I am about to buy a Genesis Latitude but would appreciate people’s view on whether they think the Latitude 20 is worth the extra £500 over the 10. I understand the differences, Reynold 853, Maxle, Headset 44, etc. but do you think the upgrades on the 20 would make a difference out on the trail to your bog standard weekend rider over the 10. I like the 20 but the extra money would come in really handy for other extras such as new cockpit, pedals, accessories etc.

Bit of background info, I had my Specilaized Pitch Pro stolen at Xmas andmy insurance company have given me £1500 to spend in Wheelies Direct on a new bike. I had my heart set on an Alpitude but they were out of stock so have decided on a Latitude after checking it out in my LBS Bikeshed in Cardiff.

Any input much appreciated.

Nothing jumps out spec wise on the twenty that would be a must have or a necessity, nor does anything strike me as an amazing upgrade, in value for money terms. The 520 cro-mo genesis hardtails ride very nicely too.

At full retail I think I’d be going for the ten, selling the forks, brakes and or wheels and buying some higher spec used items. Gradually upgrade other bits as I wear them out. With 10 – 15% off rrp the 20 starts to look much more attractive.

I’ve owned an 853 Altitude for just over 2 years and I love it, best steel hardtail I’ve ever ridden bar none! Only thing that would replace it is the Ti version of the same that I bought the other week (just gotta get round to building it). I would wholeheartedly recommend a Latitude (essentially a renaming and a slight tweak of the Altitude) to almost anyone (and if I had to buy now, I’d buy the 10, save myself £500 to spend on other things).

BUT… I see you’re replacing a Specialized Pitch, and you were looking at the Alpitude. Well, the Latitude is a lot more XC focussed than a Pitch, and the Alpitude for that matter, though the Latitude is slightly beefed up with oversized headtube and bolt through fork. Does it have to be Steel though? You may well be better suited with another bike from Genesis’ range for your money, have a look at the Core 50 at £1399 with same geometry and intent as the Latitude, but the beefier 20mm axled fork and a 10spd setup on it too! Or there’s the Abyss at £1299, with the same geometry as the Alpitude with slightly lower spec. Depends what kind of riding you’re going to be doing mainly I suppose.

That’s what I was thinking to be honest. I like the idea of the 853 and upgrades but it’s a heart over head thing and for a rider of my talent (the “lacking of” variety!) I doubt Id notice any difference apart fron the £500. I tried haggling with Wheelies but they know they have me by the balls as Ive got to spend the money with them.

Mboy, I’ll probably use the bike for everything from
trail centres to long allday rides to commuting. That’s why the extra money would come in handy for various sets of tyres, cockpits, wheels etc. Offroad I mainly ride around the trails in S.Wales, Cwm Carn, Afan, Beacons, Brechfa etc. and although the Pitch was great fun at the trail centres, it was overkill for everything else, especially riding to work!

Back in the late 90s I used to ride an old steel Kona and the Latitude reminded me of that. I fancied the Alpitude as a bike that fits inbetween the Latitude and the Pitch but after sitting on a 17.5 Latitude I think it’ll be fine in most situations. Im in between the 17.5 and 19 so the smaller size should be pretty chuckable.

Im in between the 17.5 and 19 so the smaller size should be pretty chuckable.

I found that too, went for the 17.5″ in the end also. No regrets. If I’d wanted a more stretched out XC race position I could have probably got on with a 19″ fine, but there’s only about 15mm difference in top tube lengths, and the extra standover clearance is welcome, and they come with a 400mm post anyway.

Back in the late 90s I used to ride an old steel Kona and the Latitude reminded me of that.

Oddly enough, I never owned a steel Kona (must be one of very few who has been riding since the mid 90’s that hasn’t), but have ridden a couple briefly and there is definitely some merit in what you say. Similar kind of lively feeling and geometry, yet with a modern fork and disc brakes to get you into trouble even quicker!

Difference between 520 cromo and 853 is really only weight (though there are a few other detail changes in the frames now too I note). The older 853 frame, like mine, is essentially the same frame as the 520 but with 853 main tubes, which allows it to be a bit lighter (thinner wall profiles) for the same given overall strength. There’s about 1/2 to 2/3 of a lb weight difference between the 520 and the 853 frames, so to be honest, it’s quite an expensive way to save not very much weight! Though some argue that the thinner wall profiles allowed make for a “more lively” ride, but to be honest that’s really only applicable to superlight road bike frames. The detail changes on the new 853 frame do look interesting, if not very aesthetically pleasing to my eye. That new headtube looks gopping on a Steel hardtail IMO, the assymetric chainstays will provide clearance for big tyres at the same time as a 2×10 setup, and there’s 1/2 a degree off the head angle and 1/2 a degree on the seat angle to make it slightly more stable and stretched out (like an On One 456 really).

In your situation I’d go for the Altitude 10, haggle something off the price (join a local club, my LBS gives me 10-15% discount off anything just cos I’m a member of a local club!), then spend the remaining cash on a set of better tyres (those Mountain Kings are a bit poo to be honest), some better wheels (Hope Pro2 on Stans Crest would be my choice, or perhaps check out slightly cheaper offerings from Superstar, or even Shimano’s own SLX wheelset), and change the grips to suit. The bars, stem and seatpost are all ok iirc, nothing fancy but decent shape and do the job, so I’d leave until bent/broken. Though of course saddles are a very personal affair, so you may want to change that.

Just a thought, but does your £1500 have to be spent on an entire bike? I ask cos for that money you could buy a frame yourself (I’ve seen a few 2nd hand 853 Genesis Altitudes come up on here, generally fetch about £200, mine might be for sale itself soon owing to purchasing the Ti version) and you could then spend the remaining money in the shop getting them to build it up with your choice of components. £1300 would get you some 120mm Reba’s, nice wheels, a 10spd SLX setup and decent components I’m sure. Just a thought anyway, though is probably much easier just to buy the off the shelf bike then upgrade later on.

Mboy that’s a great response. Plenty for me to think about. If I go off the shelf then I think the 10 is for me. Plenty of scope to upgrade but leaves me with £500 for a couple of immediate upgrades. I did think about the second hand frame/components route but Wheelies dont seem to have many parts and components for sale via their website. I could go give them a quick ring but their sales team aren’t the most helpful. My mate had a second hand 2010 Altitude 853 from the LBS for £130 the other day so there are definately bargains out there if I go that route.

I’ve got the latitude 853 frame and it is excellent! I find it is happiest with 120mm travel forks so if the latitude 20 includes 120s go with it, if it comes with 100s then get the 10 and see about upgrading. Great bike, you won’t regret it!

YOu could go back to the insurance company and say that their recommended shop doesn’t have anything you want and if you could spend it in another shop. You could also ask for cash, they may give you it but it would be less 20% VAT.

I have the older “Altitude” 10 – the white one. It was originally purchased as a trainer/winter option, and therefore I didn’t upgrade anything much less the super reliable and crap-conditions-friendly Recon 351 coil it came with.

A Year on, and I’ve enjoyed the superb ride so much not only have I not upgraded anything, I’ve even raced it, and am loving it for all this “summer” singletrack. Even the cheaper OEM components (M525 brakes) are performing well. The bike weighs in at 27lbs with the tyres changes to Nics/Ralphs – not too lardy at all.

If I were you, I’d buy the 10, The use the money to upgrade should you need to. My upgrades would be as follows:

a) Fork (for racing reasons only) to a Sid/Reba air – removes approx 1.5lb off the bike also
b) Brakes – The M525’s arent the best but suffice, I’d prefer something less wooden/more progressive ideally but cope fine with them as they are.

c) Post/Bars – carbon – for racing weight reduction only.
d) Upgrade the chain/crankset to XT when it wears out

HOWEVER – I’m hoping to recieve a raceworthy/project birthday present next year and this is where my money will go – The genesis will therefore remain as is unless needs require it to be upgraded.

Its fair to say its one of the few bikes I’ve bcome attached to, and sometimes its a real hardship chosing to take that or the “bling” Tracer out on a ride…..

P.S. – MBR currently have the 10 on Long Term test – and are loving it……

I wouldn’t discount the Core without trying it first – they are actually a very comfy ride and I doubt you’d be hung up on the difference vs steel on ride quality alone.

Its fair to say its one of the few bikes I’ve bcome attached to, and sometimes its a real hardship chosing to take that or the “bling” Tracer out on a ride…..

I’m very attached to mine, so much so that even though I’ve just bought the Ti version to swap the frame out with, I’ve said I’m not going to sell my steel frame for at least 3 months, just in case any doubts arise over the Ti as I can then swap frames back. Basically, I’d all but given up on hardtails having been a full sus convert for years, and the Genesis has totally blown me away in the 2 and a bit years I’ve had it. Built it up originally as a bike to ride through the winter so I didn’t kill my full sus riding it through the muck, but it had been the bike that most commonly gets taken out of the shed whatever the weather. OK, I built mine with slightly higher component spec than you get on an off the shelf bike (SLX/XT, Carbon bars, Thomson post/stem, Hope Pro2’s on 355’s, 130mm Revelations) but the kit doesn’t really make any difference, it just saves a lb or so in weight over a standard build. It’s the frame that’s the important bit here, and it’s an absolute singletrack masterpiece in that respect!