I’m probably generalising here, but I assume what a lot of us want when it comes to mountain bikes is something that’s ready for most applications – uphills, downhills, smooth bits, rough bits, mega-rough bits… you know. Everything you encounter in a ride. The only compromises you need to make are a result of your own skill level or amount of courage, rather than the bike being completely unsuitable or completely overkill for something.
So a bike that’s light. It feels strong and not delicate. It’s probably got a ‘nice’ amount of suspension travel – somewhere in between ‘just enough to ease my bad back’ and ‘Fort Bill downhill course at full pelt’. It’d need to look cool, obviously and it’d need to give you the confidence to tackle all of the situations your average mountain biker finds him/herself in (or the situations you pay money to be in, such as marathon rides and races).
You’ll notice I left out the word ‘affordable’. The reason for this is because such bikes as I’ve just described do exist – this Scott Genius 900 Premium is light, confidence-inspiring, good for (very) long days in the hills, you could race cross-country on it, you can use it for interval training (ahem) and it looks cool. The low overall weight makes it a very easy bike to move around and the well-sorted suspension means you can barrel over/through most things pretty quickly.
But cheap it ain’t. In fact, it’s really expensive. So it’s got all but one of the attributes that would almost make it a no-brainer for someone who just wants one bike.
But is it worth the money?
Yes. Yes, it blimmin’ well is.
This is the bike that Scott itself claims ‘cannot be upgraded’. I’ve thought long and hard about this and come to the conclusion that you can upgrade it, but possibly only if that means lighter parts. The Syncros TR1.5 29in wheels are tough and you can get lighter ones, but why would you put lighter wheels on this bike? It wouldn’t ride better as a result – probably worse. All of the components – the (perfectly shaped and just-about-right width) Syncros carbon bars and stem, Fox Kashima-coated suspension, full XTR groupset (including the superb XTR Trail brakes), Reverb dropper post, Schwalbe tyres, even a carbon-railed saddle – all work perfectly, while the frame’s lovely finish, stiffness, suspension action and decent mud clearance (with a 2.25in rear tyre) can’t really be faulted either. That said, I’ll be trying some ‘upgrades’ to see what happens.
Incidentally, this is the first bike I’ve ever ridden that’s got a dropper post. I know many out there have been using them for years, but for me it’s been a real eye-opener. Brilliant! My downhill mincing days are at an end… well, not quite. The cable for the seatpost is also routed neatly through the frame.
The Genius delivers 130mm of rear suspension travel via a tidy link mounted on the top tube and a custom ‘Nude’ Fox shock that’s well out of the way of UK-specific flying muck. Unsurprisingly, up front there’s a Fox 32 fork with now-standard 15mm thru-axle. The bar-mounted TwinLoc lever controls both suspension units and gives you 130mm ‘full-bore’, 90mm ‘nice traction on bumpy climbs’, and full lockout modes. The lever controls the setting front and back at the same time, and it works really, really well. The middle 90mm setting firms up the suspension and gives you just the right amount of action to allow pedalling up and over most technical climbs, while the 130mm setting just lets you go mental. There’s also a burly tapered headtube and a thru-axle rear.
If I was forced to nitpick or come up with a reason to change anything, the horrible grips would be at the top of the list. They’re just too hard and unforgiving to the point where I couldn’t feel my hands after a couple of hours. A quick and inexpensive swap to softer grips sorted that. I also found the stem quite short at 70mm (medium frame, by the way) – it’s fine if you like a short reach, but I like to stretch out a bit so I’ve got a 90mm stem now. It’s better for me, but you might like things as they are or even shorter.
There’s not much you can’t do on this bike without enjoying it. It’s a brilliant bike to ride – the perfectly-sorted suspension, big wheels and light weight means that it’s particularly good for long rides where a heavy lump of a bike would start to wear thin if your route contains a lot of hills. The short travel suspension setting is particularly good at steep, rocky climbs and once you’re at the top, the full-bore suspension setting combined with the big wheels and dropper post are an absolute riot. Meanwhile the handling is nice and docile; this isn’t a bike that wants to catapult you into the bushes, but it isn’t a lazy-handler either. Everything about it is just right.
Apart from the grips. That’s the only thing I can moan about with any degree of conviction.
- Frame: Genius Carbon/IMP/HMX net, BB 92
- Tapered Headtube, IDS SL dropouts for 142 × 12mm BB height adj
- Fork: Fox 32 Float Factory CTD FIT Air Kashima
- Hubs: Syncros TR1.5 CL DT Swiss-made 12 x 142mm RWS rear, 15mm front
- Rims: Syncros TR1.5, 28H
- Tyres: Schwalbe Nobby Nic EVO 2.25in
- Chainset: Shimano XTR 42/32/24T
- Front Mech: Shimano XTR direct mount
- Rear Mech: Shimano XTR SGS, Shadow Plus
- Shifters: Shimano XTR
- Brakes: Shimano XTR 180mm Center Lock rotors
- Stem: Syncros TR1.0 Carbon
- Bars: Syncros FL1.0 Carbon, flat 720 mm
- Grips: Syncros Pro lock-on grips
- Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth
- Saddle: Syncros XR1.0
- Size Tested: Medium
- Sizes available: S, M, L, XL
Review Info
| Brand: | Scott |
| Product: | 2014 Genius 900 Premium |
| From: | Scott Sports, scott-sports.uk.com |
| Price: | £5,899.00 |
| Tested: | by Jason Miles for Four months. |
