Considering picking up an Escapade frame and am looking for opinions other than the couple of reviews on the net – one of which thinks it’s bottom bracket is to high.

(also considering this years Equilibrium disc and any other recommendations for a sub £600 roadie/winter/commute drop bar bike or frame)

In the “real world”, I ordered one (C2W) unseen and unridden because I liked the look of it and the geometry numbers looked OK. Will see what it’s like next week.

In the “real world”, I ordered one (C2W) unseen and unridden because I liked the look of it and the geometry numbers looked OK. Will see what it’s like next week.

Cheers, be good to know what you think.

I’ve had one for a year and a bit now, and it’s brilliant. I ended up building it up as a flat bar bike (hybridish) as I had spare brakes and bits to build it up. Got it on the C2W scheme and the LBS was happy for me to give them extra cash to complete the build.

I’m around 6’2 and got the large, with a 90mm stem the reach and room is fine.

I use it every day to go to and from work (32 mile round trip) and did London to Paris on it in July with no problems. Being steel it’s pretty comfy. It’s put up with a lot of abuse. It doesn’t weigh too much all things considered but I’ve never weighed it properly.

I’ve had one for a year and a bit now, and it’s brilliant. I ended up building it up as a flat bar bike (hybridish) as I had spare brakes and bits to build it up. Got it on the C2W scheme and the LBS was happy for me to give them extra cash to complete the build.

Thanks for the advice, appreciated. Escapade ticks a lot of boxes with disc brakes, mudguard and rack mounts and nicely styled.

I am going to build one on a Specialized AWOL frame I think, the Fs option is £750 but higher grade steel than the £1000 full build

I have the current Roadrat, which the Escapade is the drop bar version of. Ive built it up with mostly MTB parts and a 29er wheelset and its been fantastic. I use it for light mountainbiking, bikepacking and touring and it does it all comfortably!

Ive had one since pretty much day one of them being released.

5’9″ on a medium with an 80mm stem. Bought with the intention of it being a winter road bike but it’s spent most of its life off road to be honest as when I head out on it I always see a track or two to explore.

On road it’s a very comfortable bike and I don’t find it significantly slower than the road bike to be honest. But then again my road biking doesn’t live up to much.

Great bikes, think I got one of the first yellow ones. Not sure where the high bb comment comes from – have heard this about the Cotic X, but not the Escapade.

Here’s a pic

Not sure where the high bb comment comes from – have heard this about the Cotic X, but not the Escapade

Great picture, like the yellow a lot. Got the high BB comment from cyclist.co.uk
“The 62mm bottom-bracket drop means you’re 8mm higher off the ground than a standard road bike and that makes a real difference when riding, as you feel a lot more on top of the bike than nestled between its wheels. The extra height is useful if you run the bike fixed and need to pedal through corners, but also makes it less versatile on mixed terrain. “
I don’t trust reviews that much but it’s almost impossible to try before you buy.

unpacman wouldn’t worry about the bb height, it’s a fun bike and rides great.

Super smooth in Alfine mode. Still haven’t found the perfect reach/stack but like the way it tracks. Was great on Downs Link

Johnny-d,you are the same size as me,how much post are you running?

I’ve been wondering about one of these in a smaller frame than my X.

I deliberately bought the X on the large side as I was on the cusp and wanted an all-rounder. I’ve been regretting it since. The smaller frame would have been much easier offroad. I’ve never got around to comparing geo yet but I’m assuming it’s similar.

I’d second disbelieving the reviews. The various Road mags missed the point of the x totally and judged it against Road bikes. They really shouldn’t have been let anywhere near. There’s some proper rubbish been talked about the original steel disc only fork.

unpacman wouldn’t worry about the bb height, it’s a fun bike and rides great.

🙂

Just ordered one…will let you know how it gets on.

Just ordered one…will let you know how it gets on.

Thanks

The various Road mags missed the point of the x totally and judged it against Road bikes.

Not true it got reviewed also as a cross bike and by jurno’s from mtb backgrounds and none gave it a good review.

The Escape to me looks like my old Orange Clockwork and is such is probably fine if you want a slow-ish road bike, that can handle a bit of offroad, but certainly it is no race bike. If you want something for road riding then a Equilibrium disc would be the better bet IMO.

Ditto re the Equilibrium Disc if you mainly want it for road riding.

Though I dare say one could have a set of super light weight disc wheels and improve the pace of things like that for road riding, while riding a slightly heavier bike.

Ditto re the Equilibrium Disc if you mainly want it for road riding.
Though I dare say one could have a set of super light weight disc wheels and improve the pace of things like that for road riding, while riding a slightly heavier bike.

Ideally I’d like to have something I could take on my local Sunday club runs over winter but they tend to be fast and hilly 80 to 100k rides. I don’t think the Escapade would work for this but I’m struggling to find a frame-set sub £600 that isn’t ugly or heavy. I thinking I want have my cake and eat it too.

There’s the new Kinesis 4S and Equilibrium disc 2016 (with the rear disc in the right place now) but they’re far more expensive than the Escapade. Guess the carbon forks make a big difference to the prices.

As above, better options if you’re mostly road riding on it. Kaffenback for one. Any alu cross bike for two (geometry not bang on, but at least it’d be lighter).
This thing? http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/salsa-warbird-2-alloy-roadgravel-disc-brake-frameset–inc-carbon-fork-3768-p.asp?variantid=9922

Actually, not 100% on that Salsa, maybe not quite ideal.

Pinnacle Pyrolite? Not sure if they do a frame only, but the full bike probably won’t cost much.

I don’t think the Escapade would work for this but I’m struggling to find a frame-set sub £600 that isn’t ugly or heavy.

It won’t necessarily tick the pretty box but Ribble cover most bases with their frames, from the classic aluminium winter bike ridden on plenty of winter rides (~£150 F&F) to the new carbon fiber cross frame with discs, mudguard eyelets and around £600 for F&F.

Ribble bikes

Weight is everything… somebody told me this once so it must be true. Right… time for more cake…

Weight is everything… somebody told me this once so it must be true. Right… time for more cake…

Certainly counts for something on my club runs, those guys are FAST…But we do always stop for cake though 😉
Checked out the Warbird, nice.

Pinnacle Pyrolite? Not sure if they do a frame only, but the full bike probably won’t cost much.

Pinnacle have a disc version now for all the Dolomite’s, nice weights. Think they’ve done away with the Pyrolite as a result.

I really like the Escapade. I ended up with a Pinnacle Arkose 2, which I’m very happy with, but the Escapade would have been high on my list had it been within budget

Saw a RoadRat in Soho Cycles in London and it certainly looks the cats pyjamas

That Pinnacle Dolomite looks very similar to my Spesh Tricoss disc from a few years back, and I’m dubious about it making a good, fast Sunday club run bike TBH.

I really like the Escapade. I ended up with a Pinnacle Arkose 2, which I’m very happy with, but the Escapade would have been high on my list had it been within budget

I’ve got an Arkose 2 as well, my wife wants it for her commute so I’m looking at my spare parts bin and working out the winter bike build from there. A cost saving exercise that is fast changing into an upgrade build. (Any excuse)

That Pinnacle Dolomite looks very similar to my Spesh Tricoss disc from a few years back,

Nothing like the tricross really, in geometry or clearances. The Dolomite is indeed a fast winter road bike, not race-level fast but it wouldn’t hold me back on any club run. A similar geometry to the original Equilibrium with a slightly lower BB.

Nothing like the tricross really, in geometry or clearances. The Dolomite is indeed a fast winter road bike, not race-level fast but it wouldn’t hold me back on any club run. A similar geometry to the original Equilibrium with a slightly lower BB.

Trouble is, I can’t get a Dolomite 2016 frame set or if I plump for a whole bike, I’m limited to one colour per level of spending power. Whereas a Cotic Escapade I can choose from 3 lovely colours just for the frame set.
The Equilibrium disc 2016 has the bonus of flat mount disc caliper compatibility which is nice.

I’m loving the look of the Norco Threshold.

Just had another look; I’d get the Dolomite without a shadow of a doubt.

I bought one of the very first Escapades back in March 2014. I’d been waiting for a replacement for my >X< and had a tip-off when I phoned Cotic to ask about it in late 2013. Googling got me to the order page before it went live to the public and, to my surprise, it accepted my order. 🙂

It’s basically a shorter Roadrat. The only downside of this is the track dropouts, which can be a pain until you work out a knack of getting the rear wheel in and out. This would obviously be a plus if you want to run Alfine or singlespeed.

The frame itself weighed 1,956g on my scales, which is a little lighter than expected. The fork seems quite porky though at 933g and comes prepared for a 9mm thru axle. This will work with a normal QR, but as I had a Hope hub it was easy to find new axle adapters. A note on the QR: I found a 9mm thru axle QR at Superstar – the other choice at the time being a much more expensive DT Swiss model.

I tend to swap parts around a lot, but have settled on a build of: 105 5700/5800, Hope hubs on DT rims, 37c Conti TopContacts, BB7 brakes, Fizik / Thomson / Hope finishing and some SKS wide guards. It’s not the lightest, but it’s very comfortable, especially since some wider handlebars and tyres.

I’ve ridden 5,000 miles on it so far – mainly commuting, but also on plenty of weekend rides with roadie mates, towing a tagalong / bike seat and some longer tours. It’s a longer bike than my old >X< and I feel it’s more suited to distance, although a tiny bit less agile.

You have a lot of options that you don’t with the likes of a Dolomite or whatever… Wide tyres, common standards to move you old bits across from a MTB etc. That’s where this bike hits the spot.

There is, naturally, a tendency to recommend the stuff you bought with your own money… and I haven’t ridden the other myriad similar offerings on the market. But this bike categorically works for me as an all-rounder and I’d struggle to justify replacing it at the moment. 🙂

I can’t get a Dolomite 2016 frame set

.. yet – due in soon though. Colour choice is a bonus on others though. And the Dolomite is a pretty different bike to the Escapade so I’m not saying it’s a better choice.

There is, naturally, a tendency to recommend the stuff you bought with your own money… and I haven’t ridden the other myriad similar offerings on the market. But this bike categorically works for me as an all-rounder and I’d struggle to justify replacing it at the moment.

Thanks for the info, really appreciated. Helps to be informed 🙂

yet – due in soon though. Colour choice is a bonus on others though. And the Dolomite is a pretty different bike to the Escapade so I’m not saying it’s a better choice.

Understood, I did contact Evans but they said no frame-sets would be available, any idea of the potential cost? What does a Dolomite disc frame-set weigh?

^ will check tomorrow + update.

^ will check tomorrow + update.

Thanks jameso, much appreciated.