After another strong season with some promising young riders, Continental team Madison-Genesis have created an ideal environment to test Genesis’ flagship race bike, the Zero SL.
Since its release, year-on-year the frame has dropped weight and another revision going into next year has seen the frameset drop even lower. At around 1.2kg unpainted and considering it has some distinct aero touches, the Zero SL is becoming very competitive with the framesets of other brands Madison-Genesis race against that have far bigger R&D budgets.
When the Zero was first introduced price points were determined by the level of finishing kit that adorned the frame but the brand has since readdressed that strategy, separating the tiers further by introducing two different levels of carbon.
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The top-tier Zero SL is now predominantly made from 30/40 ton carbon, which basically means it has a better stiffness to weight ratio than lower tiers made from a 24/30 ton carbon, which is a little chunkier at the same stiffness.
According to the brand, its developmental curve is far from plateauing though, with rumours that subsequent designs have the potential to go even lighter.
Away from the racing scene, Genesis’ 5-year-old Datum range gets slimmed down to a whole bike or frameset option. Its design has remained similar despite being around before the explosion in popularity for gravel riding, showing Genesis nailed the requirements for drop bar offroad early on.
The whole bike will be one-by but with the option to convert to a second chainring if desired, meaning the frameset has plenty of flexibility to be built up in any way the rider likes.
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Finally for riders who subscribe to the ‘steel is real’ school of thought, Genesis now offers their Volare 931 Disc option in a stunning polished/brushed raw finish, so the rider can very visibly show off their preference for metal over carbon fibre.
While the updates to its range for the next model year aren’t exactly groundbreaking it is good to see that despite their comparatively diminutive size the British-based brand is continuing to update and refine their range. From our perspective, it means they can continue to create products that offer something a little different if the rider wants to stand out from the crowd, but still compete with it.
