Genesis Bikes has just sent us news of its all-new Latitude 853 frame for 2011.

For the 2011 853 frames, the brand has worked extensively with Reynolds on a unique tubeset that is strong enough to handle 140mm travel forks without gusseting – it passed the CEN test by a margin of more than twice the test cycles as did the previous 853 frame, but without gussets and with a more refined, comfortable overall frame feel.

The new frame uses Reynolds 853 DZB (Dual Zone Butting) triple butted tubes – both top and down tube use additional wall thickness in the area close to the head tube to increase fatigue strength over the previous tubes. AS such they’ve been able to use slimmer tube sections as well as a bit less material overall in the rest of the tubes to add strength without adding the weight of gussets or larger tubes. The seat tube is 631 which allows a 631 headtube at no extra cost, keeping strength high where it’s needed most.

With tapered steerer forks becoming more common, the designers opted for a 44mm ID headtube made from Reynolds 631, unique to Genesis. With this added durability at the front of the bike, they’ve been able to keep the downtube diameter the same as the previous frame but the top tube has been made wider in the horizontal plane (a flatter section in the front half that tapers and reduces to a 28.6mm round section at the seat tube), for increased lateral stiffness.

Asymmetric chainstays with a ‘plate design’ makes for increased clearance for mud and 2×10 chainsets alike.The chain and seat stays are now heat-treated Cr-Mo so we’ve added strength to the chainstays and reduced the diameter of the seatstays to add compliance and work with the slimmer rear section of the top tube.

The 853 Latitude is also now coated internally to avoid rust, as well as having a replaceable gear hanger. The geometry has had a minor revision that works even better with the new generation of 120mm forks. The head angle is just ½ degree slacker than before and the front centre is around 0.5in longer. “It’s a subtle change, but one that’s made quite a difference to the overall feel of the bike when combined with the tube changes we’ve made. All-in-all, the frame is riding better than we imagined,” commented Genesis.

Frame weight for a 17.5in sample is 4.7lbs (2.13kg).

Available now at £399.99 RRP frame only, or a complete bike at £1599.99. Find out more at www.genesisbikes.co.uk