THE HEMLOCK IS NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION
THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE IS FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE
The Cotic Hemlock is our super versatile full suspension machine, a
trail riding animal. Proof that one bike really can do it all, the
Hemlock gives you full on grab-it-by-the-scruff-of-the-neck handling
that Cotic are rightly famous for, but offers it with two distinct
travel flavours: 120mm 'short' travel gives punchy performance and a
sharper platform to work from for a great all round UK ride from trail
centre to tech. The 150mm 'long' rocker linkage gives plush and
bottomless performance for those big mountain holidays and epic rock
fields. And with a quick switch of rocker link and tyres, the bike
seamlessly slides from speedy trail demon to mighty mountain flattener
and back again. Keep two sus bikes in the garage? Not anymore.....
The frame features a super low slung top tube, keeping the ride tight and chuckable. Standover clearance is even lower than our famously compact hardtails for extra room to move, and the massive 1.5 Standard head tube is intended for use with an internal headset (such as Hope's Reducer Low Stack, or the Cane Creek Double Flush XC) to keep the bars low and weight forward. Adoption of the 1.5 standard also allows the fitting of external headsets for 0.5 degree slacker angles, or tapered E2 steerer forks so your frame is completely futureproof.
The massively stiff 2" down tube hooks up to radically stiff rear end via a 15mm pivot axle and massive 35mm bearings. The new-for-2010 supersized chainstays totally lock in handling confidence in high pressure, high speed situations. There remains, of course, enormous tyre clearance for up to 2.4" tyres, and the torsion box chainstay brace is sloped away to prevent mud 'shelving' on top of it. The full length seat tube allows full saddle height adjustment and 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 and manipulated axle path which gives incredible climbing traction without excessive pedal feedback deeper into the travel. The Net Zero Reaction (NZR) brake mounting positions the caliper as far forward as possible to minimise braking inputs so the suspension remains stable when you need that most. At the business end, we've teamed up with Fox to offer the RP23 Boost Valve shock as standard. This provides spectacularly good damping and feedback, with tunable ProPedal for your riding preference. Long 57mm shock stroke gives precise control with the 150mm travel setting, whilst provided super low leverage for great response with the 120mm short travel rocker.
All the pivot points use double sealed off-the-shelf cartridge bearings, 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 Cy's bike have survived over a year of Peak District gristone with post night-ride hose downs and only the main pivot bearings have needed replacing.
Setup options:
Rear: The frame has two rocker link options: 120mm (short) or 150mm (long) travel. Both maintain the same frame geometry at ride height with 20% (12mm) shock sag. Each rocker offers a subtly different shock rate, with the short travel option having a rising rate to prevent excessive bottoming out, whereas the long travel is more linear with a fantastic open mid-stroke for control and stability.
Front: The frame geometry is designed to work best with forks between 130mm and 160mm in travel.
So how versatile is versatile? Some example setup combinations.
Short/Mid:120mm short travel rear, 130-140mm trail 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. (This is Ian's preferred guiding set up in the Pyrenees using Magura Thor forks)
Short/Long:120mm short travel rear, 140-160mm 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 4.5" 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 Magura Wotan forks)
Long/Long:150mm long travel rear, 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; if crossing maps is your thing, this a great option. Or up the ante with hard hitting big single crowns and super tacky tyres for your drops and DH mega adrenaline fix.
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? Add in an external headset to the 1.5" head tube and 160mm forks and you'll have a super slack technical trail weapon. 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 with your big tyres and you're 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.
- Custom 7005-T6 and 7046-T6 Aluminium tubing.
- Fox RP23 Boost Valve long stroke shock. Simply outstanding.
- Super-compact frame layout and low stack front end 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 and torsion box cross brace with a sloped, mud shedding design 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 - 6.7lbs for the medium
| Frame Size | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Tube (centre-top) | 16.2" | 17.5" | 19" |
| Top Tube Length | 22.75" | 23.25" | 24" |
| Head Tube Length | 110mm | 120mm | 130mm |
| Chainstay Length | 16.75" | 16.75" | 16.75" |
| Usual Rider Height Range | Up to 5ft 9in | 5ft 8in - 6ft 1in | 5ft 11in - 6ft 3in |
| Recommended Min/Max Stem Lengths | 50mm/90mm for all sizes | ||
| Max tyre diameter | 670mm (26.4") for all sizes | ||
| Short Travel Frame/Mid-Travel Forks : Based on 120mm travel frame static, with 130mm travel fork (500mm axle-to-crown) and internal headset. | |||
| Head Angle | 68.5° | 68.5° | 68.5° |
| Seat Angle | 72,5° | 72.5° | 72.5° |
| BB Height | 13.5" | 13.5" | 13.5 |
| Long Travel Frame/Long Travel Forks : Based on 150mm travel frame static, with 160mm travel fork (540mm axle-to-crown) and internal headset. | |||
| Head Angle | 67° | 67° | 67° |
| Seat Angle | 71° | 71° | 71° |
| BB Height | 14.3" | 14.3" | 14.3" |
| Note that with 20% sag, both travel settings sag to the same position, so actual geometry with rider on board does not vary with travel setting, only fork length. | |||
Front Mech: 34.9mm (conventional high clamp, bottom pull)
Bottom Bracket width: 73mm threaded
Headset: 1.5" Standard (Stock geometry is based around an internal 1 1/8" steerer headset. See the Hope options below)
Shock: 200mm eye-to-eye x 57mm stroke, 8mm fittings
