The new Escapade from Cotic is drop bar gorgeous, it might be dubbed as a road bike but look further and you'll see it's a super versatile, tough gravel bike.The 2018 version of the bike sees revised geometry, new brake mounts and a little weight shedding.

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Cotic say the new Escapade is "a road bike without limitations", to us that means its another of those go anywhere, do anything bikes which in our experience are fun bikes, super versatile and usually pretty friendly to the wallet too. 

What's new? 

2018 updates to the custom butted Cotic Fe Cromoly frame include a tapered head tube, two fork options (alu steerer/carbon leg RB4 forks, or the full carbon RB5 which saves 200 grams),12x100 thru axle and modern flat mount brake mounts front and rear.

The geometry of the smaller sizes has also been tweaked following feedback from customers, so the 52cm (XS) and 54cm (S) sized frames both get steeper seat angles (73.5°), and slightly slacker head angles (71 and 71.5° respectively) to reduce toe overlap with the large tyres the bike is capable of using, and to suit the slightly shorter stems that shorter riders tend to find more comfortable. There will be extra small (52.5cm effective top tube) to large (58cm EFF) sizes available, all with chainstays of 425mm and a bottom braket drop of 70mm. There are 73° seat angles and 72° degree head angles for the larger bikes and incrementally taller headtubes from 128mm (XS) to 170mm (L).

The bike continues to be fully Road Plus compatible just like the last iteration and Cotic will be offering a choice of tyres of both the full slick 650B x 47c WTB Horizon and the semi-slick, gravel road WTB Byway's, for good bump soaking ability as you rattle down the gravel.

Bike Details

The Escape uses, as we have mentioned disc brakes all round, there is plenty of space for big 650 wheels and tyres, or 700c x 42c combo's too, if that's your bag. There are all the mounts for mudguards, panniers, two bottle cages and the bike has vertical QR dropouts for ease of wheel removal with 'guards or without. Elsewhere there is a 27.2mm seat post and a threaded bottom bracket - rejoice!

The Cost

An Escapade frame and RB4 fork will cost £499 or it'll be £599 with the RB5 full carbon fork. There will be the usual Bronze, Silver and Gold builds available, the Bronze build uses Shimano Sora kit at £1099. The Silver build is based on a 9spd drivetrain and Shimano cable discs for £1349, and the Gold level bikes features a Shimano 105 11spd drivetrain and hydraulic brakes for £1699.  

Road Plus wheelsets using the super light WTB KOM i23 rims, double butted spokes and your choice of WTB 650 x 47 tubeless tyres are a +£200 upgrade. There are also Hope 20FIVE wheels in your choice of hub colour, and Hope headset and other upgrades are available through the Go Custom programme on the bike builder.

We're smitten with the striking yet simple looks of the Escapade, watch this space for a test bike soon!

• www.cotic.co.uk

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