Last year’s 150mm Scott Genius failed to deliver quite miserably, which was a shame given its good looks. I missed this year’s all–new, longer travel Genius LT launch and only really caught up with it at the Enduro World Series late October. You cannot really miss it for it has to be one of the most impressive looking bikes ever made. I was eager to find out if it worked this time out.
DIRT ISSUE 143 – JANUARY 2014
Words by Steve Jones, Photos by Steve Jones
Maybe as a first look I need to factor in a shade of caution in these words given that I’ve broken and damaged quite a few carbon bikes recently. But Scott have a wealth of knowledge and experience with this material which becomes very apparent on the hill as the feeling of Scott carbon is less harsh than many offerings from companies thin on know–how.
The LT is one of a kind, like many Scott bikes (the Gambler for example is unique and up for badness, a little more than many people need but certainly thinking and acting outside the box). My initial thoughts are mixed about the LT – is 170mm travel more than people need? Won’t that skinny little Fox 34 fork flex at those numbers? Ah yes the numbers. At under 27lb this bike destroys even some of the priciest 140mm bikes. It asks the question why would you go hunting down a lightweight 140 when you can go as far as 170 and all the other bad places that it could take you? I don’t know the answer to a question aimed at you the reader – maybe it’s a practical solution to the riding you think you might be doing, a mix of trail and downhill?
The suspension is a mixed bag. Up front the Fox 34 surprised me, not brilliant but almost acceptable. The rear is way off, it can be fixed but I fail to understand how a bike so fully brilliant in nearly every department gets let down so badly by the damping engineers. Lads, come on, shape up here.
In a pile of unsmiling rocks at speed it feels slightly nervy, slightly exposed, a touch flighty, understandable given its weight, yet on trail–bike descents this bike is off the charts, the shape is simply sublime, I’d go as far as to say its possibly one of the best shaped mountainbikes I’ve ever ridden. If we get a tune sorted on the rear you could be looking at a new contender for one of the best all–round bikes on the market.
Price: £5799
[series]
