It is available with flat bars and drop bars, carbon forks 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. The Tour de Fer is a steel touring-specific bike with a longer, stable wheelbase, and comes complete with mudguards and racks.
Visit us in our stores in Edinburgh (Bruntsfield or Canonmills), Leeds, Newcastle and Aberdeen. As with the Day One, there are mudguards, rear pannier rack, and an internally geared rear hub for all weather dependability. Some adventures are about taking your time and drinking in your surroundings, others are about getting there fast. This bike is designed for lightweight bike-packing, able to tackle ultra-distances on mixed terrain. Essentially an aluminium version of the Croix de Fer, the CDA features a similar plethora of mounts and wide clearances but comes in at a significantly lower price. Part of this is down to the different frame material, but cheaper components are also a factor.
You could put 38c tyres on it and go bike-packing on some gravel, or you could put front and rear pannier racks on, throw in some mudguards, and take it on an around the world tour. You could even commute, go on road rides, use it as a utility shopper. With pannier rack mounts and similar geometry,these bikes may look similar to the adventure bikes, but there are a few features that make these better suited to running errands and commuting than a dedicated adventure bike would be.
The CDA on the other hand is less race and more sportive, with relaxed endurance geometry and massive tyre clearance for knobblies so you can truly take it anywhere. The Mantle is the brand’s XC and endurance bike, and is a full carbon 29er hardtail with 100mm travel. You’ll find a range of materials used in genesis mountain bikes, though the brand is well loved for its steel offerings. Since then, Genesis has gone from strength to strength, producing some of the UK’s best loved bikes for all occasions, and has been the bike supplier and title sponsor of the Madison Genesis road racing team since 2013. Even if you’re not a bike enthusiast, you’ve probably noticed the giant bicycle perched on top of the store at 126 Bushkill St. You can see it as you pass by on Route 22 heading into New Jersey. Genesis supply the 27.2mm seat post, 75mm stem and 685mm medium rise bars, the Flux saddle is practical but may not suit everyone.
Versatility still pervades the frame, with downtube bottle bosses and mounts for a rear rack and mudguards. Although this bike can take on the commuting duties or a bit of cycle-touring, it is more suited to lively riding in the woods and on bridleways. Other bikes might have the specificity to perform better in a single one of these uses, but very few bikes would be able to perform as well as the Croix de Fer in all of them. It is the combination of a vast array of mounts, a robust steel frame and wide tyre clearances that allow this bike to be such a jack of all trades.
Not too long and well balanced with none of the ‘too much weight on the wrists’ feeling that sometimes comes on trail hardtails. Set up was simple, the bike did come with a whole bunch of spacers below the stem, after less than 30 seconds on the bike I had these shuffled to get the front as low as possible and it was off to the trails. Kit wise the Genesis is sensibly specced, Shimano Deore takes care of transmission duties with a SLX rear derailleur, brakes are Deore too. The best riding is off the beaten track, on that road – or path – to who knows where.
Next up is the endurance-focused Zeal, which is full carbon, so you can ride longer and faster with less effort. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. An impressive genesis mountain bike fork at this price point and sensible kit are great and the wheels finish the package off nicely but the main attraction here is the geometry. The first thing you notice is that the cockpit is comfortable, it just feels right.