Genesis Flyer?

[Jon George]

Any thoughts? I had a great time at Herne Hill the other day and I'm now interested in getting a fixie as my n+1. My LBS can get me one for £600.

 

[GGJ]

Not sure if HH has any restrictions regarding BB height, crank arm length etc, best find out before you take the plunge

 

[Jon George]

Not sure if HH has any restrictions regarding BB height, crank arm length etc, best find out before you take the plunge

Ah, I wasn't intending to take it down there - more a bit of fun around Suffolk. But thanks for the comment.

 

[GGJ]

You won't go wrong with the Flyer then, I have the Skyline which was the model before the Flyer and it's basically the same bike, a great piece of kit. There are plenty cheaper fixed, S/S bikes out there but you get what you pay for. Not sure that £600 is a great deal, just done a quick Google search and the 3rd or 4th advert down is selling them for the same price

 

[4F]

Decent enough bike Jon and one I looked at, Bike Rader review here http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-genesis-bikes-flyer-12-43390/

Have you had a look in Elmeys as they also used to have their own brand which was almost identical to the Flyer

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Flyer = yes.

 

[Jon George]

Have you had a look in Elmeys as they also used to have their own brand which was almost identical to the Flyer

I don't think they do anymore - it was one of their staff who pointed me in the direction of the Flyer! If I can pick enough people's brains/ read more on CC though, I might be tempted to have a go at seeing if I can build my own as a Winter project.

 

[GGJ]

I did a Strava Gran Fondo on January 2nd this year on my Genesis Skyline, 89 miles and 5141 feet of elevation with 2 x Cat 4 climbs

 

[clarion]

You won't go wrong with the Flyer then, I have the Skyline which was the model before the Flyer and it's basically the same bike, a great piece of kit. There are plenty cheaper fixed, S/S bikes out there but you get what you pay for. Not sure that £600 is a great deal, just done a quick Google search and the 3rd or 4th advert down is selling them for the same price

Skyline was the Flyer with extra braze ons. It had mudguards as well. Basically a Flyer adapted for general/commuting riding. I have a Ridgeback Solo which is identical to the Skyline. It's my main commuter, and is really great. I've changed the wheels to add hub dynamo and S3X at the back. The original wheels had black spokes which weren't up to CS7's roads, but they've been rebuilt with stainless spokes and I now use them on my Bob Jackson. And I've changed the bars for bullhorns. That's my personal preference, but it suits me fine, and works well for a lot of riding.

P7030001 by TJ Clarion, on Flickr

I've deliberately 'uglified' it for London purposes, but it still rides really well.

 

[Phixion]

Any thoughts on the latest model of the Genesis Flyer? They use their own steel and have carbon forks.

I wonder whether the ride would be nicer than the old Reynolds 520?

 

[GGJ]

The Flyer is Reynolds 520 steel tubing and the forks are Double Butted Cr-Mo Unicrown. The Skyline (model before the Flyer) had carbon forks and carbon seatpost, so they changed the model name and downgraded the good bits

 

[ror3h]

I have a Flyer, the blue one with a steel fork. It's a great bike, quite steep angles so quite fun handling wise. It feels quite stiff in the bottom bracket too which is useful when grinding up the hills. I really like it, but I do find it to be quite a harsh ride, especially the front end. The lack of downtube bottle cage bolts can be annoying for longer rides too.

 

[Jon George]

I've deliberately 'uglified' it for London purposes, but it still rides really well.

Sorry, I've only just noticed the 'One Less Car' sticker.

 

[shufflemelody]

I bought a 2015 Flyer last week.

Overall very happy with it - my first single-speed bike. I put a fixed cog on it to see what it was like, but it's not for me (my commute is a 34 mile round trip so I think my legs would drop off).

The 2015 model is not Reynolds tubing and has a carbon fork.
It's £100 cheaper than the 2014 model but I feel they've cut corners on the spec, e.g. cheap Tektro brakes when they were Shimano last year, cheapo bottom bracket etc. I also don't understand the choice of tyres (Continental Ultra Sport II which don't appear to have any puncture protection) when they market it as a winter/commuter bike so I've put Gatorskins on it.
Also fitted SPD pedals and a Brooks saddle, but that's what I like.
Had some trouble fitting a rear mudguard to it (SKS P35), but discovered there were some loose spokes so once I've got the wheel a bit more true this problem should go away...
I find the handlebars a bit small for me in terms of reach and drop - My Ridgeback Mercury has more comfortable bars so might swap for something similar.

These are really all minor gripes as I love riding this bike and have been surprised at how easy it is going up hills. The only time I miss gears is on slightly downhill stretches where I end up freewheeling and it feels a bit slow but when I'm pedalling like crazy it takes me back to my childhood riding round the block and is a lot of fun :-)

 

[GGJ]

I bought a 2015 Flyer last week.

The 2015 model is not Reynolds tubing and has a carbon fork.
It's £100 cheaper than the 2014 model but I feel they've cut corners on the spec, e.g. cheap Tektro brakes when they were Shimano last year, cheapo bottom bracket etc.

That's interesting as according to Genesis website it is still built with Reynolds 520 tubing, Double Butted Cr-Mo Unicrown forks and Shimano brakes