The rider’s ride

Genesis Croix de Fer Ti, £4,599, freewheel.co.uk

Genesis’s Croix de Fer Ti bike is just about the ideal machine for long days in the New Forest, regardless of whether you are riding on or offroad. At once it captures titanium’s zingy ride feel on tarmac but is sturdy enough to cope with the rock strikes and jarring roots of the area’s bridleways and trails.

Mounting points aplenty give the committed gravel rider the option to load up with an array of bikepacking bags, yet shorn of all that luggage the bike is a handsome beast to behold because Genesis has been tastefully restrained with its branding. A few understated logos are all that interrupts the silvery lustre of the frame’s exposed titanium tubing.

It looks great and rides engagingly, and the best thing is that it will continue to do that year after year. The Croix de Fer is a bike for life.