Geometry
The Genius 700 Premium features fairly modern geometry. The Medium sized frame has a generous 16.9” (429.3mm) reach in the “low” setting we tested, although the 67.9° head angle (in the slack setting) is a little steep for this travel class. It does have longer chainstays (17.3” / 439mm) than some of its competitors. All of those numbers equate to a bike that feels about average in size for a Medium.
While the back end is slightly harder to flick around than a bike with shorter chainstays, it doesn’t feel overly sluggish. And though the longer stays and reach may suggest that the Genius is well suited to the fast, aggressive riding that many modern trail bikes favor, its head angle and overall handling actually position it toward more average, flowing trails. That steeper head tube angle also helps the bikes front end avoid wandering on the way up.
The Ride
The first thing I noticed when riding the Genius was the amount of stuff on the handlebars. The cockpit was absolutely overrun with a rat’s nest of cables. While some bicycle purists will shake their heads and lament what riding has become, all of these controls actually serve a useful purpose, especially that TwinLoc lever.
Just bouncing around the parking lot, there didn’t seem to be much difference between the TwinLoc system’s middle “Traction” position vs. running the suspension wide open. Once on the trail though, it became much more noticeable.
While the Genius isn’t an absolutely terrible pedaler in the wide open setting, its personality completely changes as soon as that lever goes to the middle position. The front and rear both firm up, and its pedaling performance kicks up two or three notches. In the wide open setting, both the Santa Cruz Bronson and the Devinci Troy easily smoke the Genius on the way up. But with the “Traction” mode engaged, the Genius becomes a much more snappy climber.
The middle position didn’t just help with pedaling though: on smooth-rolling sections of trail, the firmer “Traction” setting allowed me to pump the bike through terrain and maintain momentum over chundery sections.
While riding with the suspension wide open did result in much better small bump compliance, the Genius had a tendency to eat up its travel rather quickly when charging through technical sections. I experimented with descending in the “Traction” setting, and it offered a less comfortable, but much faster ride. A little more experimentation with the suspension could probably resolve this issue, but it was nice to be able to leave the suspension wide open for sections of the trail with many small rough patches, then firm it up when I wanted to plow and bounce over bigger obstacles that would have otherwise bottomed out the suspension.
The Genius’s longer top tube helped me stretch out and feel more stable when plowing through chunder, but the front tire did have a tendency to get twitchy at speed, possibly due to the relatively steep headtube.
At higher speeds, both the Devinci Troy and Santa Cruz Bronson felt much more stable in rough terrain. But at lower speeds and in smoother terrain, the Troy and Bronson felt like overkill, and the Genius (in its middle suspension setting) made it much easier to pick my way down the trail. I.e., I’m willing to say that the Genius will be much more fun and accessible for many riders, especially those whose home terrain doesn’t lend itself to aggressive, high-speed riding.
The full lockout mode only saw action on smooth climbs—on shorter technical climbs, it sacrificed too much traction, and I preferred to leave the bike in the middle “Traction” setting. Even in this middle setting though, it still felt like the back end got a little bucked and had trouble hooking up, which led me to run it wide open on short, techy punches that only required a few pedal strokes.
Overall the Genius feels best suited for “average” trail riding, and that’s a good thing. This is the lightest 150mm travel bike we rode at Interbike, but it isn’t some steep and featherlight XC race whip. Of course, it’s not a super slack trailbike, either. So while many bikes in this travel range perform much better than the Genius 700 in fast, gnarly terrain, they often feel like overkill on most normal trails. The Genius is a very good bike for the type of riding most people do every day, and the TwinLoc system means it’s still a viable option when the trail gets steep or plunges down into more technical terrain.
Bottom Line
The Scott Genius 700 Premium may not be the fastest bike in its class on the descents, but what it gives up in all-out speed, it more than makes up for in versatility. If the trails you normally ride don’t demand a slack, rowdy bike, there’s a compelling case to be made for less aggressive trail bikes like the Genius.
Of course, for many riders that niche is filled by a lighter, shorter travel bike like the Santa Cruz 5010. Where the Genius outshines that kind of bike is in quick transitioning sections of trail where it would not be worthwhile to pause and swap the fork and shock between climb and descend modes. With a little practice, the TwinLoc system makes normal trail riding more efficient and fluid.
Those searching for simplicity and a ride they can set-and-forget should look elsewhere. But for anyone looking for a bike that can trade in reasonable descending prowess for climbing efficiency at the flip of a handlebar mounted lever, the Scott Genius 700 Premium is a great option.