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 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.
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. Despite being already expansive, the Genesis Bikes brand continues to grow, with the British company striking out even further to the gravel/adventure cross market. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.
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 genesis bicycles 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..
The Alpitude needs to be ridden hard to get the best from the frame, if you hit rough sections too slow then the bike can stall and you have to work to get back up to speed. The Revelation fork is simple to set up but it is worth remembering to go back and reset them after a couple of rides as they begin to sink into their travel once bedded in. Specialized also launched a Peter Sagan collection with a largely gold frameset a few years ago. We’ve got to say, though, that we’ve never seen anything like the head tube on Adam Blythe’s bike. But more than that, there’s front and rear dynamo lights, so you never need worry about forgetting/neglecting to charge your lights. An internally geared hub goes a long way to weather proofing the drivetrain, as do the full housed gear cables that help stop dirt degrading your shifting performance.
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.
The cockpit felt a little cramped and we found that our knees clashed with the bars round tight hairpins. Grip out back is reliable rather than amazing and a determined effort will see you up pretty much any hill. The rear triangle is a beefed up to deal with the hammering that this bike is intended for and the seat tube is shortened so that the lower top tube gives bags of standover room.
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.
Genesis created the personalities and graphics for bikes built for the world’s diverse cultures. You can see our work for Giant in the grueling Tour de France, on Tokyo commuter streets, and in a garage much like your own. Credited with creating the first-ever gravel bike, Genesis bicycles are designed to take you on adventure — off-road, on-road, or wherever your heart desires. The Fugio is a rowdier bike than the Croix de Fer, more suited to playing around on the trails and using the bumps as a platform to get some air.
The Croix de Fer comes in three steel options (10, 20 and 30) as well as a titanium model. 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. There aren’t mounting points for front or rear pannier racks; strap on bike-packing bags are the weapon of choice here.