• Cotic Soul frame (Large, Black, Grey decals)
• Magura Menja forks (100mm travel)
• Hope Headset
• Bontrager Race X Lite Stem, King Earl Bars
• Formula Oro K18 Hydraulic Disc Brakes
• Mavic Crossride disc wheels
• Shimano XT F/R Mech, Shifters, Chainset, Cassette
• Thomson Seatpin
• Fizik Saddle

That's how it came out of the box
The friendly guys at Cotic fitted the Hope headset cups for me, since I don't have the tools to do that properly.