Experience of Genesis Tour De Fer?

[citybabe]

I too am 5'10 and have gone for the medium

being only 5’1 I have an extra small frame

 

[Brooks]

I ordered the 30 this afternoon so I am taking a bit of a punt but they don't call me "Dangerous Dave" for nothing

I too am 5'10 and have gone for the medium, not that I had much choice as this was the only 30 I found having trawled at least two dozen shops over the past few days and it was the last one they had in stock. Should be with me on Wednesday next week, can't wait to get out on it if I am honest.

Hopefully this time next month I will be fully loaded myself for a couple of nights away with my new girl

A good friend of mine took delivery of a 20 about 6 weeks ago and he absolutely loves it! Enjoy your new bike 😀

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

Yes. And the bar bag is the Ortlieb 8 1/2 litre

I will be getting Ortlieb wherever I can I think, I have heard nothing negative about them.
Crucially at this time it seems supply is limited but hopefully this will ease in the near future.

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

A good friend of mine took delivery of a 20 about 6 weeks ago and he absolutely loves it! Enjoy your new bike 😀

Thanks, I am sure I will

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

being only 5’1 I have an extra small frame

Nothing wrong with that

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

I got a Spa Elan in Ti. I sometimes wish I had got it with a triple chain ring but I already have 3 touring bikes, I got the Elan for day trips and coz' I have no self control

That's some collection you have there! I fear I may fall foul of my lack of self control too in the future, helped somewhat by the fact the CTW scheme is now capped at £2.5k at my place of work and renews each year

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I am brand new to touring and so my questions are more general than technical but I just have a couple of doubts in terms of braking when loaded and also how you find the standard fitted group set?

I think the 20 and 30 are slightly longer than the 10 (?) and obviously the standard spec will be different, but have you made any upgrades since getting yours? I have been advised to make some upgrades but then read on reviews that it's pretty much ready to roll out of the box.

I am planning several long distance (500 mile+) routes on it over the next 12/18 months so I suppose training rides will give me all the answers I need. Never owned a drop bar before either so this makes me slightly nervous.

Generally speaking though, do you find the bike with fixtures and fittings are of a high standard?

Firstly apologies for the delay, I had to drive to Kent and back today. I see you've bit the bullet and ordered so this is moot, but what the heck, I should reply anyway!

Yes, everything is to a high standard, I suppose it should be for a bike north of a grand.
I'm not sure if there's a difference in length between 10, 20 and 30. Is there? If so I didn't know that.

Main differences are the fit and finish, groupset etc. The 20 is a flat bar with an arguably better groupset. The 30 is (as you know) drop bar but with better kit still.
Mine has Sora. It's very good. I have other bikes with 105, Tiagra, this is just as good, Sora works brilliantly. I wasn't aiming for saving grammes on a groupset.

It's definitely ready to go as it is, I got mine from an LBS dealer who set it up well.
The main change I made was to put on an older worn in Brooks B17, the stock saddle is Genesis's road one and I find it too hard for all day riding.
I mucked about with bar tape too, I'm on leather just now but I'm not a fan so I'm going back to cork tape. The Genesis standard is perfectly good.

I have added Ortlieb panniers and a bar bag, the Tubus racks that come as standard are superb.

Coming down hills loaded I have no issues with the standard (mechanical) disc brakes, they're good.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I will be getting Ortlieb wherever I can I think, I have heard nothing negative about them.
Crucially at this time it seems supply is limited but hopefully this will ease in the near future.

Spa Cycles in Harrogate, they had all the options I was looking at and I received them 2 days after ordering. The Ortlieb bar bag is excellent.

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

Spa Cycles in Harrogate, they had all the options I was looking at and I received them 2 days after ordering. The Ortlieb bar bag is excellent.

Thanks for the tip, just down the road from me too!

 

[citybabe]

I will be getting Ortlieb wherever I can I think, I have heard nothing negative about them.
Crucially at this time it seems supply is limited but hopefully this will ease in the near future.

I bought mine from here
https://www.mantel.com/uk/ortlieb-backroller-classic?autocomplete=1

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

I bought mine from here
https://www.mantel.com/uk/ortlieb-backroller-classic?autocomplete=1

Thank you Adele £10 a bag cheaper than the one I found last night too!

 

[citybabe]

Thank you Adele £10 a bag cheaper than the one I found last night too!

I placed my order at the start of June and even during the lockdown they still only took about 4 days to arrive.
I was super pleased with the company’s efficiency and I’d definitely buy from them again

 

[Son Of Anarchy]

I placed my order at the start of June and even during the lockdown they still only took about 4 days to arrive.
I was super pleased with the company’s efficiency and I’d definitely buy from them again

That is impressive, especially compared to some companies I have dealt with over the past few months.

I have just ordered the two panniers and the bar bag ..... I will take a look at your set up again later and see what other ideas I can steal

 

[Blue Hills]

I placed my order at the start of June and even during the lockdown they still only took about 4 days to arrive.
I was super pleased with the company’s efficiency and I’d definitely buy from them again

Thanks for feedback.
Have been keeping them in mind for those superbig ortlieb rears.
I love my longserving (20 years old or so, lead a tough life, look like new) rear ortlieb bikepacker pluses, but they are definitely small for my style (ie none) of packing.

 

[citybabe]

That is impressive, especially compared to some companies I have dealt with over the past few months.

I have just ordered the two panniers and the bar bag ..... I will take a look at your set up again later and see what other ideas I can steal

I‘m sure you’ll be very happy with them when they arrive

I’ll find out this weekend how well I’ve packed the panniers - I’m still learning how and what to pack!

I do rather like the bag that attaches to the seat post but I believe I don’t have enough post showing for those