MATERIALS

We are not material snobs here at Genesis. We believe you can make brilliant bikes from steel, aluminium, carbon or titanium – and that’s exactly what we try to do.

We are however, very particular about making sure that the materials we use are the very best available to us. Whether we are making frames with our own Mjolnir Chromoly, Reynolds 931 or 853 tubesets or even the stunning 3AL-2.5V double-butted Titanium, we choose the best materials for the job.

That’s the only way we can be sure the bike is as good as it can possibly be. We’re proud to say that Reynolds has played a major part in how our bikes and ranges have developed over time. For over ten years we’ve worked closely with their engineers to utilise beautiful and high-functioning tubesets that have made bikes like the Croix de Fer and Volare possible.

THE MATERIALS

REYNOLDS 931

1200-1350 MPa

Very similar in strength to 853 but thanks to its 17% Chromium content (thus designating it a stainless steel), with excellent corrosion resistance to boot.

Reynolds 931 is a seamless, cold-worked, precipitation-hardening (also known as artificial aging/age hardening) steel-alloy based on a Carpenter Technology custom 630/17-4PH grade alloy composition.

Used extensively in both the aviation and motorsport industries, 931 is ‘builder-friendly stainless’ in that it’s more workable and less labour intensive than 953 (reflected somewhat in the price).

REYNOLDS 853

1250-1400 MPa

Probably the most popular and widely used of all of Reynolds’ performance-orientated steel offerings; hitting that sweet spot of performance, weight and cost.

Drawn at their Birmingham workshop, 853 is a seamless, cold-drawn, heat-treated Chromoly with the added benefit of air-hardening properties.

In layman’s terms this means that the material’s strength increases after welding (and cooling) – particularly beneficial in boosting fatigue life of the weld join areas.

REYNOLDS 725

1080-1280 MPa

Classic seamless Chromoly but heat-treated to boost tensile strength. Think of it as Chromoly on steroids.

It’s heated to around 1600F where by a structural change in the steels’ crystal lattice occurs (a stronger, more uniform orientation), it’s then quenched (cooled rapidly) to lock-in the structural change.

As it’s stronger we can get away with using less of it, so thinner butts are the order of the day helping to achieve a lighter overall frame weight and livelier ride without compromising strength.

MJÖLNIR

700-900 MPa

AKA ‘Thor’s Hammer’ and pronounced ‘Myol-n(ee)r‘ (rolls off the tongue, eh?).

Our double-butted, cold-drawn, seamless, Taiwanese Chromoly tubeset also goes by the aliases of 4130, Cr-Mo and Chromo.

It’s a like-for-like replacement for other, identical branded Chromoly tubing and ultimately means a saving can be passed onto you via either a healthy price drop or a little more room for up-speccing elsewhere without sacrificing performance. The starting point for many a tough, affordable steel frame.

DOUBLE BUTTED TITANIUM

3AL – 2.5V

One of our favourite materials to work with (we like shiny things!), our 3AL-2.5V double butted titanium is a thing of beauty.

Comprising of 3% aluminium and 2.5% vanadium (hence the name), our tubes are butted to save weight where possible without compromising on the quality of the build.

The expertise of our Taiwanese frame manufacturer is reflected in attention to detail of each and every frame.

Incredibly strong, wonderfully light, this tubeset offers aN armchair-like ride feel that’ll probably last so long you can hand it down to the grandkids.

ALX ALLOY

Our brand new hybrid double-butted alloy tubeset – a clever mix of two differing grade alloys to help give us high levels of stiffness in certain areas and compliance/ flex in others.

The higher density 6066 downtube and chainstays provides the basis for a stiff and efficient pedalling platform, whilst the 6061 toptube, seat tube and seatstays help give and added element of compliance and comfort, acting as a nice buffer between rider and road.