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From snow to sand, wildflowers, and close encounters with a rattlesnake, John’s been putting the Cotic FlareMAX Gen5 through the wringer for his in-depth review on this made-in-the-UK short(er) travel, metal full-suspension bike. Read on for his full take on how less is more with the FlareMAX’s design below…
Cotic’s steel full-suspension bikes are something else, and next week, John will tell you why with his FlareMAX review, the little sibling to the RocketMAX. Let’s focus on this RocketMAX and its new color, Golfie Green. This stunner of a paint job is now available to order on RocketMAXs and joins Copper Orange in the color choices for the RocketMAX. These frames are made in the UK, in Scotland by the talented lads at Five Land Bikes, with every single Cotic bike built to order at our Chesterfield HQ. For sale as either frame only (from £2199 inc UK VAT) or a complete bike (from £3299 inc UK VAT) built to the spec of your choice; Your Bike Built for You, sold directly to customers worldwide. All the details on the RocketMAX can be found at Cotic.
Peter Georgallou might be the last person ’round these parts you’d expect to test an all-mountain/enduro full-suspension mountain bike like the steel single-pivot SRD prototype from Sour Bicycles but that’s what makes his review so interesting. Continue reading below as Petor dives head-first and in-depth into a new-to-him world of riding in addition to a preview of some exciting things to come from our friends at Sour…
With the bike industry awash with uncertainty over the future of brands right now Starling Cycles is committed to looking after its riders long-term, both original owners, and those that bought second-hand, offering a 7-year extended warranty…
Hydration vests have been used in ultra-endurance running circles for some time now, but only recently have they been introduced into cycling, specifically bikepacking races. Restrap announced its first foray into vest design with the Race Hydration Vest. Let’s check it out below.
The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!
Josh and John were out at Sea Otter this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. One bike in particular that caught our eye was this Stanton Sedona 29er, on display at the 5Dev booth. We love a good hardtail and much like Steve from the Hardtail Party YouTube and Instagram account, we’ve been lauding their merits for a long time! So we know a good bike when we see one. Let’s take a look at this shreddy 29er below!
Wizard Works have just announced their latest release, the Figwit Cargo Cage bag (£41.67), launching tomorrow. Read on for more info on these made in the UK bags.
April Fools..?
Rather than pretending to rebrand or make a goofy bike, Joe from Starling Cycles fancied a bit of a rant.
We’ve got a double feature of manufacturers today with a Hope Factory tour. This new film offers a glimpse behind the doors of Hope’s HQ, tucked away in the town of Barnoldswick in a rural corner of East Lancashire. You’ll get to meet the team behind the proudly UK-based, privately-owned manufacturer, see the process from drawing board to finished product and get a feel for the pure passion powering the constant innovation.
Starling Cycles love supporting talented riders and the brand is proud to introduce its latest athlete signing, Hâf Land.
Hâf (pronounced Harve, by the way) is an 18-year-old enduro racer, from North Wales in the UK. She’s only been racing since 2022 but has already got a whole heap of really decent results in the bag, including a load of #1 spots at the UK’s Welsh Enduro Series.
Hâf will ride a Starling Twist this year racing the British Enduro Series, Welsh Enduro Series and maybe even a few Enduro World Cup events…
The Swoop is Starling Cycles‘ versatile single-pivot steel full-suspension bike designed for 27.5 wheels. With its adjustable shock mounts, the Swoop can be set in “Trail” mode with 130 mm of rear travel or “Enduro” with 160 mm. Partners Alex and Nikki each have Swoops in respective enduro and trail modes that they’ve been riding for some time now. Below, they share a review of both iterations of this adaptable built-in-UK platform from one of our favorite bike makers…
Launching this Thursday, 14th of March, Wizard Works have just announced their new Kengo Camo Mini Collection. This is the brands first limited-edition project of 2024 and features a distinctive earth toned camo fabric, with reverse herringbone weave that is sure to turn heads.
UK-based Brother Cycles, profiled by Petor last year, just rolled out their new 2024 Kepler touring bike frameset pre-order (£799). Read on for a closer look at these all-steel, versatile frames below!
Not only is he super talented on a mountain bike, but he actually studies mountain biking at college. Yep – that’s actually a thing you can do now! Joe joined the Starling Cycles team a few years back and went on to enroll into BASE College in Scotland, studying mountain biking full-time.
BASE is the Borders Academy of Sporting Excellence (BASE) Mountain Biking Performance course, based out of the Borders College in Peebles, Scotland. Joe’s time at BASE is spent learning how to be a better rider and racer, but also sports science, psychology, coaching skills and everything you need to be an all-round expert two-wheel athlete. Because Starling thinks Joe is rad and the brand thinks his story is rad, it decided it was time to tell his story.
Hope Tech, UK component manufacturer, dropped a double whammy this weekend with the announcement of both its new Carbon crankset and a complete Bronze anodizing lineup for its parts…
Fairlight Cycles and Bentley Components teamed up on a CNC SON rear light bracket, designed to be lightweight, robust, and specifically match the Chris King 3D Violet color…
We’ve covered BESPOKED over the past few years and we’ll be back this year! The UK showcase just announced its dates and venue after a year hiatus so read on for more.
John loved the Cotic Escapade 853 he reviewed last year. They’re great bikes. And to celebrate their greatness, Cotic just announced a Made in the UK Escapade. Available in limited supply, direct from Cotic today…
