GENESIS EQUILIBRIUM 20
£1199.99 › Is this the best looking Equilibrium so far?
If you could distil the soul of British road cycling into a single bike, what do you think it would look like? We’ve a hunch it would be something like this.
The Genesis Equilibrium has been with us for a few years now, available in a huge range of different builds – cheap, expensive, disc, rim brake, titanium – the list goes on. The essential formula of a simple, practical, metal bike hasn’t changed radically, but this year’s Equilibrium 20 kicks the retro styling up a notch with a very classy paintjob and some tidy silver components. We particularly appreciate the colourmatched fork, and the tan-wall Clément tyres are the icing on a deliciously old-school cake. Under the skin it’s a familiar story, with Reynolds mid-range 725 tubing offering reasonable weight to an elegant, understated frame. (725 is based on the ubiquitous 4130 chromoly, popular for its all-round qualities and relative affordability.)
Although the slightly sloped toptube is arguably a modern touch, the Equilibrium doesn’t make any pretence of being remotely cutting edge, with cables fully on show, a threaded bottom bracket and a straight head-tube with external headset cups. We’ve no complaints, although dropping the fork out reveals that the ‘semi-cartridge’ bearings in the headset are just bog standard ball-in-cage units – slightly underwhelming at this price. We’re pleased to note that the Equilibrium’s rack and mudguard mounts are present, as are the clearances needed for the latter.
We don’t get sent many bikes built with the silver version of Shimano’s outstanding mid-level 105 groupset, and we think that’s a shame because it looks very handsome, particularly on a bike as unapologetically old school as this one. Genesis has gone all-in with the metallic theme; in
This year’s Equilibrium 20 kicks the retro styling up a notch with a very classy paintjob