Under Test: Scott Spark 10

[K-Man]

I'm starting this thread to talk about the Scott Spark 10, an XC race, full-suspension bike that I'm currently testing.

I'll get things rolling with a little eye candy:

[K-Man]

Tester: Karl Rosengarth
Age: 50
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 150lbs.
Inseam: 33"

Make: Scott
Model: Spark 10
Model year: 2007
Type: Mountain
Country of origin: Taiwan
Wheel size: 26 inch
Rear travel: 110mm max
Frame material: Carbon Fiber
Suspension description: Swing Link
Rear shock: Scott Nude TC
Fork: Fox 32 F100 RL (100mm)
Handlebar: Ritchey WCS carbon 15mm rise / 640mm length
Stem: Ritchey WCS 4-Axis 44 oversize 31.8mm clamp / 1-1/8'' / 6 deg. rise
Headset: Ritchey WCS Carbon 1 1/8'' semi integrated 44/50mm
Bottom bracket: Truvativ GXP / 73mm shell
Crank: Truvativ GXP / 73mm shell
Pedals: Shimano PD-M540 clipless
Chain: SRAM PC 991
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR XP Kevlar / Vanox rails
Seatpost : Ritchey WCS carbon / 34.9mm
Front hub: DT Swiss Disc / 32H
Rear hub: DT Swiss 240 S Disc / 32H
Front derailleur: Shimano XTR FD-M971 34.9mm
Rear derailleur: SRAM X-0 carbon medium cage
Shifters: SRAM X-0 Trigger multi adj. / carbon cap with matchmaker clamp
Cassette: SRAM PG 990 11-32T
Brakes: Avid Juicy Ultimate Rotors: 180mm F. & 160mm R.
Rims: DT Swiss X455 / 32H / black ano.
Tires: Scott Ozon 26 x 2.2" / 120TPI Kevlar bead / dual compound 70a - 62a
Sizes: S, M (tested), L, XL
Colors: Black with yellow and white highlights
MSRP: $5,564.99
Weight: 24.0 lbs.
Company website: www.scottusa.com

[K-Man]

Some more numbers to crunch:

[cMc]

Looks nice, but I wouldn't pay $5,500 for it. Of course, I wouldn't be in the market for a boinger anyway. Do they make a 29'er hardtail in CF? That I'd be interested in. :cool:

[plume_mtb]

one of the owners of my shop has one. He likes it. Major flaw seems to be the lockout lever. for an almost 6K bike they could probably go ahead and use a metal knob versus the chinsy plastic?

he rails on it though...

[K-Man]

one of the owners of my shop has one. He likes it. Major flaw seems to be the lockout lever. for an almost 6K bike they could probably go ahead and use a metal knob versus the chinsy plastic?

he rails on it though...

I talked to Scott about the lever, and they explained that the plastic lever is light to save weight, in keeping with the overall theme of the bike. Scott told me that they realize the plastic compound that they used has a bit of flex to it (hence the chintzy comment?), but that choice was intentional, as more rigid plastic might break in a crash, while the flexy plastic is more crash-survivable. Bend, don't break, grasshoppah.

Rail on it? Oooooh, hellz yeah, you got that right. This is a bike for riding fast.

[K-Man]

Here's a look at the "offset" carbon chainstays....

[Hand/of/Midas]

seeing as you just did the epic it will be fun if you compare the two. even though you didnt do the s-works.

[davkatreb]

Some more numbers to crunch:
Don't bother. $5564.99 did me in. Read my lips: These bikes might be free to you, but most of us have to part with our hard-earned dollars. Some of us have families to feed. And this stuff will be obsolete before it's paid off.

[davkatreb]

Looks nice, but I wouldn't pay $5,500 for it. Of course, I wouldn't be in the market for a boinger anyway. Do they make a 29'er hardtail in CF? That I'd be interested in. :cool:
Now THAT would almost be useful.

Don't get me wrong-I don't mind spending a little cash for a nice bike. But we both know today's cutting edge squish technology is tomorrow's obsolete junk. And I am not about to drop that kind of cash just to be a guinea pig for the velo industrial complex.

29er hardtail? Hmmm, what about a carbon singlespeed cross bike? Bet that one could be brought in under 7 kg.

[Nick Verstain]

Specialized Carbon Tricross S-Works (about 7.2 kg with gears, but we know crossers only use 44/11) is about $6,000. Of course, if you won 100 local A-class races on it, you could eventually get it all back in tubes and multi-tools. Colnago has a carbon cross bike that is probably $7,000, which equals 5,000 euros or 10,000 crunchy tacos. I wouldn't part with my SS Beast of the East for less than 1,000 tacos. Don't think of these high zoot bikes as expensive...with the tech trickle-down, think of it as you paying for product research for the cheaper bike that's sold three years from now. Or eBay. And for that, we say "Thank You!"

[plume_mtb]

I talked to Scott about the lever, and they explained that the plastic lever is light to save weight, in keeping with the overall theme of the bike. Scott told me that they realize the plastic compound that they used has a bit of flex to it (hence the chintzy comment?), but that choice was intentional, as more rigid plastic might break in a crash, while the flexy plastic is more crash-survivable. Bend, don't break, grasshoppah.

Rail on it? Oooooh, hellz yeah, you got that right. This is a bike for riding fast.

Well he's broken two levers. Not crashing it either, just by using it I think...

[24hourracer]

I got my Spark 30 in early April, it is a GREAT all day cross country machine, I will however agree with the flimsy lockout.:cool: On the upside, DT has been great to work with on getting a replacement. After purchasing the bike, I changed over to all XTR with DT 1540 wheelset. As for performance, it is a top notch bike. With the 110mm rear travel, the Spark will take whatever is thrown at it with gusto, (except dirt jumps, but I have found myself happier close to the earth the older I get...), and by locking out the front suspension and moving the TracLoc down to the short travel mode, it climbs like a goat on the techincal stuff.

It is a hearty blow to the funds, but the 30 is spec'd out pretty well, and dresses up nicely with the occasional upgrade in parts. Besides I like the red and white color scheme anyways. Only if they could make an cnc mount for the lockout.....

[K-Man]

Yep, yinz are right, this is high-ticket bike (thanks Mr. Obvious). Instead of arguing the pros/cons of high-ticket bike reviews in this thread, I'll simply point out that this very discussion has been already taken place in this Feedback thread (http://www.dirtragmag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14332). If you feel strongly about the MSRP issue, or you have not yet weighed in on the topic, feel free to jump over to Feedback and speak you mind.

[K-Man]

seeing as you just did the epic it will be fun if you compare the two. even though you didnt do the s-works.

Yeah, probably not fair to compare aluminum alloy to carbon fiber bikes straight up.

However, I find that both suspension platforms make for good "racy" XC bikes. I'm still torn between a rear suspension with a "brain" that does its best to lockout when not needed and unlock when needed -- versus using my brain (and the lever) to lockout manually.

The control freak in me likes having the lever, but the "just set it and forget it" part of my brain likes the Specialized approach.

I will point out that the lockout on the Scott (combined with the lockout on the front shock) makes this bike feel total hardtail. The only way to get that feeling on the Specialized is to set the Brain at the firmest setting, which sacrifices some of the coosh in the rear.

I guess it comes down to how you ride, your riding preferences and what you want to do with a bike. Both are very sweet bikes, with different approaches to solving the efficiency riddle.

[davkatreb]

Yep, yinz are right, this is high-ticket bike (thanks Mr. Obvious). Instead of arguing the pros/cons of high-ticket bike reviews in this thread, I'll simply point out that this very discussion has been already taken place in this Feedback thread (http://www.dirtragmag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14332). If you feel strongly about the MSRP issue, or you have not yet weighed in on the topic, feel free to jump over to Feedback and speak you mind.
That's pretty God damned disingenuous on your part, Sparky. Bring a f*cking elephant into the room, then say "Oh yeah, guess you couldn't help noticing this here elephant. But yinz can't say anything about it." WTF?