2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

£3,299

Fox 34 Float

Performanceseries

forkhas150mmtravel

and a 44mm offset

Stockfast-rolling

MaxxisRekonEXO/TR

29x2.6intyresarea

summer-only choice

Verdict

Ifyou’reanaggressivetrailriderwho

likeshammeringdownhillsthenthe

Genius 940 isn’tforyou.If,however,

you’reintoshreddingsingletrack,

bigridesandclimbing,it’sdefinitely

a contender.

Andeventhoughit is efficientand

fun,it fallsshortofthebestbikes

herebecauseit needsupgradesto

realiseitspotential—you’llhaveto

splashoutona newset of tyres and

awiderhandlebar.

Asa long-term

prospectwith

aneyeonfuture

upgrades,it

makesa really

good choice.

scott genius 940

specification
FrameGenius
SLaluminium,
150/100mmtravel
ShockFoxNude
T Evol
ForkFox 34 Float
Performance,
150mmtravel
WheelsFormula
hubs,SyncrosX-30S
rims,MaxxisRekon
29x2.6intyres
DrivetrainSRAMGX
Eagle32tchainset,
SRAMGXEagle
r-mech,NXshifter
BrakesShimano
MT520,203/
180mmrotors
ComponentsSyncros
FL2.0mini-rise
760mmbar,Syncros
FL2.050mmstem,
SyncrosDropper2.0
140mmpost,Syncros
Tofinosaddle
SizesS,M,L, XL
Weight14.06kg
(30.99lb)
Contact
scott-sports.com

geometry
SizetestedL
Headangle65.2°
Seatangle68.5°
BBheight342mm
Chainstay440mm
Frontcentre790mm
Wheelbase
1,230mm
Downtube740mm
Toptube634mm
Reach 466mm

s

cott’sGeniusrangegota big

overhaultwoyearsago,so

the 940 remainsrelatively

unchangedfor2019,apart

fromtheprice,whichhas

increasedby£200.

If yougototheScottsiteyou’llsee

thereare 15 Geniusmodelsintotal—

bothmen’sandwomen’s,inbothwheel

sizes.It’sa littleconfusingbutthefirst

numberinthemodelnamedenotesthe

wheelsize—soourtestbike,theGenius

940,has29inwheelswhilethe740,for

example,rollson27.5inwheels—but

youcanactuallyfiteithersizetothe

Genius940.

Infact,theonlydifferencebetween

thetwoplatforms,otherthanthewheel/

tyresize,is theorientationoftheflip-

chipmountedintherockerlink:highfor

27.5in,lowfor29in.

WhenwetestedtheGenius 720 a

yearagoweplayedaroundwiththelow

setting,usingit asa geometryadjust

feature,butthisdoesn’treallyworkthe

otherwayround,astheGenius 940 is

alreadyinthelowsetting,andwitha

342mm BB height you wouldn’t want

togohigher.Fortheframe,Scottuses

itsownSuperLightalloy,andthebike

is prettycompetitiveonourscales,

cominginonly200gheavierthanthe

carbonYTJeffsy.It’snicelydonetoo,

withsleektubingprofilesandjustthe

rightamountofstiffnesstotheridefeel.

Wealsolikethefactthattheframe

hasa properbottlemount,decent

standoverspaceandplenty of heel

andkneeclearance.

suspension

The 940 usesScott’suniqueTwinLoc

suspensionsystem,whichyouaccess

viaa dual-leverremotebeneath

thehandlebar.It hasthreedistinct

suspensionmodes:open,trailand

lockedout.Theopenmodegivesyou

thefull150mmoffrontandreartravel

and,whilethelow-speedcompression

dampingontheforkisn’tadjustableon

thefly,youcanpre-setit.Pushthelower

levertoengageTractionmodeandrear

travelis cutto100mmandlow-speed

compressiondampingincreasesonboth

theforkandshock.There’salsoa lock-

outoption,butweneverusedit because

the bike pedals so well in traction mode.

components

Syncrosis ownedbyScottSports,and

producesthebulkofthecomponents

ontheGenius940.Theriserbarhasa

decentprofile,butat760mmit’stoo

narrow—weupgradedtoan800mm

barandgainedmorecontrolasa result.

AlltheSyncroscomponentsfeature

Torxbolts,whichwouldbeOKif they

wereallT25,buttherearefourdifferent

sizesinuseontheGenius.Wealsothink

Scottmisseda trick—there’sa pull-out

QRtoolslottedintotherearaxleand

whatbitdoesit haveontheend?A 5mm

Allenkey!

Thecable-operatedScott2.0

dropperpostalsocomesupa bitshort

at140mm,asalltheotherbikesget

150mmmodels.It alsofeaturesanold-

school,pushdownremote.Giventhat

youusethedroppermoreoftenthan

theTwinLoc,we’dactuallyliketoseean

under-bardropperleverandtheTwinloc

remotemovedabovethebar.

performance

TheGenius 940 hasthebestridefeelof

anybikehere.There’sa tonofresilience

intheframeand,whencombinedwith

incrediblysupplesuspension,it makes

thebikereallyagileandresponsive.It

hasa goodturnofspeedontwistytrails

andhookedupreallywellonrootyoff-

cambers.It’sa greatclimberand,with

theTwinLocrightunderyourthumb,you

caninstantlyfirmupthesuspension.

It’sa competentdescendertoo,

butit’sheldbackbytheFox 34 Float

Performancefork—it’snotthat

supportive,sodivesa bitunderbraking,

andit’sflexy,whichcausesthefront

endtofeela littlevague.Wemadea

coupleoftweakstoourtestbike—tyres

andhandlebar—andyoucandothese

relativelycheaplytoo,butchanging the

fork is much more expensive.

29in trail bikes

66 mbr M ay 2 019

in association with