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I used to have a rather fetching Genesis Fortitude Race, it was simply a hoot to ride on local stuff and not really worry about it getting all muddy n' that.
I did sell it a while ago and now fancy a replacement, the two I've seen that come close are the [url= https://www.evanscycles.com/genesis-longitude-2017-mountain-bike-EV289590 ]Genesis Longitude 650b+ [/url] and the [url= https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-3-plus-2017-mountain-bike-EV264163 ]Pinnacle Ramin 3+[/url]
I know the Pinnacles are designed by the guy (jameso?) who used to do the Genesis and there#s a fair chance he did both of these, the specs are pretty similar and they weigh almost the same so bar one being steel and the other alloy I'd imagine they're pretty similar all round, has anyone had one and what are they like?
I've got a Longitude and couldn't be happier with it! The Ramin gets good reviews but I prefer steel frames. One consideration is that the Longitude comes set up with 2x gearing, which is very handy on steep stuff with a loaded bike, the Ramin seems to be 1x only and could probably do with a bigger cassette to give a better range of gears. There doesn't seem to be any geometry info for the Ramin, so it's hard to compare numbers, but the Genesis is a very stable bike, easy to ride on flat terrain but still fun on rougher stuff. You can't put a suspension fork on it though, not an issue for me, but something you might want to upgrade to? I believe it's an option on the Ramin.
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She's a beauty! 🙂
Thanks Steezy, I'm not bothered about the suspension fork, I've got a XC full bouncer for that kind of stuff.
TO be honest i doubt it'll ever get used bike-packing either
Thanks Paul for the head-up to this thread : )
bar one being steel and the other alloy I'd imagine they're pretty similar all round
Sort of yes but the Fortitude was designed with bikes like the Jones and TD-1 in mind, plus old ATBs, so it was rigid-specific with a short fork. Geometry isn't a mile off but the Ramin has more fork offset, fork length and a head angle that works with 100-120mm forks, the Fortitude V1 had a slightly slacker front with a bit less offset to hit the right trail and weight distribution.
The Fortitude was my last thing at Genesis so I just did the designs and sampled the frameset, it didn't have a name at that point. It got a good one though. Original sample had an EBB so in some ways the Ramin 3+ frame is closer to the simple all-rounder 29er I intended it to be. I heard after I left that the EBB wasn't great after a load of miles so it got turned into 3 different bikes with threaded BBs and different dropouts etc. I'd have just chosen a different EBB insert or checked the tolerances, but hey ho.
There doesn't seem to be any geometry info for the Ramin
Here - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-3-plus-2017-mountain-bike-EV264163
I'd say they ride pretty similarly. The Ramin is a bit longer in the reach and a tad more neutral in steering, higher front / taller HT and fork also. Try one perhaps - the Fortitude was fairly unique in a subtle way so having had one you may still prefer it.
Jameso, thanks for that
There's a review of both the Longitude and Ramin on the Bearbones website ...
http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=ramin#!/2017/01/ramin-3-review.html