Prototyped and raced to victory by Connor Swift last year at the Leicester GP, the whole team is now on the next generation Genesis Zero SL carbon road bike, having just finished the Tour de Yorkshire. It’s not quite ready for consumers, but Genesis says it is coming soon…
Genesis Zero SL carbon road race bike
The Zero SL is the third generation of the carbon road racing frame from British bikemaker Genesis.
This next generation bike was developed together with the Madison Genesis Team, and raced to a win by Swift in its debut outing last August – testing out the updated design.
The new bike isn’t a huge departure from the current Zero, but does get a lower front end & more snappy geometry, while also shedding some grams in both frame & fork apparently.
What’s new in 2018 – Tech Details
The new Zero SL is still made of a similar mix of 30T & 40T carbon and monocoque construction. But the updated carbon layup of the bike is said to create a stiffer ride to match the more racy handling. That also let Genesis get the partly aero-optimized frame under 1kg for all sizes.
The new carbon rim brake racing frameset also moves to direct mount brakes for more powerful stopping.
That also helped increase tire clearance for the frame & fork, now with enough space for 28mm tires, especially helpful for that racing that leaves the tarmac.
The new gets new derailleur attachment front & rear, now with a braze-on style front derailleur tab and an optional Shimano direct mount rear derailleur hanger.
The slightly lower frame stack includes an integrated dropped headset design that can either provide a pro-looking #slamthatstem look, or a taller headset cap without the look of a giant spacer stack.
The modular internal routing is also updated for the new bike.
It uses a new adaptable guide for all cables on the non-driveside of the headtube that clamps mechanical or electronic shift wires in place to eliminate rattling inside the frame.
Other than that most other details look to stay the same, like the 1.5″ tapered steerer, PressFit BB86, and rim brake-only version.
Madison Genesis Team pro bike build
The Madison Genesis team get a pretty top-shelf build for their bikes and a claimed complete bike weight with pedals of 7kg. But unfortunately this build probably won’t be made available to consumers. The new bike will come as a frameset in the team replica paint though, so you are welcome to recreate the build if your wallet allows.
The team is racing on a complete R9000 series of Dura-Ace components with R9150 Di2, C24/C40/C60 carbon tubulars, Dura-Ace’s power meter crankset, and pedals. Tires are pro-edition, peloton-standard issue 25mm Continental Competition Pro LTD tubulars. And cockpit is all taken care of by Shimano’s PRO line, including Vibe Stealth LTD bars, stem, Falcon (& others) carbon saddles, and carbon seatpost. K-Edge finishes the bikes off with a chain catcher and out-front Garmin mounts, plus Elite Vico carbon bottle cages.
Availability
There’s no word on official pricing or build kit options for the Zero SL, but we expect it to follow in the footsteps of the current Zero in offering a solid value (The current Zero Team is £1100 for a frameset, with complete bike builds starting at just £1500.) Word is that the team replica frameset will go on sale this summer, with affordable complete bikes expected in standard colors.
