The wait is killing me.
Anyone else bought one of these yet? I (finally) found a short review online. Oddly enough from the same place I demoed/ordered one. Best bike-purchase experience I've ever had, and top blokes to boot. Could have written the very same review myself as it echoes my story/first impressions almost to the letter:
I've had one of these for about a month now. Let's get the bad out of the way first. I found the brake lever hoods quite uncomfortable, they seem to be very narrow compared to others that I have used. However, this is a matter of personal preference. I've since swapped these for TRP RRL levers, which are much better. Then there's the TRP Spyre-C disc brakes. In the dry they provide well-modulated and progressive braking without trying to launch you over the bars at the touch of the lever. Today I went out for a 3 hour ride on fire tracks. It rained very heavily and it was obvious that the discs/pads were getting a lot of grit, etc. on them. After about an hour of this the brake levers were almost back to the handlebars with almost no braking. I had adjusted the cable tension earlier in the ride, so either the pads were wearing out very quickly or there is another issue. The only other disc brakes that I had an identical problem with were a set of Formula hydraulics. This does not instill confidence, especially if doing fully-loaded off-road tour.
On to the good. The frame is excellent. It is a joy to ride and accelerates well despite its weight. The high front end makes it a pleasure riding on the drops without adopting a foetal position. It tracks well both on and off road. The WTB Nano tyres are an excellent non-touring choice. They roll and accelerate well. Grip is good on all surfaces except for thick mud. It is easy to fit racks. I have fitted a Tubus Logo on the rear. It will take the 700c version as well as the 29" version. The gears work smoothly and the range of gearing will suit most applications. It is rare for me to have to use the small chainring, even when carrying a load.
When carrying a load in the rear panniers I hardly notice the extra weight and the bike remains well-balanced and handles perfectly.
For the price it is an excellent bike, a real pleasure to ride and I would rank it as probably the best bike that I have owned. It is fun to ride, comfortable and versatile. I might even sell all of my other bikes...
Just got myself the purple frameset of ebay for a bargain £175 
Planning on building it with alfine 11 if i can decide on the best bar & shifter combo.
Saw the blue one in a LBS yesterday, lovely looking bike. Very excited.
Great write-up rob, thanks for sharing. Any pics loaded? To echo yr experience with brakes - yesterday after only the fourth decent descent (dry, road) of the day the front brake lever was nudging against the bars. I (again) had to wind in the inside pad approx 1.5mm - 2mm having done same only three short rides ago. Looks set to be expensive unless can spec pads that don't wear as if made from hard cheese!
Back to the bike as a whole - I Love It. Have gone from forcing self to get out on the old mtb, to now finding any excuse or none to rag the Vagabond about for an hour or so daily, more on weekends. Climbs like a champ, even catching me out. The Nanos deliver surprising traction in a variety of situations wet or dry. Just as my instinct instructs me to dismount/bail on a steep/muddy/rooty or dusty climb - an extra squirt of torque shows me that the bike is easily going up there if I just learn to trust it. Beautiful. Vagabond (from standing) gets up to speed surprisingly quickly. Feels balanced and inspiring. Every day brings big bikey grins for three weeks now. Great initial impressions. Honeymoon period is drawing to a close and the only gripe really is the brake pads. My lady-hands suit the lever hoods well so no probs there except for them (hands) feeling weak as a kitten after now daily riding on drops/the hoods for the first time since 1989. Haven't fitted luggage as yet but plan to soon enough when I can be arsed to find and spec the correct Freeload rack fittings.
Spider-senses tell me that should be a little worried about what those shifters might do to top-tube if I stack. May try flipping the stem (higher) to see if that helps. But I love the posture exactly as it is, the medium fits my 5'10 frame 31 inseam like a glove. Pics:
correct Freeload rack fittings
Gah. First real compatibility issue. I splashed out on two (Sport deck and Tour deck) pre-Thule 'Freeload' racks and have for a few yrs succesfully used them without issue on all my bikes so planned to use them on the Vagabond. They do not fit in such a way that either deck is remotely is horizontal. Neither front forks or rear stays. Not at all.
Bolx. 160 quid! Plus the touring extras put it over 200...
Anyone want some Freeloads? Looks like going the Tubus route...
I'm planning to get a vagabond frame to build a bikepacking rig, since Fargo got too expensive and sold out anyway.
Do you think I will be able to squeeze a 2.25" in the rear on i24 mm rims?
Maybe I have to give up the front derailleur and go 1x?
^
Im not knowledgeable re yr rims but here are some clearance pics I took to show how a Nano 2.1 sits on the stock Alex Volar 2.1 rim (medium frame)
re front mech on the 2x10 setup - the arm is not a problem but the mech/bracket behind the seat-tube sits just 4-5mm from the nobblies and they aren't big nobblies :|. I'm sure there is a clear answer out there re 2.25s but tyre profiles baffle me as some 2.1s look a 1/3 narrower than others. These Nanos seem ballooon-ish for 2.1s, I like them a lot they fit the bill and are well-specced IME for a wide-variety of riding/surfaces, also providing decent shock absorption
I can just squeeze a finger between the chainstays and tyre wall. Just.
Forgot to say - forks won't be a problem for 2.25, 2.35, 2.4(?)
thanks Malvert
I'd like to go 2.25 rear and 2.35 front but didn't consider the chainstay clearance, that looks really narrow
why everybody falls short doing a Fargo mock-up?
By my (in the field) impromptu measurements with only the tools to hand - chainstay width at the widest point of my tyres is approx 70mm. So the purpose of chainstay clearance a max tyre width of 60mm depending on knobblies?
Best thing to do is find a demo and try yr wheel/tyre combo on for size? Yr welcome to try mine if in the SW. Tho it would appear to be designed for 2.1 (optimal) - lucky for me these seem perfect for the terrain, although for road tours am finding it difficult to choose a narrower 90% tarmac/winter/full-mudguard tyre set
Thanks Malvern, extremely helpful.
Impossibile for me to get a demo, I live in Italy and here Genesis is not popular at all.
I'm afraid I have to wait next season to get a Fargo available at twice the price (or probably more :()
What 2.25 tyre you thinking of? I've got some conti speed kings in 2.1, a conti mk2 in a 2.1 (which blows up big), a der Baron 2.4 and a onza Ibex 2.4 I can try. I'll report back once I've had a go ( will try for decent pics to show clearance as well)
spev that would be very useful thank you!
i am talking about schwalbe racing ralph in 2.25 (a 2.35 version would be available for the front)
Ah right I think I might have a schwalbe of some kind there as well, it's gonna be like kwikfit later
Well today i have sold my Vaya, now I'm one step closer to pull the trigger on this frameset.
I think I'm going 1x with 38t front and 11-42 rear, I just have to figure out what rims/tyres I may get.
What is the rear spacing btw?
@spev
i googled that kwikfit thing (never heard of it) and it made me laugh a lot
Hey Malvern Rider,
Got my purple vagabond frameset, and although it looks cool just sat there in the living room, im starting to get bits together to build her up. Got a silver 29er wheelset on the way with Alfine 8 hub on the back and dynamo hub on the front, new FSA headset (cos its green!), some mechanical disc brakes and a jtek bar end shifter. Pending bits: possibly a sturmey archer crankset, silver seatpost & stem and a brooks B17 saddle. Now this is where i could do with your feeback/advice, im undecided on whether to go down the drop bar/far bar (dirtdrop) route or butterfly bars. Also thinking schwalbe big apple tyres (2.15) as although i might well go offroading its mainly for gravel track and road. I already have road bikes so want the ride to be a bit more upright and comfortable. Interested to know your thoughts on the riding position and whether drops is really the only viable solution for the frame.
Im from Malvern myself but now up in the Wirral so will keep an eye out for a roaming Vagabond next time im down visiting family 
In addition to fitting a Tubus logo rear rack, I've also fitted Tubus Duo lowriders (best price Rutland Cycles). They took about 10 minutes to fit. I've changed the standard handlebars for On-One Midge bars. They raise the drops by about 1 1/2 inches, and are very comfortable, especially on the drops. The angle of the brake levers is easy to get used to and they provide a wider bar for better control off-road. They're not cheap at just over £30, but I've found a company called Alpkit(.com) that do their own version (the Bomber) for just under £19.
When it comes to replacing brake pads, Uberbike do four pairs of sintered pads for £22.99. I've fitted a pair on the front calipers and they work very well.
I've also fitted a pair of Schwalbe Big Apple tyres (2.0", I think). Difficult to fit (have a supply of zip ties handy), but easy to remove. They're good on tarmac, although surprisingly harsh at medium pressures. I've gone back to the original tyres for the moment as they're good for commuting and most of my non-commuting rides are off-road.
So has any one loaded their panniers up and toured on their Vagabond yet if so how did it ride loaded?
I loaded mine with front and rear panniers, probably 10-15 kg, and it handled fine both on and off road. The extra weight was hardly noticeable.