I use live in TX raced TMBRA series and did a lot of travel for DH parks. Something like that Trance wouldn’t be great at anything. All of the races are pretty fast and even with flight attendant you’d be on a big disadvantage. As for DH parks your bikes get beat to shit and cost of replacing everything that breaks adds up quick. If you had to choose I’d go for the bike that would suit your daily riding best and rent when needed.
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I think you’d be at risk of having a bike that’s mediocre at everything, but not particularly good at much. One option would be to get an XC race wheel set with fast tires, which would definitely help a lot.
Agreed with IamLevens sentiments: get the bike that best suits the type of riding you do the most often. I’ve seen guys riding specialized epics at the whistler bike park!
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Throw on the potential 25% tariff and it’s more expensive 
I was thinking that the BC40 maybe a realistic cheaper option later this year should the threatened tariffs take place. Guess not anymore 
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Assuming they are getting frames from Asia and still finishing/painting in the US, it could still be a significant savings even if there was a tariff on the raw frames. A good portion of the frame value is in the painting/finishing process. Depending on where they source the frames in Asia, a tariff may not even be in play.
I’m a longtime ti hardtail rider, looking at a BC40. I am wondering if anyone here has set up a BC40 at 100mm front and rear and how does it handle? I’m thinking the bottom bracket height will be lower but, I’m not sure of the geometry changes as the travel amounts are lowered. I didn’t notice anything on allieds sight with the different geometries with travel changes. Thanks-
I’ve brought my old epic to different bike parks and at mountain creek I actually have a lot of PRs on it. For Whistler that sounds awful, those runs are so long and either have a billion braking bumps or the tech is rough.
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seems the same dark gloss teal color but that small black stripe in the top tube isn’t there in the current frame. we can hope 
That stripe is there on the blur he’s been riding this season, so I imagine it’s the same.
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Bummer I looked at SC website and it didnt have the stripe maybe it was a C frame pictures 
guess we will see some wildly different color when a new one show up I guess
Currently trying to decide on a new/first XC bike, and wondering if anyone has experience with flat mount rear brakes and can help explain rotor size and adapter usage? I’m a bit confused by the dealer manual from Shimano showing that the same adapter (SM-MA-R160) is used for either 140/160 OR 160/180 rotors. I’m used to post mount and having different adapters per size. Is max rotor size for flat mount then dependent on the frame manufacturer spec of the thickness of the chainstay/native brake mount? Here is a screenshot from the dealer manual:
Yeah, you are correct…I just went back to look at his bike from Little Sugar and it has the same black bar.
I’d be really surprised if they don’t refresh that bike this year…coming up on 4 years.
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yes, it is dependent on what size rotor the frame was designed around. The adapter just elevates the brake mount caliper +20mm regardless of whether your frame is designed for 140/160/180/200mm rotors. there is an odd size of 203mm so be aware what adapter you buy. There might be compatibility issues with certain brake calipers…
If most of your riding is XC in Texas then I would skip getting any sort of trail bike and stick with the Scott. You don’t want to beat up a new FA trail bike at a bike park. Plus you will still probably be slower on it than that Spark in a race. If you can possibly squeeze one more bike in, then check out the deals on the previous gen Trek Slash or the alloy Stumpy EVO that is super cheap on JensonUSA right now.
That is neither slammed back nor reflective of “all race bikes” nor even a race bike but a random press shot advertising a stock bike from the factory.
The Actual Weights of 11 World Cup XC Race Bikes from Val di Sole - Pinkbike
Nearly all are either centred on rails or all of the way forward.
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That bike was taken from the Orbea Factory Teams pics from a recent race, so it’s a team bike.
It’s one data point. XC bike fit is very diverse. Also, quite some of those guys spend a lot of time training on the road bike and sometimes try to make the saddle positions not too different.
Another one is the shape of the saddle. Modern short nose saddles can have the 80mm point quite far forward
But like, in the nicest way, what is your point? Do you not like the look/feel of slammed saddles and you’re hoping for wider evidence of a sort of saddle position conspiracy? 
For most people, a more forward position (be that by saddle position or STA) allows the hips to open and for more grip on the front wheel when seated climbing with a slack head angle.
One can compensate with a longer bike or a longer stem if you find it cramped.
On short travel XC bikes, I don’t think they are needed. It compromises some of the flat ground pedaling.
As more companies move toward it, the companies that don’t go too far in that direction get fewer, so fewer options to pull from.