John and Cari are at the 2026 Bespoked UK show in London and have a few sneak peeks from Cotic Bikes for you this Friday morning before the show officially kicks off this weekend. The UK brand just debuted its redesigned Jeht 3 trail bike and Escapade 6 gravel bike. Let’s check out a detail-packed gallery below…
The Radavist thanks Brooks England and Schwalbe for sponsoring our 2026 Bespoked UK coverage and our independent Reportage!
Cari and I landed in London on Tuesday afternoon and were able to sleep off the jetlag before jumping into Bespoked UK coverage. Today, after some experimentation, I landed in my stride for photos at the end of the day, having just finished shooting Cotic’s new offerings.
Cy Turner and Paul Dexter were fresh from unloading their van when I saw the new bikes in person, after drooling over the press release photos he’d sent over last week. This new release tickles both my ideal drop bar scenario with the Escapade 6 and creates some curiosity over the Jeht 3. Both bikes have been redesigned from the ground up.
Let’s start with the Jeht.
Jeht Gen 3 Quick Hits
- 150 mm rear travel, 150 or 160 mm fork
- Air or coil shock-compatible
- Rocklink suspension
- Dedicated mullet setup: 29″ front, 27.5″ rear wheels
- Proportional seat angle and chainstay lengths on our evolved Longshot geometry and C-Sizing
- 100% UK made Reynolds 853, T45 steel, and 6082-T6 aluminum
- Rocklink suspension opens the front triangle.
- Has mounts for a large bottle and a tool mount
- Straight and short seat tubes have huge insertion for long dropper posts
- UDH
Jeht 3
The new Jeht is a 150 mm of rear travel, 150/160 mm fork, dedicated 29/27.5 mixed-wheel – aka a mullet – mountain bike.
Last year, after the Bespoked UK Manchester show, Petor and I rode with Cy aboard his Rocket eMTB in the Peak District. Cy was gushing over the top about the Rocket’s handling. He and Paul had worked through many refinements to Cotic’s Longshot geometry ethos with the Rocket, resulting in a bike that behaved completely differently in regard to playfulness.
Punk Rocker
Wondering if it was a placEEEEbo from the eMTB or if these tweaks would be applicable to Cotic’s full MTB line, they began to redesign the Jeht. Turns out, when you don’t have a heavy-ass battery and motor, these tweaks did result in a more supple, human-powered package. This new Jeht, now in its third generation, usurps the Rocklink suspension layout from the Rocket and tweaks it slightly for pedaling without assistance and a lighter front end.
I immediately noted the visual differences between this new Rocklink design and Cotic’s fabled Droplink suspension layout. Even though they look different, Rocklink still delivers on traction and the supportive, progressive feel Cotic’s bikes are known for. The reason behind the shock layout is to allow Rocklink to clear the Rocket’s down-tube-mounted battery. Meanwhile, my arid land brain noted the additional water bottle space. Jeht 3 now clears a large water bottle and has room for tool mounts on every single frame size.
In the Cotic lineup, Jeht has long been heralded as the almighty all-rounder trail bike. It’s the same bike you take on lunch laps, bigger weekend excursions, and MTB road trips. Cotic stayed true to this ethos when redesigning the Gen 3, and while it looks different, its intent is the same.
Another detail that I’m personally excited to see is the prototype Cotic 22.2 steel bars and stem. More on that to come…
Escapade 6
The Cotic Escapade first launched in 2014. It was the brand’s approach to a fat tire drop-bar bike that was comfy for all-day rides. Believe it or not, the marketing term “gravel bike” didn’t really exist at the time. As the demands for gravel have shifted, the Escapade has adopted many of the demands of Cotic’s customers.
Escapade 6 Quick Hits:
- Framesets start at £1,999 / approx EUR 1,950 / approx US $2,385
- Bikes start at £3,250 / approx EUR3,115 / approx US$3,895
- Custom blended tubeset with Reynolds 853 front triangle, custom drawn head tube, Columbus chainstays, and custom made T45 seatstays.
- Made in Britain by Five Land Bikes.
- UDH
- Brand new, all steel Cotic fork, with 1 1/8″ steerer.
- Custom Cotic x Works Component flush fit 1 1/8″ headset to match the fork
- 40 mm suspension fork compatible geometry
- Cotic Sureshot geometry. Designed around 70 mm stems and slacker head angles
- 700 x 50 mm tire compatibility.
- Rear rack and full fender mounts.
- Custom 3D printed removable cable management for clean lines when running wireless transmissions.
Fork Yeah!
If this were the Escapade I’d reviewed back in 2023, I don’t think I would have been able to let it go. This update checks all the boxes. Gen 6 epitomizes what I think a gravel bike ought to be and hits the nail on the head for many of my gripes with what the industry currently offers as the norm.
First and perhaps the most important to the handling and control of a steel gravel bike is that Cotic ditched the carbon fork for a nice and flexible steel fork. Focusing in on the fork, its elegant taper brings the head tube proportions down to a scallop-ended fork end, equipped with fender and rack mounts.
Cotic Escapade Works Component Flush-Mount Headset
Then, to up the ante on the cleanliness of the build, Cy and Paul worked with Works Component to create a 1 1/8″ headset to match the fork. This not only creates a completely flush fit to the head tube, but it also just goes to show Cotic’s attention to detail.
Tire Clearance
The tire clearance was increased to 50 mm from 45 mm previously. Perhaps that’s not enough for people chasing even bigger rubber, but for that, I’d recommend looking into the newly redesigned, heavier-duty Cotic Cascade drop-bar 29er. The Escapade is a light-duty chassis that maintains its road (non-boost) spacing.
Cy and Paul brought two stunners for the 2026 Bespoked UK show, and don’t worry, the hits will keep rolling in over here at The Radavist. We hope to see you at the show this weekend!
See more at Cotic.
We’ve got a lot more on the way, so stay tuned…
The Radavist thanks Brooks England and Schwalbe for sponsoring our 2026 Bespoked UK coverage and our independent Reportage!