What was our design brief?

To create a drop handlebar bike without limits. It should be capable of sustained off road use, loaded or unloaded. The ride should inspire confidence, with stable handling and maximised tyre clearance. It should be our most versatile model that can take on any conditions.

How has this been achieved?

The roots of the Escape lie in a previous model – the Ecroix. This was our first titanium gravel bike, and whilst it rode well, had geometry and features closer to that of a cyclocross bike. As touring, adventure road and gravel bikes have evolved, so has the Escape.

Our factory is based a short ride from the South Downs National Park, which provides us with the perfect testing ground for this style of bike. Many hours were spent testing and refining the design on the chalk and flint bridleways of the downs, even venturing into Friston forest on the singletrack normally reserved for MTB riders.

The original Escape launched in 2017, and built on the foundations laid by the Ecroix with improved geometry, cable routing, and an upgrade to the latest bolt-thru axle / flat mount braking system. We settled on geometry that still handled well on the road, but really came to life once you headed off onto varied terrain. This proved to be a popular model, with riders making full use of the versatility from commuting and training, to adventure racing and world touring.

In 2019 we updated the Escape with some subtle changes. Sizes specific tubing was specified, to tune the ride quality for the frame size and reduce weight to a minimum. (MORE INFO ON LINK). The geometry was adjusted to improve standover clearance on smaller models, and ensure the frames suited a larger range of riders.

We also realised that increased tyre clearance would help the bike fulfil its true potential offroad, so we increased the chainstay spacing to the absolute maximum possible, enabling us to fit a 700 x 45mm tyre.

Cable routing is another area we considered carefully. For the style of riding the Escape is intended for; where you may end up a long way from a bike shop, we felt that keeping the cables external for ease of maintenance was the best solution. The main cable run attaches underneath the downtube, out of sight for a neat and tidy solution. The cable guides bolt in place and can be adapted for 1x, 2x or electronic groupsets.

As a versatile bike the Escape naturally has full mudguard and pannier mounts, whether you’re commuting, touring the world or just messing about on your local MTB trails it’s got you covered.

Who is it for?

The primary focus of the Escape is for mixed road/offroad, and touring use. It’s also quite at home on audax rides, endurance racing, commuting, gravel, allroad, singletrack and more. It sits in our core range as the model most suited to offroad use. If you’re interested in something a little more road focussed we recommend you take a look at the Etape.