Relative new cyclists in London - Trek or Genesis?

ssc85

Hi all,

New to this forum and looking for some bike advice as I’ve just recently gotten into it.

After much curiosity I got into cycling through a hand me down from my brother in law, a 10 year old Marin Bolinas MB. Its in good nick and after a bit of work has served me well for about 6 months but cycling 4 miles each way to work is getting tedious now when all the road bikes keep on smashing past me and its time to upgrade as I want to embark on further weekend trips with friends.

I am in a position where my flat mate can get me a great deal on Trek or Genesis bikes, the problem I have is I struggle to be able to compare the specs to see which is better and represents value for money.

Essentially I can get Trek or Genesis bikes at a discount, c30% and 50% respectively. These bikes are what I’ve narrowed it down to so far (2014 models):

Trek 1.1 C H2 330 + VAT + £15.00 postage
Trek 1.2 C H2 412.50 + VAT + £15.00 postage
Genesis Volant 00 292.50 + VAT
Genesis Volant 10 365.62 + VAT
Genesis Volant 20 438.75 + VAT
Genesis Equalibrium 00 438.75 + VAT
Genesis Equalibrium 10 536.25 + VAT
My friend says go Genesis as the equivalent bikes have better quality in them, but others tell me the Treks are better built?

So for someone not looking to spend more that £400/450, still a relatively new cyclist what would you guys recommend I get? What difference does it make if I get a Shimano Sora or Cirus? 8spd/ 9spd? Steel or Aluminimum frame etc? If at all!

Obviously ultimately I need to take them out for a ride but an insight beyond what ‘feels’ good and what is best value for money would be MUCH appreciated.

Cheers.

zx6man

for that discount and price they all will be fine and do the job, go with the one that looks the best :-) .
I test rode a 2013 1.2C and liked it at full price(but saving pennies now for a 2.3), no expericence of the others though.

keef66

Of that lot I'd go for the Equilibrium 10, but I am an old git and like the idea of a steel frame.

ugo.santalucia

The Equilibrium has been very popular over the past few years and for very good reasons... you'll struggle to find a bad word about one and that's what you should get.
On the other hand you can use the search function here in the workshop section and find how many Trek frames have developed cracks...

bendertherobot

50%????!!!!!!!

For the love of God just get the Genesis Equilibrium Ti and be done with it!

cycleclinic

Your friend is a good friend. Not sure how he has got this deal as I know the trade prices and even with all the discounts no shop could sell at that price without a loss. Your friend must have other connections.

Aluminium vs steel it depends on your preferences. I have Al frames I love and I have steel frames I love both are very comfortable over long distances.

Sora is 9 speed claris is 8 speed both with double or triple chainsets. Claris is made for 11-32T cassettes as the both the short cage and medium cage mechs will take that. So if you want very low gearing with changine components then the Volant 00 is you bike otherwise the Equilibrium 10 is very nice machine.

menthel

Genesis Equalibrium 00 or 10. I have the 2013 00 and would not hesitate to have another as my commuting bike. Nothing wrong with sora on the 00- its a good, solid groupset and very durable- good for commuting. They even give decent deep drop brakes on them now rather than the swiss cheese ones of the 2013!

boydster76

Go for the Genesis Equilibrium Disc - disc brakes are the future so get a frame that can handle them now and save the hassle of changing in the future.

Oh, and it is a very good looking bike!

kajjal

boydster76 wrote:

Go for the Genesis Equilibrium Disc - disc brakes are the future so get a frame that can handle them now and save the hassle of changing in the future.

Oh, and it is a very good looking bike!

I would be tempted by this as well.

RobinB2

I commute on a Genesis Equilibrium framed bike - very springy, comfortable ride. If I was buying now, I'd also go for the Equilibrium disk brake option

ssc85

Morning!

So I’m going to give this a little bump with a follow up question. Firstly thanks so much for the input, once I get the new bike and get fully into cycling then I will aim to come in and learn more from you guys as you’ve obviously got a great bank of knowledge!

It does seem that 95% of feedback that I get is to go with Genesis as a brand over Trek, I know Trek are a more commonly seen brand but I suppose thats the difference between the costs.

I think with the discount and feedback it makes sense to go for a Genesis but considering the only bike I’ve owned to date is my brother in law’s 10 year old mountain bike (and ive been commuting on it), I don’t necessarily think I need to spend top top dollar for my first road bike.

Therefore i’m between the Volant 10, 20 or Equalibirum 00 – I’ve put the stats together in the image below.

http://postimg.org/image/f0vqbbkd9

Can someone in simple man’s terms explain why one is better than the other. Obviously the V10 is £150 cheaper than the others and the V20 appears to have better parts – but the EQ series is obviously marketed as the superior brand. Any reasons apart from the steel frame?


Should I save my money and get the V10 as the difference isn’t that great, or are one of the others (and which one) particularly stand outish? Almost ready to make the decision and its all very exciting!

menthel

The 2014 00 has a carbon fork, which s better than my 2013's steel. If you are only going to have one bike I would go for the Equillibrium simply because it is so much fun to ride! I wouldn't worry about sora vs tiagra in this case as the new sora has the same style shifters and work very well indeed.

Do you have a chance to ride one? It may be the easiest way to decide.

keef66

They are all lovely bikes. Aside from the steel vs aluminium / weight vs ride quality arguments I think it depends on whether you want to use proper mudguards. The Equilibrium has the clearance and mounting points for them. The Volante doesn't.

If you're only going to be using it in the dry, or you don't mind spraying yourself with road muck when it rains, then the Volante will be a racier ride.

If you value comfort and practicality go for the Equilibrium. As an all-rounder it's hard to beat.

ssc85

My confusion really is if I need to spend the extra £150/200 on the better bike at this stage. What difference will it make to me as a newbie road biker if I have a Trek 1.1 or a Eq00 between my legs.

I'm slightly dizzy in that I dont know why someone would recommend a Giant Defy 2 or Planet X RT-58 (as per another thread) over say a Trek 1.1.

Am I really going to notice the better gearing/spokes/rims/brakes/shifters etc. Surely they're all of a pretty good standard to be charge £600+ for a machine and im sure you experienced riders will be able to tell me the importance (please do btw), but to me does it matter as much or should I go for budget now and upgrade in time if I see fit (lets be honest by resale value given my purchase price will be awesome).

I realise I sound like a whiny so and so, but i've never spend this kind of cash on anything so even at a discount its a big scary decision..!

bendertherobot

At these discounts it's a no brainer. Get the best one you can.

Every £100 more you spend it getting you £200 more!

Personally I'd say Equilibrium 10. Going to cost you £600.

If you don't like it, stick it on ebay for £800.