CindiK Posted February 26, 2014 Share We are looking at new bikes.Fortunately been able to test ride the 2014 Specialized Expert 29er with carbon wheels, as well as the single chain ring on one of them. Absolutely awesome fun fast easy ride! Loved it.Specialized are great regarding offering test bikes.But the new Scott SL is at least 1.5 kg lighter (under 10kg), and its strong. (We've been riding 26" Scott Sparks. Did Epic on them 2010. Love them.)Anyone riding the 2014 Scott Spark 900 SL, that can give us some info on the ride? Anyone ridden both these mentioned Specialized and Scott 29ers who can give some advice on the differences or similarities? Real pain that Scott dont offer test bikes.Specialized say its not 'just' the brain that offers the great ride, its also their geometry.Any comments please?Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbarn Killer Posted February 28, 2014 Share There are plenty of complaints on the Hub of the rear triangle cracking on the Scott Sparks and Scott seem to be struggling to honour the warranties timeously. People are waiting ages for the repalcement parts to arrive. Do a search on the Rant and Rave section to see just how many people have this problem. Here is one of them https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/135538-ive-scott-a-problem/page__hl__scott+spark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephton Posted March 4, 2014 Share Incidentally the issues with the Sparks were all on bikes with alloy rear triangles and not the carbon ones like the SL and RC. Apparently seized lower pivot bearings were the culprits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted March 4, 2014 Share Incidentally the issues with the Sparks were all on bikes with alloy rear triangles and not the carbon ones like the SL and RC. Apparently seized lower pivot bearings were the culprits. I don't think that is completely true - plenty of RC's also broke carbon rear triangles - I bought my bike with an alloy rear triangle, SPECIFICALLY because the head of Scott SA recommended that over the carbon rear triangle - said they were having plenty of trouble with the carbon rear triangles breaking. My rear triangle is still going strong - touch wood - despite about 5000km of racing... the only thing I did differently to most owners was service the bearings before using the bike... a good thing too, because they were pretty much grease free out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleatsnCleavage Posted March 4, 2014 Share I wasn't going to say anything as I have never ridden an Epic but thought about this later.....i have a Scott Spark 920, 2013 and it is a fantastic ride, I love it. BUT even on the medium frame you battle to fit a full size bottle cage onto it, my friend has a small size Scott 910 and she can only fit one small bottle. so for longer, unsupported rides its basically you and your camelbak. Not a deciding factor i know it it is an irritation especially after shelling out R30k. Re all the technical problems above I think most issues with the rear triangle have been sorted with more recent models. ask your LBS. Re the Specialized claim on their much-vaunted "Geometry", who knows if its true or not (my LBS guru says no but he doesnt sell the brand!) but its sales-speak that is selling bikes.. Good luck with your choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted March 5, 2014 Share I wasn't going to say anything as I have never ridden an Epic but thought about this later.....i have a Scott Spark 920, 2013 and it is a fantastic ride, I love it. BUT even on the medium frame you battle to fit a full size bottle cage onto it, my friend has a small size Scott 910 and she can only fit one small bottle. so for longer, unsupported rides its basically you and your camelbak. Not a deciding factor i know it it is an irritation especially after shelling out R30k. Re all the technical problems above I think most issues with the rear triangle have been sorted with more recent models. ask your LBS. Re the Specialized claim on their much-vaunted "Geometry", who knows if its true or not (my LBS guru says no but he doesnt sell the brand!) but its sales-speak that is selling bikes.. Good luck with your choice! Full size bottle will fit on your medium frame - put about 7mm of spacers under the lower cage bolt - this tilts the cage forward and makes clearance under the shock - worth doing on a small frame too, but you are limited to a 500ml bottle. Side entry cage also makes a big difference to ease of use - and you can mount one on the seatpost too. That said - I plan to use my camelback on the Epic again (as well as 2 500ml bottles) - makes life easier sometimes having water available when you want both hands on the bars... and if it's hot it helps to not run out of water... I rode the 2014 epic to test - but I can't really say for certain if it's better than my existing bike (doesn't feel much different to ride) - Spark Pro - so I am not swapping it this year - maybe next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share There are plenty of complaints on the Hub of the rear triangle cracking on the Scott Sparks and Scott seem to be struggling to honour the warranties timeously. People are waiting ages for the repalcement parts to arrive. Do a search on the Rant and Rave section to see just how many people have this problem. Here is one of them http://www.thehubsa....hl__scott spark Worth looking into thankyou! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share Incidentally the issues with the Sparks were all on bikes with alloy rear triangles and not the carbon ones like the SL and RC. Apparently seized lower pivot bearings were the culprits.Thanks will check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share Full size bottle will fit on your medium frame - put about 7mm of spacers under the lower cage bolt - this tilts the cage forward and makes clearance under the shock - worth doing on a small frame too, but you are limited to a 500ml bottle. Side entry cage also makes a big difference to ease of use - and you can mount one on the seatpost too. That said - I plan to use my camelback on the Epic again (as well as 2 500ml bottles) - makes life easier sometimes having water available when you want both hands on the bars... and if it's hot it helps to not run out of water... I rode the 2014 epic to test - but I can't really say for certain if it's better than my existing bike (doesn't feel much different to ride) - Spark Pro - so I am not swapping it this year - maybe next year. Great idea re the spaces. Thanks - did the Epic on Spark 20 in 2010 with a Camelbak and so Im not as phazed about the bottles, but my husband is and we are getting the same bikes, in different sizes, so thanks for the comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share I wasn't going to say anything as I have never ridden an Epic but thought about this later.....i have a Scott Spark 920, 2013 and it is a fantastic ride, I love it. BUT even on the medium frame you battle to fit a full size bottle cage onto it, my friend has a small size Scott 910 and she can only fit one small bottle. so for longer, unsupported rides its basically you and your camelbak. Not a deciding factor i know it it is an irritation especially after shelling out R30k. Re all the technical problems above I think most issues with the rear triangle have been sorted with more recent models. ask your LBS. Re the Specialized claim on their much-vaunted "Geometry", who knows if its true or not (my LBS guru says no but he doesnt sell the brand!) but its sales-speak that is selling bikes.. Good luck with your choice! Yeah thanks, aware of the bottle issues, and agree its a big consideration. Wish we could test the bikes side by side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share I don't think that is completely true - plenty of RC's also broke carbon rear triangles - I bought my bike with an alloy rear triangle, SPECIFICALLY because the head of Scott SA recommended that over the carbon rear triangle - said they were having plenty of trouble with the carbon rear triangles breaking. My rear triangle is still going strong - touch wood - despite about 5000km of racing... the only thing I did differently to most owners was service the bearings before using the bike... a good thing too, because they were pretty much grease free out of the box. Thanks for commenting. We will obviously check out the rear triangle issue which we were not aware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 12, 2014 Share There are plenty of complaints on the Hub of the rear triangle cracking on the Scott Sparks and Scott seem to be struggling to honour the warranties timeously. People are waiting ages for the repalcement parts to arrive. Do a search on the Rant and Rave section to see just how many people have this problem. Here is one of them http://www.thehubsa....hl__scott spark Will definitely check that out. Thanks a million for commenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camelman Posted March 12, 2014 Share You can get 2x 600ml bottles on even a small epic frame. My XL can take 2x 700. Spez does force you to buy their bottled as all others fall out. I have to date not had a dropped bottle on my Epic and I go downhill like a madman. SWAT is also great to have although quite ugly. And the best for me is the set and forget suspension. Costly though, but awesome.Had a frame crack on my BB and frame was replaced within 3 days. Very good service.On the Scott side that chip you can swap makes the bike a light duty trailbike with a slacker head angle. Personally I am not a huge fan of the twin lock, but to each their own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindiK Posted March 17, 2016 Share We are looking at new bikes.Fortunately been able to test ride the 2014 Specialized Expert 29er with carbon wheels, as well as the single chain ring on one of them. Absolutely awesome fun fast easy ride! Loved it.Specialized are great regarding offering test bikes.But the new Scott SL is at least 1.5 kg lighter (under 10kg), and its strong. (We've been riding 26" Scott Sparks. Did Epic on them 2010. Love them.)Anyone riding the 2014 Scott Spark 900 SL, that can give us some info on the ride? Anyone ridden both these mentioned Specialized and Scott 29ers who can give some advice on the differences or similarities?Real pain that Scott dont offer test bikes.Specialized say its not 'just' the brain that offers the great ride, its also their geometry.Any comments please?Thanks!Incidentally, we got the Scott SL. Got a really good price. Loving my bike and still very happy with the choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taito Posted March 17, 2016 Share YOU MIGHT WANT TO TRY SOME OTHER BRANDS ALSO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlbeckley Posted March 19, 2016 Share Cube ams super 100 HPC pro raceCheaper and climbs like a dassie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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