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review
£4,999.99
VERDICT:
Fast and inspiring ride with great handling and fine looks; a true contender for any performance road bike shortlist
Weight:
7,870g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
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- Appalling
With sublime handling and rapid performance, the Genesis Volare is proof, if ever it were needed, that steel still has a place at the top table of performance road bikes. The Madison Genesis Pro Team have been ambitious in putting steel bikes back in the professional peloton, and in doing that have developed an exciting bike that should appeal equally to racers and non-racers alike.
Ride: Fast and engaging
To ride, the Volare Team 953 just feels good; really good. Boot it up the road with all the watts you can summon from your legs and it rips along at a terrific pace. Drop into a descent and it is stable and predictable. The Volare gives you the confidence to explore some high speeds through the corners. Pin it through an apex and it feels settled, almost calm, unlike some bikes which can start to get nervous at such speeds.
Point it at your favourite hill and, whether seated or out of the saddle, climbing reveals just how stiff the frame is, the front half especially feeling exceptionally tight. The oversized head tube together with the Enve carbon fork give the front end a very solid feeling. Push and pull on the bars shows not a hint of flex or limpness. It's responds sharply to such inputs, at any speed.
The Volare isn't compromised because of its race-crafted design though. That's a good thing because I think the Volare is right at home with anyone simply wanting a fast road bike for blasting the lanes of a Sunday morning. It's comfortable if you want to take it easy; you can cruise along and take in the views.
It's a comfortable bike most of the time, in that distinct way of a good steel-framed bike. On smooth Tarmac it quietly buzzes along, just the sound of the tyres for company. Get it on a less well maintained road though, and the ride is a touch jolty, and the rougher the road gets the more it feeds vibration through to the handlebars and saddle. This is no doubt a consequence of the oversized tube profiles and enormous head tube and bottom bracket. At times it feels more like a stiff carbon frame than a steel frame, which just shows how much stiffness they've managed to add with all the oversized tubes.
Thankfully it never gets harsh though, and the large volume 25mm tyres (which I found felt best at about 90-95psi) certainly help take the edge off. You could probably get a more more vibration damping by fitting carbon fibre handlebars and seatpost.
It's a very fast and brilliant-handling bike, and if you want a genuine alternative to aluminium or carbon fibre for a high performance road bike, the Volare is easy to recommend.
Some people pointed to the weight penalty of the bike during the test period, and that is a consideration. Genesis have worked hard to bring the weight of the frame down, and the bike pictured tipped the scales at 7.91kg. Not really that heavy is it?
A quick look through the reviews archive to see what a carbon bike for the same money gets you, and we arrive at the Storck Fenomalist. Full carbon and five grand, and it weighs 7kg on the nose. So, a 0.8kg weight difference. I don't think that's much of a penalty. If you're a weight weenie, if every gram matters, then the Volare isn't for you, but you'll be too busy weighing your latex inner tubes to be reading this review.
In the real world, the weight difference is negligible. Yes, at times you can feel the weight, but I never found it holding me back on the climbs. Against a stopwatch I know I'll be quicker up my regular climbs on a lighter carbon bike, but probably not all that much. On one test hill I've set a PB on the Volare against a sway of carbon bikes. There's a lot more than a light bike to going fast up a hill.
Everywhere else, the Volare just excels. The ride is classy and well balanced, it feels really nice to ride, it is fun to ride, it's a cracking bike.
Would I have one in my garage? Well, that's a tricky question. If I was wanting a race bike, I'd probably be tempted by carbon or alloy and a cheaper groupset for a bike of about the same weight, and for non-racing, just riding fast for fun, then I'm not sure the frame really benefits enough from the oversizing to warrant the tradeoff in total ride comfort.
The fact is, the Volare Team 953 is a fantastic bike. It's so good in fact that I spent so much time with it that I wore out the brake pads. I don't usually wear out brake blocks on test bikes.
Frame: Oversized Reynolds 953 tubing
What have Genesis done to produce such a fine riding bike then? Well it started a couple of years ago with the intention of supplying the then-new race Madison-Genesis, and it has been fettled, tweaked and honed before it was finally launched to the public this year. Genesis have been back and forth to Reynolds, tweaking the shape and profile of the tubes, and changing small details based on feedback from the racers.
The team have been critical in the development of the frame since its inception. That's the advantage, and attraction, of working with professional riders; you get a lot of feedback very quickly, because they rack up the miles and are usually very demanding. Based on that feedback they've made changes like giving the top tube more slope, and decreasing the diameter of the tubes to build in a little more compliance and reduce the weight. Genesis claim a weight of about 1,650g for a size 54cm frame.
Oversized tubes are the order of the day, visibly in the down tube, top tube and chainstays. The head tube is a 44mm diameter tube and an Enve Road fork with a carbon tapered steerer tube slides into the headset bearings. The bottom bracket is Shimano's press-fit BB86, the wide shell providing plenty of surface area for the oversized down tube, seat tube and chainstays. To provide some comfort they've fitted a 27.2mm seatpost.
The tubeset is Reynolds 953, a specially developed 'martensitic-aging' stainless steel alloy that Reynolds claim offers a tensile strength in excess of 2000MP (853 is around 1400MP), giving a very high strength-to-weight ratio. It's a lovely tubeset, and gives a noticeable performance increase over 853 or one of the other non-stainless steel tubesets, with a bit more tautness when you wind it up to speed. It's also very forgiving, but the oversized head tube, bottom bracket and chainstays perhaps undoes some of the compliance just a touch.
Geometry is fairly racy, as you might expect, and sticks to tried-and-tested numbers, so there are no real surprises in the handling. The head angle is 73.3° and the seat angle 73.25°, the effective top tube is 56.1cm, the wheelbase 985mm and the chainstays are 407mm. One thing worth pointing out is the 14.5cm head tube, that's very aggressive and just how racers like it (they love getting as low as possible on the bike) and while Genesis do stick a few spacers above the headset, it's really very specific in its focus.
Build: Full Dura-Ace 11-speed and RS81 wheels
Just like the team race, the Volare Team gets a full Dura-Ace 9000 11-speed groupset with a 52/36 chainset and 11-28 cassette. The groupset is wonderful to use. Shifting is light and crisp and very accurate, front shifts are fantastic with plenty of trim options, and the brakes are extremely powerful. The brake blocks don't last all that long in the rain and grit of a UK winter/spring though.
The 52/36 chainset was something I instantly grew to like. It just takes the hurt off trying to push a 53/39 in winter training mode without resorting to a compact.
The Shimano theme continues with the RS81 C24 wheels. They use the same carbon laminate rim design as the more expensive Dura-Ace wheels, but have slighter heavier hubs. There's nothing wrong with these wheels at all, they spin up fast, are a decent weight and very reliable, but Dura-Ace wheels would have been nice at this price.
Wide tyres are all the rage at the moment. The team have been racing 25mm tyres, and so the bike is fitted with Continental Grand Sport Race 25mm tyres. They're not Conti's best tyres, but they're fast and a good weight. I found their puncture resistance lacking on my local roads, though. They're a good tyre to get you started, and when they wear out you can upgrade them anyway.
The bike is finished with Genesis 0.4 inhouse handlebars, stem and seatpost, all made from alloy and featuring smart decals. The saddle should be a San Marco Concor, but that went missing somewhere so a Genesis branded saddle was fitted. I replaced it with a Prologo Scratch saddle anyway so I could get properly comfortable on it. It's all nice kit, but you might reasonably expect some fancier PRO branded finishing kit.
Five grand is a lot of money for a road bike, and they've probably had to work quite hard to get the £2,249 frame and fork and a full Dura-Ace groupset and decent wheels to squeeze in under, given a Dura-Ace groupset retails for about £2k.
The smart money might be to buy the Volare Team frame on its own for £2,249, and pick up a Dura-Ace groupset which can currently be bought discounted at various retailers for £950 (half the retail price). Use the money saved to buy some faster wheels and fancier finishing kit, and you'll either end up with a better specced bike for the same money as the complete bike, or save yourself a few quid.
Conclusion
The Volare Team is a great package that provides a fast and lively ride that can live with most carbon fibre or aluminium race bikes. It's a wonderful looking bike too, really standing out against a backdrop of carbon bikes in a club run and is easy to live with on a daily basis, doing everything you want of a high performance road bike. For just riding or racing, the Volare Team delivers. My one caveat is that good as it is as a complete package buying a frameset and building it up yourself might be a better financial move and you'd end up with exactly the bike you wanted. That said it's a well thought out build as it comes and you might not want the hassle of searching for parts - plus of course, if you're spending this amount of money saving a few quid may not be high on your list of priorities. So, if you want something a bit different and unique, the Volare Team 953 is a bike that should be on your shortlist.
Verdict
Fast and inspiring ride with great handling and fine looks; a true contender for any performance road bike shortlist.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Genesis Volare Team
Size tested: 56
About the bike
State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.
953's unparalleled UTS (Ultimate Tensile Strength) of 1750-2050 MPa results in a far superior strength to weight ratio of any other steel currently offered within the cycle industry, enabling Reynolds, in combination with oversize tube profiles, to draw very thin walled tubes (down to 0.3mm in places) and give an overall frame weight comparable to that of Titanium (circa 1600-1700g for 54cm), but much, much stiffer.
Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?
Developing a bona fide, modern day race frame from steel, presented us with a real engineering challenge. Could we make it competitive in a race context (stiff enough, light enough)? Would it satisfy a group of riders who have spent the majority of their racing lives on carbon? What we've tried to do is push the boundaries of what's possible with a steel road race frame - some elements experimental (in the context of steel), others pre-proven.
So, what makes 953 so special? Its big trump card is its strength. It's off-the-scale strength that results in a superior strength-to-weight ratio, enabling Reynolds, in combination with oversize tube profiles, to draw very thin walled tubes (Reynolds will butt down to 0.3mm in places) and give an overall frame weight comparable to that of Titanium but nearly twice as stiff.
Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's an absolute b**ch to work with (in its off-the-chart tensile strength lies both its biggest strength and biggest weakness), but, in 953 Reynolds now had a steel tubeset to trump Titanium, clawing back some much needed, long-lost ground to the favoured modern materials - stainless, stiff, competitively light yet still retaining that unmistakable compliant and road-connected ride feel for which steel is famous.
Frame and fork
Overall rating for frame and fork
9/10
Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?
Fantastic finish and build quality, lovely welds.
Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?
The tubeset is Reynolds 953, a specially developed 'martensitic-aging' stainless steel alloy that Reynolds claim offers a tensile strength in excess of 2000MP (853 is around 1400MP), giving a high strength-to-weight ratio.
Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?
Fairly racy as you'd expect from a race-tuned bike.
How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?
Spot on.
Riding the bike
Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.
Mostly yes, but on very rough roads it becomes a bit jolty, more akin to a stiff carbon or alloy bike.
Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?
Yes, loads of stiffness detectable in the head tube and bottom bracket.
How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?
Oh yes.
Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?
Loves cornering, where it feels stable and planted. Very accurate steering too
Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?
Carbon fibre bars and post might alleviate some of the road buzz.
Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
8/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
8/10
Rate the bike for sprinting:
8/10
Rate the bike for high speed stability:
9/10
Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
9/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
8/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
9/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
9/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
7/10
The drivetrain
Rate the drivetrain for performance:
9/10
Rate the drivetrain for durability:
8/10
The brake pads didn't last long
Rate the drivetrain for weight:
9/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
7/10
Wheels and tyres
Rate the wheels and tyres for performance:
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for durability:
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for weight:
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for comfort:
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for value:
9/10
Controls
Rate the controls for performance:
9/10
Rate the controls for durability:
8/10
Rate the controls for weight:
7/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
7/10
Rate the controls for value:
8/10
Your summary
Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes.
Would you consider buying the bike? Maybe.
Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Probably.
Rate the bike overall for performance:
9/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
7/10
About the tester
Age: 31 Height: 180 Weight: 67
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
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My understanding is that you have to sue for some crazy amount or you won't be taken seriously.
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Add new comment
47 comments
The price of components apart..,
I have been interested in a Volare 20 with lower spec componentry and would be interested in reading a review of that as it is a more realistic price point and a nicer finish IMHO.
Oh my but worth the wait though Id say it was more like 9/10 for climbing...
Not remotely impressed with Giant...despite a cracked frame and ovalised head set on my carbon bike the dealership i bought it from refused to honour the warranty even though its less than two years old....
way to go guys...i shall NEVER buy a giant or parts from them ever again!
on the plus side ive looked at steel again and am now working on building up a new winter training bike using the Genesis 853 frame as a base and striping the C24s and parts of the chainset off the old giant... going to buy a carbon seat post, cross carbon forks and low drop carbon bars off wiggle who buy the way were £70 cheaper than chicken cycles...nice going guys..Happy Safe riding and remember lights and a helmet and check your bike
Tommy
Oh my but worth the wait though Id say it was more like 9/10 for climbing...
Not remotely impressed with Giant...despite a cracked frame and ovalised head set on my carbon bike the dealership i bought it from refused to honour the warranty even though its less than two years old....
way to go guys...i shall NEVER buy a giant or parts from them ever again!
on the plus side ive looked at steel again and am now working on building up a new winter training bike using the Genesis 853 frame as a base and striping the C24s and parts of the chainset off the old giant... going to buy a carbon seat post, cross carbon forks and low drop carbon bars off wiggle who buy the way were £70 cheaper than chicken cycles...nice going guys..Happy Safe riding and remember lights and a helmet and check your bike
Tommy
It's worrying if you can get a frame and group set etc (and all presumably warrantied up and not grey import) and build a bike cheaper than the equivalent complete off the peg, despite the bike companies economies of scale.
I can buy a pile of bricks and some mortar pretty cheaply too, getting the builder to make a house out of it all is the expensive part
If you can build your own bike and have the tools, then great. It's what I do. Most people can't though, and you should expect to pay someone for their time in doing it for you.
No logic in this reply. You don't need to be a skilled trade man to buy a bike frame and components to build a bike up yourself. It you happy to pay Genesis too much becuase they are buying poorly and have inefficient supply chain thats up to you. I'm not saying I don't the bikes.
People routinely pay others to do things they don't have the time, inclination, tools etc. to do themselves. How difficult it is once you know how to do it isn't the point. It's not illogical.
Yes it is because building your own house is nothing like the a sending a couple of hours building up a bike yourself. I take, if you got a house built you would use the builder with highest quote that pays over the odds for all is raw materials because he owned by the builders merchant who gets suppliers from overseas that cost more than you could by yourself. I bet you still get your milk delivered to your door by the milk man, buy your gorcecies at the local independant shop and get your car serviced by the main dealed because that its always been done. I'm surprised you have any money to buy £5000 bike.
No matter how ridiculous prices demanded by likes of Madison there appears to plenty of people on here saying that's ok would you please charge me more.
Fwiw, I'd use the builder able to do the job I wanted him to do, at I price I consider reasonable. If it's what I want, it's what I'll get, if the price is unreasonable then I won't.
But then, I'm reasonable.
If you can build the same bike cheaper than Genesis do it, if you want to, but you don't, you just want to bump your gums online.
We can all get stuff cheaper than RRP, bikes are not unique in that. Some people pay RRP, they must do?
As for telling a manufacturer not to come online and engage with punters? Really?
Isn't that a good thing? Isn't it great that a manufacturer is reading 'opinion' and, even subliminally, taking note?
Crack on Albert, I am a bit of a Genesis fan and have two of your bikes in my collection, or as my partner likes to think of it 'spare bedroom', this one is way too expensive for me but I hope some of those lucky beggars who can afford £100+ cycling jerseys will go for it rather than a carbon bike.
I think the point about the online retailers and perceived value is moot really. Even at full RRP the frameset, groupset, wheels and tyres come in at less than £4,700. The own brand finishing kit is hardly going the break the bank. If it costs more in duty to import the full bike why not assemble it in the UK? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't cost hundreds of pounds to assemble a bike in this country and you could also go though Madison for the parts.
I guess the complete bike really is more than the sum of it's parts...
Agree with the comments regarding a self-build being cheaper, but I do note that a Condor Leggero frameset is around the same price, and the DA 9000 build that was in the shop when I visited was also £5k. It seems ridiculous that Shimano would actually think that we can only source this stuff for full RRP (thus justifying the build price).
Dean Martin went fishing, and caught a massive eel.
That's a moray.
Volare?
Was it designed by Dean Martin?
When you can buy the bits retail, build the bike yourself, and save over a grand there is something badly wrong with the price.
I think it's a gorgeous looking bike, but that price for a steel frame is madness. Especially since it's probably impossible to repair.
I think the problem comes from the aggressive pricing offered by some online retailers. Even bikes from 'the big three' also appear overpriced when you look. For example - http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/s-works-tarmac-sl4/28401/s-work...
SRP on that frame is £2600, and don't forget the complete bike is assembled using mostly own brand kit - wheels, tyres and sale included....
A bit different *and* unique, eh?
Looks gorgeous. Wouldn't buy it. But I hope lots of people do.
Dear Albert, please send me one of them there gorgeous bikes. I cannot afford to pay you but it would make me very happy, and what's the price of happiness, eh!
Many thanks...
Thanks for the comments guys. The whole myth around the better/preferential pricing on Shimano as Genesis is part of Madison/Sportline is a longstanding myth that I think needs putting to bed. It probably stems (and was wrongly suggested on our part) from us using predominantly Shimano spec in the past - mainly for ease of spares for us and our dealers, but also, plain and simply - they produce good kit. Only if we were assembling in the UK then would our OEM order go through Madison. We assemble in Taiwan and therefore the Shimano order goes through our assembler and we pay according to their pricing from Shimano. As much as it would be nice to have a kickback from Japan for using their kit, I'm afraid this doesn't happen. We do have the freedom to spec what we like and whatever we think is the best fit for the bike (e.g. a few Campag-equipped bikes in next years' range as we think their classic styled alloy groupsets will be a nice match for some of our steel-framed models).
Albert@Genesis
That's understandable and thanks for the explanation. But, aren't you being stiffed a bit here? Shimano seem to be charging your assembler/you RRP or more on the components. Haven't they tried negotiating a volume discount?
Hi Albert
Just bought myself one of your High Lattitude 650b frame set and bought all the components of the internet. Full XT group set, Rox shock forks at price less than complete
bike from you with only Deore. So how is that I can sit at home and get a better deal than you. You would be better off buying your shamino from Ribble or Chain reaction. I see Chain Reaction are only ready offering 40% discount on pre order 105 11 speed and I assume they are buying from Shamino.
I think we have opened a real can of worms here. Once you have to go on line forums to defend your pricing policy you are either ripping people off or have lost control. The bike buying public are beginning to get sick of being taken for mugs by the cycle trade. Yes you are on a high with the current trend for cycling on back of the sportive craze but every bubble bursts. Look what happened to new motorbiker craze of the mid to late 90's.
Hi Dean, great point and quite a lot of factors at play. Can of worms indeed!Some of it comes down to import duty we're subjected to on bikes/frames we import from the Far East (frames = 7% / bikes = 14%). It might not sound like much of a difference, and, at the lower/mid end of the scale the difference can be absorbed somewhat without much to overall retail price. As you can imagine, in the instance of the model above, which obviously has a very large sum of parts, it has a significant effect on the overall srp. Another factor, and arguably the biggest and most relevant to percieved value, is the aftermarket pricing of groupset/parts. With online players working on very small margins, bypassing a link in the traditional distributor/dealer/consumer) supply chain (and passing the savings onto the consumer), fierce competition/price wars, coupled with the fact that an awful lot of it is grey stock and purchased at OEM prices means that in terms of aftermarket parts, the end consumer has never had it so good! This obviously comes at the detriment of the percieved value of OTP bikes at the moment. I hope this goes some way to maybe helping explain the current situation.
let's not pretend it's a situation exclusive to Madison either. with the exception of direct-to-consumer bikes such as Ribble, Planet X, Canyon and Rose, you could build up pretty much any top-end frame that's offered frame-only for less than the manufacturer charges for the built Shimano bike. Specialized, Pinarello and Cervélo are obvious examples, there are plenty more.
Hi Alb.
Are you sure we've never had it so good? The whole bicycle industry seems hell bent on turning a machine that ought to last for many years, into a virtually disposable item, condemming millions of older (but often quite recent) bikes to languish in sheds around the country, through a program of rapid obsolesence, and by designing components that often wear much more quickly.
And seeing as I'm on a roll, 2k for a TIG welded "production" 953 (which despite the carefully crafted mystique is actually an easy tube to machine according to Reynolds themselves), and with a fairly basic paint job, is hardly much of a bargain when compared to inflation adjusted prices for the very best frames of yesteryear. My 1979 753, made by the same frame builder of many world champions, cost me just 150 quid (£643 in today's money) and that included a Campag Record headset. Built in the UK, at UK labour rates. And that was properly lugged and silver soldered, a much more expensive process than TIG welding. If you're so concerned about import duties, why not build them here? You wouldn't have to ship the tubes made in Birmingham half way round the world and then back again. Hardly the epitome of environmental friendliness is it?
I personally think it's the "industry" that's never had it so good, rather than the actual cyclists themselves.
I can't help thinking this is massively overstated. My Scott is 7 years old and I don't expect any problems getting parts for it any time in the next few years. I reckon it'd be a good few years again before I was forced to buy something else. How is it being made obsolete?
There might be something in the faster wearing components bit though.
If you're not aware of what's going on, or just how endemic the problem is within the cycle industry, just type the words "bicycle" and "obsolescence" into Google.
Hi Albert
A word of advice. Stop digging the hole deeper while you still have some potential customers out there who are prepared to pay £5000 for a £3000 bike. If you have a poor buying policy don't admit to it on internet forums get your house in order. I bet your competitors as loving watching to trying to justify the punter paying for Madison's arrogance.
Oooo
Pretty Genesis frame w/ Campagnolo gruppo == Win! 
Make it so!
In fact, please have one of those come with TRP HyRd disc brakes.
I'm starting to save up right now.
One lads in our local bike shop use these brakes on his cross bike and they nothing but problems. Only getting 1 and a bit races from a set of pads before there no adjustment left.
Is Albert Genesis that Campag is priced better than Shamino. I don't think the Madison Shimano brand manager will be happy about this.
That must have been some race - surely he's not just incapable of setting them up correctly? I've been using these brakes for some months now, for a daily commute of 35 miles in all kinds of nasty winter weather. Haven't yet needed to change the pads, brakes are still working flawlessly.
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