Genesis has today launched its first carbon fibre bikes in the Zero range. The British brand says that the Zero has been over 18 months in development and will make its race debut with the Madison Genesis team in this year’s Tour of Britain.
The Zero range features six models, all of them using the same frame.
“The Zero has been specifically designed to meet the extreme demands of stage racing where reductions in overall weight and aerodynamic improvements can make a real difference; the resulting frame now weighs-in below 1kg,” says Genesis.
“With comfort in mind, the frame has been designed to take a standard 27.2mm seatpost to provide more compliance than found on bladed seatpost designs. The rear triangle features pencil-thin seatstays which help to further provide compliance and comfort to the ride.”
Genesis Zero – Welcome to the Team from Sportline on Vimeo.
The down tube has a large Kamm tail profile that is designed to provide both a stiff pedalling platform and an aerodynamic advantage.
The head tube has been shortened so that the fork crown flows into the down tube. Removing the gap that usually sits behind the crown is intended to minimise turbulence in that area and so reduce drag.
The Zero frame was designed in Britain and it comes out of Genesis’ own moulds so you won’t find this frame sold under other brand names.
The most affordable model is the Zero .1 at £1,299.99 (above and main pic). It is built up with a Shimano Tiagra groupset and Versus 30mm alloy rims on Shimano hubs.
The range topper is the Shimano Dura-Ace equipped Team (above) which is priced £4,499.99. That’s Dura-Ace in its mechanical incarnation (rather than Di2) with C24 wheels. These two models are available now with the rest of the range available from the end of this month.
The Zero .2 at £1,499.99 (orange details, further down the page) is fitted with a Shimano 105 groupset and Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels while the Zero .3 (above) will come with Shimano 105 and Fulcrum Racing 7 LG wheels. That one will be priced at £1,699.99.
The Zero .4 (above) will have a Shimano Ultegra groupset, Fulcrum Racing 7 LG wheels and a price tag of £1,999.99, while the Zero i (below) will have a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and Fulcrum Racing 5 LG wheels and it'll be priced at £2,999.99.
Continental tyres are used across the range, as are Genesis alloy bars, stems and seatposts.
“We are excited to announce our debut carbon range, Zero. This gives the public and the Madison Genesis team a full choice of frames, which excel in different environments,” said Phil Hamill, Brand Director at Genesis.
“The Volare will continue to be used in next year’s Pearl Izumi Tour Series whilst the Zero will be used in stage races, such as the Tour of Britain.
“We are really proud with how Zero has turned out. The only way this project could be viable was by doing it our way, with the brand principles we believe in. We have invested heavily in developing our own tooling and moulds to ensure this bike is exactly how we intended it to be. We believe strongly in the Zero, which is why we will be offering a lifetime warranty on all Zero frames.”
Genesis Zero – What The Team Had To Say from Sportline on Vimeo.
As mentioned up top, the Zero will first appear in this year’s Tour of Britain. The race starts in Liverpool on 7 September.
Genesis say that the steel Volare is far from over and that the carbon-fibre Zero simply gives them another option. A carbon bike wasn't explicitly requested by the team and the riders are still free to choose to ride steel.
However, Genesis say that in order to get the lightest permitted bike (6.8kg), they had to look to new materials because they've already taken steel as far as it can go without compromising the stiffness required for a thoroughbred race frame. The Genesis Volare Team 953 that we reviewed here on road.cc weighed 7.8kg.
That is not to say that new grades of steel won’t become available in future to get the weight down. For example, they're looking at a new head tube for 2016, tapered instead of XX44, which should save some more weight.
For more information go to www.genesisbikes.co.uk.
59 thoughts on “Genesis enters carbon-fibre market with Zero + video”
That’s a shame really. I
That’s a shame really. I understood the whole point of the Volare was to demonstrate that steel could still stand up in the peloton so introducing a much lighter frame for stage races leaves the distinct impression that it doesn’t!
Otherwise, the bikes look nice enough.
Chris James wrote:That’s a
Agreed, it does feel like a sell out. You had to admire them for standing on principles with the steel frames. They have now become ‘just another bike manufacturer…”
paulrbarnard wrote:Chris
Agreed, it does feel like a sell out. You had to admire them for standing on principles with the steel frames. They have now become ‘just another bike manufacturer…”— Chris James
Yep agree as well. But I am guessing there are going to be new regulations from the UCI that aren’t based on bicycle weight but bicycle impact strength and this may be the reason for the change. I don’t have any evidence for this but the bikes in the peloton are going to get extremely light.
paulrbarnard wrote:Chris
Agreed, it does feel like a sell out.— Chris James
Genesis seemed to have always said they’re a design-led company that builds things based on the merits of the materials and the expertise they have. Sounds like they’ve just created another bike, using another material, that will do what they need it to do. It was nice they waved the flag for steel in the peloton, but I doubt even they would claim it’s the best material for every circumstance. Good on ’em I say – especially with a life-time warranty.
They’re still using steel frames for racing, just not for all of the races.
Well, just another British bike manufacturer who now do carbon road frames maybe… even that’s a bit harsh.
Bikes look nice, but the
Bikes look nice, but the value of that Dura-Ace build is terrible. As the frame is supposedly the same you could buy the Tiagra build with separate Dura-Ace groupset and wheelset to easily save a grand! Knowing Genesis a loose frameset will probably be available eventually as well (albeit perhaps in a different color).
It is a “team” bike, that is
It is a “team” bike, that is why it is so expensive.
It’s a bit of a ‘Dylan went
It’s a bit of a ‘Dylan went electric’ moment.
Nice to see the brand continuing to grow and diversify. I wouldn’t imagine that this means the end of the Volare as a team race bike.
That Zero is a very pretty bike though, really nicely proportioned. Looks like they’ve carried through something they pioneered on the Core mountain bikes a few years ago, strong and beefy front end for strength and power, with a svelte rear end for light weight and comfort. Not that they’re the first to do this on the road by any means, but good to see some consistency and continued evolution.
I can see the move to carbon
I can see the move to carbon being a good thing. Their steel bikes were set up more for the crit races; shorter wheelbase, more aggresive etc. These bikes look more comfy and suited for longer stage races.
I don’t agree. I think the
I don’t agree. I think the Volare demostrated that steel was still a viable racing material. However, people buy plastic – myself included, and what they’ve done is offer the British public a British designed bike from a British manufacturer at a reasonable price. Plus in my opinion it’s a bit of a looker. I’d be tempted if I was in the market for another bike. But then I quite like being married.
BIG let down, the appeal of
BIG let down, the appeal of Genesis for me was the steel bike.
That has just lost my interest in the brand, just another generic carbon frame bike company now.
Gkam84 wrote:BIG let down,
“just another generic carbon frame bike company now” Really ? I mean really ? So does that also suddenly make their steel race bikes shite, or inconsequential, now ? Anyway, your choice – sounds bloody harsh no matter what you think about carbon, carbon bikes or those that manufacture them.
fukawitribe wrote:Gkam84
“just another generic carbon frame bike company now” Really ? I mean really ? So does that also suddenly make their steel race bikes shite, or inconsequential, now ? Anyway, your choice – sounds bloody harsh no matter what you think about carbon, carbon bikes or those that manufacture them.— Gkam84
Sorry, I meant the team Madison Genesis has lost its appeal for me, now they are racing carbon.
But the brand of Genesis has lost my interest, because they are using a generic carbon frame. There is nothing unique, like they had with their steel frames and no, it does not make their steel frames “shite” it just makes the brand less appealing because they are putting the team onto a carbon bike, when there was bugger all wrong with the steel and at least they had something different going for them from all the other generic carbon bikes on the market that brands give to team for racing.
Gkam84 wrote:
But the brand
If you think that carbon frame is generic then by virtue so is the steel. The Volare has nothing standout… that you can see. They did work on tube profiles and geometry to make it special, otherwise you could get any frame builder to make you a 953 frame that would visually look the same. Same applies to carbon, to the un-interested it’s ‘Generic’ when infact it will have the same details and thought applied to it, just like the steel.
Bugger all wrong with steel you say, well yes… apart from the weight.
STATO wrote:Gkam84 wrote:
But
Yes, you could go to any frame builder and have a 953 frame build, but by using a frame builder, there will be subtle differences in every single frame. They cannot be me exactly the same every time.
By using carbon, you get a mold and it produces the same frame, time after time, for various brands and they all just put stickers on it. There is no difference.
The weight of the steel frame hasn’t stopped Madison winning and getting good results, infact the riders seemed delighted about riding steel vs carbon for the 1kg or so difference it made was negligible at the speeds they are going.
Gkam84 wrote:STATO
Yes, you could go to any frame builder and have a 953 frame build, but by using a frame builder, there will be subtle differences in every single frame. They cannot be me exactly the same every time.
By using carbon, you get a mold and it produces the same frame, time after time, for various brands and they all just put stickers on it. There is no difference.— Gkam84
Using a mold gives you the same outside shape, and I guess if you fully automated the layout you’d get more-or-less an identical frame each time… but life’s not that perfect and you will get some small variances. Hopefully, however, the variances you do get are very small – after all, you’ve probably spent months and months running FEA on different shapes, lay-ups, testing with riders and so on to get it just right and don’t want to change the feel too much.
With carbon you get the chance to micromanage the material in a way that is a bit more difficult and/or expensive to do with steel or other metals – even given the same outside shape you can alter the lay-up directions, weave, modulus, resin, resin additives yadda yadda yadda. Whether you want to, given the R&D work already put in, is likely to be quite an important question – but i’d warrant there are folk out there who have the ‘feel’ for some of the tweaks in the same way an experienced metal frame-maker would have for their materials. Much can be done with metals, but it’s simpler to e.g. change the lay-up of a carbon tube half-way down its length than trying to do funky things with butting, melt or shaping a metal one.
If you want to change the shape then it’s just the same with carbon as with metal – cut, chamfer, butt and wrap (braze/weld) tubes or use tubes and lugs. Seems to work for people like Marco Bertoletti.
Anyway, i’m not meant to be evangelising carbon (or any other material) but just pointing out that even something as dull-sounding as a molded carbon frame can be finessed in many ways. You may already know all that anyway, in which case, i’ll try and retroactively shut up now 🙂
Yeah – me too.
Gkam84 wrote:fukawitribe
“just another generic carbon frame bike company now” Really ? I mean really ? So does that also suddenly make their steel race bikes shite, or inconsequential, now ? Anyway, your choice – sounds bloody harsh no matter what you think about carbon, carbon bikes or those that manufacture them.— fukawitribe
Sorry, I meant the team Madison Genesis has lost its appeal for me, now they are racing carbon.— Gkam84
Ah – ok.
True, they have lost that uniqueness in the races that they use the carbon frames in rather than steel – but they’re not solely using one or the other. As for something being wrong with the steel frames then, no, not as such – but sounds like they have something they rate higher for stage-/longer races. If it’s better in some circumstances then so be it, unfortunate I agree – but I guess they’re in it for the success on and off the track rather than waving the flag for one particular material over another without reason.
I think it was the idea that the Zero is somehow a faceless, “generic” carbon bike that I took umbridge with, rather than anything else – maybe won’t be quite the same appeal now as a team, that’s true, cracking looking bike mind.
fukawitribe wrote:I think it
It is a nice looking bike, no doubt. For the mass market it is perfect.
I think they should have kept the team on steel though. 😀
Taking personal affront when
Taking personal affront when a manufacturer comes out with a new product that you don’t approve of, seems completely barking to me. Get a grip.
If you ask me, it all started
If you ask me, it all started to go wrong when they let Phil Collins sing
Its a really great looking
Its a really great looking range for top riders. This just compliments their sponsorship of a great race team, seems like a good fit. I still prefer the classic looks of the croix de fer but I don’t race and I ride a gas-pipe raleigh, so what do I know ? 😉
Carbon bikes make money
Carbon bikes make money better than steel bikes, even Genesis knows this.
It’s not a case of selling out it a case of trying to still stay in the game.
Sad in away to see them
Sad in away to see them branch out from Steel… but I think I now have to add another bike to my ‘next bike shortlist’. The zero.4 is a bit of a looker…
Very nice. I’m sure the
Very nice. I’m sure the frame will be on offer on its own soon, hopefully in that stealth black. I don’t need a new bike but I’d have to think about one of these if / when I do. Looking forward to a full review.
Steel specialists now branching out. Just like Condor, who nobody accusing of selling out, and just like everyone else when large scale carbon manufacture became possible!
Quite like that Zero.3.
It’s
Quite like that Zero.3.
It’s a bit overpriced, of course. But a very nice looking thing. Perhaps nicer than the equivalent Canyon or Rose. But, as I say, overpriced.
For me it’s the nicest colourway. So the easiest one to buy, sell the kit that’s attached to it, and fit Dura Ace etc and get an equivalent to the top bike for under £3k.
Look like really nice
Look like really nice machines. Shame that the only drivetrain options are Shimano though
nice bike and good on ’em for
nice bike and good on ’em for doing something different to just steel (I like their steel efforts btw) but can’t help thinking they’re a bit behind the curve…
…every bike manufacturer is offering disc brakes at the moment, this ain’t gonna stop anytime soon (or ever?)
They could have designed this with a disc brake option from the start and saved themselves a fair bit of money in the long run.
Good luck to them but I’ll never buy another non disc bike again.
StoopidUserName
This, at least for a more versatile bike – which is what genesis have normall excelled in.
(Or folding bikes, a brompton with discs would just be weird).
Though I’d still reckon on there being room for non-disc “sunday best” bikes that never see rain or traffic…
no discs?
no discs?
DrJDog wrote:no discs?
Would
Would they have been able to race it if they had ?
nowasps wrote:Taking personal
I think it demonstrates that Genesis are (were?) a much-loved brand for standing outside the herd, showing that steel can still be beautiful, practical and fast. Steel was really their USP (though of course they’ve been making aluminium bikes for ages too) and stick-in-the-muds like me who ride steel bikes out of preference (because of function as well as form) are a grumpy bunch, especially where the unquestioned dominance of carbon on the racing/club scene is concerned. So yeah, there’s an outcry. I think Genesis would be a bit worried if there wasn’t.
Whether this is a Dylan-goes-electric moment or the niche bicycle manufacturer version of new-recipe Coke remains to be seen. Probably neither, as I imagine they’ll carry on making the Reynolds-tubed modern classics that they’re known for.
GKam’s point on the racing team is valid though. I followed the team because they raced on steel. Now, not so much.
Also the range just looks like shitty plastic versions of their real bikes 😀 👿
Sidestepping the whole,
Sidestepping the whole, ‘steel is no longer real for Genesis’ debate. It’s not a looker, is it?
I hope Genesis dont go down
I hope Genesis dont go down the SAAB route (full disclosure – i own both Genesis and SAAB and have been loyal to both over several bikes/ cars)
SAAB once made unique and classy cars but then they decided to go mass market but ending up making a product that couldnt compete in that mass market and at the same time alienating their core (and loyal) customers who bought their cars because they *werent* mass market.
It was a lose/ lose and they went tits up.
I understand why Genesis are doing this but also a little sad.
I supported the progress of the Madison Genesis team because i ride a Genesis and they rode on steel. I now have one less reason to follow them.
I guess im a bit old fashioned like that.
ps – i also cant help noticing that a brand that usually gets universal praise on this website from most commentators is getting a mainly negative response to this move.
You all seem to be missing
You all seem to be missing the bit where they explain they’re made to their own design using their own moulds, so it’s not a case of flogging a re-badged bike. As a company who claim to be design led, it’s the only way they could justifiably do it.
It’s a little sad that steel hasn’t worked as they expected – but if the anticipated removal of the 6.8kg limit on racing bikes is going to come to pass, they would have found it harder to compete. According to the riders on the vid, it’s a much more comfortable bike too – perhaps making a steel one that light and that stiff just made it a bit of a pig to ride long distance?
Don’t worry Genesis I still
Don’t worry Genesis I still like you :X
Does it come in black. Well
Does it come in black. Well F**K ME IT DOES. Whatever happened to paint?
CJSTEVENS1955 wrote:Does it
Seems to come in black, team colours (mainly black), grey with orangy bits, white, red…. might not be everyones choice of colour-ways but at least there is a choice.
I’ll but 12. I’d like them in
I’ll but 12. I’d like them in black please…would that be a problem?…no!…that’s fantastic
CJSTEVENS1955 wrote:I’ll but
Not sure which is funnier – bleating on about a black bike which is available in other colours or your comment in another thread berating a manufacturer for making a bike called ‘Obsydian’ in the reviled non-colour 🙂
Yeh…I know. Had I been an
Yeh…I know. Had I been an educated person I would have fully researched the word before opening a tirade. My bad. It’s still bloody black though. If I had known this trend would have taken a few years ago I would have invested in the black market and been rich beyond my wildest dreams…so rich I could buy a rainbow!
That really is a dull as
That really is a dull as ditch water bike
I have an Equilibrium with
I have an Equilibrium with several shiny bits, including stem, and wanted a shorter one. Forget trying to get help from anyone at Genesis or Madison, they don’t answer emails, not even my LBS could get an answer! I’ve sent six mails to each of them and no answer whatsoever. I bet they’d answer if I said I needed a fleet of bikes.
Bottom line is if you need a replacement part the same as one on the bike originally – you can’t get one.
Oh, and the box doesn’t come from anywhere in Britain, Taiwan in fact.
X(
A lot of bikes come in black,
A lot of bikes come in black, or mainly black. It /is/ boring, but at least there’s the fun of pointing it out.
It’s like men’s shoes in the outdoor catalogues, every shade of dull you could imagine. A bright colour? Sorry sir, we’ve sold out of your size, but we have several beige and taupe left.
truffy wrote:A lot of bikes
Oh I agree – if there’s only black to choose… and there’s too much of it in general IMO. I just find it weird that it’s become really fashionable to slate any mainly black bike, even when it might suit it and/or it’s available in other colourways. Hey ho, each to their own.
fukawitribe wrote:I just find
(my soon-to-arrive new bike is mainly black heehee)
Paint weighs, and some
Paint weighs, and some colours weigh more than others. Up to 150g on a frame, is the figure I think I read somewhere. But also, it will add a degree of protection.
But if your design remit is to produce a light bike, then the fact is that less paint = better.
Hence a lot of black bikes out there.
Strange. The Zero has exactly
Strange. The Zero has exactly the same geometry as the Ridley Fenix (apart from the XXS size, that’s absent from the Genesis offers). Same mould?
http://www.ridley-bikes.com/be/en/bikes/1/127/70/race/fenix-c10-1409am
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/zero/zero-team
nesfyl wrote:Strange. The
Quick look at those suggest different tube shapes, seat stays, chain stays, head stock, seat tube join to seat stays and of course the fork is different too. So, on balance, probably not.
Can someone explain to me why
Can someone explain to me why the top of the range bike is so much cash?
Is there a difference in the frame, or is it charged at a premium simply because its in team colours?
As commented on, you can buy the Zero 4, then buy a separate Dura Ace groupset, C24 wheels and quality finishing kit (i.e. the build for the range topper) and still have change for a cheap winter frame to build a second bike for that £4.5k.
“Well !” he says hopping off
“Well !” he says hopping off the old very nearly black aluminium Genesis I bought a while ago (which is still going strong by the way) “I don’t know what all the fuss is about”
It seems to me that if they can make such a good job of the other materials why would they fail at carbon.
Nice looking bike too and pretty well priced I would think
Is the frameset available? I have some decent bits in the loft (that’s another story) which would do this some justice.
Has anyone noticed or
Has anyone noticed or commented on the fact that so many Ti bikes are a boring metally-greyish colour? They bloody well are, y’know!
truffy wrote:Has anyone
In fairness, unpainted is one of the big advantages of titanium frames, in that you can buff out scratches with a wire brush.
Black carbon bikes don’t have an advantage in being black except for the rare cases where the carbon is unpainted to save weight, but very few black carbon bikes are truly unpainted finishes, as the carbon wrap around areas like the bottom bracket usually looks pretty darn messy without a uniform layer of paint.
Dull greyish Ti is the
Dull greyish Ti is the baseline for a handsome bike. I don’t make the rules; it just is.
Mudguards? You’ll be adding a
Mudguards? You’ll be adding a shopping basket next! 🙂
But ooooh, that pink’n’cammo QR’s nice’n’lairy!
For what it’s worth I too
For what it’s worth I too loved the fact that Genesis seemed to want to plough the steel furrow in competetive racing, it was so refreshing to see. I lust after their steel incarnations even though I ride both aluminium CX and a carbon hard tail mtb.
As previous posters have alluded to they were doing rather well at the events they entered, do they think by not winning all that it somehow diminished the allure of steel? If they did they are surely wide of the mark, their usp was just that.
As for the carbon models I do like them but I still lust after their race winning Volare.
Putting aside the flat earth
Putting aside the flat earth “they should be steel” thing, I had a look at one these the other day and was quite tempted (zero .4). Much better looking in the flesh and a good write up in Bikes etc.
However they seem a bit weighty (I know, I know). The frame is sub 1kg, but the ultegra level .4 ends up up at 8.2kg. Fulcrum racing 7s are no featherweight but even a big upgrade on them wouldn’t make a huge difference. Where’s all the weight? Anyone know anything about the finishing kit?
allanj wrote:Putting aside
My Fulcrum 7’s with budget tyres are 800g heavier than my zeros with Schwalbe ones.
Which is kind of my point-
Which is kind of my point- it’s a big step up to racing zeros (£700ish, over a third of the cost of the bike). That’ll save 300g.
The tyres are conti Grand Prix so hardly “budget” – you can go lighter, granted.
Maybe they are just more honest about their weights?
allanj wrote:Which is kind of
Ultegra isn’t exactly light either. Ultegra + Fulcrum 7’s on anything and you’re approaching 8kg. All the finishing kit looks ‘in-house’ too (It’s labelled Genesis) so almost certainly porky if they’ve just bought in budget seat posts and cockpits.
Ultegra seems pretty light to
Ultegra seems pretty light to me- I’m not in the Dura Ace league!
I’ve emailed and asked about the finishing kit, awaiting a reply. Looks pretty generic.