Genesis Day One 10 singlespeed bike review

British bike company Genesis bills the Day One 10 as a low-maintenance, simplified daily workhorse for inner-city jaunts.

With full-length mudguards and disc brakes it certainly looks well-tailored to the riding out the worst of the UK’s varied weather.

But besides being a sturdy commuter, will it pack in enough fun to fare well as a winter trainer or all-terrain hack bike? We hopped aboard to find out.  

The frame

Made of Genesis’ own Mjölnir double-butted Chromoly, the frameset employs pretty traditional tube profiles, yet assembles them into a modern, compact shape.

Happy to be loaded up like a pack horse, there are multiple mounts for racks and guards, including internal and external ones on the fork legs, along with two separate sets of fixings on the rear dropouts.

Two bottle cage bosses provide for hydration or additional portage. Spaced 135mm apart, the large flat-plate dropouts allow the rear brake calliper to slide back and forth along with the wheel, making it easy to experiment with different gear ratios.

It’s a practical if somewhat industrial-looking design. Elsewhere there’s a simple gusset behind the head tube to reinforce the junction with the down tube.

Nearby is a subtle inlet for an internal gear cable, which means it would be possible to retrofit a hub gearing system if you fancied.

The smart blue paintwork attracted several compliments. Embedded within it are broad swathes of reflective print, which light up when hit by a car’s headlights. 

Groupset

The brake levers have probably come from towards the back of the original equipment product catalogue.

Still, they work well enough, despite being a bit flexy. The Promax callipers themselves are also fairly workaday, yet provide braking that’s easily as good as a decent mini V-brake, while being more consistent and lower maintenance.

The crankset includes a neat chainguard to stop your trouser leg getting mangled. It’s hardly worth mentioning that it’s a little flexy.

More important to note is that it’s worth checking the crank bolts are tight after the first couple of rides.

Finishing kit

The rounded and squishy saddle is a good spot to spend both a brief commute without the need for adding padded shorts, or an extended pedal decked out in your full kit.

Up front, the shallow bars make covering the brakes from the drops comfortable while also ensuring it’s easy to get a hold on all the different positions.

They’re wrapped in comfortable yet robust tape. The two-bolt seatpost is tough and workmanlike, as is the stem.

It’s great to see mudguards coming as standard. Their inclusion not only saves you about £30 but also the inevitable hours of frustration you’d endure fitting them.

Full-length, and with proper end flaps, they’ll keep you dry, happy, and looking presentable.

Wheels

The hubs use traditional nuts, so require a spanner to put on and take off.

Equally old-world are their cup-and-cone internals. Although heavy and a little antiquated, given the bike’s overall value we won’t complain.

Better are the rims. Tough, if anonymous Jalco XCD22 models, they’ll take a serious beating. The tyres are 35c CST models.

A sensible width, their tread is swift on road and happy to serve over rough ground, although being relatively slick will be flummoxed by sludgier conditions.

A reflective band on the sidewall is a nice safety feature and they proved themselves to be pretty puncture resistant, too. 

On the road

Hoisting the Day One into the workstand to give it a once over before setting off, our initial thought is that it seems to offer a lot of bike for your £700.

Both in terms of componentry, but also overall mass – this is not a light bike. However, dropped onto the road its easy gearing means it’s not too much of a wrench to get going.

With the broad tyres rumbling along, it gives every impression of being able to tackle most eventualities without becoming flustered, thanks to a sturdy frame, relaxed geometry, and powerful brakes.

A combination of sensibly sized head tube and easy-reach handlebar make the low-slung Day One easy to get to grips with.

A long wheelbase and slack head angle keep everything on the straight and narrow without requiring much input from the rider.

This quality is furthered by the fairly wide 35c tyres. Happy to be run soft for grip and comfort, or a bit harder for quicker rolling over assured terrain, they’re a little weighty but still plough along readily enough thanks to a slick profile.

With a fairly petite 42-tooth chainring coupled to a 17-tooth rear freewheel the Day One provides an easily mashable gear ratio.

Although lower than you’d find on most singlespeeds, it’s well suited to using the bike on stop-start commutes or along mixed terrain like canal towpaths or greenways.

It also makes stomping up moderate hills a possibility. If you want to go faster, it’s both cheap and easy to replace the freewheel for one that’s smaller by one or two teeth (or for a fixed sprocket, should you so desire).

The disc brakes are welcome, making it easy to stop the Genesis rapidly regardless of the conditions.

The frame itself is fairly immovable, however the tubes do soak up a little of the buzz from the road.

Although there’s a lot of it to get moving, the Genesis is unyielding enough that heaving on the bars and pedals is never futile.

We’re definitely on board with the steel construction. Designed for going out in all weather, and to potentially be loaded up with panniers, it means the Genesis should last a lifetime.

Commuter bikes are some of the least-loved but hardest-working machines. Rarely shown the same attention as the Sunday best bike, they get ridden into the ground, put away wet and expected to perform day in, day out.

Given that a rider with a fairly short five mile commute to work will still rack up an average of 2,250 miles each year it pays to choose something hard-wearing.

With a beefy frame, singlespeed drive, mudguards, and disc brakes the Genesis is certainly that.

However, coming prepared for every eventuality has left it a little on the chunky side.

Fine on the commute, or for general pootling, it’s a little bit slow for more sporty applications. 

Ratings

Frame: Practical and comfortable but a tad on the heavy side. 8/10
Components: Well-chosen parts, including great disc brakes. 9/10 
Wheels: Sturdy and practcal, with fast amd wide tyres fitted. 7/10 
The Ride: Not the fastest but a highly versatile all-rounder. 7/10

Verdict

An ultra-durable, all-conditions commuter that's built to last a lifetime

Geometry

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