[Closed] Cotic Escapade vs Kinesis Tripster ATR

Hmmm... I know what you mean. In the same position myself. I've briefly ridden an ATR, and it was very nice indeed, but it comes down to wether its £1500 nicer? I love the handling of the Cotic, the ATR is slightly slacker, I actually believe the former is better looking, the ATR is lighter....
It comes down to semantics and how much you want to spend. I'm trying to convince myself that 45 is a special birthday and deserves a specialpresenttomyself!
All the bits bar headset will swap straight over.

Or get a Pickenflick? Gaahhhhhh!

Dr P to the thead please....

Watch's with interest as hovering over the buy it button on the cotic to replace my Arkose and london road and lose a bike ( no room for both )

...Also wondering if anyone has had any concerns about the carbon fork off road? Has anybody replaced the standard fork?

Thanks.

carbon fork will be fine 🙂

Carbon forks off road are only a good thing (unless you need the rack mounts?) less weight, less buzz, more coolz.

@toby mc. Did you ride the ATR off road? I agree the cotic does handle well, and the steel fork has a huge amount of flex for great comfort in the roughest terrain. The slacker ATR head angle intrigues me as it might make it more stable.

The ATR would be about a kg lighter with same build - is it worth it?

It was very gentle off-road as I recall, others re far better qualified to comment on its properties...
Given that both frames are designed to do pretty similar tasks, tyres, luggage, attitude and fitness etc make a bigger difference.... If I was pushed, I'd suggest that an Escapade might be slightly more road orientated? That said I've done well over 100miles on and off road on mine and not felt compromised.
But a kilo lighter isn't to be sneezed at. What wheels are on the Cotic? It's easy to lose a lot of weight over the OE.

Steel is always going to be heavier I guess, but it has its plus points.

My wheels are decent novatec hubs, butted spokes and stan's Grail rims built by spokesman - fairly light at a good price and they are great. My build kit is eclectic, to say the least, but works very well. I could just swap 99% of the bits over.

Escapade frame weight : 2.04kg
Escapade fork weight: 0.945kg

Wheelset weight: 1.845kg

The bike weighs in at 10.88kg with pedals and bottle cage and I could save more when I go tubeless.

The kilo will all be in frame. I could lose a kilo round my waist if I rode it more!

I commute off road on my ATR and have ridden it many places I ride on my MTB, up on surrey hills trails and all over the downs, stick some 42mm tyres on and it's a comfy capable bike.

All sorts of variables in the equation! I don't know the answer either....
Based on the Tripster thread and collective's experience I'd say if it makes you happy and your pockets are deep enough - do it!

Sounds like you've made your mind up already to be honest....

I was looking for "upgrades" for the Escapade… considered a carbon fork… but someone I trust told me the steel fork was more comfortable… she was right. Went tubeless instead, with Hunt Mason 4 Season Disc wheels… lovely things.

Not ridden the Tripster… it looks ace.

Thanks for replies. Another thing I'm not sure makes any difference is bottom backer drop. The ATR is quite low and the escapade quite high. Does it make a difference?

Strange thing is, the escapade was the most stable bike I tried last year out if about 6 - easy low speed manoeuvring and can track stand a bit off road.

I really like my Escapade but I run Alfine. I'd love to have a custom steel frame made around similar geometry but incorporate tidier rear drop outs.

Back to OP quandry - it boils down to whether or not you think £1500 over the course of your life time / your bikes life time is an amount of money that you can bear to part with. Most sane people would likely suggest the potential marginal gains are not worth parting with one thousand five hundred pounds (keep saying it out loud) - One Thousand Five Hundred Pounds.
Cyclists are by and large not sane people.

Once you have the itch its extraordinarily difficult to lose it.

I have an Escapade and was looking at a very similar upgrade.

In the end, I decided to keep the Escapade and build a more road-focused bike to go alongside it (4S Disc). This was also motivated by me needing a bike that I could lock-up at the station of few times per month, which had been limiting the expense I was prepared to risk on the Escapade.

If you're looking at an upgrade to simply do more of what the Escapade already does well, then I'd say go for it. If you want something slightly different, then I'd suggest just getting another bike.

My situation is quite as simple as just splashing the dosh - is it ever?

I have cut down my bike collection so the funds from a couple of road bikes and possibly a Cross check could cover most of the £1250 for a Tripster.

Another problem I have though is that i used to do a lot of road riding and I’m not sure if the Escapade is that good on the road - I find it a bit sluggish and think perhaps the Tripster might be better. Not sure why I’m worried though as the sort of road riding I would do these days would not involve chasing whippets - I prefer the mud now anyway. I guess it’s just hanging on to a “glorious” past.

Another option is nice custom built 853 frame, the likes of which can be had for about 1K - should be sprightly enough. Can’t really knock the Cotic though as it is good for the money.

Must point out that because of the short(ish) chainstays, the Escapade climbs like a goat off-road - quite amazing really!

Have never liked the look of that Cotic. Also, have never liked the look of that Tripster either.

Geo looks pretty different on both. 15mm BB drop and mega long stays combined with a slack head angle certainly won't make it feel "sprightly" like a proper road bike.

That new Singular Kite might be one to Consider. Or maybe that Light Blue Robinson. I dunno, I'd get something with shorter stays and get a couple of sets of wheels, one 650B with fat tyres for off road stuff.

This looks good. Still quite a big investment though.

https://www.alpkit.com/products/camino-ti-frameandfork