When hurtling round an xc race, I always think; 100mm fs, feels effing bang on! Quells any desire I have for a change when I’m actually racing that bike.
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It’s precisely what I was looking for when purchasing my new race bike. I wanted 120mm travel front and rear so that I can race XC, climb the hills, and if I choose to I can point it down some much chunkier stuff than I was capable of previously.
The Top Fuel is the closest thing to the new Spark really, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with the next model. I don’t know, but I assume it’s heavier? I was choosing between the Top Fuel and Spark.
…
I’m not trying to argue that the new Spark is the greatest invention since sliced bread, but to claim they’ve only changed the bike for aesthetics is in my opinion not accurate. We’ll know more if they’ve executed well once we see more people on it.
I’m confident it’ll be a great bike for a lot of people as it’s basically the exact same as mine. Some of the changes of getting the RC would be fantastic, some would be nice to try, some I could take or leave but can’t complain that Scott had a go at trying to move forward with things.
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Agree, we need more unbiased reviews before we can distinct hype from reality. For now, I’m sticking with the hype though 
As far as weight goes, it seems the HMX-SL and HMX have increased in frame weight (from 1779 / 1885 grams to 1870 / 1990 grams respectively) whilst the more affordable HMF has actually decreased in weight from 2200 ro 2150 grams. The RC Team Issue AXS version with HMF frame has increased in weight from 11.2 to 11.55kg, of which a large part is probably due to the wider rim/tyre combo.
Pricing seems to be a bit weird in Euro compared to the Dollar. For example, the RC Team Issue AXS is 5.499 Dollars, which turns to 4.999 Euro. That’s a considerable amount less than the previous version which came in at 5.499 Euro. However, the one spec higher RC Pro comes in at 6.499 Dollar and 6.799 Euro. That conversion makes little sense to me. This huge price difference makes the RC Pro less interesting in Europe and makes the RC Team Issue AXS great value for money imo. I can’t think of any other 120mm XC bike with similar spec for the price.
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Yes… But not a fair comparison if you only look at 120mm xc… all other 120mm bikes are not pure XC bikes, but marketed as DC
Fair point. Which DC bike would you consider of similar spec for price?
Maybe the spur?
I considered the Spur, but it’s a bit too much bike for what I ride. That 66 degree hta is more downhill focussed. It’s also a bit more expensive compared to the spark where I live and harder to get. Definately a great bike though!
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Same for me (fellow dutch), the spur is too much for our flat pancake country 
the spur is a beautiful bike, but I want something that’s really fast on the local trails (a supercaliber would probably the fastest, but I want to ride it on Ardennen marathons too)
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Agree, 60mm rear and the light weight would probably be fastest.
Our local trails (Rheden / Zeddam) have gotten a fair bit more technical over the last few years and I like to do bigger >100km rides. So I figure the 120mm xc tuned suspension might be the sweetspot for my intended use. Have never ridden in the Ardennes before, but it is on my to-do list for sure.
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Does anyone have any news of availability in the US? The silence from Scott is deafening…
Local shop told me maybe August but could be as late as October. Not sure if they were just repeating press release info or if they had some real info. 64 customers already in line when bikes show up. Also, prices just jumped by as much as a grand. The 8k world cup model is now 9k on Scott’s website.
I was told about a week ago from my LBS July 28th-ish. May want to check in with your shop around then.
Looks like those price hikes for the higher end models pulled em back in line with the Euro price conversion. Previously it made no sence that a bike cost more in Euro compared to USD.
New bike pricing has become ridiculous. I was going to pull the trigger on the Spark, but I wanted the HMX frame and the price of those bikes seems to have increased by $1,000 from already high pricing. I’m out. Might as well wait for Shimano to come up with a response to Sram’s AXS.
Shimano is a joke…you’ll be waiting 5 years for Shimano. How many years before the new Dura Ace is available to buy? How many competitive years do you have left?
You assume that I had competitive years to start with.
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Its only 160g (0.35 lbs) difference for the 2022 model. I want the lightest bike as well, but if I was chasing grams a 120/120mm bike wouldn’t be on my list to begin with. I wouldn’t let those 160g affect your buying choice. With the money saved forgoing the HMX you can easily make up the grams with components, wheels, etc.
- HMX - 1990g
- HMF - 2150g
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Shimano has to have a serious issue since they couldn’t release dura ace during the TDF. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for di2 XTR. If it was close to market we probably would of seen some prototypes on pro bikes.
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Everyone has a serious issue right now….SRAM, Shimano, Campag, FSA….hell, you can’t even find Rotor stuff.
“Would have” or “would’ve”. There is no such phrase as “would of”.
( sorry, pet peeve. 
)
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