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

https://www.strava.com/activities/3682751276

Its based on your bloody ride!
@Dogs- sorry.... It was a 4am start for me as I'd failed to prepare anything the night before.
Hence turning up in the flannel hoody.

(was worth it though- the picnic I had to rush back for in the rain was also kinda worth it- got to see the new kiddos all our friend have had during LD)

I reckon a cheapo suntour or RST fork will make the bike worse, heavy and just pogo-y and will probably rust into a rigid fork before too long anyway.

You're probably right TBF.

Definitely not enough climbing

The air forks are the ones to look out for. This suntour one is specced on a few high end 24in bikes.

https://www.bike24.com/p2233414.html

I also worry it will just end up being left out in the rain / worry locking it up outside school (and in the rain).

Another one is the Spinner Grind forks, but seem hard to get hold of now.

Thanks guys, nice ride if a bit sweaty. Good climbing! Didn’t take any pix, was getting too rad for that, of course.

Anyone watch Alec Steele on YT? Blacksmith. He's trying, and pretty much failing ATM, to build a swanky Mountain bike. Hilariously he is adding a cage for beer spray as he lives in Montana.... Not something I have to be concerned about in Scotland!

a cage for beer spray

Seems fine

Some sort of wild rave in the woods....

Should have been Bear. Bloody phone

Fine! I'm running out of options!
Almost went for Dick' s 70cm Enve bars but meh, need wide

Is this a safe place to ask about sizing? Don't worry I've already worked out I probably want a Cotic.

Having never owned a MTB I'm a bit clueless, after watching several videos it seems like a minefield... I'm a wirey 183cm (6ft) and normally ride a 56 toptubed road bike with long stem.

The bike I'm looking at is a 27.5 Cotic Soul and as per usual fall between the medium (174-182cm) and large (183-191cm) sizes. Any obvious way to go here? Normally I like a smaller bike for flickability™ but get the impression MTBs these days are longer and lower than I could ever imagine.

Large

Also 27.5? Non!

Thank you sir. Is there a reason why the preference for the larger size? Also jumping on 29s seems strange to me, coming from a BMX background, but always happy to be educated!

At 6ft 29ers (and a size large) make sense. Everything in scale and proportion with the rider. And the terrain being so much more irregular than that used with a BMX means that the stability of longer, lower, slacker bikes with big wheels that eat up holes, root carpets, rock gardens and carry speed better between sections means more speed and more fun.
If you look at all the tall pro riders very few (maybe none) above 5'8" are on 27.5". And those shorter than that are riding mullet setups. Personal preference dictates what you will buy but 29ers are probably the way forward.

I'm in your hands. Not really the type to buy new so very happy to listen to generously given advice and sell on if it doesn't work out. Starting from the common logic sounds like a good move. Thanks for explaining about the proportion of riders and wheel size, interesting how this type of logic doesn't necessarily carry across all genres of cycling so appreciate the heads up!

There are different schools of thought on this. The longer, lower, slacker school has many advocates. But I know riders who do size down for whippability.
Going to a Cotic demo day and trying different sizes could help. Or even organise one. If you can get enough mates out on your local trails the Cotic moving feast will come to you.
I've got a Bfe with a 1220mm wheelbase and 27.5" wheels (I'm short) and I love it. I wouldn't go bigger currently, think that's as long as I need. All that Geometron and Pole stuff is for the freakishly tall. :-D

Maybe size large, the thing to remember with Cotics is they don't have very steep seat tube angles. I've got a large Flaremax and it's the right size for me, and I've got a long trunk, and I'm 187.

All that Geometron and Pole stuff is for the freakishly tall. :

You won't be saying that in five years time when we've all moved on from Cotic to Geometron.

All in proportion, as I've mentioned many times.
Sizing is kind of important.

You won't be saying that in five years time when we've all moved on from Cotic to Geometron to 32" wheels

I’ve ridden bmx for years and got my first mountain bike about 18 months ago. I got talked into a 29er because it would be quicker and roll over stuff better, which I agree, it was, but that wasn’t what I wanted. Jumping it felt like I was just along for the ride. I think 29er is great of you want to stay on the ground and go fast. I wanted something playful that I could have fun on and whip around easily. I’ve recently got a new 27.5 bike and it suits my riding style much better. I’d try and have a go on a couple of different bikes if you can

You won't be saying that in five years time when we've all moved on to E-bikes

Probably

Totally agree - hired a fair few bikes and 29 long n slack was fast, but not really that fun...

BMX rider here, building up a 27.5 Orange Crush as we speak. Don't think 29" wheels and speed are what I want out of a mtb, but then I've got a 'cross bike for that

@t_w thanks a lot, think I'll crack out the tape measure and see how much seatpost would be exposed with both medium and large sizes. Not quite scientific, but have found if this looks ridiculous it's normally a good visual indicator.

@dogs what are the implications of not having very steep seat tube angles when deciding between a med/large? Apologies in advance.

@Dry this is my worry with having a big frame with big wheels, although from all accounts the Soul should have that 'tail wagging' feeling more than the Bfe. Out of interest have you sized down on your frame for whippability?