Archive: BFe 275 Gen6
Discontinued, superseded by Gen7. This page is kept as an archive record for owners and for anyone researching an older Cotic BFe.
Years of production: 2020-2023
This is the 6th generation BFe, the 27.5" BFe for 2020. See the BFe archive, and the current BFe.
The Cotic BFe: trail, DH, slalom, park. It does it all.
The BFe is our trail bashing, downhill thrashing, jump park smashing, enduro winning, do-it-all fun machine.
Finishes for 2020: Gloss Black X and Y, Dark Grey and Sunny Yellow.
What's new
A few small changes make a huge difference. The 2020 edition of our hardcore classic pushed the boundaries of the aggressive hardtail even further: longer, slacker, more confident and capable than ever.
The BFe was the first Cotic to get the revolutionary Longshot geometry, but that was two years earlier, and we hadn't sat still. Learning from the constant development of our droplink full suspension bikes and best selling SolarisMAX, we made a few key tweaks to our genre defying, do-it-all hardtail. The BFe got a longer reach across the size range, and a steeper seat angle to put you in a more effective, central place on the bike, making climbing even easier. We slackened the head angle by a degree to match, giving more confidence than ever on critical steep trails and fast corners. Paired with a 35mm stem and low standover from the dropped top tube, this bike handled sharp, and loved to get airborne.
To keep it bang up to date, the BFe also got a Boost 148 rear end, bringing added clearance, compatibility with the latest components and tonnes of stiffness for railing turns. With space for up to a 2.6" tyre with mud clearance, from razzing round the BMX track to racing enduro and tearing up trail centres, there was nothing the BFe couldn't do.
Features and benefits
Longshot
Radical Longshot geometry keeps the bike stable through the rough stuff, planted in the corners and pinpoint accurate in the steep tech. Couple a super short 35mm stem to the optimised head angle and the bike really pushes you on, looking for every stump to boost off, rock to gap and berm to rail, keeping you connected to the trail while maintaining incredible poise and composure.
Reynolds 853 and Fm cromoly
At the heart of the BFe is a Reynolds 853 downtube, which brings life and pop to the ride, and our very own Fm heat treated cromoly tubeset rounds out the strongest hardtail we make. It includes our custom ride tuned Ovalform top tube, which helps deliver that famous ride feel. The frame's steel construction is compliant and naturally ground moulding, extracting grip and feedback from the trail where you thought there was none. Pair it to our custom sized and shaped heat treated cromoly rear end for the most beautiful riding frame.
27.5" wheels
The BFe was designed around the latest 27.5 x 2.6" wide trail tyres, with clearance to spare even with this monster rubber installed. 27.5" wheels are lighter, livelier and easier to accelerate than 29" or 27.5 Plus wheels, with a more interactive feel. This is at the expense of slightly less stability and easy rollover on rockier, bumpier terrain. They also package more easily into a small frame (shorter chainstays, lower stack and head tube height), so the proportions suit shorter riders.
Frame details
- Cotic Fm heat treated 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. 27.5 x 2.6" or 26 x 3.0" tyres fit
- ISCG05 mount
- Syntace X-12 148x12 thru axle
- Geometry with commitment: minimum 120mm travel forks, optimised around 140mm forks, maximum 160mm forks
- 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
- Sizes: Small (390mm seat tube), Medium (425mm), Large (460mm) and XL (495mm). The frames are designed to be compact and chuckable
- Weight: 6.1 lbs for the Small
Geometry
The chart is a guide to frame size. Longshot geometry means that the frames are low and long, with plenty of standover room. We recommended going for the size suggested for your height on the chart, and getting all the benefits of running a super short and responsive 30-35mm stem. Make sure you consider your leg length as well: you might not be able to fit a longer dropper post due to the collar hitting the seat tube top.
All measurements are based on a fork with 25% sag (rider on board).
| Frame Size | Small | Medium | Large | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Tube (centre-top) | 390mm | 425mm | 460mm | 495mm |
| Chainstay Length | 428mm | 428mm | 428mm | 428mm |
| Head Tube Length | 100mm | 110mm | 120mm | 130mm |
| Usual Height Range | 165-172cm | 169-180cm | 178-188cm | 186-195cm |
| Stem Length | 30-50mm | 30-50mm | 30-50mm | 30-50mm |
| Max Tyre Size | 27.5 x 2.6" | |||
| Seatpost max insertion, 120/150/160mm forks (including actuator) | 261mm | 296mm | 331mm | 366mm |
| Seatpost max insertion, 140mm forks (including actuator) | 251mm | 251mm | 286mm | 321mm |
Seatpost insertion is guidance based on leaving 25mm clear below the actuator for any hose or cable to route through our frames. Your post may need less or more, and if you use an externally routed dropper you won't need this margin at all.
The angles and BB drop depend on the fork. They are the same on all sizes:
| Fork | Head Angle | Seat Angle | BB Drop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120mm | 66.0° | 75.0° | 49.7mm |
| 140mm | 65.0° | 74.0° | 43mm |
| 150mm | 64.5° | 73.5° | 38mm |
| 160mm | 64.1° | 73.1° | 34mm |
Top tube length, reach, stack and wheelbase also change with the fork (Small / Medium / Large / XL):
| Fork | Top Tube (effective) | Reach | Stack | Wheelbase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120mm | 602 / 631 / 654 / 684mm | 447 / 472 / 494 / 522mm | 575 / 585 / 594 / 603mm | 1157.6 / 1187.0 / 1212.7 / 1244.1mm |
| 140mm | 605 / 634 / 657 / 687mm | 438 / 463 / 485 / 513mm | 581 / 591 / 600 / 609mm | 1165.8 / 1195.0 / 1221.3 / 1253.5mm |
| 150mm | 606 / 635 / 658 / 688mm | 434 / 459 / 481 / 509mm | 584 / 595 / 605 / 614mm | 1169.9 / 1200.1 / 1225.8 / 1258.0mm |
| 160mm | 607.5 / 636.5 / 659.5 / 689.5mm | 429 / 454 / 476 / 504mm | 588 / 598 / 607 / 616mm | 1174.4 / 1203.6 / 1230.0 / 1262.1mm |
Component sizes
- Seatpost diameter: 31.6mm. You need 100mm minimum insertion into the frame at full pedalling height
- Dropper routing: internal (stealth) and external dropper post hose/cable routing options
- 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 axle: dedicated Syntace X-12 148x12 Boost
Origin
Cotic frames are designed, developed, engineered and tested entirely by us at our base in the Peak District, near Sheffield in the UK. Our founder, Cy Turner, is the lead designer and engineer, and our frames are rigorously ride tested by everyone at Cotic and our Race Team. They are fully certified and lab tested in excess of the requirements of the ISO 4210 safety standards.
This frame was hand made in Taiwan by our specially selected framebuilder, chosen because of their vast experience with our favourite materials and their top quality finish. Each frame is dip coated inside and out with zinc phosphate before painting, to prevent corrosion and ensure the best paint finish, and is painted to the highest quality including a protective clear coat, before extensive quality control by our agent in Taiwan. Once the frames reach us in the UK, we carry out further quality control and prepare the frames for headset and bottom bracket installation.
As always, all complete bikes were built to order by us here in the Peak District, to the exact spec of your choice. We built your bike for you.
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