Scott has gone big on the whole plus thing. There are no fewer than 11 plus models in the 2016 Scott line-up, including a full carbon, top of the shop Tuned model at over six grand and even a long travel LT Plusser with 160mm travel.
The full carbon Genius 710 Plus mirrors the travel of the Genius 29er models with 130mm of rear travel and 140 up front (rather than the 150 of the 27.5in regular Genius 710). This allows Scott to make room for the chunky Schwalbe Nobby Nic EVO and Rocket Ron EVO – both in a 2.8in nominal width.
The bike comes in at a hair under 30lb, which considering the big tyres, rims and dropper post is pretty good
It wouldn’t be a Scott Genius without Traction Control and its associated TwinLoc lever to bring the cable count to six coming out of the handlebars, though this chaos is short-lived as they all fit neatly inside the frame tubes, leaving a very clean looking bike once you get past the stem. Traction Control, via the custom FOX Nude shock, gives the rider instant access to 130mm, 90mm and rear lockout modes at the touch of a spring loaded button. The advent of 1×11 systems has meant that Scott can now hide this previously vulnerable lever under the bars, neatening things up somewhat.
The Genius shares many of the same SRAM GX1 shifting bits as the Salsa, though Scott has opted for Shimano brakes (and 180/180 rotors). Again there’s a sensible 30T ring up front driving a SRAM 10-42 rear cassette. Enough for just about any mountain. A press-fit BB might raise eyebrows but caused no issues at all on test. Syncros Boost hubs and X-40 rims make up the strikingly colour-coded wheelset. They went up tubeless without issues and I only had to show it a pump to check pressures, which I ran in very low double figures. The bike comes in at a hair under 30lb, which considering the big tyres, rims and dropper post is pretty good, though again you might struggle to shed much more of that if you wanted a lighter machine.
The bike definitely has its fun moments, riding like a nimble bike with more travel than it seems
A Stealth routed RockShox Reverb dropper post hints at the kind of hooligan behaviour Scott expects this bike to get up to, with the Reverb lever ironically left a little vulnerable above the bar due to the TwinLoc remote taking up all the room under it. During the final days of testing, when we actually got some real snow and (just) sub-zero temps, the Reverb’s drop and return pace slowed to a crawl and then a stop. This improved once things warmed up, but it added to the slight uncertainty that I felt riding all of the bikes. It’s not that the 3in tyres don’t grip, or turn; it’s just that they occasionally don’t do what you think they’re going to (based on your years of riding thinner tyres) and so unless it’s bone dry, you always have to ride with a little bit in reserve. Obviously, if it’s bone dry, then get raging! Unfortunately for these bikes, it rained on every single day of the two-month test period. Every day! Except when it snowed.
The Ride
Scott claims that for five watts extra rolling resistance from the tyres, you get 21% more grip, due to more tread being on the ground and 8% better snakebite resistance. We lowered and lowered the tyre pressures and didn’t have a single flat on the tubeless converted Schwalbe tyres. And the 5W difference in rolling resistance checked out in that there was no perceptible difficulty in rolling the Scott up to speed on trail transitions and gravel roads between the fun bits. And the bike definitely has its fun moments, riding like a nimble bike with more travel than it seems (so smaller, yet bigger…) on unpredictable terrain. As long as it’s not that unpredictable.
Scott suggests that riders can throw in a pair of 29 x 2.3in wheels for the wetter, winter months, but has to admit that it doesn’t make any Boost hubbed 29er wheels. This would be a viable thing for UK riders to consider – but this will add another £500 or so to the cost of ownership.
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Review Info
| Brand: | Scott |
| Product: | Genius 710 Plus |
| From: | Scott UK, scott-sports.com/gb/en |
| Price: | £3799.00 |
| Tested: | by Chipps for |