Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

TECH NEWS

Genesis Bikes 2016: new Datum adventure bike and titanium Croix de Fer

Range highlights also include updated Zero and Equilibrium bikes

Genesis has released details of its 2016 bike range and here are the highlights. The range is large and there have been many more developments than the ones we're able to show you here, so keep your eyes on www.genesisbikes.co.uk over the next few weeks for more.


Datum

Genesis has a new carbon-framed adventure bike range for 2016 called Datum (main pic, above), with models being ridden in this year’s Transcontinental Race starting later in the month.

The Datum is a large-tyre disc-equipped road bike, to put it into a snappily titled category. Although it’s designed to ride fast over tarmac, it’s also built to handle other surfaces – just don’t call it a gravel bike because… well, that’s not what it is. It could handle gravel, according to Genesis, but it’s designed for more than that.

“The large volume road tread does certainly open up wider possibilities, we feel the gravel bike label does imply specific usage on a distinctly US phenomenon,” says Genesis Brand Manager Albert Steward. “In reality the Datum is really just a bike for riding around and enjoying yourself, across a variety of terrain, both paved and unpaved, fast or somewhat more leisurely. It could be a gravel bike to some, in the same way it could be a fast, comfy road bike to others.”

So there you go. It’s a bike that doesn’t fit neatly into any little niche.

The Datum is built to a compact road geometry using Genesis’ Equilibrium as the starting point, according to Genesis. The large model, for example, comes with a 579mm effective top tube and a 175mm head tube, although the CX axle-crown fork brings the front end up higher than those figures might suggest. The stack on that model is 602mm and the reach is 395mm.

The frame is made from 24/30-ton carbon fibre and it features a BB86 press-fit bottom bracket, a tapered head tube (1 1/8in bearing at the top, 1 1/2in bearing at the bottom), and discreet mudguard mounts. Genesis says that the Datum will take 32mm-wide tyres with full mudguards fitted.

The seat tube is cutaway around the leading edge of the rear wheel. That might seem a bit strange on a non-aero bike but the idea is to provide more clearance for a mudguard without having to increase the length of the chainstays (they’re 420mm).

Genesis also reckons that the cutout provides more comfort-inducing vertical flex, as do the skinny seatstays. The seatpost that fits in the top is 27.2mm diameter. Genesis has gone with this skinny option for more comfort.

In contrast, Genesis says that the lower part of the frame – the down tube, bottom bracket, lower seat tube, chainstays and head tube – is designed to provide a stiff platform for pedalling. That’s a widely used concept in bike design: the lower elements of the frame maximise stiffness, the upper parts maximise comfort.

The carbon fork’s squared-off crown provides loads of clearance, and it’s thru-axle for increased security. The rear dropout uses a conventional 9mm quick release skewer because security is less of a problem back there.

Genesis is using the new Flat Mount disc brake standard front and rear – that appears to be the way the market is going – with the frame sized to fit a TRP HyRd cable-actuated hydraulic disc brake.

You get mudguard mounts front and rear but no rack mounts. Putting rack mounts on a carbon frame is problematic and Genesis expects people to use a seatpack and framebags for carrying luggage instead.

The Datum is available as a Di2-ready frameset (£999.99) and in three complete bike builds.

The model pictured here is the range-opening Datum 10 (£1,799.99). It’s equipped with a Shimano Tiagra groupset and those TRP HyRd brakes I mentioned. The wheels are Fulcrum Racing Sport DB CX fitted with Challenge’s new Strada Bianchi 33mm tyres.

The £2,099.99 Datum 20 comes with a Shimano 105 groupset and the £3,199.99 Datum 30 is equipped with Shimano Ultegra Di2. Those two models have the same Fulcrum Racing Sport DB CX wheels as the Datum 10.

All three bikes have compact chainsets (50/34-tooth chainrings) and wide-ranging 11-32-tooth cassettes so you’re unlikely to be short of gears when the terrain heads upwards.

They’re all equipped with Genesis’ RandoX handlebars too. It’s a compact bar – so the drop and reach aren’t huge – with backswept tops (they come back from the centre at 6°) and drops that flare out by 8°. 

The Datum models will be available from October.

As I mentioned up top, the Genesis Datum will be ridden in the Transcontinental Race with three riders setting off from Flanders on 24 July and heading for Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Croix de Fer Titanium

Genesis is offering a titanium version of the do-it-all Croix de Fer, its most popular model, for 2016. Previously, the top-of-the-range option was stainless steel but that one now moves aside.

The new 3AL-2.5V butted titanium frame is built with a 44mm diameter down tube, a tapered head tube (1 1/8in upper bearing, 1 1/2in lower bearing), and chunky chainstays. The seat tube is broad down by the bottom bracket (34.9mm) but it tapers along its length and holds a 27.2mm seatpost, the idea being to provide more comfort.

The Croix de Fer Titanium gets a full carbon fork rather than the stainless bike’s carbon/alloy model. That fork has mudguard-only eyelets and enough clearance for 40mm tyres although the Clement X’Plor USH tyres fitted are 35mm wide.

The bottom bracket is 68mm wide, BSA standard.

The Croix de Fer Titanium is available as a frameset for £1,799.99 and also as a complete bike for £2,999.99. Let’s call that three grand, shall we?

The frame is Di2 ready but cabling is external if you go for mechanical shifting.

The full bike is built up with Shimano’s mid-level and highly reliable 105 groupset. You get hydraulic braking courtesy of Shimano’s new 105-level RS505 levers and non-series (they don’t belong to a groupset) RS785 brake callipers. These work on 160mm rotors front and rear.

The wheels are made up of tubeless-ready Alex Draw rims laced to Shimano HB/FH-RS505 Centrelock hubs and the handlebar is the same RandoX that’s fitted to the Datum (above).

If the cost of the titanium model is too salty for you, the Croix de Fer continues in several cromo models priced from £899.99.

The £1,199.99 Croix de Fer 20, built up with a Shimano Tiagra groupset and TRP HyRd brakes, is available in two colours: olive green and nuovo grey.


Equilibrium Disc

Whereas the top-level Croix de Fer has shifted from stainless steel to titanium, the top-level Equilibrium has moved in the opposite direction. The Equilibrium Disc 931 is made from Reynolds 931 (the clue’s in the name) and comes with a new straight-bladed carbon disc fork. It’s priced at £2,799.99 in a Shimano 105 build.

This bike (above) is the Equilibrium Disc 30 which comes with an updated Reynolds 725 cromo frame that uses cast Flat Mount dropouts and camouflaged rack and mudguard eyelets.

It’s Shimano 105-equipped and costs £1,849.99.

The cheapest model in the range is this Equilibrium Disc 10. It is built with a Shimano Tiagra spec and is priced £1,249.99

There's also a full range of non-disc Equilibrium bikes.

 

Zero

Genesis has made some subtle changes to the Zero performance road bikes, moving to a higher grade of carbon (30/40 ton) and dropping the frame weight down to a claimed 960g (medium sized model, including hardware).

The fork has been revised too, slimmer legs helping to drop the weight by 90g (it’s now 360g with an uncut steerer) and add more comfort, according to Genesis.

There are three Zero models, each of them with a 52/36-tooth chainset and an 11-28-tooth cassette for a wide range of gears.

The most affordable model is the Zero Z.1 (£1,799.99) which comes with a Shimano 105 groupset and Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels.

www.genesisbikes.co.uk.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. 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. 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.

Add new comment

24 comments

Avatar
VictorCP | 8 years ago
0 likes

I have been looking for a winter bike for some time that would also double as a light touring bike and be able to cope with mixed road and trail rides. I have a Giant Defy Carbon Di2 but I don't like ridding it in winter weather as it is way too nice for that and no mud guards! My mountain bike is great but it is a struggle to keep up with my neighbour on his Kenisis Tripster ATR on the road.

 

So what to buy? I have been looking at the Croix De Fer range for some time - the latest offering from Enigma and of course the Tripster ATR! I have been hankering for a Ti bike for some time but  my neighbour was a little disappointed with his ATR at first, though he has grown to love it over the last few months. I had fairly much made up my mind I was going to follow his lead until I saw the Croix De Fer Ti. 

 

I was initially put off by the price and lack of reviews but then I saw a special offer from a northern based supplier for just over £2500. This put it in the same price bracket as the ATR with an almost identical spec! So I ordered it, awaiting delivery as I type!

 

Time will tell if this was the right choice but the big selling point was the internal routing for Di2, it also looks like it could be a little stiffer where it needs to be. One of the complaints my neighbour had when he first took delivery of the ATR was the amount of flex in the frame when putting a lot of power through the peddles! That said he has an XL frame and he is a very powerfully built chap! Probably enough to flex any frame in fairness. 

 

So the bike arrives tomorrow, then we will compare the two bikes over the coming days and weeks! I suspect Genesis will have looked at the ATR and built a bike that is at least comparable. Fingers crossed I made the right choice!

 

My neighbours ATR was well specified (by him), Ultegra mechanical group set, hydraulic disc brakes with 180 rotor on the front and 160 on the back, 28mm tyres on Reynolds Black Label TR carbon wheels. Weighs only a LB or so more than my Defy.

Avatar
matthewn5 | 9 years ago
0 likes

The drive side drop out is a horrible mess on the disc bike.

I'll avoid discs until they make them small enough to keep a proper rear triangle. Those kinks in the chain stay and bodged long brackets are hideous.

Until it's as well resolved as this I'm staying well clear:

//raleighsb4059.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/raleigh-ti-end-adjusters.jpg)

Avatar
giskard | 9 years ago
0 likes

So the front forks on the Datum and the Ti CdF have plenty of clearance but what about the clearance at the rear? No mention of any changes there so I'm guessing rear frame clearance will still be a problem as I've found on my 2015 CdF if you want to fit full-size mudguards and 35mm wide tyres (as came with my bike). And if 11-speed 105 fitted then forget fitting mudguards.

Avatar
Dnnnnnn | 9 years ago
0 likes

Prices seem rather ambitious, and £1250 and £1850 for the cheaper Equilibriums... weren't they £400-£500 less just a couple of years ago? Discs aren't that expensive!

Avatar
Jonny_Trousers | 9 years ago
0 likes

I like the look of the new Equilibrium Disc 30. The fork on the 2015 disc Equilibriums looked really clumsy to me. This is far sleeker. Good value, too, when you compare it to other hydro disc equipped options out there. May well be my next commuter/do-it-all.

Avatar
flathunt | 9 years ago
0 likes

Feeling a bit jilted now my stainless steel has been kicked into 2nd place. It still sounds like cutlery though, whoever heard of a titanium spoon?

Avatar
Forester | 9 years ago
0 likes

Datum with Equilibrium geometry carbon, disc brakes and new Tiagra; this is the bike I've been waiting all my 65years for! Hope wife will understand.

Avatar
steviemarco replied to Forester | 9 years ago
0 likes

They'll never understand.

Avatar
steviemarco replied to Forester | 9 years ago
0 likes

They'll never understand.

Avatar
SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
1 like

Sorry to be pedantic, but how can it be a Crois de Fer if it's titanium rather than steel? Surely it's a Croix de Titane

Avatar
Airzound replied to SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
0 likes
SteppenHerring wrote:

Sorry to be pedantic, but how can it be a Crois de Fer if it's titanium rather than steel? Surely it's a Croix de Titane

Croix de Tit.

 21

Avatar
bendertherobot | 9 years ago
0 likes

This flat mount stuff is weird. You have virtually no frame tab things, then a massive adapter!

Avatar
joules1975 replied to bendertherobot | 9 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

This flat mount stuff is weird. You have virtually no frame tab things, then a massive adapter!

That's because most are still fitting Post mount callipers to the flat mounts and thus needing an adapter. Google shimano flat mount calipers to see how it will work once everyone catches up with the caliper design.

Avatar
BikeJon | 9 years ago
0 likes

I got a custom built Ti frame to a very similar spec to this but it was just £800! I have internal mechanical routing as well as Di2 and my own geometry. I also have discs and double butted tubing. I recommend cielorossobikes  16

Avatar
exellp replied to BikeJon | 9 years ago
0 likes

That looks great, BikeJon. Did you happen to get a weight for the frame before it was built up? I'd be interested in knowing what it is as I'm looking around for a similar setup

Avatar
mtbtomo | 9 years ago
0 likes

Any news on the Volare?

Next years paint schemes look a bit better than this year's.

Avatar
Meaulnes replied to mtbtomo | 9 years ago
0 likes

No! This year's colours are lovely and understated! The cherry red of the Flyer is gorgeous.

Avatar
amazon22 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Crikey, the most affordable model Zero is the Z.1 at £1799 - the outgoing Zero 1 is £1299, albeit with Tiagra rather than 105. Subtle changes to the spec, not so subtle changes to the prices.

Avatar
joules1975 replied to amazon22 | 9 years ago
0 likes
amazon22 wrote:

Crikey, the most affordable model Zero is the Z.1 at £1799 - the outgoing Zero 1 is £1299, albeit with Tiagra rather than 105. Subtle changes to the spec, not so subtle changes to the prices.

Didn't you see the bit about higher grade carbon and improved fork design? Just cause you can't see the change doesn't mean it's not worth having or the difference in price.

Avatar
Curto80 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Not sure why you'd spend an extra £1k on a Ti Croix de Fer compared to a Tripster with similar level of kit.

Avatar
Point | 9 years ago
1 like

I thought this might be another ti frame to consider as i'm currently in the market for a ti do it all frame but it seems a custom frame is actually much better value... Cant help but feel this is a little over-priced, or at least it is for me anyway...

Avatar
Morat | 9 years ago
1 like

But... Titanium! It's so much sexier than carbon!

Avatar
mike the bike | 9 years ago
0 likes

I love Genesis bikes, that must be true 'cause I've got two, and part of the attraction used to be the simple, no-nonsense range of machines that any fool could understand. A Croix de Fer was a Croix de Fer, it came in black and you knew where you were.

But now the range has expanded to the point where a trip to the Genesis website resembles three hours in a lunatic asylum. How many frame materials - really? Press-fit BB on an expedition bike - surely not? That many colours - are you positive?

And they must be the only pro' racing team that gives their riders the choice of carbon, steel or stainless bikes.

It's no good, if I am to remain sane I shall have to switch to a bespoke frame from a back-street builder.

Avatar
CXR94Di2 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Does the titanium frame have internal hydraulic cables as well as di2 internal?

Latest Comments