Some practically remains, with downtube bottle bosses (useful for holding extra water or a tool keg) and discrete mudguard mounts. The frame is fully carbon and the cables are integrated into the frame for a cleaner look and better aerodynamics. If there’s one thing UK-based Genesis Bikes knows, it’s humility. The brand makes no mistakes about its place in the bike industry. They describe themselves as not the biggest, not the oldest, not the most technically advanced, but always striving to make honest bikes that perform and look good—fresh out of the showroom and for years to come.
The frameset is incredible versatile and lends itself to a multitude of different builds. 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.
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.
This is, in part, why the brand has historically focused its energies solely on making the absolute best steel bikes across road, mountain, cyclocross and touring categories. This week though, Genesis has taken the long-anticipated leap into the world of carbon, introducing their first carbon fiber frame designs into the all-new Zero line. Former professional road and track rider Adam Blythe has a new Genesis road bike and it’s certainly provoking comment, not just because of the gold leaf finish but also thanks to the bulbous head tube. Almost the antithesis of the Day One, the Flyer is sublime in its simplicity.
Adam Blythe rode for the likes of BMC Racing Team, Orica-GreenEdge, Tinkoff and Lotto-Soudal in his cycling career before retiring from racing in 2019. PromotionWe were asked to help create promotional items for the first company store in the US. Packaging SystemWe created a packaging system that both stood out at retail and aided in finding the right product at a glance in a crowded retail environment. Product PresentationHelping to bring new categories to the market with beautiful and functional designs. Product PresentationGenesis created the global product presentation for the world’s largest quality bicycle manufacturer.
Perfect for pootling around town, plus the twin top tube adds a touch of elegance. Finally, if you want to build your absolute dream machine, the Volare and Volare Disc framesets are available in both Reynolds 853 and 931 tubing options. Next up is the endurance-focused Zeal, which is full carbon, so you can ride longer and faster with less effort. Up front a Rockshox genesis bicycles Revelation Race provides the suspension duties, this fork comes with U-turn adjustment that enables you to adjust the travel to anything between 120mm to 150mm. There is a bottle mount and a mud guard mount, our test bike came with the Cycraguard mudguard fitted, this is an optional extra. And let us know what you think about the overall look of Adam Blythe’s Genesis.
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 bike 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..