Competitive Cyclist

SCOTT GENIUS 10

When we think of Thomas Frischknecht winning the Marathon World Championships aboard a Scott Genius, we ponder the significance. Here's a guy born and bred on fabulous hardtails, his career spent, for the most part, sans suspension. And he shows up to Worlds aboard a bike with nearly six inches of travel? One would think, like many hammerheads and/or hardtail aficionados, that Frischy would favor the Scale, or even Spark for what most likely amounted to a very long cross-country race. But he chose the Genius and won.

Much of the magic behind the versatility of the Scott Genius 10 is the TwinLoc suspension lever system. It's a handlebar-mounted lever that controls both the Scott Equalizer 2 TC rear shock and the Fox 32 Talas RL 150 15QR front fork. It’s possible to make on-the-fly suspension adjustments based on changing terrain as your trail unfolds before you, all without taking your hand off the bar. There are three possible settings with the TwinLoc design – All-Travel front and rear, rear in Traction mode limited to 95mm of travel, and locked out on both ends. The TwinLoc makes the normally long legged Genius 10 feel like a racer at the flip of a switch. A quick glance at the geometry specs reveals a 68.5 degree head angle for the Genius 10 and confirms part of the reason it feels as well balanced as it does. It's just slack enough to inspire confidence on steep descents, and if you like to dial down the fork travel as you climb, you'll be rewarded with a nimble, yet secure steering feel that allows you to seek the path of least resistance on the way up.

Each of the suspension pivots uses sealed cartridge bearings for active bump response over rough trails. The Equalizer 2 rear shock is worth more than a mere mention as it's different in a few ways from the status quo. For starters, it’s a pull shock – not something you see every day. Most rear shocks are push shocks – those which compress as the suspension moves up into its stroke. The Equalizer 2 extends as bump forces act on the suspension. Functionally, it's still air sprung and uses both positive and negative chambers to allow for precise tuning of the air spring characteristics. But the Traction Control feature necessitates the two external tubes that look like rocket boosters. They're the positive air chambers for the All-Travel and Traction modes. A fixed piston on the shaft forces the oil volume into either of these chambers, depending on which selection you've made with the TwinLoc lever. Both chambers have an external rebound damping adjustment, though Scott recommends that they both always be on the same setting. And not to worry, the lockout has a breakaway threshold just in case you forgot to release it before you get into rough terrain again. Similarly, the Fox fork has externally adjustable rebound damping and a lever controlled lockout. The TALAS travel adjustment is accessed on the left side of the fork crown and has three settings -- 150, 130, 110mm.

Scott builds the Genius 10 like their full-on race bikes. They use HMX NET high modulus unidirectional carbon fiber throughout. This material yields a 20% stiffer structure than their HMF carbon. The extra resistance to flex is part of what makes the Genius feel light and racy. They use their IMP Integrated Molding Process to fabricate the top, head, and down tubes all at once. For the rest of the frame, they use their CR1 tube-to-tube process. The fusion of the two processes reflects Scott’s adherence to the notion – whatever it takes to make it both light and strong, you can have both. One cool feature that is often overlooked is the pivot for the rocker. It appears to pierce the seat tube, yet it doesn’t. With the Isolated Axial Pivot (IAP), you’ll still have a full seat tube so you can drop your saddle all the way down for those glorious descents off the mountainside.

To further keep weight to a bare minimum, the Genius is built without a cosmetic layer of woven carbon. What you'll see on the outside of the tubes is the structural unidirectional carbon used throughout the frame to make it supremely light, stiff, and strong. Scott also used carbon fiber dropouts, though they wisely retained a replaceable aluminum derailleur hanger. The Genius 10 uses full length cable housing. And by minimizing the number of entry points, it’s less likely that grit and water can penetrate the cable system. Your shifts will remain crisp, and cables will last longer.

The Scott Genius 10 comes in Carbon/Orange and is available in four sizes – Small, Medium, Large, and XL. It comes with a Fox 32 Talas RL 150 15QR Fork, a Ritchey Pro 1-1/8” semi integrated (zero stack) headset, and a Ritchey WCS 34.9mm carbon fiber seatpost. It requires an E-type bottom pull front derailleur and has a 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell.

Scott warrants the Genius 10 against defects in materials and workmanship for three (3) years. You'll have the option of extending this period to five (5) years by maintaining a service and maintenance interval as set forth by the information in the owner's manual. The Equalizer 2 TC rear shock is warranted for one (1) or two (2) years with similar conditional service terms. All service must be done by an authorized Scott dealer. It will be necessary to keep original purchase and service records.

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2010 Scott Genius 10 Pricing