http://www.ambmag.com.au - 91TESTED
better with a 1x drivetrain like SRAM Eagle! The
middle position really keeps you sitting high in the
travel, which is great on longer pedalling sections
as it means you can get away with a low bottom
bracket height on a long travel bike. It pedals well
fully open but the support in the middle position
just feels way better when pointing even a little
uphill.
Climbing isn’t the focus of the Genius – but it does
it really well. The bike is long and it can be hard
to keep the front wheel planted in steep, tight,
uphill switchbacks. Clearly the Genius is designed
to go down, but it’s a Swiss bike and Swiss riding
means up AND down and with quite low weight
and a super-efficient suspension design it does
handle both really well. If you can keep your
weight forward when climbing it really helps –
but the higher position is a lot better if your ups
demand as much attention as the downs.
We rode a lot of backcountry trails while I was
testing the Genius 920, plus a lot of trails that
were only just opening up for summer. Sometimes
the conditions were great, sometimes we could
barely see the trail. The Genius just ate it all up.
I followed locals blind on tight trails, and pushed
hard on fast descents.
Out of the High Country I threw some narrower
tyres on and put the bike into the high position
for riding on my local Brisbane trails which are
often tighter, and obviously with less elevation.
With a little more bottom bracket clearance, and
a steeper head angle and seat angle (about half a
degree each) the bike suited the tighter trails and
shorter descents. I put 2.25” tyres on which was
too narrow. On the 30mm internal width of the
Syncros rims it meant the tyres (Maxxis Ardent)
had the sidewall as wide as the shoulder tread
- which means traction disappears when you
corner hard. Swapping out to a Minnion 2.5” WT
and a 2.35” Aggressor on the back was spot on for
my local trails. tyres are a choice best made by
you - so consult with your Scott dealer if the stock
tyres won’t be right for your trails.
The Shimano SLX brakes didn’t miss a beat all
test. With the stock pads and rotors their braking
is great, but if you were looking at riding a lot of
long, hard descents I’d upgrade to IceTech rotors
and consider sintered pads if your trail conditions
aren’t always dry. This was my first time on
SRAM Eagle and I really rate it. The GX edition is
unlikely to be as smooth as the top models, but I
had no problems with chain retention or missed
shifts. I agree with others who have said that on
a bike like this a 34t chainring would make more
sense. It was easy enough to end up in the 10 and
needing to shift out through lots of gears. A larger
chainring would leave you further away from the
limit where fewer shifts will get you out of trouble
when a pinch climb appears. But this is an easy
swap if your riding, legs and goals demand a
different gear size.
OUR TAKEThe demands of a trail or all-mountain bike
are pretty high. We want a bike that is light,
climbs well, with a huge gear range. Scott have
redesigned their multi-purpose Genius into a bike
that really could rule them all. It’s a long bike
that handles high-speed descents with aplomb.
It’s light, agile, and has the ability to change
suspension on the fly. With few things to nitpick,
beyond the huge amount of cables at the front,
the 920 hits a sweet spot in the Genius range. It’s
one of the slackest long travel 29ers from a major
brand, showing the research that Scott put into
their new models. I think this bike will equally
suit the adventurous rider who wants to ride
everything available, through to aggressive trail
riders and people wanting a bike optimised for
descents but more than capable to pedal up.