• Genesis Altitude 00
• £569.99
• www.genesisbikes.co.uk
• Budget steel bike
• Designed in the UK

Vital statistics

All dimensions based on Large (19in) frame

UK brand Genesis has been around for a couple of years now, and its Altitude range has a good reputation for reasonably-priced chromoly goodness. For 2008 it’s extended its offering to lower price points. The previous entry level was the £799.99 Altitude 01, with the new Altitude 00 coming in at £569.99 and therefore within the margin of error for our look at a bunch of £550 hardtails.

Frame

While there’s something of a chromoly renaissance in the frame-only market thanks to brands like On-One, Cotic and Dialled Bikes, most of the big names have pretty much abandoned steel. Aluminium frames are cheaper to build, generally lighter for the money and easier to make distinctive with the application of hydroforming, gussetry and other funny-shaped bits. How much of that kind of thing adds anything to the ride is debatable, but it’s a competitive market out there and making your bike not look like everybody else’s is generally reckoned to be a good idea.

Of course, with nearly the whole market using aluminium at this price, the simple fact of being steel sets the Altitude apart, and the slim tubing and clean lines are certainly a different look compared to the non-ferrous herd. Although looking delicate and spidery by aluminium standards, Genesis has actually used pretty sturdy tubes on the Altitude 00. The top tube in particular is girthsome for steel, the thinking being to impart extra torsional stiffness to the front end.

A hint of bijou gussetage can be found at the downtube/headtube junction, while at the back there’s generous mud room (despite the shorter-than-average chainstays). An unexpected bonus is the presence of carrier mounts at the rear – a sensible addition given that bikes in this category are as likely to see some “utility” use as they are to be badgered around the singletrack. On the subject of frame fittings, there are Crud Catcher mounts under the downtube too. Cable routing is traditional under-the-BB for the gear cables.

The three main tubes are made from Reynolds 520 tubing. 520 is something of an oddity in the Reynolds tubing line-up, in that it’s not actually made by Reynolds. 520 is made under license overseas – it has to fit Reynolds’s specs to be allowed to carry the sticker. While there’s clearly a certain cachet in having the Reynolds sticker on your frame, and there’s some benefit in having Reynolds keeping half an eye on things, there’s nothing fundamental that elevates 520 above other, more generic, butted chromoly tubing. It also costs builders more (although not as much more as shipping UK-made Reynolds pipes to Taiwan, getting them welded togethere there and then having the frames shipped back).

Clearly there’s going to be a weight penalty for using steel rather than aluminium (although some alu frames at the cheaper end of the market are quite substantially overbuilt), but it’s not such a big gap that it can’t be largely bridged with component choice. Which brings us to…

Components

In this price bracket, there’s not a great deal of scope for hugely imaginative component selections – product managers don’t have all that much money to play with. Given that Genesis is owned by UK Shimano distributor Madison, it’s no surprise to see the big S’s gear across the board on the Altitude 00. The ever-reliable Deore provides the transmission, there’s an Octalink chainset and Centerlock disc hubs. The brakes are the often-seen Shimano M485 with 160mm rotors at both ends. They’re workable stoppers, but we seem to experience a lot of variation in performance between sets on different bikes – the ones on the Genesis were so-so, but we’ve found better identical sets on other bikes.

RockShox’s Tora fork is a common sight at this price, and the Genesis goes with the flow. Here it’s the 289 version, sans U-Turn travel adjuster – you get 100mm, no choices. Adjustments are limited to spring preload and rebound damping, but that’s enough for most people. Perhaps more pressingly, the damping is pretty simple stuff rather than the funky Motion Control found on the posher Tora incarnations. It’s still a decent-performing fork, though, and the oversized chromoly stanchions give it a confident feel.

The wheels are completed by Alex DP-17 Disc rims shod with Continental Mountain King 2.2in tyres. They’re good on medium-to-firm trails and have a comfy, tall profile, but you might find yourself wanting something a little more aggressive in the gloop. All the finishing kit is Genesis-branded and perfectly competent – the thin-yet-long lock-on style grips stand out as being actually quite nice, though. The inclusion of a pair of Shimano SPD pedals is a nice finishing touch, and you even get a downtube mudguard thing.

At 13.6kg (30lb) the all-up weight is about in the middle of the expected range, and the whole package has a purposeful look to it with just enough silver/grey bits to offset the general blackitude.

Ride

People, bless ’em, do tend to bang on a bit about the “steel feel”. Plenty of people will tell you that it’s the only thing to make frames out of, and anything else is sorely lacking in some abstract and ill-defined way. Well, that’s a load of old toot – good frames can be made out of all sorts of things, and it’s not what they’re made out of that makes them good. That said, high-end steel frames certainly tend to have a bit of spring to them. It’s not such a big deal at the budget end, where the benefits of steel have more to do with elegant appearance and durability.

With steepish angles and a short back end, the Altitude 00 is certainly a fine-handling beast and very at home in the woods. It’s got a reassuringly stout feel, and exudes confidence. The Genesis manages the neat balancing act of not scaring beginners but still having the capacity to excite the experienced. Some testers commented on the occasional pedal strike, and it’s worth paying attention if there are rocks about.

In fact, “solidity” is the key word here, but not in a bad way. The Altitude certainly isn’t harsh or uncomfortable, but the overriding impression isn’t the “springy” you might expect, more “stout”. For our money, that’s a good thing, and there’s certainly scope to drop some weight and liven things up if you so wish – the frame’s worth the effort.

Ups and downs

Positives: Clean looks, versatile, confident, decent spec

Negatives: Premium price over alu alternatives, average brakes

Verdict

On the face of it, the Altitude 00 is a bit of a misfit. These days, steel is something of a niche material, favoured by those who’ve been around the MTB block a few times. Are those people likely to be interested in a £570 bike? It’s tempting to think not, but then increasing MTB experience doesn’t go hand in hand with increasing disposable income (actually, it’s probably the reverse…). The Genesis’s clean lines, fun ride and decent spec will all appeal to more “entry-level” buyers, although there’s no getting away from the fact that you’re paying a small premium for chromoly. How things change…

Ratings

Performance 4/5
Value 4/5
Overall 4/5