Scott Genius 900 Tuned review
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Scott Genius 900 Tuned review

Tech-packed, uphill and downhill trail weapon

Our rating

4

6599.00
9500.00

Mick Kirkman

Published: October 10, 2019 at 8:56 am

Our review
Tech-equipped do-it-all that’s well-priced and versatile, if a little conservative to ride

Pros:

Pedals and climbs so well it puts many XC bikes to shame; own-brand carbon wheels feel light and accelerate fast

Cons:

TwinLoc system brings unnecessary complications for some riders

The latest Genius represents a big leap forward in geometry for Scott’s long-running trail bike. The numbers are modern and it’s switchable to fatter 650b+ tyres.

It also uses a special ‘Nude’ shock – developed with Fox – to deliver a three-mode ‘TwinLoc’ system that cycles the travel between 150mm, 100mm and fully locked-out, via a bar-mounted remote.

Scott Genius 900 Tuned frame

The lightweight 900 frame is full-carbon (even the rocker) and uses a Horst link rear end and trunnion-mount shock – the latter orientated upside down and cradled in a huge junction at the base of the seat tube.

This layout places the shock weight lower and enables a stiffer junction between the down tube, main pivot and bottom bracket to enhance chassis stiffness. It looks mean too.

The 1x-specific frame is beautifully finished, with clean cable routing and room for a bottle. There’s decent standover clearance, although the kinked seat tube is quite tall, which is noticeable while riding. It’s also a couple of degrees more tipped-back than other similar bikes, placing rider weight fairly rearward.

Scott Genius 900 Tuned
Scott have cut no corners with the SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain, stumping up for the full-price chain and proper lightweight X-Dome cassette. Mick Kirkman

Scott Genius 900 Tuned kit

Own-brand Syncros kit features heavily – most noticeably, the unique one-piece Hixon bar/stem combo. This carbon pairing is super-lightweight, but some riders won’t like being locked into a specific bar shape/tilt. It’s also marginally too soft-feeling for a bike with 150mm of travel – I’d prefer a more direct steering feel.

The Syncros carbon wheels aren’t super-light, but they are fast-rolling, urgent-feeling without being jarring, and come with wide, tyre-stabilising rims and a quick-engaging freehub.

My test bike had Maxxis Minion tyres instead of the stock 2.6in Rekons – something UK riders will likely emulate because there’s not much bite from the Rekon in the wet.

SRAM’s 12-speed X01 Eagle drivetrain and four-pot Guide RSC brakes are bang on for this bike’s intended use, and Scott hasn’t done any sneaky cost-cutting.

Scott Genius 900 Tuned ride impressions

Point the Genius uphill and it’s almost ridiculous how adept it is at climbing. It’s more XC-feeling than almost any other trail bike, even in its 150mm-travel, fully open ‘Descend’ mode.

The rear-end bites into the ground whatever the pitch and you surge onwards making perfectly round pedalling arcs. One caveat here is that the seated climbing position puts rider weight too far behind the bottom bracket. But, if you’re prepared to stand up and mash the pedals, it absolutely rips uphill and along singletrack under hard power.

The Fox suspension is smooth, with a calm, almost floaty, feel over the kind of bumps you’d expect to find on trails, rather than enduro tracks. Through little holes and compressions, the Scott feels playful and poppy.

Scott Genius 900 Tuned
A flip chip at the upper shock mount changes the geometry to accommodate 650b wheels shod with fat plus-size tyres. Mick Kirkman

This isn’t the perfect rig if you exclusively love to charge downhill, chuck the bike about, smash into everything and winch back to the top. While the frame feels generally stiff, when entering steeper corners, the Genius can get unsettled.

This is more a consequence of overall ‘attitude’ than geometry though. The all-in-one Hixon bar and stem shape won’t suit everyone and can feel a bit vague in the hands of heavier riders. It’s a relatively cheap/easy fix if that’s a big issue though.

Considering it’s got the joint-most rear travel on test, the Genius is super-effective when pedalling with the shock left fully open. The middle Traction mode is marginally more urgent, but I wouldn’t miss it if Scott chose to ditch the rat’s nest of cables associated with the TwinLoc system and replace it with a cleaner cockpit and a more intuitive dropper remote position.

This genuinely sorted, do-it-all bike is well-priced and will prove fantastic for loads of riders, although it’d benefit from a better seated climbing position.

It has a slightly conservative, straight-laced ride quality that won’t light a fire under DH fiends craving hot-blooded, flat-out trail shredding, but for anyone else it’s a great package.

Scott Genius 900 Tuned geometry

  • Seat angle: 69.9 degrees
  • Head angle: 65 degrees
  • Chainstay: 17.24in / 43.8cm
  • Seat tube: 18.98in / 48.2cm
  • Top tube: 24.92 / 63.3cm
  • Bottom bracket height: 13.62 / 34.6cm
  • Wheelbase: 48.5in / 1,232mm

Product

Brand scott
Price 9500.00 AUD,6599.00 GBP
Weight 13.0000, KILOGRAM (L) - without pedals

Features

Fork Fox Float 34 Factory FIT4, 150mm (5.9in) travel
br_stem Syncros Pro
br_chain SRAM XX1 Eagle
br_frame Carbon fibre, 150mm (5.9in) to 100mm (3.9in) travel
Tyres Maxxis Rekon EXO TR 3C MaxxTerra 29x2.6in Wide Trail
br_brakes SRAM Guide RSC, 200/180mm rotors
br_cranks SRAM X01 Eagle carbon, 32t
br_saddle Syncros Tofino 1.5
br_wheels Syncros Revelstoke 1.5, carbon rims on Syncros hubs
br_headset Syncros FL 1.5
br_shifter SRAM X01 Eagle
br_cassette SRAM X01 Eagle XG-1295, 10-50t
br_seatpost Fox Transfer, 150mm
br_handlebar Syncros Hixon iC SL carbon
br_rearShock Fox/Scott Nude TR EVOL
br_bottomBracket SRAM DUB
br_availableSizes S, M, L, XL
br_rearDerailleur SRAM X01 Eagle (1x12)