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Could this really be the do it all bike it is claimed to be, or have I been sucked into the marketing?
Depends which bike you mean.
900 means pretty much top of the line in that range with 29" wheels.
So I'm unsure if you mean wheel size or spec levels.
But there's further spec at 900 too (3 spark 900s - 900 ultimate, 900 tuned, 900 axs), just to muddy the waters, but let's say for example you mean a genius 900 tuned.. then yes, entirely capable as a do it all bike.
It's the 22 bikes I meant, sorry. Here's a link to some AstroTurf
Oooh, I like the sound of these. 130mm trail bikes, less than £5k for decent weights. The 920 is 13kg and £4,100K. The 910 (£4,799) is full carbon 12.3kgs with more shimano bits.
Not that bothered about hiding the rear shock though two bottle mounts in normal places are great.
The gimmicks are a bit annoying. Press fit BB and integrating cables through the headset. As usual trying to understand the range is a nightmare without digging through the site. No idea how to actually buy one either!
I got a chance to get 20 miles on the new Spark RC on Friday (same frame/shock as the Spark 900) and was really impressed. Even without a dropper post and despite the 740mm bars and XC race tyres I could push it pretty hard and it was fun to ride. Very fast and efficient and the twinloc works well too. I wouldn’t even say it needed the longer 130mm fork of the 900, just stick a dropper, wider bar and a gripper front tyre on and let rip. The press fit bb would the only thing to really put me off. The bike I was on had a serious creak already. Other than that, hard to fault, right up there with my Spur for me.
I've always lusted after a high end Spark. Unfortunately I've never been able to afford one. Maybe one day
Bump for this, as like @cynic-al I@m really interested in potentially buying an OTS bike to replace my 140mm Hightower (alloy, quite heavy) and also my Scandal hardtail.
I reckon the 930, 920 and 910 do look reasonably good value (relatively!) and even the alloy, deore spec 930 is under 30lbs which is pretty good.
My LBS is as useful as 'might get some in Autumn' and I'm not pre-ordering anyhting on that basis without seeing it.
Has anyone seen one in real life in a shop anywhere? I'd love it if demo days make a come back!
The main things that put me off, having never owned a scott, or pressfit BB, and all the integration stuff, cables through stem nonsense, and the twinloc stuff. Will I ever use it!? Is it better to just rip it all off!?
They even look really good too!
Slighlty annoyingly the 920 in the middle, Carbon/alloy comes with full Sram, not SLX, which might otherwsie be the one for me.
Yeah the suspension stuff seems daft but the cable routing looks like it may have been well executed
So from what I gather from the article, the 2022 Spark will bump the travel up to 120mm front and rear for the XC race models, and the trail models go to 130mm?
If so, I'd be really interested in one of these. They look awesome too. The only thing that puts me off Scott is the twinlock system (bar clutter) and I've heard that their warranty support is lacking.
They even look really good too!
If you like the look of ebikes....
As mentioned, I rode the Spark RC a few weeks back and really liked it. The cable routing is not bad at all, but you are limited with what stem/bar you can run. Technically you can get other bits if you want to run a different stem, but good luck actually getting them.
The hidden shock for me was a non-issue too, after being burned by the shocking attention to detail on a Mondraker I check out bikes thoroughly and there was nothing that made me worry suspension wise. Only slightly awkward bit is the top shock bolt; you can get to it by compressing the shock but easier to just take out the lower trunnion mount bolts and let the shock drop through the hatch in the frame and then reverse those steps.
The pressfit BB would be a pain though for me. I get that PF92 is common now, but T47 threaded would be the way to go if you insist on a super wide BB shell and don't want to narrow it down with a BSA BB. Also, you can just remove Twinloc altogether and leave the bike fully open all the time. Honestly, it's so efficient that unless you're racing, it really, really doesn't need it.
If you hadn't guessed, I was impressed by the couple of hours I had with it. Would I have one over my Spur? No. If I couldn't blow £5K on a Spur though, I think it would be towards the top of my list.
I really like the look of them, probably too spendy for me though
Thanks @lawman91
Interesting as a Spur is the obvious alternative I'd wondered about. Or Stage Evo..
I kind of don't see the point of the 900 but do at the same time. The RC was mega, just the one I tried was gagging for a dropper post, even with pinner Rekon Races on, it could rail corners in the dry.
The 900 gets a heavier 130mm fork and beefier tyres, but really it's only the tyres that need changing if you want it to be more like a Spur, a Sid or 34SC is more than enough for it. I never felt like the RC wasn't slack enough or lacked stability. A bit quicker handling than the Spur for sure but I couldn't see what going up to the 900 would gain me really aside from grippier tyres (easy to change) and a fork that's just heavier for little performance gain.
It's the same reason I don't get why some folks add 130mm Pike/34 to the Spur, it doesn't need it, all you do is make it heavier for no reason. Keep it light as you can, fit terrain appropriate tyres and your preferred bar width/rise and be done. Having ridden both, I don't see how changing the fork and tyres is going to bring the Spark closer to bikes like the Spur/Tallboy/Ripley, it's still going to feel very different to those bikes. If you want an XC race bike that can do dual duty as a trail bike at the weekend, the Spark is one helluva machine though!
In 2017 I got my Spark plus tuned, I built it as a 29er with a 140mm 36, 800mm bars, xm1501 30mm wheels, a Baron up front, and a mountain King out back. The bike was amazing. It went up real fast, down pretty damn fast and didn't struggle anywhere.
I have that same frame still, now built with a 34sc, 760 Hixon bar/stem, 25mm rims and mountain King/cross king tyres and it's obviously even faster up, not as fast down (aside from flow descending) but they were 2 very different bikes both in very good ways.
I've ordered a 910 (+ carbon wheels + carbon iC bar) as it'll be a great everyday bike and competetive enough in the dad bod class if we return to local "xc" race nights and the seasonal marathon events.
I'll have to sell my current spark and genius to pay for it, so I'm hoping it works out as my do it all Squamish bike (fortunately I don't feel the urge to kill myself riding Remy's bonkers lines so scratch those off the list)
I had a good read of all the articles and promo material this evening. Excellent spec bikes and some really ingenious stuff going on, and I'm not too fussed about the pressfit BB as I've had those on my last two bikes with no issues.
However, all of that proprietary kit (especially the handlebar / stem) interface puts me off slightly. I'm a serial bike tweaker and like to play with stem length and cockpit so to get a fixed length cockpit that will be costly and difficult to get parts for might be the dealbreaker.
Anyone know any shops getting test bikes / any demo days planned?
It'll not be a fixed cockpit length though. The new integrated internal bars/stem are available in at least 3 lengths for the spark version, and several lengths and Rises across the board.
The alloy version has multiple stem/bar lengths/widths so hopefully your dealer will be set up to do swaps.
I'd also hope that the parts kit comes with a headset spacer that allows for traditional bar/stem use as we've seen them supply for the syncros top caps previously. I havent seen any reviews/first rides that show much detail of the internal routing though
The alloy version has multiple stem/bar lengths/widths so hopefully your dealer will be set up to do swaps.
That'd be useful.
Spoke to my local dealer this week.
He said the Scott rep was allocating bikes on the basis of what had been ordered (/delivered) last year (during which he'd not had a single bike!).
So probably difficult to get, I am mighty tempted to try tho, we have BTW at work ...
Good to hear mostly positive comments above
Bump again, just been doing more reading. Credit card is beginning to cower into the darkness in fear...
@Bearback @Devash I too have done more research - if you look on the Syncros (effectively Scott own brand) website it shows that there is actually loads of variations of stem rise/lenght that will fit with the 'DC' cable integration cockpit - so actually it might not be the issue we all think.
Good to hear that some do not see the PF BB as an issue - as with all things, I know you have to take what you read on the internet.
@cynic-al wheres the shop out of interest? All my local dealers are shops i've never used and appear t obe mainly roadie shops so I'm not sure who to approach.
No prices but the top two rows all look to be 'DC' compatible.
https://www.syncros.com/gb/en/products/syn-mountain-cockpit-stems
Note if you watch the Brendan Fairclough Video carefully, he's running his own sponsers bar, stem, cranks, and no twinloc at all.
@snotrag Edinburgh - they are a wee local (suburban) shop and Scott dealers seem sparce otherwise.
I've not used them much but they have a good rep on the local FB group, and I trained one of their mechanics.
The 130mm fork version has definitely worked its way to the top of my "next bike" list but I'd want at least a quick spin round the lbs car park on one before dropping cash.