88 -AMB
PHOTOGRAPHER: MATT STAGGS TESTER: MIKE BLEWITTTHE SCOTT GENIUS 920
SO YOU THINK
YOU’RE A GENIUS
TESTED
Scott bikes might be best known for their race-winning
pedigree thanks to stars like Nino Schurter, who won every
World Cup XCO race this year, plus the Cape Epic and World
Championships. Scott were also the bikes that our own XCO
National Champions Bec Henderson and Dan McConnell
raced in 2017. Scott also sponsor gravity riders like Remy
Absalon and Brendan Fairclough. But away from timed runs
and racing elbow-to-elbow between the tape, the Swiss
bike company based out of Freiburg have always made
great riding bikes for finding your own adventure.
The Scott Genius name goes back a long way. Almost 15
years ago I owned a Scott Genius RC, with 90mm of travel.
The Genius MC was the long travel version with 120mm of
travel. Both bikes, of course, had 26” wheels. The platform
has been through a few iterations since then, and moved
more into the trail and all-mountain spectrum once the
Spark was launched for 2007.
In the middle of this year, the Genius was overhauled,
pulling many of the design concepts from the launch last
year of the new Spark. These included trunnion mounted
shocks, a Horst link to improve suspension action, Fox
suspension units, updated lightweight and stiff frames,
more stand over clearance and Boost spacing. Oh, and they
made the geometry much longer and more aggressive.
One key thing remains since the first Genius I knew, though,
and that’s the Traction Control system (which came with
the TwinLoc levers in recent years). With a flick of the lever,
you can change the travel on a bike like the Genius from
150mm, to 110mm, or locked out. And the adjustments are
similar on your fork too. With on-the-fly adjustability like
this, it’s no wonder Scott claim the Genius can ride “any
trail, any time”. Models are available in 27.5” wheels or 29”,
like the one tested here. You choose the wheel size, and
how you ride it. But can Scott truly make one bike to rule
them all?
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Easily the first impression I had of the Scott Genius 920
is how massive it is. Bikes are getting longer, but the
29x2.6” Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres really make this bike
look immense. Much like the Scott Spark, the Genius has
the bulk of its size in the downtube, and it increases in
stature towards the bottom bracket, where the frame has
the trunnion mounted shock sitting into the frame - keeping
the weight low and the cabling for the shock completely
internal. There’s a neat port underneath the
downtube for access. The top tube is quite slender
once it moves away from the stout and short head
tube. And in profile the bike belies the complexity
of the design. It cuts a neat silhouette, and anyone
with an eye for design should find the bike very
visually appealling.The TwinLoc is really unique on the Scott bikes,
and the lever is cleverly integrated into not
just the locking collar for the grip, but also for
the Fox Transfer lever too. It means you have a
seamless action for reducing travel or locking the
suspension out under the bar, with an over the
bar action for the dropper. I’m used to an under
the bar dropper but it took almost no time at all
to switch my thinking around. All three cables
need to be at the right tension, though, and with
so many cables floating around getting them all in
the right place is key to make sure nothing fouls
on anything else. I ended up getting the Fox gurus
at Cyclinic to tidy up the routing for me.