This is what I learnt:
- Riding trails on a 'cross bike is not as much fun as riding them on a mountain bike.
- Cyclocross is a racing discipline only.
- The Genesis Day 1 is heavy, despite the 853 tubing. It would be hopeless for 'cross racing.
- The Genesis Day 1 has poor mud clearance to the front fork (you won't think it's important until you're having to stop and pull the stuff out with your hands because it's jamming the wheel).
- The Avid BB7 disc brakes are great, as is the Versa shifter and the Alfine 11 speed hub.
I left the Day One in the shed but I kept hold of my buyer's remorse.
Then I moved house and my commute went from 8 miles to 21 miles.
I stepped the Genesis up for the job. And it is brilliant.
I've now been riding the Genesis for my extended commute for three months. I put the original Conti Gatorskin 28s back on and fitted SKS Bluemels guards. Much better than the cross version. It now looks like this.
It's just perfect. Almost no maintenance. Bomber braking. Comfortable but fast. Easy gear changes and huge range. Just perfect. Apart from anything else it's silent. Derailler gears always make a bit of noise when you pedal and when you freewheel. Hubs make no noise at any time.
I've done all my winter training on the Genesis too, riding in the Surrey Hills with friends on road bikes. I can keep up fine, my brakes are reliable in the wet and don't create a horrible black paste on the rims. The gears are in a metal box so they don't care if it's raining and gritty.
So, I highly recommend the Genesis Day Alfine but with some caveats.
- If you're buying a bike for commuting, why not get the Alfine 8. It's a lot cheaper and the slightly heavier tubing won't make any difference to you. The 8 and 11 are both heavy bikes.
- If you're buying it for racing 'cross, get the Day 01 disc and race singlespeed. At least it will be a race-weight bike.
- If you're buying it to go riding off road - get a mountain bike.
5 comments:
Im thinking of buying the Alfine 11 and I too live in the Surrey Hills.
So your info has really helped me decide, I ride a 20 mile commute a day on a Boardman CX at the moment but my CX got bent by a motorist on a roundabout so... insurance money on way.
By the way the CX is Excellent but deraileurs goes like every other one after a few thousand miles. Hence my desire for a hub gear.
Hi Chris. I don't think you can go far wrong with the Genesis for a long commute. It is heavy though, make no mistake. And the gears will slip now and then. I don't find either of these a major problem and would be very sorry to have to go bake to a traditional bike for commuting. In fact the thought of it depresses me! I suspect there are alternatives to the Genesis now.
Hi everyone being a 14 mile a day commuter I have a ridgeback nemesis which I've had for 7 years ,its got shimano nexave 8 speed hub gearing and roller brakes. It weighs just over 14 KGS but now the old gears are not running smoothly also the bottom bracket needs replacing but its a sealed unit and connected to the spider , costly ! So i am looking to the genesis range for drop handled fun ,have been riding single speed all winter but not sure whether I want a bit of gearing to keep pace with my summer only friends. Can you also say how much the alfine 8 weighs? Cheers mike
The Alfine 11 weighs 11,3 kg.
I bought a day one alfine 8 speed about a year and a half ago. I'm a round trip of 23 miles into work on main roads and country roads and some bridle paths. It soaks all this up and is pretty comfortable and fast. If I was on a mountain bike instead of 50 minutes each way I'd be more like an hour and the rest. I do wish I'd maybe got the croix de fer to save a bit weight but at the end of my ride I just throw it in the shed. Brakes on mines are bb3 so not as good as the latest ones but I live that bike, does everything on or off road.
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