I bought one as soon as I saw in on a hidden page on Cotic’s website. I previously had an >X<.
I’m afraid that I don’t have time to do a full review, but it’s ticked every box that I wanted it to. I started many moons ago with flat bar hybrids (including doing JOGLE on a Cannondale Badboy – first time was on a MTB, but that’s another story…) before switching to road bikes and finally to the >X<.
I’ve found that – of all these bikes – the steel, drop bar, disc-braked genre really is an ideal candidate for all the bike you’d ever need.
I use my Escapade to 90% of my cycling mileage, covering: commuting, leisure rides with roadie mates, popping to the shops and even the odd bridleway (with baby seat on the back!). It’s marketed as an adventure bike, but let’s face it: it’ll be a commuter or daily hack for most people…like me. 🙂
Mine’s built up with 105 gearing, with an SLX 11-32 cassette and Avid BB5s. It rolls on XT hubs, Mavic 29er rims and Conti GP 4 Season 28c tyres. Basically, it’s a tough build, but not as weighty as some of the off-the-peg options (Surly’s offerings spring to mind).
Favourite bits at the moment include the Duck Egg blue paint, which seems tough as it’s a matte finish; meaning it cleans easily and resists minor scratches.
The only downside I can think of is my choice of 9mm bolt-thru fork (standard QR is a no-cost option). Seemed like a great idea at the time, but it makes it harder to take the front wheel out and means that I needed to buy another roof rack carrier, as I couldn’t find a 9mm bolt-thru adapter for my Thule fork-mounted carrier (15QR is no problem).
Unless you really are tied to a Bike-to-Work scheme, I’d recommened doing a custom build as I’d really prefer at least Tiagra and some nicer wheels over what Cotic offer within the <£1k limit.
Oh, yes… it rides nicely too! It’s clearly a mountain biker’s take on an asphalt machine, but I expect that’s exactly the target market.