Guru Geneo
Price: $8,150
Weight: 16 lbs
Components: Shimano Dura-Ace, Ritchey WCS and Zipp wheels
Frame & Fork: Carbon frame with Easton EC carbon fork
Geometry: 72.5/74 (head/seat) for 54cm frame
Sizes: Full custom in sizes from 49 to 63cm.
Comments: A pricey ride that’s worth every penny
www.gurubikes.com

If you were going to buy yourself a $1,000 suit, you wouldn’t walk into a store and pick one out that “sort of” fits. Instead, you would have a tailor size you up and then have one made that fits you perfectly. So why is it that when most cyclists want to buy a high-end road bike, they walk into a bike shop and buy the size that matches closest to what they need. Sure you can customize a bike by playing with the seat post height and different size of stems, but you’re stuck with whatever frame size you went with. That’s where Guru Bicycles comes in.

Founded in 1998, Guru is a custom-bike maker in Laval, Que. Too big to be considered a boutique manufacturer, but too small to be a mainstream company, Guru has found a niche for itself making custom frames in all four common materials – carbon, titanium, steel, aluminum or a combination of them.

Though there’s a misconception much of Guru’s business has been focused on the triathlon market, the reality is the company’s market is split almost down the middle for road and multi-sport bikes. And for anyone who didn’t know Guru made some outstanding roadies, the new Geneo sends the message out loud and clear.

Where the Chrono is Guru’s top triathlon frame, the Geneo is Guru’s flagship road bike design. Formerly known as the Maestro, the Geneo is a full-carbon frame that’s handmade in Quebec. It’s described as the world’s first and only fully-customizable seamless aero carbon monocoque frame, which pretty much sums it up. As much as the Geneo is a road bike, its aero downtube design and internal cable routing makes it more aero than some company’s time trial bikes.

Though my test bike was a stock-geometry 54cm Geneo, every Guru is available with full-custom geometry at no extra charge. After getting yourself sized up at your local dealer, the measurements are sent to the company and used to make a bike that fits you perfectly in every way.

And before you worry that a full-custom bike will take months to deliver, Guru’s goal is to have every custom bike – regardless of the geometry requests – out the door in approximately three weeks.

And a full-custom bike means exactly that – every option can be customized. From drivetrain to wheels to paint schemes, selecting the options for a Guru is like picking the options in a new house.

And as for price? It’s less than you think. Sure, a 15.7-pound Geneo Limited Edition with a Campy Record build and Bora Ultra wheels will set you back some $12,000, but you can be on a fully custom Guru Racelite with a Shimano Ultegra build for approximately $3,500.

As for my test bike, it was a Geneo with the Dura-Ace 10-speed group, a Ritchey carbon cockpit (stem, bars, seat post) and a Fi’zi:k saddle. This particular build also came with gorgeous Zipp 303 aero wheels, bringing the retail price of the bike up to $8,150, including a custom paint job.

So what do you get when you pay the same for a bicycle that you do for a compact car? Quite simply the best of everything.
Straight out of the box, the Geneo is a purebred racer. At 16 pounds, there are lighter bikes out there, but not many that are more aerodynamic than this one.

And you can feel that aero design on the road.

The Geneo is good for any road racer, but this particular build was ideal for people who like to blast off the front of the pack once in a while and go it alone. There was really nothing this bike didn’t do well.

It floated up climbs, descended with confidence and, quite honestly, was a blast to ride.

There’s no question the $2,000 Zipp 303 carbon clincher wheels really set the Guru over the edge. They make a fantastic bike even better. However, with that said, the Zipps are definitely not everyday training wheels. With them costing as much as some bikes, you’ll want to keep them away from pothole-filled training routes and save them for race day only. Which means you’ll need another set of wheels.

My recommendation is that unless you’re a top-level racer, in which case you’ve probably got a bike and wheel sponsor anyway, order the Geneo with a good set of do-it-all wheels that you can train on and race, if necessary.

As a package, the Geneo as tested was fantastic, but no matter how you order your Guru, you’ll be happy with what you get.
And as an added bonus, you’re buying a truly made-in-Canada bike.