Archive: Tonic
Years of production: 2019-2020
See the current Escapade, the Tonic's steel sibling.
The luxurious Tonic was our drop bar dream bike: all the fun and capability of the Escapade, crafted from gorgeous, head-turning titanium. Fast tarmac, gravel, touring: the Tonic did it all in style.
Lightweight and comfortable, it would tackle whatever surface took your fancy. Sleek, tough and durable, it was ready to follow the tarmac out of the city and onto the dirt, or to be loaded up with bags for epic adventures, and was just as special on fast, racy tyres as on floaty gravel rubber. With its stunning polished finish, the Tonic simply oozed class.
Finish: polished titanium.
Sizes: XS/52, Small/54, Medium/56 and Large/58 (latterly XS/52 only). Wheels: 700c, or 650b Road Plus.
Frame and fork
- Butted 3Al/2.5V seamless titanium, saving over 600g compared with the steel Escapade
- Cotic Ovalform top tube and a smooth integral tapered head tube
- Custom shaped rear end with big clearance
- Full carbon RB5 fork: 550g, 12 x 100mm thru axle, flat mount brakes, mudguard eyelets and three Anything Cage bosses per leg, with room for 700x45 or 650x50 tyres
- 142 x 12mm rear thru axle to match the front
- Inside Out cable management: semi-internal gear routing, full Shimano Di2 compatibility and optional internal dropper routing
Ultra Compact Geometry and big clearance
The Tonic used our award-winning Ultra Compact Geometry: fairly short seat tubes and compact frames for room to move on the bike and a longer seatpost for comfort, with top tube lengths following traditional road fit, and head angles optimised for ride feel while minimising toe overlap.
Based on the Escapade, a gravel bike since before there were gravel bikes, it had big clearances and disc brakes that work just as well on road as off. Bikes came on big-volume 700 x 37c slicks, with room for up to 700 x 44 using wide-chainline gravel cranks. The WTB Road Plus option used 650b KOM Light rims with 650 x 47 tubeless tyres (Horizon, Byway or Senduro), and from 2021 the frame took up to 650 x 50. Smaller rims with big tyres give a similar overall diameter to 700c, but with far more comfort and grip at pressures as low as 35psi.
Geometry
Ultra Compact Geometry means the frames are low and long, so you'll probably need a 350mm seatpost. Remember to allow for the sloping top tube when comparing seat tube sizes with other bikes. Email size@cotic.co.uk for help.
Tonic
| Frame size | XS/52 | Small/54 | Medium/56 | Large/58 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube (centre-top) | 450mm | 480mm | 510mm | 540mm |
| Top tube (effective) | 525mm | 537mm | 560mm | 580mm |
| Chainstay length | 425mm | 425mm | 425mm | 425mm |
| Head angle | 71° | 71.5° | 72° | 72° |
| Seat angle | 73.5° | 73.5° | 73° | 73° |
| BB drop | -70mm | -70mm | -70mm | -70mm |
| Head tube length | 128mm | 135mm | 150mm | 170mm |
| Reach | 360.6mm | 370.1mm | 382.9mm | 397.0mm |
| Stack | 555.1mm | 563.8mm | 580.1mm | 598.1mm |
| Wheelbase | 991mm | 999mm | 1011mm | 1035mm |
| Usual height range | 155-166cm | 165-175cm | 173-180cm | 180-191cm |
| Stem length | 90-120mm | 90-120mm | 90-120mm | 90-120mm |
| Fork length (included) | 400mm | 400mm | 400mm | 400mm |
| Fork offset | 45mm | 45mm | 45mm | 45mm |
| Rear axle thread | M12x1.75 | M12x1.75 | M12x1.75 | M12x1.75 |
Fork included with frame.
Component sizes
- Seatpost diameter: 31.6mm (330mm long minimum)
- Seatpost clamp: 34.9mm (Hope bolt-up clamp included)
- Chainline: +2.5mm for extra tyre clearance
- Front mech: 34.9mm bottom pull. Shimano GRX +2.5mm chainline, or SRAM conventional or wide road chainline to suit your chainset. Shimano road does not fit
- Bottom bracket: 68mm width, conventional English/BSA thread
- Headset: 1 1/8" to 1.5" tapered, IS41/28.6 top, IS52/40 lower cup
- Fork: tapered steerer, maximum axle to crown 400mm, 45mm offset
- Front hub: 12 x 100mm bolt-thru
- Rear hub: 142 x 12mm thru axle, M12x1.75 thread
- Brakes: flat mount, front and rear
Download the general Cotic user manual (PDF)
Origin
Designed, developed, engineered and tested by us in the Peak District, with Cy Turner as lead designer and engineer, and lab tested beyond ISO 4210. Tonic frames were hand made in Taiwan by our selected framebuilder, who has made our frames since day one, then QC'd in Taiwan and again in the UK. Complete bikes were built to order in the Peak District.