Scott Spark Professional 29eur - £2,899
The new Scott Spark 29 Elite. The bike we had here has some upgrades to the components over the production version, but the frame will be the same. The 29er model offers adjustable travel from 100 millimeters to 70 millimeters to fully locked out. Perhaps the most notable feature for the new Spark. Scott Spark 960 Mountain Bike reviews. See how the Scott Spark 960 rates and read other Mountain Bike reviews.
This is the newest generation Scott Interest and comes with an updated carbon dietary fibre frame, producing it lighter than earlier iterations, plus thé all-important inclusion of a 29id design.Frame
The Spark's root base are established in cross-country and race race. The business utilizes its race team and the likes of Thomas Frischknecht for developing its bikes, which explains the Spark's very aggressive position, low front finish and componentry targeted towards the easy job of heading as quick as possible. There are few bicycles more capable than the Interest.
It's also why Scott can be right at the entrance of present co2 fibre advancement. The body is definitely the lightest Interest ever made, but this Expert model, the 3rd tier design at a quite big £2,899, makes do with simply a co2 front side triangle. It'h made using the Swiss business's IMP5 (incorporated moulding process) structure process. The swingarm and dropouts are usually produced from alumium, ánd the U-Móno rocker linkage will be aluminium as well.
While the carbon construction of the body has long been further developed this year to decrease pounds, Scott has also improved the Interest's tightness. They've borrowed larger diameter pivots from the Guru LT, and thé rocker linkage can be a narrower one-piece falsified design. As a outcome of the reworked body and larger pivots, traveling the Spark uncovers a significantly tighter sensation bicycle, with less squirm detectable when pressing very difficult through corners and launching up the rear suspension system.
Something we're also really a lover of can be the adjustable geometry provided on the Spark. A small chip in the lower shock bracket can be orientated to lower the underside bracket by 7mm and slacken the head angle by 0.5 levels from the quoted figures. The bottom bracket can be quite low at 12.8id (in the steeper setting), and we observed that on the path with even more pedal attacks on items than we'chemical preferably like. lt's something yóu quickly get used to but still draws you out sometimes, specifically when race.
Additional adjustments to the brand-new Spark include a tapered head pipe with co2 mugs, direct-mount top mech mounts to snick the rear wheel in as near to the bottom level group as probable.
Scott have opted for a trail-friendly 69.5° mind position, along with a 72.5° seat angle and a short 105mmeters head tube on our medium size small sample. The mind angle is usually about 1° more challenging than the 26iin comparative. Chainstays are usually pretty short at 448mmichael and the wheelbase is 1112mmeters.
Suspension
Fór 2012 the 26iin Spark sees a traveling increase from 100mm to 120mm, starting it up to more trail focused motorcyclists. In getting to match the larger 29iin wheels, journey on the 29el is limited to 100mm entrance and back.
The Expert doesn'capital t get the DT Swiss developed Nude shock discovered higher up the variety, but a simpIer DT Swiss Meters210 Stomach muscles instead. The really clever little bit is usually the fact it's linked to a handlebar-mounted control lever that goes the surprise between open up and secured out (generally there's no ‘traction force mode' available on this shock).
In a clever turn, the Twinloc handle is also hooked up to thé forks, and has the same effect as it does on the back shock. So when you get to a stretch out of soft fireroad or Tarmac, you can flick the handle and lock the Interest out for some critical stomping swiftness. You might not think it that helpful reading through it right here, but away on the trek, we discovered it amazingly important. Would we skip it if it had been taken away though? Possibly not really, no. But we know many racers will really benefit it. And that't really who the Spark has become created fór.
Up frónt the RockShox Réba fork goes nicely with the rear suspension, with a very well balanced sense from front to back, and provides enough adjustment to make full use of the available 100mmeters of journey. We were disappointed to not really see a boIt-thru axle - wé're seeing this on therefore many bikes, also XC ones like the Spark, and we're supporters of them. At minimum the DT Switzerland RWS Quick Discharge lever perform move some method to increase the safety.
Specification
Costing £2,899, you would anticipate a good specification. And you'd be best. There't a blend of Shimanó SLX ánd XT, with án XT triple chainsét offering a great pass on of equipment. A bicycle like the Interest actually ought to have got a 2×10 chainset though, and our just think that it arrives fitted with a triple is definitely to keep the Western european markets content, where 2×10 hasn't yet happen to be adopted simply because quickly (no question due to their hiIlier terrain than óurs) as over right here.
Avid'h Elixir 5S brakes matched with a 180mm front rotor and smaller sized 160mm rear disc, with reach adjustment, worked well fine during the test period. The lever shape doesn'capital t suit everyone thóugh.
A DT Swiss XR39 32-pin wheelset isn't that light at 1,750g and is usually a leading region for update. When we installed the stiffer ánd lighter ReynoIds XC29 carbon fibre wheels the difference was staggering, so that's something to believe about. On their own they stayed correct and didn't require any attention. We're also fans of Schwalbe's i9000 Skyrocket Ron tyres, pretty much ideal for many UK trek conditions.
Finish off the bike is a group of Scott branded components (seatpost, come, bars) and a fine Selle Italia Team Edition seat. We normally alter saddles directly away but not to in this example.
Ride
With its rácing roots, it's no shock that the Interest provides an aggressive stance best out of the beginning hindrances. The installing of the fairly short 80mm stem however is certainly a intelligent move and in mixture with the 680mmichael flat club, with a sweep that seems just correct, handling was excellent on the singletrack and rotating through the trees and shrubs.
WhiIe the Twinloc is a amazing bit of design, it will prospect to a spaghetti of cables around the front side of the bicycle - not really the prettiest and definitely ugly when alongside the Specialized Epic with its cleaner ranges. In use we actually found it came into its very own on even more than a several events; in one particular Gorrick XC race several longer easy fireroads were the perfect test, and allowed quick out of the seat progress. Just about everywhere else though, the suspension system was made up good enough to become left in open up and for general trail driving this will be certainly the best setup.
However, the Interest's suspension system isn't the plushest on test. It has a really taut, steady and solid feeling that only works when it really has to. For race this is definitely ideal, wonderful and platformed many of the period, but it's not the type of suspension set up you can really use to your benefit on more challenging paths. It't well constructed though, doesn't effortlessly obtain flustered, but doesn'testosterone levels offer the larger hit capability of various other designs. It feels even more like a hardtail than various other full-sussérs.
Thé improved tightness of the bicycle was recognizable, but the tires showed up some flex. We installed a pair of co2 fibre tires and the difference was immediate. In this environment the framework proven an amazing ability to monitor straight and accurate when pushing hard, specifically out of the saddle where there has been no detectable bend from the rear.
Consensus
Let's obtain the downsides out of the way very first, it's a good pound weightier (25.5lb without pedals) thán it ought tó end up being though, and we can't give it the complete thumbs up credited to the speccing issues we raised earlier. As a bicycle for upgrade potential though, we can'capital t problem it.
0n the optimistic, Scott offers handled the complicated job of making a Spark 29er without shedding everything we liked so much about the 26id design. It manages to nevertheless possess the uncooked speed that the primary provided, and there't nevertheless a sharpness of dealing with that can make the Spark one of the greatest options for rapid trail progress.
If you including riding quick, and we suggest really properly fast, there'h few much better options than the Interest 29el.
![Review Review](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125736878/582219977.jpg)