Genesis Longitude thoughts

“Apparently they couldn’t make it handle well”.

Mine seems to work ok.

🙂

Joking aside- it’s not the best thing to do to slag off your own product is it?

Proper poor form that Facebook post is…

it will remain a 29er or 27.5+, just not 29+. They don’t plan on making any 29+

Confirmed on facebook. Apparently they couldn’t make it handle well with the big tyres due to the difference in diameter between 29 they sold it with and 29+. Smacks a bit of making up an excuse to cover a marketing decision to follow the 27+ trend.

Completely agree 😐

Have they actually changed the clearance of the frame though, or just swapped the advertising to 27+?

looks like a different fork atleast?

Interested to see actual spec and price tommorrow (hopefully) as really interested in one for bikepacking…unless the Vagabond model turns out to be the monstercross of my dreams

I’ve spent the afternoon trying to post some pics for you all to look at. They’re not great but you get the idea. I’ll carry on trying.

bingo.

[/url]image by ntopley[/url], on Flickr[/img]

image by ntopley[/url], on Flickr

image by ntopley[/url], on Flickr

image by ntopley[/url], on Flickr

image by ntopley[/url], on Flickr

actually prefering this, wider rims

Well the new model is obviously not “basically the same” as the old one. From the picture above it seems that they went the short headtube + suspension corrected fork way which some might prefer others might not (eg me). Why would they drop the 29+ is beyond me.. that breaks the deal for me 🙁

I do like the new yellow color though

I could understand if they introduced a 650+ version for shorter riders. The whole point of 650+ is that it fits in EXISTING 29er frames. Building a 650+ specific frame is essentially just building a 29er frame, but with annoying new standards to make sure all your existing kit wont fit.
I think Genesis might have their work cut out convincing people this frame is any more useful for bikepacking/adventuring than an inbred 29er.

So with a sus fork its now basically just their standard bike (suspension forked 27.5+/29) with extra bottle and rack bosses.

“Why would they drop the 29+ is beyond me.. that breaks the deal for me“

Me too, I’m glad I got one in time. It handles beautifully. Best bike I’ve ever owned, bar none.

it does seem a bit like Genesis have jumped the shark, a bit.

(says a total Genesis fanboi, with 3 of them, and tentative approval for a fourth, which now can’t happen, as they’ve just stopped making it)

There was a 2015 Genesis Caribou at Mayhem with a set of On One 29″ non fat wheels on it which ticked all the boxes for me (vertical drop outs for instance) not that it matters now as I invested in an old Swift instead, that new Longitude ^^^ looks pants in comparison to the old one

This is my fat front set-up (Chronicle front, 2.35 Ikon rear) for doing c2c later this month. Kept the rear thinner to preserve the triple, because I’m fat and hartside is, well, steep…

According to Genesis (now, at least), this set-up should be rubbish, causing “big changes in wheel OD that ultimately have a big effect on trail and handling”. Yeah, it makes it BETTER!
Better grip, better handling at speed, more cushioning and, weirdly, not too bad rolling resistance.
I now have three sets of wheels for my Longitude, the stock rims with fat-fat (1×10 or ss) or fat-not fat (triple/double), a set of hope tech xc wheels for fast xc with narrow(ish) tyres and a crappy set of wheels with super moto slicks on for commuting (geared or ss). However I set it up, it rides great (best on Chronicles though). This is the most versatile bike I have ever owned.

Though I’m sure the new Longitude will be a good bike, I just don’t see a market for it. Afterall, you can fit 650 plus tyres in most 29er frames, meaning anyone who already has a 29er is only a set of rims and tyres away from a very similar (and much cheaper) bike.

Alloy forks with PM brake mount on the new Longitude? No thanks and no thanks!

Glad I’ve bought the mk1 frame and I simply love how well it rides with 3″ tyres(even if Dirt Wizard is not a full-on three inch tyre). It’s got to be the most versatile bike I’ve ever had. So much that I’ve stopped using my High Latitude and Day One!

It’s a shame that Genesis decides to ditch another great model from their range – same happened to the Fortitude models.

Frood: Thanks for the tips on the stem. I’ve bought a cheap-ass 60mm stem from Evans but I’ve not had a chance to fit it yet (3 month old baby sees to that). I just want to see what sort of a different a shorter stem will make before spending on a better more permanent stem.

As for the new Longitude, I’m in a agreement with everyone. I can’t understand why the dumped the 29+. When I was buying a bike back in winterI was torn between the Ogre and the Longitude, the Longitude won because it was British and cheaper. I’m not sure I’d have even spotted it if it was 27.5 as I was only looking for 29ers.
Saying that, it looks like they’ve made the front fork a bit more useful and I understand they’ve also made the dropouts Rohloff ready too.

Agh, can’t believe they’ve dropped this, I was saving up to get one to replace my KM. Was it a whole year in production? Didn’t the Fortitude only last a year or so too? Progression and continuous improvements are all good, but surely leave it a couple of years to make a big change.
The Monstercross bike looked interesting though.

I ended up buying a Surly Ogre frameset and was wondering if I shouldn’t have waited for the 2016 batch Longitudes. With this new information I feel like I did the right move.

It recently got a brilliant review in a mag as well. Why send something for review if you are going to drop it?

I recently built up an Inbred 29er with Ogre forks as an on and off road tourer. Original plan was to keep it until Longitude was back in stock…think i’ll just hold onto it and not bother giving Genesis my hard earned student loan!

So, a 29er frame with an aluminium sus-corrected fork and 110 front hub, hang on, it must be special, you can put a rohloff on it…

Look! a 29er frame for £500 that has clearance for 650 Plus…

Oh, hang on…

This one’s only £200…

The beauty of the 2015 Longitude was that there weren’t many bikes like it (and none easily available for £1000). The 2016 longitude, on the other hand, is pretty much the same as a lot of other bikes, but no cheaper (a lot more than an inbred).

The 2016 Longitude appears to me to have been massively compromised by a design process which seems more focused on picking which bandwagon to jump on than what works.

Obviously I haven’t ridden the 2016 Longitude yet and I’m not saying it’s a bad bike, there’s just nothing about it that separates it from most other 29er frames already out there.

Sorry Genesis, I think you make some bloody lovely bikes (I own two of them) but when you sell me a bike which is so good I haven’t ridden anything else for 6 months, then tell me that, actually, that bike is rubbish because it’s not the same as most other 29er frames, forgive me if I call you out on it.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/blog/07/07/15/2016-longitude

Alberts blog post.

I’m very glad that I managed to get a 2015 Longitude. I’d be sorely disappointed if I’d missed out or waited for this year’s! I understand what they are trying to say, but as above, they’ve missed the fact that previously it was a bike with very few competitors, and with the previous frame price (£375 for frame, fork, headset and bars) there wasn’t really any competition. The “it doesn’t ride well with 29+ tyres” is a load of crap. It’s very very capable I like the way it handles and I’ll be keeping mine for the long run.

What frond says ^

More clearance but only takes 2.8 tyres with derailleur gears.

135mm rear dropouts, but 110mm front.
Stealth reverb hole!?!
Alloy fork because 27+ is comfy (no mention if it will break your wrist if you do run a 29 wheel)

To quote Genesis…

And, yes, we realise that one the one hand we’ve wholeheartedly adopted new standards and, on the other, gone well out of our way to avoid them!

For those wanting to go the full monty with a custom-build frameset option… …we pray for your sanity.

And £200 more than last years

I wanted last years but they were all sold out before I could consider commiting the money to one. As above probably more tempted by start with a 29 Inbred and build from there if that’s what I wanted.

All the new standards are actually putting me off buying a new bike this year after all…

All On-one need to do is market the inbred as a 27.5 plus/29er “bikepacking rig” and the longitude suddenly looks fairly pointless…

I’m still trying to figure out what the hell went through their heads on this.

The funniest thing of all, I believe, is this paragrafh on the 2015 Longitude (still on the website):
“
Up front you’ll find our non-suspension corrected 445mm axle-crown fork with 50mm offset. Why non-suspension corrected? Primarily so we can design the frame/fork as a whole, complete package and not be dictated to in terms of fork offset, axle-crown height. There are other bonuses too – a lower axle-crown height means less leverage so we can use Ø28.6mm tapered fork blades instead of Ø31.8mm. The end result is a lighter, more forgiving and ultimately better riding fork that is still plenty strong.
“

And then we see the new forks……

Up until now, I really liked Genesis. Great ideas, all the models seemed well putted together. I almost bought a Genesis twice (only to then buy a Surly).
I knew something was wrong when they dropped the Fortitude Adventure…

I completely agree with you Frood, it’s like they’ve completely ignored the unanimously positive feedback they’ve had about the Longitude with 29+ tyres on and and instead jumped on every new bandwagon with the 2016 model. This is a saturated market they’re dipping into so I doubt they’ll sell-out so quickly if at all.

And then we see the new forks……

The forks really do expose the potential problem with this bike. In order for it to be long enough for people to replace it, it has to be aluminium, which will probably be harsh as hell with standard 29er wheels…

So Genesis have designed a bike around a fork that has been designed to be replaced…Smooth move.

And how on Earth did they only shave 8mm off the chainstays, given the fuss they made about the OD of 29 plus tyres!?

Especially given that the Stache managed 30mm shorter chainstays for 29 plus…

So we’re all in agreement that the new Longitude is no longer a Longitude. I’m a bit of a newbie to all this, what would you guys have done in Genesis’s shoes for the Longitude? How could they have made the 2016 Longitude better than the 2015 model.

Oh – just noticed there’s no rack bosses on the back of the 2016 Longitude either. I’d pass this by if I was still in the market for one and ended up with an Ogre.

They didn’t need to make it better, just to fulfil demand.
The 2016 longitude essentially appears to be a standard 29er frame with a stupid fork.

I don’t, and never will have one, but maybe some new colours for 2016? I think that’s all they had to do.

I can’t really see, but no rack mounts? What are they thinking?!

Maybe their thinking is that people don’t use the rack mounts on bikes like this, going instead for the seat-post mounted bags instead.
However the Longitude is my 2nd bike – I already have rack/panniers for a commuter and I wanted to use the same rack/panniers for the Longitude purely for cost and familiarity reasons. It was one of my main criteria in buying my first “expensive” bike. I’d have brushed the 2016 model aside and looked elsewhere. Also the rank mounts hardly preclude people from using the seat-post bags if they want to. I just don’t see what they are thinking of when creating a bike for adventure but unable to put a rack on the back.

I suppose it’s possible that the photos are of the pre-production model without all the bosses.

They’ve also skipped a set of bottle mounts. I used all 3 bottle mounts on the triangle a few weeks back on a 50 mile ride.

I’m glad I got the 2015 model.

aye… and they moved one of the sets of bottle mounts to the underside of the down tube… on a hardtail… WHY? Who likes a muddy waterbottle?

Oh god what have they done. I, being 5’5″ would’ve actually considered buying the 650+ as a smaller plus sized option to 29+ but the ally fork and lack of rear rack mounts just make this completely unsuitable for it’s actual purpose! I thought it was supposed to be freaking adventure bike.