AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
Excellent write up and photographs.
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Scottish Scrutineer
Veteran
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Really comprehensive review and write up. I have a CdF 30 of 2018 vintage and agree that the updates of flat mount brakes and thru-axles are a nice development having upgraded my wife's 2016 CdF to a GRX Groupset (which involved a bit of head scratching about the brakes).
An alternative chainset option would be a Praxis Works with 48/32 rings. These work with the Shimano derailleur and give a useful reduction in gear ratios across the range. Indeed I have these chainsets on my CdF and my Equilibruim. I too find it rare to max out on the highest gear and it was interesting to note that last night's ride on my carbon with 50-11 was no faster on a long downhill where i was pushing as hard as possible, than I had achieved a few days earlier with my 48-11 on the Equilibrium.
An alternative chainset option would be a Praxis Works with 48/32 rings. These work with the Shimano derailleur and give a useful reduction in gear ratios across the range. Indeed I have these chainsets on my CdF and my Equilibruim. I too find it rare to max out on the highest gear and it was interesting to note that last night's ride on my carbon with 50-11 was no faster on a long downhill where i was pushing as hard as possible, than I had achieved a few days earlier with my 48-11 on the Equilibrium.
Cheers guys 
Thanks for the suggestion of the Praxisworks crank; however tbh the 50/34 is proving workable currently and certainly not causing sufficient-enough of an issue to warrant chucking money at replacing the crank. It's certainly not ideal mind as I use the bottom end far more than the top!
Sounds like your family's a Genesis-convert and I can appreciate why; few niggles aside I'm really loving mine and tbh now with a little over 1k miles under its belt I can think of few things I'd change even given the ability to re-design the bike from the ground up
Nice work - what did you go for with the brakes in the end; something post-mount from Shimano's MTB range?
Thanks for the suggestion of the Praxisworks crank; however tbh the 50/34 is proving workable currently and certainly not causing sufficient-enough of an issue to warrant chucking money at replacing the crank. It's certainly not ideal mind as I use the bottom end far more than the top!
Sounds like your family's a Genesis-convert and I can appreciate why; few niggles aside I'm really loving mine and tbh now with a little over 1k miles under its belt I can think of few things I'd change even given the ability to re-design the bike from the ground up
Scottish Scrutineer
Veteran
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
I fitted post mount brakes, a non-series road version IIRC.Cheers guys
Nice work - what did you go for with the brakes in the end; something post-mount from Shimano's MTB range?
I do like the sub-compact chainrings, they bring the overall gearing down but without huge steps between the ratios. Rarely spin out on moderate downhills, and indeed I’m as quick on the Equilibrium with the sub-compact as my carbon which has a compact on a local straight downhill
Scottish Scrutineer
Veteran
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Update The hydraulic brakes I fitted were Shimano BR-R785
New member here. Just to say, what an excellent and helpful thread. Ive just bought a freshly built privateer build from eBay using a 853 2019 CdF frame and 105 Groupset as a result of this review. My first non mountain bike for nearly 30 years and at about 30 miles in am delighted so far. Thank you for the helpful review!
Charlie
Charlie
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
So steel bikes aren't all obsolete after all........ 853 is a very high spec tubeset, makes 531 look low-end in comparison.
Cool - IIRC these were what Genesis fitted as standard to the CdF 30 before they switched to the 105 / flat mount format on 2019 and 2020 bikes so should be the same as yours
Thanks! Glad to hear you're so happy with your new bike and that you found this thread helpful. That was to an extent my intention in posting as I'd really have appreciated something similar before I took the plunge, since "official" reviews are scant (couldn't find one anywhere of the 2019+ CdF 30 / 853 frame configuration) and you can never really be sure how trustworthy they are in any case.
welcome to CdF ownership
Cool - IIRC these were what Genesis fitted as standard to the CdF 30 before they switched to the 105 / flat mount format on 2019 and 2020 bikes so should be the same as yours
Thanks! Glad to hear you're so happy with your new bike and that you found this thread helpful. That was to an extent my intention in posting as I'd really have appreciated something similar before I took the plunge, since "official" reviews are scant (couldn't find one anywhere of the 2019+ CdF 30 / 853 frame configuration) and you can never really be sure how trustworthy they are in any case.
welcome to CdF ownership
Thank you. I got out for a 30 miler yesterday morn, lots of climbing, lots of poor road surface and tiny lanes, some gravel and even a mile or so of just grass. The bike did everything asked of it comfortably and well. I bought it to explore the Dales with and I wanted more speed and comfort to do it than my mountain bike gave me, without loosing the ability to explore off the road. Feels like it’s going to be perfect.
Looks really nice that
Is it a 2019 frame? I briefly looked at one of these as it was a lot cheaper than this year's (while functionally the same) and I prefer the colour too.
Looks really nice that
Is it a 2019 frame? I briefly looked at one of these as it was a lot cheaper than this year's (while functionally the same) and I prefer the colour too.
Yes, it’s the 2019 853 frame. Identical in all but colour I gather. I also prefer the colour
Charlie
Just a quick(!) update for what it's worth. There's not a lot to report really - the Genesis continues to forge reliably ahead, having just ticked over 1250 recorded miles since I bought it around 10wks ago. The chain is currently enjoying its fifth wax bath, having been tested with a Shimano chain wear tool prior to removal; suggesting it has plenty of life left in it yet
The mudguards have taken a bit of a beating with a few impacts to the trailing edge of the front one on uneven ground; the rubber skirt holding up well but the substrate of the guard itself getting a little bent in places; with one impact having been enough to pop out the quick-release safety fixings at the fork (losing one stay end cap in the process, although I've recently ordered some more from Germany).
The glossy black plastic finish of the guards is also suffering a bit too; acquiring many radial micro-scratches all over as a result of getting covered in dust and subsequently washed / wiped off. There are some larger (but still shallow) scrapes on the rear guard (where I failed to get my leg over
) and the rear of the front guard where my left shoe occasionally makes contact upon starting off due to a bit too much toe overlap.
All that said the guards certainly don't look tatty and continue to do an excellent job of protecting the frame so I remain very happy with them
Having removed the chainstay protector after the bike got damp I found a bit of damage (apparently from chain impacts and wear from the moulding flashes on the rear tyre) and have been left a little dubious of its ability to protect the chainstay fully; so have lashed a couple of bits of old innertube underneath; although I'm not sure if they're still where I left them!
In addition to the chips on the chainstay from slap, I also managed to pick up a gash in the paint on the downtube from an unknown incident recently; however while annoying it's only gone through the top layer of paint so presents no danger of corrosion. I'm still struggling for paint as I'm yet to find anywhere that can mix the correct colours; hampered by the fact that many places I've emailed haven't responded.. either through being closed or just ignorant I guess
I also managed to put a sizeable scrap on the NDS crankarm when not paying attention and dropping off a bit of poorly-laid cycle track recently. Very angry at myself for doing so, but these things happen and the bike's age and mileage is cementing its image in my mind as a cossetted workhorse rather than a minty fresh new purchase. Not sure whether to try and touch up the damage or just leave it, since I'll never match the original anodised finish.
Having now given the bike a thorough shakedown I now feel well positioned to email Genesis re. the few issues I have had with it; in the spirit of helping to improve their future products as well as hopefully sorting one or two niggles I have with it.
I remain very happy with the bike on the whole as I've certainly been getting my money's worth out of it, while it's allowed me to do exactly what I'd hoped in getting off the beaten track a bit more - including making a few utility journeys that I'd have been reluctant to have done on the road bike. In the absence of a car this additional versatility has also helped maintain a sense of independence; being able to cover reasonable distances without relying on others.
The mudguards have taken a bit of a beating with a few impacts to the trailing edge of the front one on uneven ground; the rubber skirt holding up well but the substrate of the guard itself getting a little bent in places; with one impact having been enough to pop out the quick-release safety fixings at the fork (losing one stay end cap in the process, although I've recently ordered some more from Germany).
The glossy black plastic finish of the guards is also suffering a bit too; acquiring many radial micro-scratches all over as a result of getting covered in dust and subsequently washed / wiped off. There are some larger (but still shallow) scrapes on the rear guard (where I failed to get my leg over
) and the rear of the front guard where my left shoe occasionally makes contact upon starting off due to a bit too much toe overlap.All that said the guards certainly don't look tatty and continue to do an excellent job of protecting the frame so I remain very happy with them
Having removed the chainstay protector after the bike got damp I found a bit of damage (apparently from chain impacts and wear from the moulding flashes on the rear tyre) and have been left a little dubious of its ability to protect the chainstay fully; so have lashed a couple of bits of old innertube underneath; although I'm not sure if they're still where I left them!
In addition to the chips on the chainstay from slap, I also managed to pick up a gash in the paint on the downtube from an unknown incident recently; however while annoying it's only gone through the top layer of paint so presents no danger of corrosion. I'm still struggling for paint as I'm yet to find anywhere that can mix the correct colours; hampered by the fact that many places I've emailed haven't responded.. either through being closed or just ignorant I guess
I also managed to put a sizeable scrap on the NDS crankarm when not paying attention and dropping off a bit of poorly-laid cycle track recently. Very angry at myself for doing so, but these things happen and the bike's age and mileage is cementing its image in my mind as a cossetted workhorse rather than a minty fresh new purchase. Not sure whether to try and touch up the damage or just leave it, since I'll never match the original anodised finish.
Having now given the bike a thorough shakedown I now feel well positioned to email Genesis re. the few issues I have had with it; in the spirit of helping to improve their future products as well as hopefully sorting one or two niggles I have with it.
I remain very happy with the bike on the whole as I've certainly been getting my money's worth out of it, while it's allowed me to do exactly what I'd hoped in getting off the beaten track a bit more - including making a few utility journeys that I'd have been reluctant to have done on the road bike. In the absence of a car this additional versatility has also helped maintain a sense of independence; being able to cover reasonable distances without relying on others.
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gareth01244
Veteran
- Location
- chester
I have a genesis equilibrium, bought it a few years back as a frameset and it came with a small pot of touch up paint, might be worth speaking to genesis to see if it's something that they still do.
Thanks - I'll certainly be asking but I think the best they can manage now is publishing the paint codes / specs (which I suppose is better than most brands)
A quick update; I'm now up to around 1800 miles on the bike and still enjoying it; however over the past few hundred miles the bottom bracket has developed a telltale creaking under load on the pedal strokes, which is disappointing 
Ironically one of the reasons I bought this bike was for the (supposed) superiority of the threaded BB over the dreaded PF30 on my road bike; which has made it past this mileage with no grief.
Looks like I'm about to find out how good their warranty cover is; I hope they don't try to fob me off with the "it's a wear part" argument.. no way in my mind that a BB start to die after such relatively little time, mileage or abuse.
Ironically one of the reasons I bought this bike was for the (supposed) superiority of the threaded BB over the dreaded PF30 on my road bike; which has made it past this mileage with no grief.
Looks like I'm about to find out how good their warranty cover is; I hope they don't try to fob me off with the "it's a wear part" argument.. no way in my mind that a BB start to die after such relatively little time, mileage or abuse.
