Genesis Equilibrium Build - Work in Progress

arlowood

Managed to bag a mint condition 2012 vintage (I think) Genesis Equilibrium frame in Cyan Blue earlier this year from a seller in the Classified section. This is when they still had the steel forks rather than carbon as they now specify. Having already tackled an Alu frame build (Forme Longcliffe) and a carbon build (2002 Trek 5200), I was eager to have a go at a steel frame for comparison.

Frame as purchased is shown below:-



This came with a fairly basic FSA headset with caged bearings so I swapped this out for a Cane Creek 40 sealed bearing unit.

Current build now looks like this:-




Further pics are available at this link:- https://www.flickr.com/photos/39387382@ ... 658827449/

Specification Details:-

Frame:- Genesis Equilibrium Reynolds 725 steel
Forks:- Genesis steel forks with alloy steerer
Shifters:- Shimano 105 5700 10-speed
Crankset:- Shimano 105 Compact 50/34 172.5mm cranks
Cassette:- Shimano Tiagra 12-30
Front Derailleur:- Shimano 105 FD5700 band-on
Rear Derailleur:- Shimano 105 RD5700 SS
Brakes:- Shimano R650 Long Reach
Chain:- KMC X10
Pedals:- Look Keo Classic
Bars:- 3T Ergosum Pro
Tape:- Bontrager Gel plus IsoZone Gel pads
Stem:- Deda Zero One
Seatpost:- Thomson Elite In-line
Saddle:- Specialized Toupe Comp Gel
Wheels:- Campagnolo Zonda
Tyres:- Michelin Pro4 SC 700x25mm


Yes and before I get flamed, I know the stem is flipped. The frame is a 54 so I'm still experimenting with the set-up since my 2 previous frames were both 56's. First short ride out felt really good but that was on my older handbuilt wheels. Haven't tried out the Zonda's on a decent length ride yet.
Have a 2nd hand Thomson Elite setback seatpost in the post to me at the moment so I will be fitting that to fine tune the set-up if need be.

As the title states, it's a Work in Progress. No doubt I will be tinkering and fiddling for a bit more

xcMuttley

Lovely Bike!

itsnotarace

Love the colour, did you weigh the frame & fork?

arlowood

Unfortunately, no - I didn't weigh it before I started the build. Will have a go at weighing the finished entity and since I know the rough weight of groupset and wheels I should be able to approximate the frameset weight.

Not really too much bothered about the weight. Will clearly be heavier then the Trek 5200 that it will replace but having done a couple of 25 mile rides I can't really detect too much difference.

The Trek will be stripped in the near future so any punters looking for a vintage/ classic frameset drop me a PM.

arlowood

Apologies for the delay but for those interested I have finally got round to weighing the finished build and according to my digital bathroom scales it comes in at 9.6kg.

That is with wheels attached and all components fitted. Bear in mind also that this frame + forks dates from the era of steel forks on the Equilibrium before they switched to fitting carbon forks

It's obviously not in the same league as carbon framed examples that usually tip the scales around the 7.5kg for a complete bike. However I'm really having a great time riding it and my average speeds have improved over what I've recorded in the past on my previous bike builds (alu and carbon).

Could be down to a number of factors including the Zonda wheelset but I can certainly attest to the fact that the Equilibrium is not penalising me in any way due to its heavier weight.

jameses

Good looking build, and thanks for the info on weight/ride etc. I'm considering doing much the same, building up one of these as a 'do it all' bike. Does it have rear rack mounts?

arlowood

No rack mounts on my frame nor on any of the other Equilibrium frames as far as I know.

However there are other solutions - Tubus do some clamping solutions for racks where there are no mounting bosses on the seat stays:-

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tub ... g-ec007990

A more expensive solution could be the Thule Tour Rack

http://www.artscyclery.com/reviews/THTR ... eview.html

or Sport Rack

https://roofracks.co.uk/thule-packnpeda ... AvqW8P8HAQ

will attach both without the need for mounting bosses

pnev

Saddle angel ;-)

jameses

The Croix de Fer has rack mounts, shame they're lacking on the Equilibrium.

arlowood

Pnev wrote:

Saddle angel ;-)

If you mean saddle angle :?: - yes I know it's way too low at the front. However pics were taken before I finalised the positioning of all the various contact points. Can assure you now that the saddle is pretty well horizontal now.

the_fuggler

Currently building my Equilibrium. Do you have any top tips or things to watch out for in the build? It seems to be progressing a bit too smoothly at the moment!

Nice build btw - love the blue!

arlowood

The Fuggler wrote:

Currently building my Equilibrium. Do you have any top tips or things to watch out for in the build? It seems to be progressing a bit too smoothly at the moment!

Nice build btw - love the blue!

No I didn't encounter any real issues with the build. Obviously with the narrower tubing I was a bit worried that the front mech might be problematic to install but the FD5700 came with some rubber inserts for the clamp that did the job.

The only other minor points were locating a screw of the correct length to secure the cable guide onto the bottom bracket shell - too long and it ended up fouling the BB spindle guide. Ended up falling on the resources of my LBS while purchasing other bits and they threw in the correct screw for free.

Other issue was attaching the R650 rear brake caliper. The seat stay bridge might be an odd size because I couldn't get it to tighten properly with the selection of different length fixing bolts I had available. Ended up having to install a thick washer to do the job (small diameter tap washer :roll: but you don't notice it unless I point it out)

the_fuggler

Thanks - I'll look out for those issues. Front mech is the next piece of the puzzle. Rear brake caliper seems to be okay at the moment. The proof of the pudding will be in the riding. I will get the guys at the LBS to give it the once over when it's done.

keef66

arlowood wrote:

No rack mounts on my frame nor on any of the other Equilibrium frames as far as I know.

I believe Genesis finally added them to the 2015 bikes :roll:

aw1808

I have just bought an equilibrium 10 as a complete build . My first experience of steel and was blown away with the ride of it compared to my carbon and really enjoying it , loving full length mudguards too instead of crud racers !!

arlowood

keef66 wrote:

arlowood wrote:

No rack mounts on my frame nor on any of the other Equilibrium frames as far as I know.

I believe Genesis finally added them to the 2015 bikes :roll:

Spot on keef - rack mounts added as you suggest in the 2015 iteration - not keen on the colour scheme tho'

http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/genesis-b ... ium.html/2

aw1808 wrote:

I have just bought an equilibrium 10 as a complete build . My first experience of steel and was blown away with the ride of it compared to my carbon and really enjoying it , loving full length mudguards too instead of crud racers !!

Enjoy - as far as I can see your bike is specced with 25mm tyres but you may be able to get away with 28mm - even with your full guards fitted.

I'm currently running on Michelin Pro4 SC 25mm tyres and will probably experiment with some 28mm to check if the ride is improved even further. I'm not running guards ATM since I'm a bit of a fair weather wuss. However with autumn/winter approaching I can't guarantee escaping a drenching while out on one of my circuits so I will,probably succumb in the near future.

Which mudguards did you go for and how straightforward were they to fit?

jameses

arlowood wrote:

Spot on keef - rack mounts added as you suggest in the 2015 iteration - not keen on the colour scheme tho'

http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/genesis-b ... ium.html/2

Think that's my n+1 decision made, then! I agree with you on the colour schemes, the 2014 range looked a lot better. Will probably end up getting a re-spray if I go down this route.

aw1808

I went with the full sks in black and were easy to fit . I commute on mine too so full guards are essential in the wet weather . I was surprised how much water they catch instead if the crud racers.

I think I can get 28mm's on as it looks like there is clearance but the 25mm contis are ok IMO as I have ridden gp4000s for years on the nice bike and will wait till winter is here before I try and swap to the 28mm.

I have a 70 miler planned on Sunday with the lads and can't decide on the genesis or the carbon .....

Cutlerclan

I have an equilibrium self build and run sks chromoplastic mudguards with a 3 point fixing rack. Fits with no issues same holes as for the mudguards and the 3rd fixing point behing the brake calliper....

Dc

styxd

nice to see someone who's not afraid of breaking the rules