[Closed] Genesis Fortitude Race: Upgrade or Replace?

I have the (sort of) successor to the Fortitude, a Longitude on 2.2 Race Kings.

I’ve considered trading it for a hardtail (such as a Sentier) simply as 1. my bikepacking plans died a death for the foreseeable and 2. My 26er hardtail died.

The Longitude (like the Fortitude?) IME is really a burly ATB/bikepacker/tourer unless taking full advantage of plus/mid-fat capabilities. The fat-tired options being unavailable to the Fortitude means that your bike park wings (should you wish to fly) would be clipped so short as to be vestigial! So, go bigger or go touring 😉

I rode rigid bikes around trail centers for years. My thumb ligaments are pretty trashed as a result!

I would resist the temptation to go for super knobly, tacky tyres. They are overkill. It's an XC bike, stick with XC tyres unless it's muddy and then stick with mixed/mud XC tyres, you don't need a magic mary. You really want tyres like Rocket Ron, Racing Ralph, Nobby Nick. Or Specialized Captain, Ground Control, or Purgatory.

And it depends on the trail center. First time I went to Glentress it was 2011 ish and the trails were like a 30 mile BMX track on the hillside, there was barely a pothole or root in sight (IIRC this was just after they got a load of funding to re-do them all). Last time I went in 2018 I called it a day after 15 miles or so as I just wasn't having fun, I was on a rigid bike and just couldn't hold any speed. And that applies to a lot of trail centers now. 15 years ago the advice was always "get a hardtail if you're just tiding trail centres, anything else is overkill". Whether it's by design (to make them more gnarr) or lack of investment/maintenance they're not the same as they were back then.

Ha! Yeah I think that's the decision I'm leaning towards. Now I just need to decide on a nice hardtail or a full suspension? Then it's whether I'll even be able to buy a new bike this side of 2022 given the current situation.

I might be in for a disappointment by the sounds of it if that's the state of the trail centres these days. I appreciate your advice on the tyres as that helps if I just upgrade them as I could just put a Nobby Nic Speedgrip on the back and a Soft on the front as they come in 2.25 which has been quite restricting.

That generation of Genesis steel mtbs were great - i've just finished a revamp of my High Latitude and get the feeling that i'm definitely the limiting factor on it, it does have a suspension fork though which takes the worst of the bumpy stuff - have you thought of sticking a cheap s/h fork on yours to see if it makes any difference to the ride? The head angle is about 69 on those I think & it's not a long fork, even a 100mm travel fork would slacken the head angle a touch & take the sting out of the front end.

When i got mine it had narrow flat bars, 70mm stem & the forks set to 80mm travel, after changing to 2.3" tyres, shorter stem, wider bar & upping the fork travel to 120mm it feels like a different bike - last trip to Glentress I punctured a couple of times on the rough parts of the red but that was more down to me trying to wing it through rocky sections like a full-suss bike & hoping for the best on narrow rims.

I have 2 Genesis Fortitudes (an Adventure and a SS but I would like a Race too .... in 20.5'' 😉 ) and I think they are an incredibly versatile basis for a great off road bike albeit with a few limitations.

My SS frame will take a wider tyre than my Adventure - a 2.35'' vs a 2.2'' but that's not really too limiting.

My SS in **cough** race mode **cough**

Going tubeless with some new tyres will help change the feel of the bike but unlikely to be night and day.

Sell me yours and buy a modern bike 😉

I'd be interested in buying the Fortitude if you'd post it? Will drop you a mail

That's my quandary. Do I invest in new tyres, go tubeless maybe buy new riser bars and end up still being better off with a bike that offers me some suspension.

I would be sad to see it go and it'll be a tough call but it will come down to how much it's worth and what I would still need to put towards a new bike with a similar spec. I reckon I'll be around £14-£1600 to find a good replacement. Whereas a couple of tyres and a set of bars is only a couple of hundred if that. Decisions, decisions 🙂

I used to have one if them and it was bloody brilliant, sold it to fund a CX bike for racing, wish I hadn't now!

The front will take at least a 2.4" Bonty XR4 as that's what I used to run on it, set up tubeless too.

I have the same bike in 17.5, and agree with lots of the above advice. It is a xc bike with a specifically designed short fork so suspension forks don’t really work. If you want to keep it, going tubeless and dropping pressures will help and a few people on here speak highly of the redshift flex stem which gives 20 mm of travel. The other issue you have is getting the bike you want as stock is very limited for the foreseeable future. But they do seem to be very desirable and hold their value well, you should get £5/600 for it ( I’ve been asked a few times if mine is for sale )

Whatever you do, don't sell your Fortitude unless your absolutely sure.

As you can see above, they are well loved. I shouldn't have sold mine!

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think keeping hold of the bike, buying a set of tyres and trying tubeless seems to be the way forward. Although the two best options as far as advice and research goes are like everything else at the moment, out of stock.

I'm looking at Nobby Nic 2.25 on the back and 2.35 on the front but the only slight concern with these are that you can only get the 2.25 in the Super Ground casing which might be a bit puncture prone according to a review I read. The other option I'm looking at is Maxxis Ardent EXO TR which is available as a 2.25 for the rear and 2.4 for the front. From what I've read these might also be a good option for me and possibly a bit tougher/trail focused than the Nobby Nics.

I was also interested to read the redshift flex stem recommendation that also might be a good option for me.

Address you using the original handlebars? I have a Fortitude Race, and upgraded to 720mm wide Easton EA70's (cos they were a bargain price, upgradeitus). I've been quite suprised by the increase in comfort - they are far more complacent than the originals.

I often fancied a Fortitude but never actually bought one, because I was (still am) a bit of a Singular Hummingbird fan.
All I’d like to say is that, in my world anyway, there’ll always be a place for simple, classic steel (or Ti) bikes. They’re capable of more than most people seem to think and I’ll always own one - in fact, my Ti Hummingbird will be the last bike that I’ll ever part with. It’s an ideal companion for this all too rapidly aging man because everyone needs some reliable simplicity in their lives.
Not everyone talks as much shit as me, mind.

Get some nice compliant tyres, go tubeless, maybe get some carbon bars and seatpost.
But, by far the biggest thing you can do to increase comfort, is to choose your terrain wisely.
You wouldn’t take a road bike to glentress.
You wouldn’t take a dh bike for a 3 week tour of france.
If you’re gonna sell your current bike, late spring will be a good time, imo.
For any planned replacement, have you checked which brands actually have stock?
That could be a key point.

This thread reminds me that I need to go tubeless on the Longitude.

It is quite harsh up front especially with XC tyres running tubes. The stock forks don’t seem to flex much compared to other rigid steel bikes I own/have owned. Currently have 620mm carbon bars which helps a little, but could do with wider. The palm-smashing directness puts me off tbh.

After looking into it a bit further and having to work around stock issues with Nobby Nics proving to be difficult to get hold of in certain sizes. I think I've settled on Maxxis Ardent Race on the rear (29 x 2.2) and a Maxxis High Roller II on the front (29 x 2.3) Both are tubeless ready and should fit the bill for xc/trail rides and will hopefully be a decent combo tubeless solution for me.

It's been a steep learning curve with so many options available for tyres but definitely worth trying going tubeless before rushing into a decision of selling my bike and regretting it down the line.

After buying and then sending back Rocket Ron & Nobby Nic tubeless ready tyres I've decided to take the plunge and buy a new bike. I put the Genesis into a shop to have the rims converted and was advised against trying. I know this is something that is still possible to do but I've decided to just sell and buy a trail/tubeless ready modern hardtail.

Thanks again for the advice guys but the bike is now advertised in the classifieds. Hopefully it's not a decision I regret.

It’s been a steep learning curve with so many options available for tyres but definitely worth trying going tubeless before rushing into a decision of selling my bike and regretting it down the line.

Do you have exact specs. It is far too complicated buying tyres. I have high rollers front a rear four the winter slop. I got the tread pattern and width i wanted. I got correct carcass. I thought I got the compound right as well 3c like the forecasters that came off. Turns there are 2 3sc one for speed one for grip. I bought grip when I should have bought speed

So don't be afraid to ask

I has a SS Fortitude, really liked it and it lead me (via a Vitus Energie) to a Mk1 Stooge - fantastic bike. Now on a Mk4 Stooge and it's so capable, using it on a red trail ride this weekend instead of the FS.

Sorry to hijack, but if anyone is after. 17.5” Fortitude Race with Jones Unicrown forks, drop me a DM.
Cheers!