Genesis Bikes were showing off their 2012 range at this week’s iceBike* show, hosted by UK distributors Madison, but given that we’d already been given a sneak peek at those bikes back in the summer, what caught our eye were seven new prototypes.

Covering the full gamut of road, mountain and cyclo-cross, these bikes were all resplendent in the black, blue and orange of the new ‘Guild’ development programme. This is Genesis’s equivalent of Orange’s Strange project or SRAM’s BlackBox, the idea being, why not promote the fact you’re working on new ideas, rather than shrouding the process in secrecy – in this case with a distinctive paintjob and matching riding kit.

On the road side, they were showing a very tasty looking titanium version of the Equlibrium. The prototype uses the same geometry as the steel bike but is manufactured from proprietary 3Al2.5v tubing.

Described as a “hard riding sportive bike for more aggressive riders” it’s been designed to have a very stiff front end courtesy of an XX44 head tube and fat down tube. Out back, shaped and ovalised stays add vertical compliance for comfort. The frameset, which includes a headset and a tapered-steerer carbon fork with mudguard eyelets, is expected to cost around £1,500, with a complete bike equipped with Shimano 105 likely to cost £2,200.

If your budget won’t stretch that far, the Volant may be more up your street. This entry-level alloy road bike is a replacement for the Aether. It’s been designed from scratch by new Genesis designer Dom Thomas, who’s deliberately avoided using hydroformed tubes in order to achieve a clean, simple look.

The top and down tubes are triple butted to save weight, the XX44 head tube allows you to run a straight- or tapered-steerer fork, and geometry is more race- than sportive-orientated. Three models will be available, all with a carbon fork. Prices are likely to be around £650 with Shimano 2300, £800 with Sora and £1,000 with 10-speed Tiagra.

Bridging the gap between the road and mountain prototypes is the Fugio. This ‘cross racer combines a frame made from Reynolds 853 chromoly with a tapered fork made by US carbon specialists Whisky Parts Co. A frame, fork and headset package will be available for £800, with a complete bike equipped with Shimano 105 for £1,700.

All four of the mountain prototypes are 29ers. The High Latitude is a 29er version of the Latitude trail hardtail and comes in three variants – one geared, one designed to be run singlespeed and one based around a Shimano Alfine geared hub. A prototype frame made from Reynolds 853 and with a 1-1/8in head tube was on display at iceBike but Dom told BikeRadar that initial production bikes and frames will all be Reynolds 520, with an XX44 head tube.

The High Latitude is based around an 80-100mm fork and has a 69.5° head angle. The frame will cost £300, with either horizontal or vertical dropouts, with complete bike prices ranging from £1,000 to £1,700. Availability is slated for the summer.

Finally, there’s also a prototype entry-level 29er, the Mantle. This is made from 6069 alloy, with triple-butted main tubes and a bent seat tube for improved wheel/tyre clearance – Genesis say there’s room for up to a 2.35in. It’s designed to be used with an 80 or 100mm fork; with the latter it has a 68.5° head angle.

An XX44 head tube up front allows use of a tapered-steerer fork for improved steering precision. Three models will be available, ranging from the £750 Mantle 10 to the £1,300 Mantle 30, with Shimano SLX kit and a RockShox Recon Gold fork.

If you can’t wait that long, the new Fortitude range of 29ers, which we checked out earlier this year at The London Bike Show, should be hitting shops within weeks. The bikes were designed around a rigid fork, because Dom reckoned it was important to get the basics right without having to worry about suspension.

Genesis’s first foray into big wheels is available as a singlespeed (£850), with an Alfine hub and rack mounts (£1,500), or a 1×10 drivetrain (£1,250). Apparently, all the contact points (grips, saddle) are in the same position as on a 26in-wheeled mountain bike.

Other bikes that caught our eye were the Day One Disc ‘cross bike (£800, available from April), which we first saw back in the summer, and the CDF, a lower priced (£900) version of the popular Croix de Fer, designed to come in below the UK’s £1,000 Cycle to Work tax incentive threshold.

This uses Reynolds 525 tubing instead of 725 and Shimano Sora not Tiagra but shares the same proven geometry, mechanical disc brakes and classic good looks. It’s due to hit shops by the end of the month.

More pictures to follow…

‘Marathon’ bikes – full-suspension machines designed for day-long epics – are big over on the European mainland. That’s probably why German company Ghost offer nine different versions of their 100mm-travel RT platform. The Actinum 5900 sits in the middle of the three-bike aluminium range.

There’s lots to like about this bike, which combines a Shimano Deore XT transmission with a pair of Fox shocks â€“ not least the fact that the rear suspension works well without relying on a constipated shock for pedalling efficiency. If you like your trails technical, though, you’ll find yourself cursing the low bottom bracket.

Ride & handling: Reasonable alternative to the norm for those who ride less-technical trails

Despite claims that the RT’s pivots are positioned in some clever way to prevent pedal input from ruining the ride, we can’t see anything in particular that sets the Ghost’s four-bar system apart from similar supension setups. The proof is in the riding, though. 

The rear end is certainly active over small bumps, sucking up tricky technical climbs with an alacrity that means you can just sit there and pedal. With no heavy compression damping to hinder its performance, the shock just gets on with it.

It’s a similar story on the way back down the trail, helped by spot-on weight distribution and a ride position that feels perfectly balanced. If this were the end of the story we could award the RT Actinum 5900 a gold star and all go home, but sadly there’s a fly in the ointment. 

A low bottom bracket means it’s all too easy to clout the pedals on trail obstacles, particularly if the shock is set up with a decent amount of sag. Less sag helps, but higher shock pressures rob the bike of some of its small bump response. It’s the very definition of a rock and a hard place – and that’s a shame.

Frame & equipment: There’s nothing not to like about XT, and the suspension is supple and active

Hydroformed top and down tubes form the bike’s backbone and, unusually for an aluminium chassis, there’s barely a straight line to be seen. Like many new bikes, Ghost have equipped the RT Actinum 5900 with a tapered head tube. By increasing the diameter of the lower headset race, the front of the frame is stiffened and strengthened. Reducing the tendency of the head tube to twist also increases bearing life. It’s a win/win situation.

The vertically-mounted Fox shock is driven via a curvy linkage and needle bearing pivots to improve small bump response, while full-length cables run neatly down the underside of the down tube. The whole lot is adorned with acronyms aplenty and torque settings for each pivot bolt.

Ghost’s designers give each frame size its own chainstay length, claiming that this results in a better balanced feel. Mud clearance at the rear is tight, though. In fact, it’s among the worst we’ve seen on a 26in-wheeled full-susser, at least with the 2.25in tyres that it wears as stock. And narrower tyres would make the low bottom bracket even lower. 

It’s unusual to see a plain vanilla Fox Float RL shock holding up the rear of a full-susser. Ghost are clearly confident that careful pivot placement – they call it ‘anti-squat technology’ – doesn’t need a helping hand. The shock is matched to a Fox 32F fork with remote lockout. If you’re a dedicated racer, tend to ride the climbs out of the saddle and worry about fork bob, this is worth having. For the rest of us, it’s arguably overkill.

As for the rest of the kit, Shimano’s Deore XT transmission is still the benchmark by which everything else is judged, while Deore hydraulic discs are up there with the best in terms of performance.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.

from the email

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Look are best known for their road bikes but at this week’s Fisher Expo, organised by UK distributors Fisher Outdoor Leisure, we had a chance to check out some of their off-road models, notably the full-suspension 920, 986 hardtail and X85 carbon cyclo-cross rig. 

Look 920

It’s the 920’s integrated alloy stem (A-Stem) that immediately grabs your attention â€“ technology originally seen on their flagship 695 road bike. Unusual aesthetics aside, Look claim the stem improves steering accuracy, presumably because it gives a lower stack height which makes it easier to get weight over the front end on climbs. If you prefer a higher front end, the stem can be flipped; no spacers are required.

The frame is full-carbon, including the rocker and rear triangle, and has a moulded metallic covering on the down tube that’s said to improve impact resistance by more than 60 percent. It offers 120mm of suspension travel.

Two builds are available: a £3,000 version with a RockShox Ario shock and a £3,500 upgraded model with the DT Swiss carbon shock pictured here. Both are finished with SRAM XX, a RockShox SID XX fork, DT Swiss XR400 rims and Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres.

Look 986

The A-Stem is used on the carbon 986 hardtail too, which also shares the 920’s down tube guard. Other features include a BB30 bottom bracket and an optional integrated, reversible (+/- 5mm) E-Post seatpost, which uses elastomers to dampen trail buzz.

Components include a SRAM X0 groupset, RockShox SID XX fork, DT Swiss XR400 rims and Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres. Again, two models are available; the integrated post version at £2,250 and the standard post version at £2,000.

Look X85

This new carbon framed, disc-brake equipped bike marks the French firm’s return to the ’cross market. Weighing in at a claimed 1,150g, the frame has a 1-1/8in headset, self-explanatory ‘Mud Evac’ seatstays and 135mm rear hub spacing, which makes it compatible with 29in mountain bike wheels. 

It takes a 27.2mm seatpost diameters and comes complete with a SRAM Rival group, Fulcrum Red Metal 29XL rims and Hutchinson Bulldog CX tyres for £2,499.99. For more details about any of these bikes, visit www.lookcycle.com or www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk.