Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

I've sold my car to afford it! I'm getting it either this week or next. I live in Scotland, so Kinoull, Sidlaws, Ballow Hill, Pitmedden. It's mainly natural trails, lots of rocks, roots and mud.

Proper outing then👍

Yeah for sure!

Updated pic of the x.c bike. Dropper,tyres,stem.

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I need a medium. Reckon I'm going to go down the cycle to work route so I can spread the cost over a year.

My camo stache got a pair of those.... I rate them!

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After seeing @yetidamo 's Sherpa build i started to think about an upgrade to my 94 Explosif. Searched classifieds for some weeks and now a Cotic Solaris Max frame is on its way.. Really looking forward to try a modern geometry bike..Not decided how to build it yet, not even sure if 29 or 27.5+. Any suggestions for forks i could you with both?

I think most forks now are 29/27.5+, at least in Boost spacing. But plus tyres are rubbish ;)

Awesome! I've got a set of 29er and a set of 650b+ wheels/tyres. If I was forced to keep only one set it'd be the B+ all day long. Ridden both equally now and the B+ makes the bike more fun, with more grip and more agile. And with no perceivable lack of speed off road. The 29ers are probably a better option if you'll be using it for a mix of off road and linking stuff on the road a lot but for more technical trails go. B+. I'm glad I've got both but can see the B+ getting the lion's share of the action.

Oh and I can't recommend the Mantiou Magnum Pro forks CRC have on special enough. Bags of clearance for either set or wheels and feel great. Think @TvH has the same ones (maybe a longer travel version) on his beautiful Swarf.

These:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/manitou-magnum-pro-forks-15mm-2017/rp-prod157579

Yep, that was the impression I got from reading the various reviews..I think I will give it a go..are 30mm wide rims ok for a 3.0 tyre?

Yep, these are really nice, but out of budget.. there is one of those on eBay for a around 200, so will keep an eye on those..

The Magnum/Mattoc Pro is an excellent fork in any configuration. The comp model less so. 100mm will be fine on the first gen Solaris MAX, the new longshot one is 120mm minimum.

Contrary to ^, I find plus tyres much too vague with not enough bite in anything sloppy, unless you go for really aggressive tread patterns, which are then quite a slog. They're also more expensive. But horses for courses.

I'm using Hope Tech 35w wheels which have a 35mm internal width with 3.0" and it seems all good.

This is my first experience of B+ tyres so not sure how 30mm internal width rims would compare but they still sound quite wide so I'm sure they'll be fine. I'm sure someone with more actual technical knowledge will be along soon...

It's the last model before the longshot geometry came up. Cotic website says optimised for 120mm fork. How about the fox 34?
27.5+ vs 29 might be a question of personal preference and both are probably another dimension to the 26x2.1 race kings I have now..I could decide on look..still undecided..

The FIT grip damper in the cheap Fox fox forks is supposed to be very good for the money. Certainly I'd choose that over a Rockshox fork, given the option.

26x2.1 race kings

Contis r death

build it like this, looks absolutely killer.
my OG solaris runs on and on. would love to try a modern one.

That's a very nice looking build!

So assuming the Cotic frame was designed for a 27.5+/29 fork with 120mm travel, and those forks would have an a-c length of approx. 530mm, could i also use a 27.5 fork with 140mm travel as long as a-c stays the same? Asking as i could get a RS Pike cheapish, would be limit to 2.6 tyres though?? Sorry for clotting the thread, but not rally up to date with mtb tech..

It's a 29er frame right so putting a 27.5 fork on seems....odd

Yeah, don't do that. You'll smash your BB/pedals on everything

Thanks, it's obvious, when i think about it, just needed someone to tell me..

Unless the rolling radius and a-c lengths are the same as spec, or the differences compensate for each other to put the crown race in the same position.