Scott were one of the first big brands to get behind plus bikes. We were hoping to test the Genius Plus, in XL. But it was unavailable, so instead we went for its bigger brother, the Genius Plus LT, in large (the biggest size Scott make). With 160mm of travel and a 66-degree head angle, it’s designed to be an enduro-ready rig with – hopefully – the added benefits of 2.8in tyres.
The frame
Scott combine a carbon mainframe with an alloy rear triangle. The two are linked via a single pivot, with a linkage to drive the shock – not the most pedalling-efficient set-up, but the proprietary damper can be locked out or firmed up at the flick of a bar-mounted switch.
The kit
We’re big fans of the Fox 36 fork (here in its Performance Elite guise), 150mm drop RockShox Reverb seatpost and SRAM GX drivetrain found on the Scott. In-house brand Syncros provide the 40mm wide wheels, which performed admirably, alongside a host of solid finishing kit.
The ride
Plus tyres or not, the Genius LT was never going to feel like a sprightly race whip. Its 160mm of travel bobs lazily under power until you flick the TwinLoc lever, which firms up the rear suspension and limits travel to 100mm. Press it again and both fork and shock lock out. The system is easy to use and helpful when sprinting up smooth, grippy climbs. At 14kg, the LT isn’t too heavy either, so tarmac slogs are no drama.
On technical climbs, the medium ‘traction’ mode is too firm for bumpy stuff but if you leave the shock in its ‘descend’ setting the suspension slumps and saps power far more than on the other bikes here. We often found ourselves toggling between modes and wishing for something in between.
At 73 degrees, the effective seat angle could be steeper to help with climbing, but we found a pretty comfy position by slamming the saddle forwards on its rails. It’s possible to raise the BB height and steepen the seat angle by half a degree by flipping the shock mount, but we felt the BB height was already high enough at 345mm.
Descending is where the Genius LT comes into its own. The combination of plus tyres, stiff fork and slack head angle meant it ploughed calmly through the rocks of Sanremo. Fox’s FIT4 fork damper can feel a tad harsh, but the big-volume tyres deal with this highfrequency chatter nicely. Meanwhile, the supple rear suspension Hoovers up bumps without bottoming out too much. The single-pivot design may be less efficient than some of its multi-pivot rivals but it has a silver lining here – it’s less affected by the chain when compressing, meaning greater sensitivity over bumps.
The Scott is as composed as anything on rough straights, but in the corners the long 65mm stem combines with the slack head angle to produce lazy turn-in manners. The bike’s short reach (a claimed 417mm in the low setting) meant we were unable to swap to a shorter stem. Admittedly we were testing a large, while the other bikes on test were XLs, but this is the biggest frame in the Genius LT stable and the reach is still shorter than on most of its size large peers.
Aided by the supple suspension and 40mm rims, the visibly squaredoff 2.8in Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres gripped really well in muddy UK conditions. This allowed the Scott to hold loose, earthy inside lines tangibly faster than the other bikes here. Unfortunately the hard PaceStar compound of the rear tyre meant it pinged off damp roots and rocks like they were made of soap. Dipping below our control pressures to compensate made the thin tyre casings too prone to squirming and puncturing. The tyres do roll really fast through the rough, so the bike maintains speed in the straights as well as the corners.
For the ‘winch and plummet’ style of riding, the Scott is highly capable, but the soggy pedalling platform and short geometry left us wanting.
Lockout-reliant and a little cramped, but still a terrain-gobbling, speed-holding bruiser
HIGHS
-Supple suspension maximises plus tyre comfort and traction
-Slacked-out and sturdy fork is unfazed by rocky terrain
LOWS
-Rear suspension relies on the lockout for good pedalling
-Even for a size large, the Genius LT frame comes up short
WEIGHT 14kg (30.9lb)
FRAME ‘HMF’ carbon fibre front triangle, alloy rear end, 160mm (6.3in) travel
SIZES (TESTED) S, M, L*
FORK Fox 36 Float Performance Elite, 160mm (6.3in) travel, with TwinLoc
SHOCK Fox/Scott Nude DPS with TwinLoc
HEADSET Syncros Pro, semi integrated
WHEELS :
HUBS Syncros CL811 F, CL14811 R
RIMS Syncros X-40, 40mm (internal)
SPOKES DT Swiss Competition, 32
AXLES 15x110mm F, 12x148mm R
WHEEL WEIGHT 2.25kg F, 2.68kg R (including tyres)
TYRES Schwalbe Nobby Nic EVO TrailStar 27.5x2.8in F, Schwalbe Nobby Nic EVO PaceStar 27.5x2.8in R
CRANKSET SRAM GX custom, 30t
BOTTOM BRACKET SRAM GXP PF
DERAILLEUR(S) SRAM GX
SHIFTER(S) SRAM GX (1x11)
CASSETTE/CHAIN SRAM XG-1150, 10-42t/KMC X11L
BRAKES Shimano SLX M675, 203/180mm rotors
BAR/STEM/GRIPS Syncros AM1.5, 760mm/Syncros XM1.5, 65mm/Syncros Pro lock-on
SEATPOST/SADDLE RockShox Reverb Stealth/Syncros XM1.5
Price 6150$