The Croix de Fer is UK bike maker Genesis’ do-it-all adventure road bike, and always one of their most popular models. With chromoly, Reynolds 725, and even titanium versions on standard offer, this new premium Reynolds 853 frameset looks set to be the first to adopt thru-axles and flat mount disc brakes.
Croix de Fer 853 steel adventure road bike frameset
In a time of specialized road bikes, the Croix de Fer is a long standing jack-of-all-trades, with enough braze-ons to build into a touring rig (or commuter), clearance to fit up to 40mm+ tires, and quick enough handling to still make for fun road riding. Genesis calls it their ‘original gravel bike’.
In their 2018 catalog, Genesis’ standard CDF bikes have stuck with quick release axles & IS brake tabs in the interest of affordable builds and backwards compatibility. But the times are a changin’. And the industry has finally settled on 12mm thru-axles and flat mount disc brakes going forward on the road. So Genesis was happy to adopt the new standards for a frameset built from Reynolds’ premium 853 tubing.
The idea for the £900 steel frameset, is to give customers a platform to build up their own modern custom road bike to tackle any surface.
Tech details
The core of the new steel bike frame is a new set of extended, forged flat mount dropouts out back….
And at the front a new set of lugged, thru-axle fork tips that also incorporate part of the brake mount, plus the extra braze-ons. Genesis say they kept a straight 1.125″ steerer as the steel fork doesn’t need to go oversized to achieve the desired level of strength, stiffness & ride quality. They also stuck with the same welded unicrown style construction, as it delivers the best balance of meeting their testing standards without adding extra weight.
The Croix de Fer 853 will come only as a frameset for 2018, with availability and more concrete details expected in the coming months.
