If you've emailed, phoned or ordered from us then it's likely to have been Paul that you spoke to as he takes you from enquiry stage right though to arranging delivery of your new Cotic.

Paul's bike is Longshot Flare prototype No.2 in small and it's the frame that we used to both prove the production process and also refine the suspension rate curve.

Originally in black with silver graphics if you look carefully you might see the rattle can spray on the down tube from where the shock mounts were moved.

"I've ridden Shimano drivetrains for years so when I heard about Shimano making 12 speed XTR I jumped in and ordered some. Almost a year later the cassette, mech, chain, chainset and disc rotors arrived and I was not disappointed – it's a work of art and the shifting is superb."

Now all he had to do was find some wheels which was trickier than you might think since Shimano changed the spline pattern for the cassette and their own hubs were delayed. Industry Nine came up trumps with their new Hydra hubs for Microspline and Centrelock rotors. The colour is fabulous and the noise from the freehub is sensational with 0.52° engagement! The rims are WTB KOM i25, built up with silver DT Super comp silver spokes and aluminium nipples, topped off with WTB Vigilante 2.5 and Trailboss 2.4 light casing tyres.

The cockpit consists of Cotic 35mm stem, Renthal Fatbar Lite bars, WTB padlock grips. The XTR I-Spec EV shifter and neat MT800 dropper lever have been modified to work with older XTR brake levers. The saddle is a WTB Volt Ti for all day comfort held up with an X Fusion Manic 150mm drop post. Dotted about the frame you'll find green anodised bolts for low load areas and a handful of titanium ones for higher load situations plus a unique green Cotic stem cap.

He chose the Flare because he does a mix of riding. "About half of my riding is on wooded singletrack north of Nottingham and the other half is on the rocks in the Peak plus trips further away and the Flare is perfect for that. It climbs beautifully and cornering balance is superb. I prefer to ride shorter travel bikes as I find them more rewarding to hustle down a trail."