Croix de Fer
For the new season, the Croix de Fer collection – billed by Genesis as ‘adventure-cross’ – expands from three to five models.
The bicycle formerly known as the CDF becomes the steel-forked, Shimano Sora-equipped Croix de Fer 10 at £850. Last year’s Croix de Fer has been rebadged as the Croix de Fer 20, and shares the steel (and eyeleted) fork of its junior sibling.This year it wears Shimano Tiagra components, and is yours for £1,200. Both models use TRP’s cable-operated Spyre-C disc brake.
The stainless steel flagship, equipped with Shimano’s new ST-RS685 mechanical shift/hydraulic brake option, and the Japanese component giant’s new 5800-series group in all other regards (mechs and chainset), looks outrageous value at £2,500. The 32-hole Alex rims, laced with Sapim spokes to Formula hubs with sealed cartridge bearings, are likely to be fit for purpose, but might easily be replaced with something more exotic now the big manufacturers are getting up to speed with disc wheels (Shimano’s carbon-laminate RX830 might provide a suitable match – its tubeless tyre compatibility prove handy for rough road adventures, too).
It was the Croix De Fer 30, however – introduced to plug what briefly became a sizable gap between the now superseded Croix de Fer and the new, stainless steel bike – that caught our attention. With a Reynolds 725 frame finished in shimmering blue, equipped with Shimano’s mechanical shift/hydraulic brake option described above, and the Japanese giant’s new 5800-series 105 derailleurs, it’s a bike not only ready for adventure, if Genesis are to be believed, but one to inspire it.
Built around a Reynolds 725 frame, paired with the same eyeleted, carbon-bladed fork with straight, 1-1/8” alloy steerer tube as the flagship stainless steel bike, and rolling on the same wheelset (most importantly for this application, compatible with Shimano’s Centerlock disc rotors), but some £750 cheaper, it’s a versatile addition to a larger collection or a serious candidate for the mythical “only bike”, depending on your budget. It costs £1,750.
