Scott’s Genius do-it-all machine, the $4,700 Genius LT 20. That original preview lays out the basic whatzit and why of this rig. Not feeling like clicking that link? Here’s the A.D.D. version: this bike is supposed to do everything brilliantly. Everything.
that’s a tall order then a few. additional to firmly the purpose, it’s the type of claim you will usually dismiss as bullshit. no only bike are able to do everything. fireroads, tight singletrack, rock drops, high-speed downhill courses, marathon trail riding grunts…. completely different courses require completely different horses. easy.
well, usually, yeah. though there are many bikes out there, which—thanks to firmly refined shock and frame designs—can build a few pretty preposterous claims while not truly being pathological liars. the genius is among them ( the cannondale jekyll and claymore are 2 alternative noteworthy examples ).
thus, here’s the deal, the genius lt sports a “twinlock” lever on its handlebar that, when using the flick the most switch, morphs the bike from hardtail stiff, to firmly 110-millimeter travel trail bike. push the switch an additional click and—bam—now you’re sitting atop 185 millimeters of uber-plush travel.
that’s worth repeating—hardtail to firmly 7. 3-inches of squish. this, for our record, is a few crazy shit.
3 positions by the twinlock lever offer 3 fully completely different flavors of bike. its a powerful number adjustment, merely a thumbs throw away.
what’s additional, the twinlock lever too activates the custom rockshox lyrik rlr, thus every click as to the lever too changes the fork’s ride feel. after you firm along the rear finish, you firm along the fork. after you set that rear shock to firmly full plush, the fork simultaneously goes putty soft. you are doing, be required to modify the fork travel ( from 180 millimeters to firmly 140 millimeters of travel ), other then doing it merely needs you reach down and twist the travel modify knob.
sounds nice, right ? other then will it truly work ? that’s the real question, and that is why i’ve been mistreating this bike all season. i reside in a land of mud and root and rock. it’s dry to produce a whopping 3 months as to the year. bikes visit an early grave within the whole pacific northwest. it makes for ideal testing conditions.
the frame
there will be 3 genius lt models within the whole line up. the lt20 happens to be the middle as to the pack version and you’re gazing the 2012 version. the 2013 iteration is, but, largely unchanged. the front triangle is created of carbon fiber. the seat and chainstays are aluminum. rear axle configuration is 142×12. a flip chip by the large rocker link allows that you definitely relax the top angle from 67 to firmly 66. 3 degrees and drop the bottom bracket a few third relevant to an in. ( from 14. 4 to firmly 14. 1 inches ).
the light-weight carbon/aluminum frame sports masses of sensible features as well as internal dropper post routing, iscg 05 mounts and this post-style disc brake mount. terribly streamlined.
as you’d expect issued from a bike using this a lot of travel, the frameset is built with burl in mind—everything is outsized. there will be many nice touches and even, as well as post-style brake mount, iscg chainguide mount, and internal dropper post routing ( this version runs the wonderful rockshox reverb stealth ).
frame weight is an astonishing 6. 17 pounds which includes the 535-gram equalizer shock.
the shock
the widget that makes this bike doable happens to be the proprietary, twin-tube equalizer3 pull-shock, that nestles only on top of the bottom bracket. after you run the bike in wide-open mode, oil flows to firmly each tubes. click the twinlock straight into the 110-millimeter “traction” mode and you solely use one tube about that shock—which reduces the air-spring volume and results in not merely less travel, but as well as a additional progressive spring curve.
the proprietary pull-shock is easier to firmly established than you would possibly imagine, other then desires to remain perfectly dialed to achieve the most from this bike.
whereas the equalizer3 appearance intimidating as hell, it’s not too exhausting for getting this issue dialed. rider weight and corresponding positive/negative air pressure settings are conveniently printed by the shock body. there’s too a built-in sag meter, thus securing the pressures right is brain-dead easy. there will be too separate rebound damping knobs for every travel setting. the major issue that’s type of a pain could be that the shock needs the use the most specialized high-pressure shock pump, thus only keep in mind to stay that issue located within hydration pack all of the time.
the ride
for your own record, i virtually never ran the bike in full lock-out mode as a result of climbing traction suffers massively on bumpy trails when using the bike locked out ( not an enormous surprise ). the lock out could well be useful on asphalt excursions, however i virtually never touch the road, therefore i spent all my days in either the one hundred ten or 185 travel modes.
within the whole 110-millimeter mode, the bike climbs brilliantly. no, it’s not as efficient as most dw or vpp vogue bikes, however the traction is glorious and, extremely, the bike scales climbs higher than it really has any right to firmly. i did all day-grinders for this issue and though it wouldn’t be my selection for trail bike or xc machine, it will a way higher job in those roles than you’d ever suspect attainable. at 32 pounds it’s not the lightest issue by the block, however and get a bike from this abundant travel, that’s respectable as hell.
for techy riding, the 110-millimeter setting is really a great deal of fun. i could be a kook for saying this, however i really liked the method the bike rode when using the lyrik at full travel and of course the rear finish at 110-millimeters of travel. it was eventually like a few a sort of crazy, super trail bike that might be threaded through tight singletrack and nonetheless plow in the ugliest attainable sections of trail.
whenever the trail ( and speeds ) opened up, i ran the bike in full travel mode it also was nearly as competent for the reason that setting. would it not be my selection with the bike park ? no. as an extended travel machine, the bike is competent, however doesn’t feel as sorted and confident as most dedicated “big bikes”. it’s onerous to firmly pinpoint precisely why this is often the case, however i’ll place it this method, the genius lt could well be the ideal “road trip” bike. place it on the rear of one’s tailgate and you’ll be able to ride only concerning anywhere for this issue. long days and massive climbs ? this bike can perform that. super-technical singletrack ? ditto. occasional shuttle machine ? absolutely. dedicated bike park rig ? nah.
my biggest concern when using the genius lt was its equalizer3 shock. i’ve had hit-or-miss experiences when using the earlier generations of equalizer shocks by the previous ransom models, that may flip shitty from a couple months of riding. this generation of equalizer, to firmly its credit, has proven fully reliable. i treated this issue cruelly. different than keeping the bag at the right sag, i did no maintenance. none. the bike and suspension hardware, in spite of this, are performing spot on.
speaking of “spot on” you genuinely do want to firmly be spot on with each the sag and rebound settings. obtaining those settings right isn’t a challenge, however the bike’s performance ( notably within the whole long travel setting ) is noticeably compromised when you’re off by even to a small degree. i found i had to train the bike with the maximum sag recommended ( that feels to a small degree too soft once you are only putting around with the trailhead ). albeit there will be a tons of clicks by the rebound damping, i found very little margin or error when achieving the “right” speed. too fast, and of course the shock would high out. too slow and of course the suspension would pack up quickly by the trail. once more, achieveing the suspension isn’t a headache, however this bike needs you nail it on the top. whether or not that’s only a purpose of one’s shock and frame style and the reality which you are asking one bike to firmly do most is unclear to firmly me, however if you do in fact are testing this issue out and not just enjoying the hell from it, it’s in all probability all within the whole suspension established.
minor tweaks
what would i amendment ? the 700-millimeter bars are much too narrow. that’s xc width within my book. i tore them off when the maiden voyage. i additionally couldn’t get my head close to the triple chainring established, that looks bizarre on any bike from this abundant travel. if you would like to work with the 44-tooth massive ring to firmly bring yourself up to firmly speed, you would like to firmly re-evaluate your riding vogue. if it were my bike, i’d tear that massive ring off and replace it with the use of a bashring. a 2×10 drivertrain with an integrated bash, or higher nonetheless a double-and-a-chaingude established ( such as the gamut versions spec’d on such a lot of specialized models ) could well be excellent.
the triple chainring established one among the’>is amongst the few mis-steps within the whole outfitting of one’s Scott genius lt 20, however one that’s simply rectified.
these in spite of this, are minor criticisms like the massive ticket items are all nicely sorted. the custom lyrik is fantastic. the dt wheelset is burly nonetheless lightweight. hans dampf tires as oe product ? outrageously sensible fortune. i’m additionally a fan of one’s avid brakes ( i wish they will needed many less bleeds, however i’m a sucker for his or her feel ) and of course the reverb is robust to firmly beat being a dropper post.
bottom line
i had my doubts concerning this bike coming straight into the check. i knew i liked the approach it rode ( i tested it for your own 2011 bible of bike tests ), however i wasn’t certain whether or not that special shock would survive or shit the bed. following a year of abuse, the genius lt remains going sturdy. it’s going to not really do the most well-liked scott genius within the 2013 line, although it’s one bike that lives up out to the selling hype within the catalog.
Source= bikemag
