Flat-bar commuter / Dad bike frame – recommend me one

I’ve recently gone from two bikes to three, having built a proper road bike to go alongside my Cotic Soul MTB and Cotic Escapade “life bike”.

I’m now looking to replace the Escapade with a flat-bar frame, to which I can add gears. I want something suitable for wet weather commuting with mudguards; occasional touring with a rack; and light MTB’ing with a kids’ trailer on the back. I’d prefer standard dropouts, as I don’t get on with slot dropouts.

I was thinking of:

– Singular Swift
– Surly Karate Monkey
– Genesis Vagabond

Any other recommendations or inspiration? 🙂

I have a large flat bar roadrat frame?

Am also interested in buying an escapade frame, as it happens

honourablegeorge – Member
I have a large flat bar roadrat frame?

Am also interested in buying an escapade frame, as it happens

It’s a medium, unfortunately – and I’m hoping to get away from slot droputs. 🙂

wtf is a Cotic Escapade “life bike”. ffs

just curious – but why not just a flat bar and shorter stem on the Escapade, or are you after something more MTB?

Good point – although surely I’d need to fit a longer stem to the Escapade? I already run a 90mm stem…

Karate Monkeys are brilliant. I have one set up 1×10 which I use for everything – I have 2 wheelsets for it- one with 35C cross tyres and another one with a Chunky Monkey / Smorgasbord combo and switch between them as required (am also considering a semi-fat setup). I have a Surly 1×1 as well, but to be honest I’d happily cope with the KM as my only bike.

They are not the lightest but would withstand a direct nuclear strike and are great fun to ride.

Mine is an older model which has lower rack mounts but not uppers (I use a Salsa rack-lock seat clamp) – pretty sure the newer one doesn’t have rack mounts at all so you may want to look at the Ogre as an alternative which is pretty much the same geo but more set up towards touring etc.

Incidentally the Karate Monkey does have slot dropouts but has a direct mech mount – I’ve never found it to be an issue, I’m assuming the Cotic has the same slidy dropout / mech hanger business that my old Roadrat did which I agree was a bit of a pain.

The others you mention also sound like good choices.

Oh and another possibility may be the Straggler.

Quite a few folk run them with flat bars and (I think) it has standard dropouts.

I think they look great in an early 90s retro way: