[Closed] Genesis Equilibrium

I've had a genesis steel mountain bike before and it was great. When I was in my local bike shop the other day they had last years model of the equilibrium 20 and it looked awesome. Candy red with tan bar tape and saddle. Full 105 groupset too for less than £900 it's a bargain. If I didn't already have a titanium road bike that I don't use I would have bought it there and then!

Lovely bikes, but do try before you buy as they are long in the TT.

love mine.

...I...want a racey winter/mudgaurded road bike.

it would be a shame to only use it in winter, andor leave the mudguards (and heavy tyres?) on all year round. Do treat it to a fast thrash on a sunny summer's day every now and then 🙂

Depending on your cross bike, the Eq may not be a lot different (and certainly no more do it all)

(and certainly no more do it all)

Probably less so.

I've had one for a few months and really like it. It gets used for cross town jaunts, 50 mile rides at weekends and I did the Dunwich Dynamo on it a few weeks back. It's a very comfy bike.

It's heavier than the aluminium frame it replaced, but I don't really notice the extra weight when riding.

The only thing that annoys me is that it doesn't have pannier braze ons - though I notice this years bikes do. That said, I bought a Salsa seat clamp with the mounts on so it's not a big issue.

Funny enough I came to the same conclusion earlier this year - realising a proper winter roadie with full-time guards would be more use to me than my CX bike.

I was mainly looking at the Forme Longcliffe (discounted) and secondhand Genesis Equilibrium and Aether (the discountinued alloy version of the Equilibrium).

But then Ribble had a clearance frame sale and I picked up a carbon Sportive 365 for less than half price.

I think they're overpriced as frame only but decent value as full builds. Quite racey geometry despite the name. Bit dead feeling but stiff enough and not uncomfortable. Still an OK weight even with SKS Chromoplastic guards.

Not sure I'd buy one again though, would be mighty tempted by a discounted Equilibrium just because they look so good - and the Aethers go for about £250 on ebay.

I've had one for four or five years and done maybe 10,000 miles on it. Great bike that I'd happily buy again. It rides much better than the weight suggests and is very comfy on longer days in the saddle. That being said, what Jamie and Cynic-al say is true: it is less versatile than my cross bike. It's much nicer to ride on road though.

Cheers all, some good stuff to look into. When I mentioned that the crosser wasn't ideal as a do it all I meant that even though I've fitted gaurds and large volume road tyres its not suited to longer distance road miles, I'd swap it back to a pure cross bike and have the new bike for road duties. Less do it all but more specific to what I need.

Trek Boone is as close to the do it all bike you might be looking for. Light and comfy carbon frame with hydraulic discs. Mate has one and he loves it. Not Genesis money though.

I like my Genesis but to be honest the thing I like most about it is just how fast my race bike feels after I've spent a week commuting on it.

I have a 54 Croix de fer and a 56 equilibrium. Both with 100mm stems.

The Croix is more nimble and fun but the equilibrium is about longer and more stable for long rides.

I had an ti seatpost on the equilibrium with an old flute gel flow saddle.

The clamp on the seatpost failed and I replaced it with a carbon deda seatpost and ti charge spoon saddle, but that combo is a lot less comfy, it was the old post and saddle that have most of the compliant 'steel' feel, which I thought my steel voodoo wanga also had, but that is because I used the same seatpost and saddle.

I'm considering a new disc Equilbrium frame, thinking I'll put the old 105 off the race bike (stick some new 105 on TCR when summer rolls round again). Keep the Equilbrium for wet/winter rides. Just need to find someone who wants to swap some 20mm-150mm Hope hubs for some normal ones and I'll jump on it.

I was set to do a frame only campag build, but couldn't justify the extra cost just because I wanted silver bits on a red frame. My finger is hovering over buying, but currently waiting on seeing the new 2015 models and maybe a C2W purchase

I did have a sit on a 56 and it did feel more stretched out than my current roadie (also a 56) seems the genesis has a 110mm stem.

Where is the 20 £900 ? Cheapest I've seen online is £999.

And those that have ridden the alloy version, is the steel significantly more comfortable? Not much point in going for it if it isn't comfy

anyone have one in stock/ or that i could have a spin round the block on in hants area? ideally 56

I'm not buying another bike without a test ride after the last debacle!!

Also watching this with interest. Need to get my head around the fact that longer rides are less about weight saving and more about comfort.

I had an ti seatpost on the equilibrium with an old flute gel flow saddle.

Can you play a tune on it?

I had one on bike to work scheme for about a grand (couple of years ago). It was alright bu they look ****, should've had a sporty looking boardman for the same money

I have the equilibrium 853 which is a great bike, it's got all the proper mudguard mounts even under the brakes so you don't need those clip thingies. I rode it all winter and almost prefer it to my carbon road bike. I've got a 56 if you want to check it out(Manchester)

anyone have one in stock/ or that i could have a spin round the block on in hants area? ideally 56

Not in your area but if you fancy a trip up to mid-Wales we have a fleet of Equilibrium 20 hire/demo bikes in all sizes and loads of lovely roads to ride them on...

Would certainly recommend them. We'll be replacing them like-with-like next year.

mid-Wales

I'm coming your way in a few weeks - I'll drop by. Thanks 😀

Excellent - look forward to seeing you!

I bought a genesis volant 20 back in march and as a few people have mentioned above about their bikes it is well comfy. I got the last one in the shop at edinburgh cycle coop for about 650 quid full tiagra set up. Easy on the uphills and brings a grin on the downhills. Not too quick on acceleration though but ok when u get up yo speed. Only bought it because it was better looking than the defy. Keep it at my dads & still haven't told the missus i've bought it yet. N+1 & alll that.

I've had an 853 Equilibrium since just before Christmas. It's a very nice bike indeed. Comfortable, capable of going quickly, full guard clearance and looks good.

DT78 - Fife Cycles is where I saw one that I think was around £900. Give them a call if you're interested. I know they'd just bought in quite a few of last years model because they were such good value so I imagine they'll have most sizes available.

Did any Equlibrium owners or would be owners consider the Surly Pacer? I'm caught between the looks of the Pacer and the percieved better Reynolds tubing of the Equlibrium, I realise real world difference between tubing will probably be impossible to distinguish.

I've got an equilibrium built up for winter and General Nasty weather riding. It's definitely a road bike, with racy type geometry... Rides great with 25mm or 28mm tyres and still enough room for guards.

Now, I'm slightly biased toward steel bikes, as my summer bike as a steel enigma, with campy group and very light Strada 24spoke wheels. I love the looks and the ride quality, especially over massive distances. I used to ride carbon and just never felt 'alive' unless I was feeling super fast... Which is rare.

My equilibrium is built up with campy veloce groupo and proton traing wheels and a lovely set of Portland design works guards. I've no trouble ride with my buddies on their posh carbon numbers. Covered 100mile yesterday, in the pi$$ing rain! around the Scottish boards... And was very glad on the comfy ride and lack of spray off the road.

I got Equilibrium 00 on the bike to work scheme to back up the Prestige mtb.

Rode the etape caledonia on it in 2013 and it was fine, even on the schehallion road. The cycling plus review said it was under geared for the steep stuff, but I didn't agree with that!

YoKaiser - Member

Did any Equlibrium owners or would be owners consider the Surly Pacer?

No.

1) i hadn't heard of it.
2) even if i had, the headtube is too short for my tastes: i've already got a (roughly) 5" drop from my saddle to h'bars, i use lots of spacers and an unfashionable stem to get comfy, i don't want an [i]even[/i] lower front end.

nice though! 🙂

Surly Pacer is very heavy. The Equilibrium is not light by general standards but it is usefully lighter than the Pacer. It's a useful comparison but between my Equilibrium and my Carbon race bike on the same 3km climb (avg 5%) I'm about 7-8% quicker on the race bike which is 3kg lighter.

A racey winter mud guarded bike... guessing you want discs too from what you've been looking at. I'd be very tempted to check out the new [url= http://www.saracen.co.uk/bikes/road/avro ]Saracen Avro[/url]. A reasonable weight compared to the usual steel offerings, eyelets for guards, fatter rubber, discs, and not a soft crosser/tourer. Though your bike would be a saracen.

What cross bike did you have? Seems that a disc cross bike with slicks and mudguards would be appropriate?

I've had an Equilibrium 10 for 2 years now. It's my only road bike and I use it for commutes, training rides, sportives, club reliability rides, taken it to Majorca (twice) and even the occasional TT.

Great bike for me (Clydesdale 17 stone rider) I stick the mudguards on in the winter.

If I was doing it again my only change would be to get one with disks. I wore out a set of rims in 2 years (I think this wet winter was what really killed the rims).

I'm about 7-8% quicker on the race bike which is 3kg lighter

How much does your race bike weigh ??

My Equilibrium is 20.5lbs, my Croix de fer is 22.5lbs.

How much does your race bike weigh ??

My race bike weighs 7.2kg whereas the Genesis with mudguards weighs 10.5kg.

all else being equal, for a 3kg weight penalty to produce a 7% decrease in speed, then geetee must weigh (approx) 32kg.

What cross bike did you have? Seems that a disc cross bike with slicks and mudguards would be appropriate?

Tom I have a Cube X-Race comp, alloy frame, carbon fork and 105 with canti's. At the moment its fitted with Schwalbe Marathon Supremes and mudgaurds, even with the 35mm tyres its not very comfy over any great distance. The idea was to buy a new frame and use the Cube as a donor, wheels/drivetrain. I'd then strip an old Allez I have and rebuild the Cube with older 9 speed parts and just use it for cross.

I've been going round in circles with this for a while and I'm now thinking I'll just fit some crud racers to my Planet X SL and but a whole new road bike next year.

all else being equal, for a 3kg weight penalty to produce a 7% decrease in speed, then geetee must weigh (approx) 32kg.

Not quite but I do like your optimism! 😀

Actually 32kg is closer to how much I've lost since Jan last year. I now weigh 83kg (was 110kg)

I was being fairly rough with my estimations. I figured I was about 30 seconds quicker on my best time with the race bike than with the commuter based on looking at Strava times.

Are you saying that 3kg would normally give a much bigger time penalty? I guess it would depend on how steep the climb was; the climb I am referencing is the other side of Box Hill, up to Headley from Epsom. It's not steep.

Are you saying that 3kg would normally give a much bigger time penalty?

Lower penalty - it's the proportion of entire bike,body,clothing weight that's the issue.

i'm saying that (all else being equal) there's a fairly linear relationship between weight and speed when climbing.

3kg would be (approx) 3% of the total weight of a rider+bike, saving 3kg would make you (approx) 3% faster.

in fact, it's less than that, a decent climber will be travelling at around 15kph or more, certainly enough for aerodynamics to play a part.

so, save 3kg, gain 2% climbing speed.

Interesting. I thought the relationship between weight and speed up a climb was not linear when you factored in the gradient; the steeper the gradient, the greater the penalty paid for being heavier. It's certainly my experience in the real world.

Like I said the estimation was pretty rough. I was comparing my best ever time on the race bike, with the last time I did it on the commuter bike, not the best time ever on the commuter bike. So more than likely the difference will be less than I based the estimation on.

OK so an interseting execise. Just had a look at my best times for the race bike and commuter bike on one of the harder climbs in the Surrey Hills (OK not much of a test I grant you, but the last ramp on Barhatch is pretty steep, maxing out at about 25%).

The whole climb is 3.2km and gains 176m. Best time on the race bike is 10mins 47s whereas on the commuter bike it's 11mins 41s. 53seconds slower on the best time is 8.2%.

The best time on the commuter bike was done May 23rd this year. On the race bike (all time PB) it was July 20th. I did loose about one kilo between those two dates so the total weight difference is likely to be more like 4kg not 3kg.

Also note that the best time on the commuter bike was done with a mate who beat me to the top (and therefore gave me something to chase), whereas on the race bike I was on my own.

the steeper the climb, the MORE linear the relationship between weight saved, and speed gained. Because aero losses become smaller at lower speeds.

there are many reasons why 1 bike might be 'slower' than another. lots of people say that their winter bike is X% slower than their summer bike, which 'obviously' must be because it's heavier.

most people don't even stop to think that we wear more clothes in winter, and so make ourselves even more catastrophically un-aerodynamic.

(i know may 23rd was hardly 'winter', but was it rainy/cold/damp? - did you have a jacket on? etc.)

...Also note that the best time on the commuter bike was done with a mate who beat me to the top (and therefore gave me something to chase)...

and in doing so, threw any sense of 'pace' or 'rhythm' out the window, went too fast, and probably suffered for it.

yes, weight is a penalty, but it's importance is often exagerated - especially when we're talking about bikes that already nice and light.

a 10kg bike cannot be considered 'heavy' in a sensible* conversation.

(*but we ARE talking about bikes, and i confess that i'd love a set of carbon handlebars for my mtb, as it would save a whopping 100g!)

yes, weight is a penalty, but it's importance is often exagerated - especially when we're talking about bikes that already nice and light.

I think this is the point. Agree 100%.

Important point to mention, which you do also pick up on indirectly, is that weight is not the only difference between the two bikes. There is also stiffness and position to consider. The ride in May was a fine day but damp on the road. The ride in July was lovely; better conditions and yes, I was wearing heavier clothing on the May segment. All makes a difference.

[url= http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/08/news/bike-weight-myth-fast-bikes_339880 ]http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/08/news/bike-weight-myth-fast-bikes_339880[/url]

Interesting reading given the discussion.

Had a look at the link. It's interesting; I can't see where he gets '7.5 seconds from a bike that is 3.5lbs lighter over a 1-mile climb at 7%' statement from though. The graph shows advantage of a 15lb bike over the base line 18lb bike as being 10.5 seconds.

OK still looks like a small number.

Now double the length of the climb and make it 10% not 7%. Then that 3lb difference looks more like 30 seconds.

That's a pretty big gap.

Now apply that to Alp D'Hueze, which is 8.6 miles long and 8% average. The gap is now well over 90 seconds.

I think the argument made in the article is correct but flawed if what it's trying to say is that the difference is not material because it clearly is.

[url= http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/sportive/equilibrium-10 ]GEnesis Equilibrium 10[/url]

I got this on cycle to work this year, after selling on my trek from a couple of years ago. Absolutely love it. It is not heavy - but of course it is not a carbon race bike either......but then again I'm not a carbon racer!

I love the ride feel of steel....so it suits me perfectly.....also I think it looks fab 😀

Quick edit: Mine is a 52 and fits perfectly. I'm 5 ft 8in

hang on, i'm trying to repeat his working...

Anyone preordered an Equilibrium disc then? Keep looking at the frame with lustful eyes...

snap, the limited edition one