BikeRadar was at Sportline’s yearly open doors event yesterday to look at the new 2017 range of bikes from Genesis. Emerging from the warren of roundabouts that is seemingly all of Milton Keynes, our intrepid team were refreshed to see that the new range features a lot of jazzy new colours.
One of the highlights of the show was undoubtedly the new 2017 Datum. Largely unchanged from the current model, changes are mostly limited to aesthetics with Genesis introducing some very cool new paint jobs across the board.
In keeping with market trends in the ever-popular gravel/all-road/adventure/#gnarmac sector, tyre widths have remained plump with 32mm Clement Strada USH specced throughout. Should you desire a dry bum in your life, the Datum will also accept full cover, 45mm wide mudguards.
And as expected, the bikes have also received slight upgrades to the groupsets and a women’s specific model has also been introduced into the lineup.
Datum 10
The range starts with the Datum 10 at £1,899.99, which weighs in at a claimed 9.6kg. For 2017, Genesis has dropped the TRP Hy/Rd brakes found on last year's model and has opted to equip the new bike with the new, full hydraulic Tiagra 10-speed groupset, making for a much cleaner looking bike overall.
The wheelset does see a slight downgrade with a Jalco XCD22 rim laced to Formula a hub, which takes the place of last year's Fulcrum Racing Sport DBs.
Datum 20
For £2,099.99 you can have the Datum 20, a handsome electric-ish blue machine that weighs in at a slightly higher claimed 10.06kg. The bike features a mix of 105 drivetrain parts, non series RS-500 cranks and RS-505 brakes and shifters with the wheelset remaining the same as the 10.
Datum 30
Moving up to the hot-red Datum 30, this £2,499.99 machine weighs in at a claimed 9.15kg and features a full Ultegra 6800 groupset. The wheelset also sees an upgrade, gaining the Fulcrum Racing Sport DBs. With their relatively wide profile they should help to maintain the chunky profile of the Clement tyres.
Datum Limited
The range topping Datum Limited is a special looking bike with its grey, orange and black paint-job making it really stand out. We are also big fans of the disruptive-pattern highlights on the inside of the forks.
At £3,199.99 for a full Ultegra Di2 groupset, this bike could be a real contender at the higher end of the ‘all-road’ market and we’re looking forward to trying one out.
Women’s Datum
The introduction of a women's specific Datum is a very welcome addition to the lineup from Genesis.
Following the format seen throughout the range, the women's specific bikes use the same geometry as their male equivalents, but opt to use narrower bars, shorter stems and a truly women’s specific saddle.
There is only one women’s Datum in the range, a very cool looking purple and blue machine, which stacks up as the equivalent of the men’s Datum 10 with the same Tiagra hydro groupset and OEM wheels.
Should you want to build up your own Datum, both the men's and women's bikes are available as a frameset for £1,499.99.
