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HERITAGE
The best riding is off the beaten track, on that road – or path – to who knows where.
Our bikes will take you to those places, fulfill your curiosities and make you remember why going for a ride is one of life’s most brilliant experiences. Because a life without bikes really is no life at all.
“Drop bars don’t always mean tarmac. ‘Normal riding’ shouldn’t be a definition of accepted limits.”
That’s the description we gave our original Croix de Fer back in 2009 and it’s a philosophy we’ve followed ever since.
At the time, we weren't sure if people would get it, so we hedged slightly, labelling it as a cross bike in the truest sense of the word.
Capable on and off road, it was a gentle step away from our original Vapour and towards a bike that was intended to go further… but we never imagined quite how much further.
One year on Vin Cox set off from The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. Some 163 days and 18,000 miles later, he returned a world record breaker.
The finish was a blur of photographers, but my strongest memory is of being reunited with my wife Helen right on the finish line. We gave the Croix de Fer one last test as Helen climbed on the panniers for a lift to the hotel and party.
Ever since, we’ve been making bikes that make you dream of your next adventure – whether that’s a continent crossing epic, or the daily commute. A Genesis really can do it all.
History
2001
GENESIS DAY ONE
Ridgeback Bikes create a flat bar road bike and call it the Genesis Day One. It’s a sellout success.
2005
BUILDING THE GENESIS NAME
With several Ridgeback road and mountain bikes carrying the Genesis moniker and designs for more, thoughts turn to what may be possible… After pioneering flat bar road bikes as part of Ridgeback in 2001, the Genesis Day One designers were given the chance to let their minds wander and create a range of bikes that would offer something very different.
2006
OUR FIRST STEPS
Genesis presents its first range of 13 bikes. They include five flat bar ‘Day One’ models, the singlespeed drop bar Flyer and seven hardtail mountain bikes. Sitting somewhere in the middle was the Vapour – a cyclo-cross bike that would occupy our thoughts around bikes that can go further...
2008
REYNOLDS 853 IN A ROAD BIKE?
Our love affair with steel road bikes begins with the Reynolds 853 Equilibrium.
2009
CROIX DE FER
Disc brakes for drop bars become a reality and we match them with our latest invention, the Croix de Fer.
ABYSS AND ALPTITUDE
We expand our mountain bike range to include the hardcore hardtails Abyss and Alptitude, and produced our first titanium frame; the Altitude Ti.
2010
RECORD BREAKER!
Vin Cox breaks the world record for circumnavigating the globe on his Croix de Fer. In a little over 163 days he covered nearly 20,000 miles.
2011
VINSPIRATION
Inspired by Vin Cox’s adventures, we introduce the Day One Alfine – the ultimate drop bar cycle tourer.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Will Snow completes the epic 2700-mile Tour Divide after 27-days aboard his Genesis iO ID, with just one puncture and one new tyre.
YAK ATTACK
We also introduce our range of Latitude XC hardtails. Ajay Chhetri races the titanium variant to victory at the Yak Attack in Nepal.
2012
TITANIUM
The Latitude Ti is our new flagship mountain bike and goes to the top of many wishlists, while a geared Flyer adds versatility to a classic.
THREE PEAKS
Victoria Wilkinson wins the legendary Three Peaks cyclo-cross on a borrowed Vapour disc, after her bike was damaged in a crash.
2013
BRITISH RACING STEEL
We become title sponsor of the all-new Madison Genesis cycling team, bringing steel back to the peloton with prototype Reynolds 953 and 931 tubed Volare framesets.
MERICAS ADVENTURE
Across the pond Virgile and Marion take a pair of Fortitudes on an 18-month, 30,000km expedition from Anchorage to Ushuaia.
2014
RACE REPLICA
After a long season of racing and development, our race replica Volare 953 is available to buy, along with more affordable models.
CROSS IS STILL BOSS
There’s also a posh Croix de Fer in 931 guise, the Equilibrium and Day One get disc brakes and the prototype Fugio 853 makes it into production – just in time for Vin Cox to thrash it across the TransIowa.
FAST AND FAT
The steel-framed High Latitude LT is our new grin-inducing UK trail hardtail, while at the opposite end of the spectrum, our Caribou fat bike ploughs a very different route.
CARBON ZERO
At the Tour of Britain Madison Genesis show off our prototype Zero – our first ever carbon road frame.
2015
ALASKAN CARIBOU
Emily Chappell rides her Caribou along the Alaska Highway and then takes her prototype Datum to the Transcontinental – but has to withdraw midway through on medical grounds.
DATUM DELIVERS
Neil Phillips and Tim France fair better and win the pairs category after over 4000km from Flanders to Istanbul in 13 days.
GRAND TOURS
With massive tours becoming more commonplace, we introduce the Tour de Fer – and for more adventurous missions, the Longitude – a rigid 29er mountain bike with all the required mounts and clearance for 2.5-inch tyres.
TOUR SERIES
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Madison Genesis race around in circles for an hour plus five laps, and after three weeks travelling around the UK, win the Tour Series.
2016
NEW BREED OF ADVENTURE
With testing complete, we release two bikes built for adventure – the Datum (faster, lighter Croix) and Vagabond (the Croix’s mad aunt). There’s also room for a new mountain bike that takes 27.5 plus tyres, or regular 29ers. We call it the Tarn.
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Harrison Ford takes delivery of a fresh Croix de Fer.
CROIX GOES FAR
Laura Bingham takes her Croix de Fer 7500km coast-to-coast in South America, from Manta in Ecuador to Buenos Aires in Argentina – something Sir Ranulpf Feinnes describes as “a risky undertaking.”
Joss Livesey takes his Tour de Fer on a 27,000km journey, where he pauses to climb 39 of Europe’s highest peaks, while Miguel Gatoo rides the Silk Road from Tehran in Iran to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan on the same model.
2017
PUTTING THE LONG IN LONGITUDE
In our most epic adventure to date, Sophie and Jérémy set off for a two-and-a-half-year journey from Alaska to Patagonia – the length of the Americas! On board a pair of Longitudes, they aim to finish in December 2019.
Back at home, Alex Staniforth covers the UK’s 100 highest points on bike, foot and – if needed – kayak!
Our Vapour gets the carbon treatment, the Zero goes disc, while Connor Swift races a prototype Zero SL to victory at its first outing.
2018
EARNING HIS STRIPES
Connor Swift wins the British road race championships on his stock Zero SL. We get our friend Doktor Bobby to produce a custom-painted version to celebrate his success and it’s stunning!
AWARD WINNING
We launch the Volare disc to critical acclaim winning road.cc's frameset of the year, and re-imagine the Fugio as a go-anywhere, fat-tyred, drop bar machine, as well as adding a carbon hardtail for XC racing, in the form of the Mantle.
2019
ALASKA PATAGONIA? COMPLETED IT
Over 28,000kms and 812 days, Sophie and Jérémy’s journey from Alaska to Patagonia defined epic! On board a pair of Longitudes they completed one of our biggest ever adventures and are already planning their next.
END OF AN ERA
After seven great years and many brilliant memories, we say goodbye to the Madison Genesis team.
The Future!
WHAT’S NEXT?
We’re already busy sketching, designing, prototyping and developing the next generation of British bikes built for your next adventure.