£3,699 Our art ed Jimmer remembers his Megavalanche adventure, and he’s still buzzing nearly 10 years on

Back in the days when I was a little more fearless, I decided to race the Megavalanche in Alpe d’Huez. It was a great excuse to ride some gnarly locations around the UK, all in the name of training. I needed the right tool for the job too, and that was the Scott Genius LT 20.

Beloved big-hitter

What cemented my decision to go for the Genius LT was its whopping amount of travel, plus the fact that this could be adjusted from a full 185mm to just 110mm (or locked out completely) on the fly, using Scott’s bar-mounted TwinLoc lever. The LT 20 came with a RockShox Lyrik fork and Scott’s unique Equalizer 3 pull-shock at the rear (most shocks are push-shocks). Gearing was a little di erent back then, with my 10-speed cassette o ering a 12-36t spread, although thanks to the triple-ring crankset up front (remember them?) the bike didn’t lack any range. The frame was carbon fibre, when carbon was nowhere near as common as it is now. It was a true beast of a bike and I absolutely loved it!

In preparation for the Mega, I rode some of the rockiest and gnarliest trails I could find here in the UK, visiting the Lake District for the first time and even hike-a-biking up Snowdon. It was a great experience and, apart from a few good crashes, still evokes some great, long-lasting memories.

Mega ready

All my UK riding had taken its toll on the Genius LT and taught me a few things about set-up along the way. The biggest issue

I had was the Equalizer shock failing on multiple occasions – and it’s pretty scary when your shock locks itself out mid rock garden! Once it came back from Scott, I had to call on the help of my fellow Mega racers Ric McLaughlin and Rob Weaver to help me get it dialled-in and working properly. We discovered that the cable for the remote was getting stuck within the shock housing. With this remedied, I felt far more confident aboard the bike.

Another potential problem was that the Crankbrothers Joplin dropper post used a lever mounted under the saddle. There was no way I could safely take my hand o the bar to actuate the post while tackling the slopes of Alpe d’Huez, so bolting on a remote-lever upgrade was an easy and relatively cheap fix. I also decided to switch to a 1x set-up and fit a 36t chainring with an MRP chain guide and bashguard. Finally, a set of Maxxis High Roller tyres from Doddy [Andrew Dodd, MBUK’s features editor at the time] finished things o nicely. I was ready to race!

While the MRP guide and bash more than proved their worth, my gearing was way out – trying to climb or push hard on a 36t single ring on a big-travel bike when fatigued was absolute murder. My Joplin seatpost hated the fine dust and kept jamming, so I couldn’t lower it when

FULL ENDURO The Genius LT was on the cusp of becoming a truly capable enduro bike – one you could destroy descents on but still ride uphill. The geometry felt great and it was in its element on anything steep and rocky. UN, DEUX, TROIS… When the Equalizer 3 shock and remote lever behaved, switching between the three travel modes made a big di erence on the hill. Scott’s current TwinLoc system is way ahead in terms of operation, design and reliability, though. MEMORY MAKER It’s cool to be able to boast about having done the Mega, and this bike made it possible. It took a beating and so did I, and at the time I wasn’t sure how I felt. But when the dust settled and I’d crossed the line, I knew I’d chosen the right bike for the job.