First of all I would like to say I’m a bit out of my depth looking at anything that isn’t a road bike. Not looked at mtb since the late 90’s. This may be a long shot but I’m looking for a bike that my wife and I can share when we go camping or to pop to the shops via some off-road trials to get our weekend shopping. May do some wild camping trail riding with it. My wife will also use on back roads when out with kids – not that confident a cyclist and would rather wider tyres than a road bike and ideally flat bars. I like the idea of jones hoop style bars.

Would like a rack to carry shopping so mounts needed.

My wife is 5’7 and I’m 5’11 ish we have a similar inside leg of 31-32” so maybe a medium sized bike would be ok for us both at either side of limits .

I don’t know what’s out there so some help is needed. Would be correct in thinking that a Genesis Longitude or vagabond style would with 29” wheels and semi slick tyres would be what we need.

Also been looking for surly ecr ??
Sonder frontier??

What else should we be considering?

Happy new or used – £800/1000 ish give or take

Also we like the idea of a pizza style rack on the front to fetch shopping.

help

Old Man Mountain racks, any bike you like.

A Longitude with pizza rack or rack and panniers cover all those bases.

I exchanged a Vagabond for a Longitude MK1 (29+). Was a hard choice as I liked both bikes but my requirements had changed. Either could suit your needs, but you’d ideally need a frame and build for a Vagabond as they come with drop-bars and bar-end shifters. Longitude would suit you off the shelf with MTB bars, brakes and shifters.

I have (Geoff) loop bars for the Longitude (such wide, swept loop bars could easily cover two different-sized riders for the long bit of the Longitude) and the bike carries our groceries anywhere, offroad or on.

I also keep and use flat bars and bar-ends for keep-fit/gravel mode, fitting them alternately with the loops depending on terrain and whether am touring or bimbling/training. Feels like having access to two quite different bikes in a matter of ten minutes – which is great.

On One Bootzipper, (2019) Marin Pine Mountain and Kona Unit are also similar bikes to a Longitude

If you do t mind me asking how do you find the sizing on the longitude?

^ The medium fits me well at 5’ 10 with plenty of standover and adjustment (330mm seatpost)

With swept/loop style bars it should suit considerably shorter reaches also.

Wouldn’t go much taller though.

Have a read of this thread:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-genesis-longitude-2017/

The Bootzipper looks exceptional value but I’m leaning towards a longitude. Finding one at the right price is the next challenge. I think I would need 29” wheels and slimmer tires than on a new one which would add to the price. I guess if I’m patient some occasionally turn up used??

They come up now and again fairly frequent. I looked for a few months to find a good one from an honest seller, in my size and within collectable distance. Most seem fitted with 27.5+.

Or build one up? 🙂

Genesis Longitude Frameset

Front racks are nice, but you can’t carry much weight on there before it affects the steering a lot. I find 4kg to be about the limit.
Rear rack and panniers is good for the shopping and front rack for a lock and spare jacket etc. Or sleeping bags if camping.

If you’re anywhere near Staffordshire. A friend of mine has just listed his on gumtree. £600. It’s a size large and I think he’s 6ft. I’m 5’8 and can clear the top tube (32 inseam) it’s just too long in the reach for me.

He’s put Geoff Bars on and a 40-28 chainset. Still has the original too.

I’m guessing but I think a medium would be better for us as it will just do for my wife and I to share . If you at 5’8 dint it to big I’m sure my wife will. But something at that sort of price will be spot on. Open to alternatives to.

Bike Tart have one, new, medium Longitude available on Ebay but it’s a little over £1000.

— EDIT —

also available on their own webpage!

I have found a new one for £850 which seems a good price but I don’t think the stock wheels are what we need. Would rather lighter 29er wheels with semi slick tyres . I don’t know much about off-road wheels so unsure how much this change will set me back. It seems an unnecessary cost and ffaff.

Depending on your definition of ‘trail riding’ it might be worth having a look at a used Pinnacle Lithium hybrid? Seems to be a load on fleabay and FB. Being unable to try out/get one delivered in these times would be the challenge.

Also Genesis Fortitudes (Longitude forerunner) come up from time to time.

And I think someone mentioned, but if not…

Sonder Camino Al Apex1 Flat

Would Continental Speed King 2.2” x 27.5 fit on the stock wheels? Any thoughts ?

Would Continental Speed King 2.2” x 27.5 fit on the stock wheels

What are they, Scrapers? Think they come in at 35 or 45 internal, so I’d say not compatible* for 2.2 in either case. I run 2.2 Speed Kings pretty much all year round on a 23mm internal and they seem spot on.

There do seem to be few (if any) 650b plus gravelly tyre options these days. Wrong horse for the course, probably? Schwalbe Super Moto go to 2.4, I’ve heard of i35 rims with 2.4s so that could be an option. Heavy tyres though.

*others may disagree, ie

Have a read here https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=133919

What would be a good value set of 29er wheels and tyres to change on to it ? Any value in the stock wheels – how easy to sell on?

For what it’s worth, the stock WTB wheels and tyres are pretty good. The plus tyres have a lot of cushioning and they roll pretty fast on tarmac if you have enough air in them. Is there a particular reason you want to switch to 29er wheels?

I’ve had a Longitude for a while now and would definitely recommend it. Ignore the comment above about too much weight on the front, it’s super stable with front panniers and a rack top bag. Just be aware that the pizza rack is a tiny bit narrow to fit the fork legs, you will need to bend it slightly to get it to fit. I use mine for bikepacking, touring and commuting – it’s a bit of a faff to fit rear mudguards but it can be done.

For your height I would go with a medium and the Jones bars (or PX copies) work really well!

Here’s mine last year on a 4 day touring trip

No reason really for wanting 29er really was just thinking that the wife when using it to the shops on back lanes might rather some smoother rolling rubber . She will also use on the road 15 round trip on roads to local village with the kids . I will tend to use the bike more off-road around some forestry locally .

Fair enough, in that case I would just keep the stock wheels and get something like the Schwalbe G-one that comes in 650b x 2.8″ – they will roll even faster but still be grippy enough for off road.

Good shout on G-One (Allrounds)

Tempted myself at this price https://www.bike-components.de/en/Schwalbe/G-One-Allround-SnakeSkin-27-5-Folding-Tyre-p52171/

Those tyres look just the ticket. Thanks .

How much bending for pizza rack? Easy job?

Yeah, it’s not too hard. It almost fits on, but the lowest part of the rack will scratch the paint on the fork legs if you try to force it. I put some helicopter tape on the fork and then spread the rack by hand a few mm. An easier option might be something like the Pelago Commuter rack or BLB T-Rack that both attach to the bottom of the fork legs.

I’m sure this has been covered somewhere but what’s the main difference between longitude and vagabond apart from the handlebars? Is the reach longer on a longitude?

Depends. My (M) Longitude with ‘loop’ bars and short stem has a shorter reach than did my (M) Vagabond (with stock stem and drops)

But the Longitude geo is longer/slacker overall. They’re both fairly ‘relaxed’ bikes in respective classes tbh, but the Longitude moreso, ie stretched out in an offroad fashion. The taller/shorter geometry of the (M) Vagabond with 2.1s has IME occasional toe-overlap if using flat pedals/big feet. It can be overcome soon enough when you get used to it. The issue disappeared with 35c tyres but adding a full-length mudguard and it’s back to being cautious. This was my only small bugbear and I think going a size up would have been better overall. 5’ 10 seems to be an ‘inbetween‘ size for Genesis bikes.

No such toe-overlap on the (M) Longitude, unsurprisingly

^ Think I’m the prime agonist over these two bikes 🤣 (it’s a long and tiresome story) but I like them both very much, and either one could haul a load around the world in comfort.

In short:

Vagabond (vs Longitude)

– Two or three pounds lighter
– Shorter wheelbase/ETT
– 2.1 max tyre-clearance at the rear (unless going 1X)
– Vertical dropouts vs track ends
– Less mounting points on fork (Longitude additionally comes supplied with Gorilla cages)

Has anyone tried drop-bars on a Genesis Longitude?

Left of field, one of the original On-One Fat bikes? Slower on the road but massive stand over makes it easy to accommodate two people of different height.

Limited luggage options though, not even sure if it has rear rack mounts so you would need to get creative (or a trailer).

I’d get a Longitude though, a vagabond with flat bars would be quite short and very tall so I can’t seen any real benefit to it?

Loads of cheaper MTB’s have rack mounts. E.g. Giant Talon https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/talon-2-2020

£850 for a brand new Longitude seems good value. Think it’s the best option at the moment.
Nothing used about .

I’ve been looking at tyres and the WTB riddler look like something I had in mind . Any one tried them? Will the 2.4 width work with the i35 rims ?

A pelago commuter rack definitely fits a Longitude. So does a Racktime Topit. Being indecisive I’ve got both.

Depends on how committed you are to a rigid fork. Or willingness to swap the fork

The example Rose bikes will sell you a 29er mtb with a rack for for under a grand

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/rose-count-solo-2-bike-now-2671443

There will be loads off similar bike around used. Just a pain finding which has rack mounts

There will also be loads of hybrids that would also do the job

*edit just seen Sonder thread