Is the 2013 Scott Spark 910 the best value for money bike its price range?

[Romulus]

I am looking for a mountain bike to start XC racing (both one day and stage races) and to use for trail riding. However, the primary purpose for my purchase would be XC racing.

 

I have negotiated a price of R35 500 for the Scott Spark 910 from a bike shop in Cape Town. I was told to look at the Giant Anthem X 0 as it is an apparently awesome bike despite being aluminium and marginally heavier than many carbon bikes.

 

Are the any other bikes that you'd recommend or prefer to the Scott Spark in the R35 - R40K bracket.

 

The specs of the Scott are as follows:

 

Weight 11,3kg / 24,89lbs Frame SCOTT Spark 29 Carbon / IMP5 technology / HMF NET BB 92 / Alloy swingarm with 160PM U-Mono Link / Tapered Headtube IDS SL dropouts for 142 x 12mm BB height adj. / 100mm rear travel Fork FOX 32 Float 29 Factory CTD Air CTD damper with 3 modes 15mm QR axle / tapered steerer reb. Adj. / 100 mm travel Remote System SCOTT LTD suspension technology Lock - Traction (travel / geo adj) - Descend activate by Twinloc Remote Lever Lockout - 70 - 100mm Shock (Rear) SCOTT DT Nude2 / 3 modes Lockout-TC-D Ball joints / 165 x 38mm / reb. Adj. Headset Ritchey Pro Tapered 1.5" - 1 1/8" semi integr. OD 50/61mm / ID 44/55mm Derailleur (Rear) Shimano XT RD-M786 SGS Shadow PlusType / 20 Speed Derailleur (Front) Shimano XT FD-M785-E / DM Shifters Shimano XT SL-M780-I Rapidfire Plus / 2 way release Ispec clamp Brake Levers Shimano XT BL-M785 Disc Brakes Shimano XT BR-M785 Disc 180/F and 160/R mm SM-RT64 CL Rotor Crankset Shimano XT FC-M785 hollowtech 2 38Ax24A T BB-Set Shimano SM-BB71-41A / shell 41x89.5mm Handlebar Syncros FL1.5 Tbar Alloy 7050 D.B. / T shape Flat / 9° / 700mm Syncros Pro lockon grips H'stem Syncros FL1.5 7050 Alloy / oversize 31.8mm 1-1/8" / 6° angle Pedals nil Seatpost Syncros FL1.5 / 31.6mm Seat Syncros XR1.5 / Titanium rails Hub (Front) Syncros XR 2.0 29 CL / 15mm made by DT Swiss Hub (Rear) Syncros XR 2.0 29 CL / 12 x 142 / RWS made by DT Swiss Chain Shimano CN-HG74 Cassette Shimano XT CS-M771-10 11-36 T Spokes DT Swiss Super Comp Rims Syncros / DT Swiss XR 2.0 29 28H / Tubeless ready Tires Schwalbe Rocket Ron EVO 29 x 2.25 / 127EPI Kevlar Bead Tubeless ready / Pace star compound

[jannosmit]

Have a look at the Spez Epic Comp 29er, also in your price bracket and specs

 

http://www.specialized.com/za/en/bikes/mountain/epicfsr/epiccompcarbon29#specs

 

Available from BMT in Stellenbosch

[carbon29er]

Pretty good price but there are a few things missing/not mentioned that will add both weight or cost:

Pedals

Saddle

Tubeless

[carbon29er]

Have a look at the Spez Epic Comp 29er, also in your price bracket and specs

 

http://www.specializ...pcarbon29#specs

 

Available from BMT in Stellenbosch

M5 aluminum chainstays, combination of X7, X9, SLX, XT and Magura MTS

Weight is just under 13kgs in XL.

[arendoog]

Go ride them and decide .Anthem has a more aggresive geometry and maestro works realy well .Consistent good reviews from all over .Perfect bike for xc racing .Scott is a good package .You will be happy with either.Both are full xt..I prefer the rockshox, monarch setup of the anthem

Edited September 29, 2012 by Blitzer

[jugheaddave]

also think about after sales service.

 

giant very good with broken frames ect, scott and spez not sure??

[splat]

I currently ride a Giant Anthem X 29 and am really enjoying it, but if I was out shopping for new bikes, I would definitely consider those Scotts. I quite like the look and spec.

Have yourself measured up (Ergofit) and see which bike's geometry suits you better.

[wapad]

The Giant pips the Scott, when you mentioned trail ride, the most you could race is 4 times a month so most time would involve trail/XC terrain

 

the Giant suspension is far more active and the rear shock is more reliable, back-up service on the Giant is great

 

Try get hold of a demo and hit the trails, that will always be the best selling point, any shop that cant supply or get a demo for you isnt worth it in my books

 

Dont always worry about weight any Duel Suss bike at the 12 KG mark for a size Large is good enough

 

Doesnt sound like you ride much, I may be wrong, so be carefull entering the Carbon frame market

 

The Scott is one of the lightest frames around if I'm not mistaken. Even Giant who are leaders in Carbon arent willing to go that light, so it must come down to a compromise

 

Having said all that negative comment about the Scott its still a good bike in the right hands

[Musashi]

Scott is good value for money. I ride a 2012 Scott 29'r and find it very competitive and a great ride.

 

Scott's after-sales service is quite good. I'd know, I've sent the rear shock back 3 times. It might be a dud shock (DT Swiss M210), but they are not getting it fixed. A Fox RP23 goes on next week.

 

The remote lock-out is very useful but don't let that sway your decision. The cables get finicky quickly.

 

Whether the rear shock is a dud or a general problem, I don't know. But I love my Scott as a competitive bike (given my level of ability).

 

That said, if I had the money I would seriously consider the Santa Cruz Tall Boy. But I don't.

[Romulus]

Have a look at the Spez Epic Comp 29er, also in your price bracket and specs

 

http://www.specializ...pcarbon29#specs

 

Available from BMT in Stellenbosch

Hi Jan,

 

This Specialized Epic Comp Carbon looks awesome and is really appealing to me because I've always wanted a Spez but I assumed they would all be out of my price range. You've helped me in adding another bike for me to consider. So now, it's down to the Spez, Scott and Giant.

[Romulus]

I haven't seen one bad review on the Giant Anthem. Those that ride them love them. That tells you something.

 

The Giant seems to be compared to lots of carbon bikes yet it is aluminium (I'm not talking about the carbon Anthem Advance that's very expensive). Can someone explain this to me please. And I read that it is on 500grams heavier than lots of carbon bikes yet far stronger. It seems to have a cult following.

[Romulus]

On the note of the Santa Cruz Tallboy. Is it more of a trail bike or XC or both? how does it fare on these different terrains.

[Romulus]

The Giant pips the Scott, when you mentioned trail ride, the most you could race is 4 times a month so most time would involve trail/XC terrain

 

the Giant suspension is far more active and the rear shock is more reliable, back-up service on the Giant is great

 

Try get hold of a demo and hit the trails, that will always be the best selling point, any shop that cant supply or get a demo for you isnt worth it in my books

 

Dont always worry about weight any Duel Suss bike at the 12 KG mark for a size Large is good enough

 

Doesnt sound like you ride much, I may be wrong, so be carefull entering the Carbon frame market

 

The Scott is one of the lightest frames around if I'm not mistaken. Even Giant who are leaders in Carbon arent willing to go that light, so it must come down to a compromise

 

Having said all that negative comment about the Scott its still a good bike in the right hands

 

I'm new to mountain biking but when I get into something I go all the way. I ride 15 hours a week on average.

 

I intend to use my current GT Zaskar for trail riding most of the time so yes I am buying this bike primarily for racing and will not be spending the rest of my time thrashing this bike on trails.

[wapad]

I have a Anthem 29er and have upgraded to a Pivot, the only issue I have with the Anthem was that it didnt have a rear thru-axle

 

To put things in Context the Pivot frame is heavier but my final build is at 11,7 KG complete with grips, bottle cages, mounts and pedals

 

I have quite a heavy but comfy saddle this bike cost me 40K but has everything I want,

 

My main point is that frame stiffness and suspension balance arent factored in by most rookies, everybody is so concerned about weight, with my current build I could get my Giant down to Scotts weight but its nowhere near the performance package of the Pivot

 

I'm not Pushing the Pivot brand, I like the uniqueness of it but there are so many thing that bikes like Scott and Giant dont cater for especially in the handling dept, things like front wheel washout, rear end stiffness, active suspension etc ( I really still rate the Anthem suspension right up there, but the steep angle of the front fork make it twitchy causing washout)

 

get on to You-tube if you can and review all the bikes, I cant stress the importance of research, in my case I was given the Pivot for a week to try out and hit my local trails

 

By the way do you have a 29er in the Zaskar

 

The other thing to look at is what are the top riders using, if you are doing 15 hrs a week then you will look to performance and maybe even a hardtail in which case Scott is right up there

 

At 35 K price point a spez will be much lower spec than Scott and I reckon the the Giant will be 3-4 grand cheaper than the Scott.

 

Scott and Spez not easy to come by once the seasons stock is sold out seems like most impoteres only bring in once a year so think about that ... thats where the boutique brands are great

Edited September 30, 2012 by wapad

[Jorrie]

I've got the 2012 scott spark expert, bit lower spec than the new 910, but more or less same bike, my brother got the 29 Anthem. We've swaped many times while riding and I can honestly say not much to choose between. Weight wise almost the same, I'll give the giant the nod on the downs and the scott on the ups.

The scott almost feels like a hardtail compared to the giant, but I like it that way, just enough suspension for more comfy ride otherwise ready to race. If the geometry is fine for kevin and david it surely will be more than fine for any of us looking to race. Came down many a downhill with a tallboy, still looking for one to come up with me;-)

I got mine for R27k in april, not sure if its the best buy for R35k though!

Both the giant and scott come with crappy wheels, so save some cash for the upgrade!

[Jimmyjames]

I was riding the Scott Spark Expert (2012) and switched to the 2013 Jamis Dakar (R30k). Best bike I've ridden. Selling the Scott (in classified section).

Edited September 30, 2012 by Jimmyjames