Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Genesis Day One Cross

8
£499.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Great winter all rounder at home in the mud or on the road
Weight: 
10,200g
Contact: 
www.madison.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

Sturdy enough to hit the trails or the odd 'cross race and cool enough to rock up to the pub on, the Genesis Day One Cross is a real all-rounder. As supplied it's a fun and capable road/path iron, and with a few tweaks it'll easily handle the rougher stuff. At £499 it's not going to break the bank either - if you're looking for an entry-level racer for the off season or just a winter hack it's a good buy.

 

The Day One is available as you see it here or in a flat bar configuration in less garish gun metal, but both bikes are built around the same heart, a Reynolds 520 frameset mated with a double butted cromoly fork. The frame is nicely finished – the dayglo orange paint is tough and the welds neat – and the 71/74 head tube/seat tube angles mated with a medium length cockpit make the bike nice and chuckable without it being too nervous off road.

At 1.89m my ideal frame is generally a 59cm and I'm usually faced with the choice of a 58cm or a 60cm. If I was going to ride the Day One predominantly on the road I would have gone for the larger frame but on the trails the tighter 58cm is more or less a perfect fit.

Genesis have hedged their bets somewhat with the spec on the bike. They're obviously expecting most of them to stay on (or near) a road and to that end the the Day One comes fitted with a 42/18 gear, effective 63 inches, which is a decent compromise between speed and climbing ability on tarmac. It's much too hot off road though: I geared down to 39/18 which just about got me round the Ashton Court Scramble but for proper off road excursions you need to go lower – my next step would be to swap out the chainset for a 32T and run two freewheels on either side of the rear hub, an 18T for off roading and a 14T for the tarmac. If you're running the bike as an on/off road winter fitness machine then that would give you two usable gears at the turn of a wheel (and a quick tweak of the rear brake).

Other compromises include the Conti Speed King tyres. They're a great fit if you want to ride roads and towpaths, but it's like wearing slippers to the ice rink if you're faced with leaves, rocks and roots. I swapped them out for Panaracer Cinder Cross 700x35s, which are a super all round trail tyre. The Mini Vs I'm torn about - on the one hand they do offer significantly better stopping than cantis in most situations, on the other you can't adjust them on the fly and the mud clearance isn't anywhere near as good as cantis. On balance I'd keep them, but add an inline barrel adjuster and maybe run them with linear pull ratio levers so I could have more pad clearance.

So what's the Day One like to ride? Well, it's fun to ride. On the road the 'cross geometry makes for a stable and comfortable steed. It's no coincidence that lots of folk use 'cross bikes (or 'cross inspired bikes) as their daily mount, as a do-it-all machine it's pretty hard to beat in terms of handling and position. The fairly upright riding position and relaxed head tube make the Day One very stable at speed but it's still agile enough in traffic.

Once you leave the tarmac the bike goes where you put it with a minimum of fuss. In a race situation it was easily as fast as the geared bikes through the technical sections, in fact that was where I made up the most time. On technical stuff you have to pick your line but there's not many places I'd take my hardtail that I wouldn't be comfortable riding the Genesis; It could do with a quick release seat clamp though. On the climbs you just have to push the gear you have. I found that harder effort had the rear rim rubbing on the brakes – not a big surprise as you have to set the Mini Vs pretty close – which was a bit annoying, a bit of tweaking with the spoke tension has helped but not eradicated the problem completely.

Overall I've had a lot of fun on the Day One. If you want to keep riding on the tarmac through the off season then it's great to have a bike you can abuse, and the Genesis fits that particular bill perfectly. When the off-road going gets really grimy the narrow profile of a 'cross tyre is preferable to wider rubber, so through the depths of winter the Genesis would most likely be my choice over a geared mountain bike – you need to be a bit more careful but you're more likely to finish the ride still in the saddle with the bike in one piece. There's no spec that perfectly suits both those uses and the kit on the Genesis reflects that fact: it's a compromise, but a fairly sensible one, and there's nothing you'll need to change that's going to add huge expense to what is a good value package. You can race on it too if you like!

Verdict

If you're looking for a winter all-rounder, look no further: the Day One can turn its hand to boosting your winter fitness on or off road, and at £499 it's a bit of a bargain.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Genesis Day One Cross

Size tested: 58cm

About the bike

State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.

Frame Reynolds 520 double-butted Cr-Mo

Fork Double butted Cr-Mo

Headset FSA Aheadset

Colour Fruit Juice

Chainset Genesis 42 T

Bottom Bracket Square Taper 116 mm

Chain Goldie Lookin’

Freewheel Shimano 18T

Hubs Genesis Flip-flop

Rims Alex Ace-19 32 hole

Spokes Stainless, black finish

Tyres Continental Speed King 35c

Brakes Tektro RX-5 mini-V

Brake Levers Shimano BR-R400

Handlebar Genesis 6061 shallow drop

Stem Genesis 6061 , 31.8mm

Grips Vinyl Hi-Grip Tape

Saddle Genesis Road, Cr-Mo rail

Seat Post Genesis 6061 27.2mm

Pedals Metal cage / clips and straps

Sizes 52 cm, 54 cm, 56 cm, 58 cm, 60 cm

Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

Genesis say, "The geometry suits spinning along miles of towpath, tarmac and trail in comfort as well as lighting up on the singletrack, wet or dry. Mini v-brakes give total control from the short reach, shallow drop bars. Single-speed gearing sets the pace for long rides or short-haul city use. Maintenance goes to the back of your mind and opportunities come to the fore."

certainly it's set up for more general riding but a few tweaks set it up fine for racing

Frame and fork

Overall rating for frame and fork
 
8/10

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

Nicely put together Reynolds 520 frame and Cromoly fork - finish has proved to be tough too

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

Reynolds 520/Cromoly

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

71.5° head tube, 74° seat tube, 565mm effective top tube (58cm)

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

My perfect fit would be right between the 58cm and 60cm, but the 58cm is great for offroad, it's easy to control and very chuckable

Riding the bike

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

The bike is very comfy on tarmac and towpaths. you'll need to hit the drops for the more technical stuff for better control but the Day One copes well with some pretty difficult domain

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?

Generally good, though there was noticeable brake rub from the rear wheel under heavy load

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

Yes, although the brake rub got a bit annoying

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so, was it a problem?

None

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively, neutral or unresponsive? Neutral

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

The Day One is very stable at speed, but copes well with quick input off road too. A good balance

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?

The saddle wasn't my favourite but it's easiy swapped

Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
 
8/10

especially now it's a lower ratio

Rate the bike for sprinting:
 
5/10

not really a sprinter's tool

Rate the bike for high speed stability:
 
8/10

goes exactly where you point it, stable even with no hands at 30mph+

Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
 
8/10

Knuckle down and get on with it!

The drivetrain

Rate the drivetrain for performance:
 
9/10

super efficient and smooth

Rate the drivetrain for durability:
 
10/10

should last pretty much for ever

Rate the drivetrain for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
 
8/10

Wheels and tyres

Rate the wheels and tyres for performance:
 
7/10

Good, with the exception of the QR bolts and the Speed Kings in the mud

Rate the wheels and tyres for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for weight:
 
7/10

You don't want superlight hoops, they're about right

Rate the wheels and tyres for comfort:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for value:
 
7/10

Good all rounders. You'll need proper tyres for racing

Controls

Rate the controls for performance:
 
7/10

There's only the brake levers, and they're fine. no adjustment though

Rate the controls for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
 
6/10

not as comfy as an STI lever

Rate the controls for value:
 
7/10

Your summary

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes, a good all-rounder

Would you consider buying the bike? Yes

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I\'m testing...  My best bike is: Trek 1.5 with Ultegra 6700

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
james-o | 14 years ago
0 likes

Bolts - gotta agree after more winter use on my Day One - upgrade / easier to use bolts are being sourced at the mo, we'll make them available as a spare.
James / Genesis

Avatar
lapize | 14 years ago
0 likes

I bought a Day One cross, and agree it's a great value and great fun bike.
I had thought about buying last year's model (flat bar only) and fitting drops myself. This year's model is enhanced by the rear brake cable running on top of the top tube.
I agree that a double free hub would have been a better option.
My one grumble, as with all Genesis's SS and fixed bikes, are those little chain tensioner screws. Trying to get them in or out on a freezing wet road or trail side is a nightmare.

Latest Comments