Considering buying an escapade to start putting in some road miles to complement my mountain biking and a full on road bike doesn’t really appeal to me as i like the idea of the slightly more relaxed geometry. Any recommendations ? Or is the cotic a good choice?

I really like mine, it’s comfy and feels fast. I think the geometry is great, it’s pretty stable with faster steering than lots of similar bikes.

It’s not the best value for money if you go for a full bike build, and there are plenty of alloy or carbon cross bikes for similar money that are lighter, but it feels bomb proof and pretty racey.

Here’s a pic of mine:

looks ace! i did notice the yellow is out of stock until september.

I’ve got a Roadrat In road bike configuration with drops, so pretty similar. I use it as my commute and as a general hack bike on Tarmac, canal paths and off road tracks. It riders as well and feels as fast as my Defy Carbon for short to medium distance rides.

Are those 11 speed road shifters with a mountain bike rear mech? How does that work?

Are those 11 speed road shifters with a mountain bike rear mech? How does that work?

Never mind that, campagnolo shifters and shimano rear mech! I wasn’t aware that was even possible.

It’s 2014 Campag Chorus shifters with a 9 speed xtr rear mech (Shimergo).

They work perfectly together without any modifications 🙂

Slackboy – all Shimano 8/9/10 speed road mechs and Shimano 8/9 speed mountain bike rear mechs have the same cable pull.

You can use Campag 11 speed shifters with all of them without modification, or 10 speed campag shifters if you change the way you clamp the cable (hubbub) or use a J-Tech shitmate cable pull adaptor.

Cool, thanks for the info.

If it really is for road miles I suggest a road bike. Lots of comfy ones around now, Giant Defy etc and a much better tool for tarmac than a cx/adventure bike

I’m delighted with mine, having done around 3,000 miles on it since last March.

I was waiting for ages to replace my old >X<, which I found a little short – and was told by Cotic it was coming. In the end, a Google search threw up the order page for the Escapade about 4 weeks before it went live on Cotic’s website and in the media, so I ordered one on the spot!

I’ve settled on a fairly burly build based on 29er MTB wheels (Hope Pro 2 on DT XR470), Avid BB7s, 105 57/5800 mix and Thomson finishing. I run 37c Conti Top Contact tyres, which suit my mix of urban commute, gravel paths, children’s trailer rides, occasional touring and road rides with mates.

Although it’s 25% heavier in this build than most “race” bikes, out on the road you don’t notice it – but the handling and comfort are really worth it. I can ride the bike with guards, rack and big tyres in a way that isn’t really possible on most of the road-biased disc bikes.