Archive: BFe 275 Gen4

Cotic BFe 275 in Fast Red

Discontinued, superseded by Gen5. This page is kept as an archive record for owners and for anyone researching an older Cotic BFe.

Years of production: 2014-2016

The BFe 275 was the first 27.5" BFe. Its 26" wheeled brother was the BFe 26: see the BFe archive, and the current BFe.

The BFe 275 is the tearaway of the Cotic family: a rowdy, fast, fun machine.

The 2016 Cotic BFe 275 had stealth/internal dropper seatpost routing and a Syntace X-12 142x12 thru axle option.

Like its 26" wheel brother, the BFe 275 liked a more, shall we say, direct approach.

The BFe 275 was a mighty fine bold-as-brass, rag around play bike. Run it with a 100mm-120mm fork for berm smashing at the 4X track. You could plug in a 160mm fork and send it down the Megavalanche. With 140-150mm it was your trail bike with a bit of beef, showing up some of those fancy pants full suspension bikes at your local Enduro. It was strong as hell and laugh out loud fun, whilst still being lighter than most full suspension bikes.

All mountain, Enduro, 4X, trail centre, downhill, jumping: the BFe 275 would do it all.

The frame is based around a Reynolds 853 down tube, which allows us to keep massive strength where it matters most, whilst keeping weight down. The rest of the frame is our own Fm heat treated double butted cromoly steel, which helps keep strength and value high throughout. There are no corners cut: all the usual Cotic features of Ovalform top tube, oversized plug welded seat tube, wishbone stays, cowled dropouts and a taper steerer compatible head tube are present and correct.

27.5" wheels bring a bit of that 29er style easy rolling performance compared to the 26" wheels of its older brother, the BFe 26. They aren't hugely different though, so the frame still packages well for shorter riders, and they're still really strong and stiff wheels for getting rowdy with. They're just a little smoother, a little easier to weight when turning into corners, a little more lively and fun.

Complete bikes and frame options

Complete bikes started with our no nonsense Silver build, which featured the SLX M7000 11-speed drivetrain, then moved up to our high performance Gold level, and finally to the dream bike Platinum spec for all the toys. There were multiple upgrade options for each bike, including WTB carbon wheels, so you could make your BFe 275 your own.

We also offered a Factory Collection option: come down to our base in the heart of the Peak District and we would set up your bike and the suspension, fit pedals and get you all comfortable. You could even take your new Cotic out on its maiden voyage around our demo loop, straight from our workshop door.

The BFe 275 was also available frame only, either with regular 135mm QR rear dropouts or with 142mm spaced Syntace X-12 thru axle dropouts. The finishes were Battleship Grey Gloss with Yellow Graphics, or Fast Red.

However you set it up, the BFe 275 was always a rowdy, fast, fun machine. BFe 275: Burly Iron.

What's new in 2016

In 2016 the BFe 275 got a Syntace X-12 142x12 thru axle option, and updated hose routing for stealth/internal dropper seatposts.

Frame details

Cotic Fm heat treat cromoly throughout with reinforced Reynolds 853 down tube. Maximum strength at minimum weight
44mm standard head tube for maximum steerer compatibility and durability
Ovalform top tube to boost precision and maximise compliance
Cotic exclusive design reinforced 35mm seat tube for massive pedalling stiffness and dropper seatpost compatibility
External dropper remote hose clips under the top tube
Stealth/internal seat tube dropper routing along the down tube
Bridge-less S-bend chainstays with Cotic Hexten gussets for improved fatigue life and huge mud clearance
ISCG05 mount
Cotic Superlight 135mm QR cowled dropouts with replaceable mech hanger
Syntace X-12 142x12 thru axle option
Geometry with commitment: minimum 100mm travel forks, optimised around 120mm-140mm forks, maximum 160mm
Low slung design keeps the frame out of the way for those tight situations, and a long top tube/short stem set-up lets you ride up to the trails without breaking your back
No seat tube bottle bosses, so the seatpost can be dropped all the way down
Optimised For Inline geometry brings the best out of 27.5" wheels
Sizes: 16" (S), 17.5" (M) and 19" (L). The frames are designed to be compact and chuckable
Weight: 5.6 lbs for the 16"

Complete bike builds

All our bikes were hand assembled to order here in Sheffield. Specifications changed without notice, so bikes shown in videos and photos may feature a different spec to the ones below.

Gold build

BFe 275 thru axle frame with Syntace X-12
Shimano Deore XT M8000 1x11 drivetrain, 11-42 cassette
Shimano Deore XT cranks with Burgtec 32T Retainer Ring (substituted for the Race Face Turbine Cinch cranks and direct mount 30t chainring)
Deore XT M8000 brakes, 180/160 rotors
X-Fusion Sweep RL2 140mm fork, 15mm axle, taper steerer
Hope Tech Enduro wheels
Handlebar of your choice: Race Face Respond (785mm x 12 rise or 720mm flat), or Joystick Analogue Carbon (800mm x 20 rise, 223g, +£100)
Stem of your choice: Race Face Chester 50mm x 6 deg, Race Face Ride 60mm x 6 deg or Race Face Ride 70mm x 6 deg
Race Face Ride 375mm seatpost
Cotic Cromo rail saddle
Hope headset
Continental Trail King 27.5 x 2.2" Pure Grip tyres
Pedals not included

Gold build customisation options: choice of disc brakes (two Shimano and two Hope options); Hope/WTB Ci24 carbon wheels; Roughcut HLR or Fox 34 FIT4 Factory forks; and a Race Face Turbine dropper seatpost with upgraded 1x remote.

Silver build, thru axle

BFe 275 thru axle frame with Syntace X-12
Shimano SLX M7000 1x11 drivetrain, 11-42 cassette
Shimano Deore SLX cranks with Burgtec 32T Retainer Ring (substituted for the Race Face Affect Cinch cranks and direct mount 30t chainring)
Deore M615 brakes, 180/160 rotors
X-Fusion Sweep RL2 140mm fork, 15mm axle, taper steerer
WTB ST i25 TCS tubeless ready rims on Deore M618 hubs
Handlebar of your choice: Race Face Respond (785mm x 12 rise or 720mm flat), or Joystick Analogue Carbon (800mm x 20 rise, 223g, +£100)
Stem of your choice: Cotic 35mm, Cotic 45mm, Race Face Ride 60mm, Race Face Ride 70mm, Hope AM 50mm (+£50), Joystick Builder 50mm (+£50) or Joystick Builder 35mm (+£50)
Race Face Ride 375mm seatpost
Cotic Cromo rail saddle
Cane Creek 10 headset
Continental Trail King 2.2" tyres
Pedals not included

Silver build, QR

BFe 275 QR rear axle frame
Shimano SLX M7000 1x11 drivetrain, 11-42 cassette
Shimano Deore SLX cranks with Burgtec 32T Retainer Ring
Deore M615 brakes, 180/160 rotors
X-Fusion Sweep RL2 140mm fork, 15mm axle, taper steerer
Shimano MT15 wheels
Handlebar and stem choices as on the thru axle Silver build
Race Face Ride 375mm seatpost
Cotic Cromo rail saddle
Cane Creek 10 headset
Continental Trail King 2.2" tyres
Pedals not included

Silver build customisation options: a Hope headset; choice of disc brakes (two Shimano and two Hope options); Hope Tech XC 27.5 or Hope/WTB Ci24 carbon wheels; a Race Face Turbine dropper seatpost with upgraded 1x remote; and Roughcut HLR or Fox 34 FIT4 Factory forks.

Geometry

The chart is a guide to frame size. New on the BFe 275 was Optimised For Inline geometry.

Our original Ultra Compact Geometry was designed around a 100mm travel fork as a minimum. The original geometry also assumed a layback seatpost. Running forks longer than 100mm (most people used 140mm on their BFe) shortens the reach (distance from bars to BB), and running an inline or dropper post (which usually have an inline clamp) shortens the position from the other end of the bike, squeezing the room available to the rider.

Optimised For Inline takes the rider position we originally intended for 100mm forks on the original BFe and maintains it for a 27.5" wheel frame layout with 120mm forks installed and an inline seatpost. This meant lengthening the top tube at the front end to compensate for the longer forks, and slackening the seat angle at the rear to swing an inline seatpost into the same saddle clamp position as a layback version.

The resulting geometry makes the frames look long on the top tube compared to what you might be used to on a traditionally designed 26" wheel bike. However, the layout is simply tuned for proper position on inline or dropper posts, and the BB, head tube, bars and saddle are all in the same places as they usually are on a Cotic bike. The effect is to make the top tubes look long when the reach is comparable to our usual sizing.

All measurements are based on a fork with 25% sag (rider on board).

Frame Size	Small	Medium	Large
Seat Tube (centre-top)	400mm	440mm	480mm
Top Tube Length (effective)	597mm	614mm	631mm
Chainstay Length	428mm	428mm	428mm
Head Tube Length	100mm	110mm	120mm
Usual Height Range	165-173cm	174-182cm	183-191cm
Stem Length	40-80mm	50-90mm	50-90mm

The angles and BB drop depend on the fork. They are the same on all three sizes:

Fork	Head Angle	Seat Angle	BB Drop
100mm	68.6°	72.6°	37.5mm
120mm	68.0°	72.0°	33mm
140mm	67.0°	71.0°	25mm
150mm	66.8°	70.8°	24.9mm
160mm	66.4°	70.4°	21.5mm

Reach and stack also change with the fork:

Fork	Reach S / M / L	Stack S / M / L
100mm	417.5 / 431.5 / 445.4mm	566.3 / 575.6 / 584.9mm
120mm	411.6 / 425.6 / 439.5mm	570.6 / 580.0 / 589.3mm
140, 150 and 160mm	400.8 / 414.8 / 428.8mm	578.2 / 587.7 / 597.2mm

Component sizes

Seatpost diameter: 31.6mm. You need 100mm minimum insertion into the frame at full pedalling height
Front mech: 34.9mm, Shimano Side Swing front entry only
Fork: maximum 160mm travel, 551mm axle-crown (without sag)
Bottom bracket width: 73mm
Bottom bracket thread: conventional English/BSA
Headset: 44mm cup: Zero Stack ZS44 top cup, external EC44 bottom cup
Rear hub: normal 135 x 10 QR, or dedicated Syntace X-12 142x12. The frames are dedicated to either axle type, so the QR version can't be converted to 142x12, or vice versa