Cotic Escapade or Ribble CGR?

Have decided I’d like a bike to do some training on the road, use to commute and play around on bridleways and cycle paths so have been looking around.

I really like Cotic as a brand and the Escapade seems to be ideal but Ribble have got a sale on making the CGR (alloy or steel) a little cheaper – there’s not enough in it to be a deal breaker but I’d love to hear from anyone who had a similar choice

Any views?

I’ve got a titanium CGR, so won’t comment on the ride quality, but I like the geometry and it’s well put together. Ribble’s finishing kit seems decent quality. Their customer service was average during ordering, the bike was delayed, but I did get it during the Great Parts Shortage, so not going to wholly blame Ribble for that.

Cotic – can’t comment on their bikes but I’m experiencing their customer service at the moment related to a parts order, and it’s been excellent so far.

Cheers Ben – I’m sure both would be great – am leaning towards Cotic ATM though!

If you want to try before you buy – you can with Cotic (although you’ll have to get to Chesterfield), you can’t with Ribble – even if you go to a showroom, the best they’ll let you do is sit on their fit machine – you can’t even take one round the carpark. (was interested in buying a GR Ti last year, demoing one was a flat NO and I’m not chucking £2k+ at a frame without riding it first).

Cotic are a great bunch to deal with and an Escapade is definitely on my shopping list when funds become available.

You can also swap / change parts as you see fit so hopefully you won’t need to changing things as soon as you get the bike.

As Jon said you can borrow one of their test bikes to take it for a spin around some road / bridleways near their showroom.

Cotic – because it’s a lovely independent brand not funded by VC finance.
(I’ve got a Cascade).

Hiya,

Would’ve said nukeproof digger comp, but obvious doesn’t make sense atm.

I would also add Sonder Camino to the list. Not sure if alpkit is vc funded though 😢

JeZ

i have a CGR 725, bought in the Great Parts Shortage, so the delivery time wasn’t the best, but the bike itself is loverly. comfy on the road or bridleways round here, good spec for the money.

i’ve also bought frames from Cotic (mtb) so have used there services before.

IMO, the customer experience is better with Cotic, however the CGR is a really nice bike. you’re welcome to swing a leg over it (56cm) if you’re in the area, we’re on the Hereford/Worcester border.

Would’ve said nukeproof digger comp, but obvious doesn’t make sense atm.

Likewise the Ragley Trig.

But from the two choices in the OP, I know I’d always regret it if I didn’t get the Cotic.

Aside from Ribble’s patchy customer service and the VC owners Brant mentioned, it’s just got a bit more pizazz eh?

No offence to owners, but Ribble’s bikes seem particularly lacking in personality to me.

When you see a ribble you think “Thats nicer than I thought it’d be, but it still says Ribble on it….”*

When you see a Cotic you think “Ooh, Cotic, nice, this guy knows his shit!”

*This is said as someone who owns a Planet X pro carbon evo road bike, that when people see it they always comments that its nicer than they look online, but I know what they’re thinking. I also own a Cotic Cascade and have previously owned a Solaris and have always had nice comments on them.

Escapade, all day long

Cotic, great bikes (cascade here) plus they are great people and you can turn up at the showroom and chat to the guy who designed the bike and then test ride one.

look at the geo and see what suits you better.

poah
Free Member
look at the geo and see what suits you better.

…is probably the right answer!

Just repeating what others have said but… I’ve got a CGR Ti and it’s a decent bike. Good geometry, good price; finishing kit is fine, but offers room for improvement (wheels, stem, seatpost, tyres for me, saved about 1kg in weight). Customer service not great.

Cotic is (for me at least) a brand I love to support. Bit more expensive, but you know the actual people behind it, and if the geometry works for you, and you can afford it, lovely bikes from lovely folk.
Only reason I don’t have more Cotics is they don’t make the bikes I’d buy (Ti hardtail, mainly!)

For me, Ribble will always be the mailorder company you didn’t use in the 90s/00s, because Merlin and CRC were better.
They also did those £150 blue winter road frames everyone in my uni club rode because they were £150.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I’ve just been asked to sell my boss’s Ribble CGR, it’s in the classifieds now.

I would have had it myself, but it’s a bit too small for me (Medium frame)

As one of the few “British” bike brands left doing any sort of volume, I’d suggest Ribble deserve every bit the same amount of support that Cotic do. Buy a bike on its merits and which colour you like best. Being snobbish about a down tube badge when people are buying Nukeproofs, Canyons or FlavourOfTheMonthSteelFrameImportedFromTaiwanByNewNicheNrandThatAlsoDoesCoffee is no way to go on.

△ very fair. And while they are owned by a VC firm, it is an English VC firm.

Being snobbish about a down tube badge

It’s more that their bikes all look drab and generic IMO.

And their customer service is questionable as me and some other posters have obviously experienced first hand.

Being snobbish about a down tube badge

I mean, this is exactly the reason most people buy anything. Theres usually a product that is cheaper and does the job just as well, but, you know, isn’t fancy. I say, if you want an can afford fancy, go for it!

Like I say, I own a Planet X road bike, because I didn’t really see the value in others that were within a grand or so of the price I paid for it. I also own a Nukeproof Reactor for pretty much the same reason. Whereas the Cotics I’ve owned have been bought with heart as well as head. They’re just nice bikes.

I did look at buying a carbon CGR, but decided to go a different way. They are probably very good bikes.

It’s more that their bikes all look drab and generic IMO.

Neither bike is going to win any design awards.

They’re both just good value, all-round bikes. Like I said above, pick which one you like the colour of, because there’s really nothing between them. Even the geometry has bugger-all in it.

Bit of a tangent here but does anyone find they have toe overlap issues on the Escapade?

I’m looking at a few frames to build a flat bar bike and the Escapade might fit the bill but I’ve tried a few gravel and CX bikes with noticeable overlap which can be a pain on the slower, more technical climbs.

Flat bar, no chance of tow overlap… you want a Cascade like Brant.

Flat bar, no chance of tow overlap… you want a Cascade like Brant

I really don’t want a Cascade. I had one and didn’t think much of with flat bars. Quite an expensive mistake!

What is it you want it to do?

When it comes to chances of toe overlap on bikes like the Escapade, it’ll come down to size (frame and feet), and whether you want to run mudguards, tyre choice, 650b or 700c wheels… etc.

I’m basically after something that’s more gravel bike than MTB which’ll be used for the odd bit of road riding as well as off-road stuff.

I plan on using two wheelsets with it, both 650b and 700c. Probably won’t be using guards at all.

What size frame though? The thing with something like the Cascade is the longer wheelbase means you can avoid toe overlap on all sizes. On shorter bikes, like the Escapade and anything else like it, things get tight and, er, hit and miss on the smaller sizes.

When you see a ribble you think “Thats nicer than I thought it’d be, but it still says Ribble on it….”*

When you see a Cotic you think “Ooh, Cotic, nice, this guy knows his shit!”

*This is said as someone who owns a Planet X pro carbon evo road bike, that when people see it they always comments that its nicer than they look online, but I know what they’re thinking. I also own a Cotic Cascade and have previously owned a Solaris and have always had nice comments on them.

Dear god, do people ride around fixated on what someone else might think of their bike? I own a Cotic, a bouncy one, a Ragley, a Sonder and some PX things and the last thing that’s ever occurred to me is that someone might think “Ooh, Cotic nice, this guy knows his shit!” and then change their opinion of me when they see me out next day on a Sonder.

Similarly I never look at anyone else’s bike and think it’s some sort of clue as to their personality, status or anything else. If I saw your Planet X Pro Carbon Evo road bike, I would probably think, “Oooh, a road bike, this guy must ride on the road…” What do you think people are ‘thinking’? What is happening inside your head?

Please stop this madness now for your own sake 😉

Er, I would favour the Cotic anyway – provided it meets your requirements, obviously – because they’re nice guys who make lovely bikes and offer the best customer service I’ve ever experienced, genuinely, and I’d like to see them keep on keeping on doing that. But I wouldn’t choose it because people will believe that you are some sort of moustache-twirling, bike brand connoisseur. That’s just bizarre. YMMV obviously…

Thanks for all of the advice – ex dem 853 Escapade ordered this afternoon – can’t wait to get out on it!

@BadlyWiredDog chill man, I wasn’t being serious, who gives a shit what people ride if they’re smiling! You’d also be wrong about me riding on the road, I literally haven’t ridden my road bike for 18 months! I even took it with me to Spain and the French Pyrenees last summer and didn’t use it!!

Not because I was worried about what people though about my bike, but because I’m a fat lazy waster!

Tbf to Ribble, I did a big bit of work with their commercial ops team recently on some stuff and they were all really helpful and friendly, went quite the extra mile. Not the corporate blank face I was expecting at all.

(I dont own a Cotic or a Ribble the geo of both brands dont work for me)

Had both and I love Cotic. Have a Sodmax in the garage.

But, the CGR is a way better bike, better geo, better tyre clearance and a much better overall ride.

Both have been sold and I am now on a Canyon Grizl which is better than both by a big margin.

Can’t comment on the Cotic but I’ve demoed the CGR in Carbon, my wife owns the aluminium version and my Dad has recently bought the electric CGR.  The geometry is really versatile and they’re just a sorted bike.

The recent purchase was on time (much improved since the time of the parts shortage) and customer service was excellent from Ribble.

ads678Full Member

@BadlyWiredDog chill man, I wasn’t being serious, who gives a shit what people ride if they’re smiling!

No, you hadn’t even thought about it… 😉

But yes, but no, but yes, but maybe you were.

Yet I still bought a bargain basement Planet X (1 of 4 PX & OO’s I’ve owned). Yep the name on the down tube really bothers me….

Yet I still bought a bargain basement Plant X (1 of 4 PX & OO’s). Yep the name on the down really bothers me….

Okay… I’m abjectly sorry. Can we make up now and agree that you clearly don’t give a stuff about branding and what it says or not about the rider? 🙂

Ribble is just an unpleasant word.

I personally would go Cotic – because I would rather give money to really nice people who run a cracking business and make brilliant bikes.

Okay… I’m abjectly sorry. Can we make up now and agree that you clearly don’t give a stuff about branding and what it says or not about the rider? 🙂

Thank you. 😘

Looking for a similar bike.

for disclosure I still ride a 653 steel  ribble from the 90s, and have a Planet X road bike.

Tempted by the CGR Al (now on sale!) but have a Kinesis GX Race on order just to be different and as it has almost identical geo to the bike it’s replacing. Does mean I get to build it (seems cheaper if you buy the parts separately 😬)

Not fussed by logo/branding – pretty sure I’d be smiling on the Ribble/Kinesis/Cotic/Canyon, and I doubt I’d notice any real difference, so which colour paint do you like best?