Scott Genius 720 LT Plus 2017 advice

misosoup

Hello all, I'm a noob about to buy my first full suspension bike.

I've demoed a 2018 Genius 720 and it's my favourite bike I've rode thus far. I'm now deciding between two purchase options.

Option one is a 2015 Genius 710 LT. It's second hand, I've checked it out and it seems to be in good condition but have only rode it up and down the street. It has various mods including Renthal fatbars, a Burgtec stem and a 1x11 drive train with oval chainring (think it's a SRAM GX with an Absolute Black.) Stock specs here: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/ ... gn=fb_like

Or for an extra few hundred quid I could get a brand new 2017 Genius 720 LT Plus. Have been a bit put off the latter option by reviews like this one: http://blistergearreview.com/gear-revie ... us-lt-plus

Makes me think last years LT Plus could be a totally different beast and I might not like it as much as the one I demoed. I like the dropper post and twinloc setup on the 2018 better than the 2015 but I think the 2017 is different from both so still a bit of an unknown quantity.

If anyone with experience of one or more of these models can offer any wisdom it would be much appreciated. If I like the feel of a 2018 Genius will I equally like the feel of a 2017 LT Plus? Or did they actually screw up the suspension that year?

joebristol

Having read that review I wouldn’t be buying that 2017 bike linked. Whilst some reviews can be a little unkind, that one absolutely slates it! I don’t have any experience of riding a Scott fs bike recently though.

The head angle seems ok if you want something with an enduro slant - but those chainstays are very long - which won’t help the bike feel that nimble. It will however likely make it feel quite stable.

There are lots of great bikes out there - I’d test a few that you can actually buy and buy one you love that gives you the feeling when you ride it.

The Rookie

misosoup wrote:

Hello all, I'm a noob about to buy my first full suspension bike.

So what MTBing have you done?

If you are new to MTBing you'd almost certainly be better served by a Trail bike than a rather specialised Enduro style bike.

misosoup

Thanks for the responses. I am definitely leaning towards the 2015, was mainly just wondering if anyone would come out the woodwork to say they love the 2017. The thing is I can demo new bikes but can't afford to buy new bikes, so am kind of limited to finding an older bike that's like something I've demoed. I've been trawling through second hand listings for a while now and kind of just want to get a bike before the summer's over. The 2015 is the closest I've seen to what I want at a decent price that I can afford. Given that's it's going to be my first proper bike I'll probably love whatever I end up getting.

I've mainly rode at Glentress, looking forward to getting out on some actual mountains as soon as I own a bike. I have been looking at trail bikes, I doubt I'll need the long travel anytime soon but I guess it won't hurt too much to have it there. The 2015 seems to be classed as a long travel trail bike rather than enduro, although I'm not sure what that's based on.

marcus'73

There was a real change between the ride and handling of the recent model year Scott Bikes. I've tested the Genius models for the last few years at an annual demo day at the local trail centre and I ended up buying a 2017 Spark over the 2017 Genius as it just inspired more confidence and the suspenion has a completely different feel on the models after they moved the shock. The 2018 Genius is a great bike I set some PB's on Strava including a top ten overall on a one hour demo, however when I demo'd the 2017 Genius I was generally quicker on the 2017 Spark pretty much everywhere and I wasn't expecting that as I hadn't liked the older pre '17 Spark as it felt too upright and nervous like an old school XC bike.

joebristol

What’s your budget? There are plenty of other manufacturers out there - somethat are better value a lot of the time.

misosoup

I bought the second hand 2015 tonight. Went straight to my local trails and it feels great. Was too excited to even set up the suspension first, but the guy I bought it off is only slightly heavier than me. Thanks for the further posts, especially marcus'73, that was exactly the kind of knowledge I was looking for. I'm happy with my purchase and looking forward to bombing down some mountains on it.