Twist shifters tend to be a quick and easy way to tell the quality of a bike. While aesthetically, the quality of the bike was fantastic, I did run into quality issues. The front shock squeaked when I went over bumps, and the front derailleur wouldn’t shift through all of the gears.
Commuter e-Bike is an excellent choice when a comfortable, smooth ride is your top priority without sacrificing style and performance. As with the Day One, there are mudguards, rear pannier rack, and an internally geared rear hub for all weather dependability. The angles are steep, the front end is low and there aren’t mudguard or pannier mounts. 33c tyres are specced (the maximum permitted in UCI sanctioned cyclocross races), while the maximum tyre size recommend is 35c. 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.
So we came to the relatively dry, stone-paved forest road single track. After I felt comfortable with it, I aimed for a short uphill at about 50° or so. But I stood on the pedals and pedaled hard, not expecting the forward pedaling to be that strenuous. It was a stalemate for about 30 seconds, and without any incident, I fell off the bike.
Not too long and well balanced with none of the ‘too much weight on the wrists’ feeling that sometimes comes on trail hardtails. Kit wise the Genesis is sensibly specced, Shimano Deore takes care of transmission duties with a SLX rear derailleur, brakes are Deore too. Genesis are a British brand that have been building decent bikes and a decent reputation so I was looking forward to a chance to see if the positive buzz about the company and their bikes was well earned. Specialized also launched a Peter Sagan collection with a largely gold frameset a few years ago.
genesis bikeSome of the components, such as a steel frameset and caliper brakes on a $2,000 bike, are somewhat confusing. However, even that bike offers great components and specifications everywhere else. Its upgraded version, the Genesis Equilibrium Disc, offers excellent specifications across the board, with the steel frame left as the only questionable component choice. However, with the slightly increased weight of these two models comes more durability, which may be what you’ve been after all along. Unlike many other brands of road bikes, the steel frames aren’t found on the cheapest models. Instead, the more affordable models, such as the ones sold at Walmart, are often made of Aluminum.
But for races that are solely on roads, this should be more than adequate. The fork travel is 80mm, also made of aluminum, solid and reliable. In the actual use of mountain bikes, the stability of the fork determines the life of the bike. The Day One — its inaugural bike from 2001 — is still going strong as a low maintenance singlespeed with disc brakes and mounts for mudguards. The Vapour is Genesis’ CX race machine and there are three models available (10, 20 and 30).