Cy writes....

More of a personal point of view today. With the new batch of Cascades very close now, it got me thinking about why I love my Cascade.

As a lifelong mountain biker, the Cascade caught me a bit by surprise. Back in 2019 and 2020, I was still riding a RocketMAX enduro bike as my main mountain bike, with slack angles, lots of travel and slow, sticky, grippy tyres. Amazing for rowdy terrain, but quite hard work on easier going trails and not much fun at all on road sections. Without realising it, my unbelievably capable mountain bike had narrowed my scope of riding to 2-4 hour sessions on the roughest terrain I could find.

We got the pre-production Cascade prototypes in 2020, just as lockdown happened. Suddenly I needed to find empty trails I could get to quickly, and the ones I found were little slivers of bridleways between villages, linked with quiet lanes. They would be dull and very hard work on my RocketMAX, but on the Cascade they were an absolute delight!

Suddenly I was back to exploring.

"What's down there? Where does that trail go?"

Because my Cascade was zippy enough on roads and climbs for any reversals back out of a "wrong" turn not to be too taxing, but capable enough on most trails that I was enjoying riding them, rather than death-gripping the drops.

It became the perfect foil to my RocketMAX. My "not mountain bike". And with that expansive new mindset and a bike that encouraged a bit of a pedal, I fell in love with big rides again. Steady, long days of looking at the view and riding along the edges of fields. It was bloody lovely!

At the time Baybutt was also riding his Cascade prototype a lot, and he decided he was going to ride the Peak200 route on it. It's 200km around the Peak District in the heart of the UK, and right on our doorstep here in Sheffield. It's also marketed as a 'gravel bike route' and it emphatically is not! Amongst many sections of serious trails on the route, Cutgate Path is a lot on a Cascade, let alone something more derived from a road bike with little tyres.

I didn't feel up to the whole thing, but I got the train out to the other side of the Peak and met them at approximately the halfway point. It's the mellower end of the routes, through the rolling dales of the southern side of the National Park, but still nearly 100km and 4000m of vertical from where I started back to my house. The second biggest ride I had ever attempted.

We had a great time getting to parts of the local area I had never been to before, and villages I had never seen. It was beautiful, but I also got it wrong. It was very hot, and whilst I was drinking plenty of water, I was not topping up my salts. I went pop fairly spectacularly about 70km in as we rolled down the meadows opposite Chatsworth House.

Fortunately our adventure was fairly close to home, so I limped to Baslow, and called in the cavalry and Jen came to collect me. A water bottle full off electrolytes on the way home and I was pretty much fine again, which stoked my enthusiasm to get it done. It hadn't gone as planned, but it hadn't been dangerous or in anyway a disaster. A good learning experience, you might say.

Two weeks' later I got the train again and completed the ride on my own. I was tired, but very happy. Both of these experiences, and many more like them cemented the Cascade in my heart, because they expanded my cycling horizons again, and made me realise how much I love just pedalling for a couple of hours or more and enjoying looking at the view. It's a very simple, under-rated form of cycling, especially in these days of Strava and everything needing to be measured.

My Cascade is the simply joy of turning the pedals, and going almost anywhere. That is a rare and valuable thing, and it's why I love it.

If this sounds appealing, or if it sounds like a bit of you, have a look over a Cascade and expand your cycling horizons maaaaaaaaaaan ;0)

We’ve officially sold through our main production stock of the Army Green Cascades. However, we have a small handful of frames that didn't quite pass our cosmetic QC, and they've just gone up on the Outlet.

These are brand new frames with a full warranty. Structurally they are perfect, but the paint finish isn't quite up to our usual standards, there are a few marks, and one frame picked up a small dent in transit.

As anyone who rides off-road knows, the first scratch on a pristine new frame is always the most painful. The good news is that these frames have already got that out of the way for you.

Because of the cosmetic blemishes, we’ve knocked £200 - £300 off the price depending on the condition. We have Medium, Large, and XL available. You can grab them as a frameset paired with a brand new, perfect-condition Alpaca fork, or let us put together a complete build for you.

They make an incredibly versatile platform. We have build kits ready to go if you want to set it up as a drop-bar mile muncher, or a flat-bar setup

If you're planning your next big trip and want to save a few hundred quid on the frame to put toward your bags and gear, this is the perfect starting point.

Head over to the Outlet to see the exact photos and details for each frame.

A few people noticed that we pulled the FlareMAX from the range a couple of weeks ago, and quite a few of you have been in touch to ask what's happening with it. Firstly, fear not! We aren't abandoning our short travel full suspension bike. It's an amazing machine and Paul and Cy are both big fans of it.

The reason the FlareMAX has been temporarily retired is a couple of related reasons. With making the new Escapade in the UK and ramping up on Jeht as well, capacity at Five Land through the summer is all taken up with those bikes. By the time we could make some more FlareMAX in the Autumn we would be very close to the new version arriving, so we had to make a decision to commit to the new bikes. Yes, there will be a new version of FlareMAX. Similar vibe to the current bike (because it's great), but with Rocklink suspension. No more info just yet, but if you haven't already, sign up to the mailing list and you will hear there first.

Although we originally conceived the Cascade to be a drop bar adventurer - which it's amazing at - the progressive Sureshot geometry also suits flat bar builds if you're looking for a more old school XC sensibility, or you simply don't like drop bars on your bikepacking rig.

Today we are splitting Cascade Flat Bar into it's own product. Stand alone product page, more flat bar vibes and flat bar builds. This will hopefully make the range a little easier to understand and a little easier for you to choose your perfect Cotic.

So what is the Cascade Flat Bar? It's the same great Cascade frameset as it's always been, but now with dedicated flat bar build kits. These give you the option for a more upright position and confidence inspiring feel if you spend more time offroad than on. Or it's a great options for using big sweep bars like Abby on her Africa bike (top pic). All the while it keeps the beautiful, clean silhouette and the simplicity of the rigid Alpaca fork, and the mega versatility of all the bosses and luggage features that make the Cascade such a great long distance rig.

Flat bar bikes start at £2,499 and our next drop of Cascades is due at the end of June. You can reserve yours now.

So excited for this one. Some rides you just know are going to be one of those evenings.

On 1st July we're taking the Cotic CC owners ride to London for the first time, and we're throwing the doors open. For this one, you don't have to own a Cotic to come. If you have an Escapade, a Cascade, or even a Solaris, join us! Maybe you have an old Roadrat or X? Fantastic! Come along. But, even if you don't, come along anyway. Bring yourself, bring your bike, bring any friend who's been curious about what we do.

The route has been put together by Philip and Andrew from North London Dirt, two of my favourite people in bikes, and two people I genuinely don't get to ride with anywhere near enough.

They've built something that starts at Clissold Park in Stoke Newington (N16 9HJ), winds out through Hackney and Walthamstow, and comes back around. It's about 26 miles of proper London mixed surface riding on a summer evening. I cannot wait.

And I'll be on the new Escapade.

I want to talk about the Escapade. It looks stunning. The feel through the bars is something else; composed, alive, full of charisma. We've been working on this bike for a long time, and I'm really looking forward to showing it to you in the metal. Come and have a look. Ask questions. Have a go if you're my height!

The Plan

Roll out from Clissold Park, Stoke Newington, N16 9HJ at 7.30pm. Philip and Andrew will be there from 7.15pm.

Coming from central London? Join me outside Via Atelier, Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross from 6.30pm. We roll at 7pm and meet the group at Clissold by 7.20pm.

This is a social ride, not a guided one. You're responsible for your own bike and safety. Helmet is non-negotiable. Bring a spare layer, a multi-tool, and puncture kit.

After

We're heading to the pub in Stoke Newington after the ride. There's space out back for bikes. With any luck we'll be standing outside in the warm, talking nonsense about bikes and tubes and geometry until someone (probably me!) has to get the last train.

Tickets

30 spots. £5 per ticket, all of it to Parkinson's UK.

Our next demo event is coming up in 4 weeks, the Dukes Weekender in Aberfoyle on 29-31 May. It's our first gravel demo event and we're really excited to be going.

The event village is in the middle of Aberfoyle in south central Scotland. It's a spectacularly beautiful part of the world, and it's reputation for incredible gravel riding is well deserved.

Whilst the emphasis of the event is on the Grand Old Dukes ride on the Sunday, you don't have to be entered in the big ride to come and enjoy the event. It is on all weekend, with demo rides, ride outs, film nights and plenty more through out.

Aberfoyle is unique in the UK in having 10, 20 and 30km waymarked gravel routes, and you can demo a Cotic on the 10km loop throughout the weekend, in between.

We are taking the following demo bikes to the event:

• NEW Escapade 54cm/Small
• NEW Escapade 56cm/Medium
• Cascade Large
• Cascade Medium
• Cascade Small
• Cascade XS
• Solaris C4
• Solaris C3
• Solaris C2

We are going to do a social ride out at 3pm on Saturday afternoon on the 20km loop, and if you would like to ride a demo bike on that ride just let us know.

If you would like to book a Cotic to demo, email demo@cotic.co.uk to book on. We're running hourly slots from 9am - 5pm Saturday, and 9am - 4pm Sunday.

This is going to be great!