I already have XX1 AXS and carbon wheels that I’ll be moving to the new bike, so I don’t need to buy the $10k version. I’m 6’1, at the top of the size Large and currently own a Large 2018 Spark RC, so not concerned about sizing. Lastly, I’ve been waiting for the Spark refresh and wanted these things in the new Spark:
The new Spark literally hit every want/need of mine.
That’s what was posted about. The top end model. That’s why I mentioned it.
Email response directly from Scott (in the US):
We do not have any estimated dates for when bikes will be available or when they will be arriving at dealerships. Please keep in contact with your local dealer as we will relay information to them as it becomes available. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you!
What does your LBS know that Scott isn’t telling?
Protecting this shock like this also creates an issue that no one here has considered, shock cooling…
According to Scott that’s not an issue. They tested it on a 1000m downhill run and measured no significant difference between shock temperatures in the old and new config. Apparently it has something to do with there being enough air in the frame and airflow to have that not be an issue.
I know on the bold frame this was modeled after, Bold had air vents on the down tube to help circulate air to the rear shock to help with cooling.
How warm a shock get will be a sum of a lot of factors, among them leverage rate and how the internal oil-flow is working. Heat management has probably been a design factor, and Scott with their quite big R&D department combined with Bold’s real life experiences of the design philsophy might mean that it is under control.
I really think Scott are being credited with far to much. I’m convinced this is a purely aesthetic move and will sell bucket loads as it looks different to other fs bikes.
Everything else has been compromised by the design requiring workarounds.
Even the slacker headtube angle is a red herring in my opinion. None of us are racing on World Cup courses, we’re racing on comparatively tame tracks where a fast handling bike is a real asset.
Here’s the full vid:
I wish there were more english vids, cuz this is just jibber jabber to me.
There’s real world capability differences between this and almost any other XC bike. Hard to say they are aesthetic only.
As for XC racing not needing a 67° HTA, I’d counter to say it very much depends where you live. Most of my racing is faster on a slacker bike. Other parts of the world don’t race up and down and that’s fine. Many riders will benefit from having a more capable bike when they go exploring other regions, or do trail riding on more technical terrain than their XC loops.
Heavier*, more expensive to manufacture, harder to work on, more proprietary parts, more links and bearings to go wrong, overheating maybe?
It’s like the supercalibre. Everyone went nuts when it was released as it looked so clean and promised so much. Not so much love for it now though.
I’m not anti the design so much, it looks nice, but I don’t understand why people are saying it’s so great. Does the rear linkage actually improve the dynamics of the bike or does it just solve the problem of how to hide the shock inside the downtube?
In fact why are people saying it’s redefined the xc bike when no one has ridden one? It’s like it must be amazing because it looks awesome and the bike company says it’s awsome.
Or am I just cynical?
*I actually don’t care about bike weight that much. I think people over obsess about that. My priorities are functionality, reliability and ability to replace parts if caught out in a stage race for example. Simple is good. Training makes you fast.
I think you’re just cynical 
. Don’t get me wrong, some cynicism is healthy, it helps to take emotion out of decisions if you want to analyse things more critically, it feels like you are determined to hate this bike regardless though almost because it’s different?
Is it heavier relative other 120mm travel bikes? Genuine question, I recall seeing it compared to the weights of some other 100mm rigs.
As far as your other concerns, we don’t know, we are assured that they have designed it to be easily maintained and in theory require less work. The few reviews we’ve seen suggest that it’s maintained the Scott Spark design in terms of suspension activeness. There’s no way of knowing for certain if that agrees with your riding style without riding it. It looks pretty promising though.
They actually did achieve something with regards the second bottle cage mount also (I’m not as enthused about that as others, but it’s still a plus for many). Plus, if the aesthetics appeal to an individual, then they’ve made a better looking bike.
The extra bottle mount is definitely a good thing in my book. But nothing else you’ve described has indicated that it’s a game changer. It’s just another fs xc bike. Hiding the shock just changes its aesthetics not its performance.
I do like it. It looks nice and the Spark has always been right amongst the top performing bikes.
It’s purely the statements I keep seeing that the new Spark ‘completely redefines the xc bike’ that confuses me. Why?
It’s the first of the full race XC bikes to go with 120mm front and rear. That’s not a game changer from 110/100 etc, but is a new benchmark.
Aesthetics matter to some, if the way a bike looks makes someone happy, or ride more, or feel fast, then that’s awesome. I wouldn’t buy a bike purely for aesthetics, I think the new Spark looks pretty slick (except the headset / headtube area) but I’m quite aware some people won’t dig it. That’s cool too.
Because it’s marketing… no one would be excited about or rush out to buy something that’s touted as “it’s pretty good but basically the same as everything else”
Why is going 120mm both ends such a groundbreaking thing? If so why was the Topfuel so lauded when it replaced the Fuel EX? Less travel - more racey - better.*
That was the message in 2016. Have courses really changed that much? Or have we all been drip fed the longer, lower, slacker, your 4 year old bike is now obsolete message from the industry and followed along obediently.
Forgive me, I do like to play devil’s advocate, but I also question everything.
*In fact with the Supercalibre, Trek are saying; even less travel - even more racey - better again.