A rim brake version is available in addition to the disc option and both come with Shimano Ultegra 2×11 groupsets. The maximum tyre size on bike is 28c, typical for rim brake set ups but relatively narrow for a bike with discs. But for races that are solely on roads, this should be more than adequate.
Perfect for pootling around town, plus the twin top tube adds a touch of elegance. Finally, if you want to build your absolute dream machine, the Volare and Volare Disc framesets are available in both Reynolds 853 and 931 tubing options. Next up is the endurance-focused Zeal, which is full carbon, so you can ride longer and faster with less effort. Up front a Rockshox Revelation Race provides the suspension duties, this fork comes with U-turn adjustment that enables you to adjust the travel to anything between 120mm to 150mm. There is a bottle mount and a mud guard mount, our test bike came with the Cycraguard mudguard fitted, this is an optional extra. And let us know what you think about the overall look of Adam Blythe’s Genesis.
It employs easily adjustable rim brakes, a single 42×17 gear, and it has mudguards to keep the spray off. Although the frame is steel, it’s relatively lightweight with a carbon fork and no excess components weighing it down. This is a bike that will zip around town without a second thought. There are, however, a number of points that make this a more versatile bike than the carbon alternative. Tyre clearance is increase to 38c, there are discrete mudguard and pannier mounts and an extra set of bottle bosses is present on the downtube. Due to being disc brake only, the bridge between the seatstays could be removed.
The big plus with the Alpitude is that it handles truly rough terrain well, the faster you go you better it rides and at no point do you think you are going to break it. Wheels are built around SLX hubs with Alex XED-44 rims, these are shod with Maxxis High Rollers 2.35 tyres. Transmission duties are taken care of by Shimano, shifters are Deore, there is a double SLX chainset, SLX front mech with a short cage XT mech at the rear, brakes are SLX as well. It’s a little bit bling but positivly understated compared to Blytheys..
Singletrack uses affiliate services called Skimlinks and which means we may earn revenue if you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer on our site. The site said a retirement sale would begin Thursady and the store will be closed May 4-7 as trek prepares to re-open under the new ownership. For commuters and city-dwellers, Genesis has several bikes to choose from. Genesis has a lot of bikes in its ‘other’ category, so we’ve broken them down into Adventure, Cyclocross and Urban.
Given the versatility of this frame, it is perhaps to be expected that there is a large number of different builds on offer. It is available with flat bars and drop bars, carbon forks genesis bike and steel forks, there’s even a titanium frame option. For each of the builds, there are different spec levels donated by a ‘10’ for the entry level and ’30’ for the top line.
This further increases mud clearance and also adds to the frame’s compliance, providing better control. Definitely not a versatile bike; this is designed with only CX racing in mind and makes no compromises – except for, perhaps, its two sets of bottle bosses. With a 2×9 Shimano Sora groupset and mechanical disc brakes, there are notable differences to the higher end Croix de Fer.
Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he’s riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions. “Thank you @genesisbikesuk for letting me go wild with this bike!!
The Alpitude is a serious bike built to handle serious terrain but not many of us get to ride truly hardcore trails all the time so it is important that your bike can handle your every day trails well. Rob Hayles is another former racer, of course – a double world champion and three-time Olympic medallist on the track, and a national champion on the road. These days he works with carbon, hence his involvement with this bike. Product PresentationFrom free-ride, long-travel mountain models to fun city bikes, the presentation is a key attractor on the sales floor.