The bike for all the world is very tractorified and if it had and engine and the saddle lowered would look more like a trials motorcycle,there I've said now and there's no going back.
It handles like one too,very manoeuvrable,and taking everything in it's stride as an MTB/rough stuff tourer would,a sort of laid back easy approach.
It is what it says on the tin,long and low,for the 17.5inch size,70mm BB drop,458mm chainstays,1135mm w/base,72.5deg seatube angle and 68deg head with 50mm fork offset.
It feels great on the move and isn't as slow on tarmac as I'd expected though I feel the difference into a head wind due to the upright position and the huge Conti X-King 2.4in tyres ,which measure 59mm wide X 54 high,big they are!
heavy they're not though @ 735gr.Off road in the gloop it comes into it's own feeling very surefooted,going where it's pointed with a reassuring predictability.I've been playing around with tyre pressures and it feels good in the mucky stuff at 15 to 20psi up front and between 25 to 30 on the back,but it's early days yet so don't quote me on those figures.
The frame appears to be welded neatly in best Taiwanese fashion
There's a multitude of brazeons three sets of bottle bosses,with the two on the d/tube having an extra bolt for choice of position or if using an oversize cage.All cable runs are above the BB and full outers all the way through as they should be.
The front & rear mech cables run under the toptube held in place by three alu cable brackets held in place with counter sunk 4mm bolts in threaded brazeons(like bottle bosses),neat,I like.
Rear brake cable is held in place with conventional brazed on 'grooves' and little plastic clips,I wasn't convince with these on the Vaya's but they've never pinged off as expected,though I do carry small zipties just in case
.There's isn't a conventional seatstay bridge,it's a shaped plate welded to the top where the stays are shot into the seatube,which is OK but I wish Mr Genesis would've extended it slightly further down the stays with a central hole for a m/guard bridge mount,if yer gonna put m/g eyes on d/outs at least make provision at the top of the stay too Mr
The rear dropouts are rear facing like track ends with adjustable disc caliper slides,made from 6mm plate with 4mm mudguard and rack eyes which would've been more robust with 5mm ones for the adventure tourist.
I was concerned about getting the wheel out rearward,but it isn't too much trouble with the skewer removed and as the bike came with chain tugs,a Rohloff or SS would work fine with plenty of chain adjustment.
The front forks are tapered unicrown with forged forward facing d/outs which are much better for discs there's threaded rack and m/g eyes on them too.There's also a shed full of brazeons up the fork legs for front rack and so called ''anything'' cages,but why on the back of the fork legs? where if caught up on anything would be then dragged into the spokes,which could lead to a nasty OTT fall
.Much better if the cages were on the front of the fork legs where they'd be in a trailing position and brushed out of the wheel by passing spokes,they'd also be on the compression side of the fork leg too.Headset is FSA Orbit good mid range kit IMO.It also could do with another brazeon cable groove further down the fork leg as one isn't enough and allows the cable to rub.Despite my moans,it's very workmanlike,which brings me to the colour,err, army olive green and if it weren't for the red decals you could lay it down in the long grass and never find it again!
I'm allowing it to grow on me
The groupset is mid range Deore which for the the cost of the bike is fair enough,11-36 10sp rear 22/30/40 front,I feel a 22/32 double would've been enough for the bike's application.
I'm not saying anything more about EBB's,we'll see what the future holds,but due to the profile of the cranks I've already worn the black finish of the right crank(see photos)...
The rear mech has little a switch on it to prevent chainslap by locking the jockey wheels perpendicular,the switch is flicked releasing the lock for wheel removal,all looks a bit vulnerable for off road machinery,I'm not convinced,we'll see how it goes...
Front mech,looks normal top pull.
Shifters are pretty much like 9sp ones I've used in the past and should be good and robust.
Wheels are Deore 525 hubs,Sapim db spokes and 35mm Alex Supra rims which look hard wearing enough,tight and evenly tensioned,true and round.The rimtape looks good quality and likewise the ChenShin tubes though thicker one's wouldn't go amiss for offroad.
One thing I can't let go without comment are those horrid garish 'ALEX RIMS' decals,when I find time I'll take them off
I've already had a multiple three thorn puncture in the front(they say things come in threes,I got mine all at once... ...I hope
) caused by a hawthorn twig that had been blown out of a hedge,I pulled it of the tyre and hoped for the best but later on perhaps as the thorns were ridden into the tyre it went down,I managed to get home by stopping a pumping it up three times.I'm putting it down to a common fairy attack.
The brakes are the new TRP Spykes and in operation are as good if not better than the Avid BB7's that I have on other machines,They look neat and understated,with their outboard profile being low,their inboard protrusion less so which is OK on the rear where the spokes leave the hub flange at more of an angle.On the front wheel where the dish is on the disc side the caliper misses the spokes by about 3 to 4mm
a bit close IMO.Handlebars have a 20deg back sweep but are a bit wide @ 720mm
so I sawed 25mm off each side which was much better*Seatpost and saddle are good quality kit**,but the QR seatpost clamp isn't up to much so I've replaced the QR with a nut and bolt
At 6ft tall I plumped for the 17.5in size due to the shorter ETT which fits fine,with absoluetely no toe overlap,even with 47 shoes and 175 cranks there's a gaping 3in gap between toe and m/guard.
I could equally have fitted on the 19inch size but didn't want to risk being overly stretched as I'm getting no younger.
Overall I'm liking the ride and handling,and haven't found the bike to have any vices,though I'll update after I ridden it a bit more.
*I've replaced the h/bars with Humpert Space Bugel (and a 2cm longer stem,which I already had in)due to the 34degree back sweep which suits my arthritic thumb joints better.
** I've replaced the seatpost with an Easton EA50 with more layback, and the saddle with my favourite 1990's TurboMatic 2
There's nothing wrong with the originals I just changed for my own preferences.
Photos:-
Detail of the light bracket I had to use to fit the rear m/guard bridge
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Space Bugels,I think I'm going to like these
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