Archive: BFe 275 Gen7

Discontinued, replaced by the current BFe (Gen8), which adds a mullet wheel setup option. This page is kept as an archive record for owners and for anyone researching an older Cotic BFe.

Years of production: 2023-2025

This is the 7th generation BFe, and the last 27.5" BFe. See the BFe archive, and the current BFe.

The BFe steel hardtail is our 27.5" wheel, trail bashing, bike park smashing, enduro winning, do-it-all fun machine.

Maintaining an unbroken line right back to its introduction in 2005, the BFe has always been the tearaway of the Cotic family. You know the one: loads of fun, but a bit on the wild side? That's the BFe.

The BFe is our rowdiest hardtail. It will take everything you can throw at it, from BMX track laps to the steepest downhill lines. A BFe has been ridden everywhere, from the Megavalanche to Whistler. 27.5" wheels keep things lively and fun.

Want a pump track lapping, slalom winning berm railer? Plug in a 120mm fork for pinpoint accuracy. Looking for a singletrack slaying trail shredder? Go for 140mm. For downhill and enduro sending, the BFe works with up to a 160mm fork. The BFe is a great value steel hardtail hooligan: enduro winning speed, dual slalom sharp handling and hard hitting capabilities.

BFe: Burly Iron.

Finishes: Matte Army Green and Gloss Gunmetal.

What's new in 2023

A few small changes make a huge difference. With some subtle geometry tweaks and strong new colours, the 7th generation of our hardcore classic pushed the boundaries of the aggressive hardtail even further: lower, better fitting, and more versatile than ever.

Listening to feedback from group tests and customers, we made a few key tweaks to our genre defying, 27.5" wheel, do-it-all hardtail. The BFe got a 10mm lower BB, as testing showed that to improve cornering stability, whilst still maintaining that all important pedal ground clearance. The other major benefit of this change is increased stack on all sizes, which allows taller riders in particular to more easily get comfortable on the BFe.

The other geometry change is a 0.5 degree steeper seat angle, bringing it into line with its big wheeled brother, the BFeMAX. Another step in improving the climbing position, without compromising the comfort of the bike on longer rides.

The final tweak is bottle bosses: lots of them. Carrying equipment on your bike instead of in a pack is becoming increasingly popular, so the multi-option down tube bosses for the hose routing are all spaced as regular 64mm bottle boss spacing, with an extra set thrown in underneath. This lets you fine tune your equipment provision: run up to three bottles, a tool keg under the down tube, or an Anything Cage 3-bolt style carry platform. The choice is yours.

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
• Multiple down tube boss positions, including on the underside: carry water, luggage, tools
• 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	160-170cm	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)	261mm	296mm	331mm	366mm

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°	75.5°	60.5mm
140mm	65.0°	74.5°	53mm
150mm	64.5°	74.0°	49mm
160mm	64.1°	73.6°	46mm

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	584 / 594 / 603 / 612mm	1156.6 / 1186.0 / 1212.7 / 1243.1mm
140mm	605 / 634 / 657 / 687mm	438 / 463 / 485 / 513mm	592 / 602 / 611 / 620mm	1164.8 / 1194.0 / 1220.3 / 1252.5mm
150mm	606 / 635 / 658 / 688mm	434 / 459 / 481 / 509mm	595 / 606 / 616 / 625mm	1169.9 / 1200.1 / 1225.8 / 1258.0mm
160mm	607.5 / 636.5 / 659.5 / 689.5mm	429 / 454 / 476 / 504mm	598 / 608 / 617 / 626mm	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) via the down tube, and external dropper post hose/cable routing options
• Fork: maximum 160mm travel, 553mm axle-crown (without sag). Optimised around 140mm
• Bottom bracket width: 73mm
• Bottom bracket thread: conventional English/BSA
• Chainline: Boost / +3, maximum 34t
• Chain guide mounting: ISCG05
• Front mech: 34.9mm band on, high clamp, Shimano 11-speed Side Swing only
• Headset: 44mm for taper steerer forks: Hope 2H, Cane Creek ZS44 top/EC44 bottom, or Chris King Inset I7
• Rear hub: Boost 148 x 12 bolt through
• Rear axle: Syntace X-12
• Rear mech hanger: Syntace X-12 Type 1 (conventional or Shimano Direct Mount)
• Rear brake mounting: I.S., compatible with rotors up to 203mm diameter

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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