thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share Hi Gents. I have a Scott Spark and I have "heard somewhere" that you can fit 27.5" wheels on it. Ok. If not. Then my question is. Can such a convertion be done and what changes would that require ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted December 17, 2016 Share 27.5 will always fit on a 29er frame - geometry might just change slightly. Nothing really to the conversion,just chuck new wheels in and make sure you use the same axles (thru axle or QR), hub spacing (boost or standard), and same rotors and cassette. Just take note if you are planning on going 27.5+ tyres (2.8 - 3.0 inch wide) your frame and fork spacing will have to be boost. EDIT: Your best and cheapest bet is going to be to re-use your current hubs, cassette, and rotors. Just get some new hoops/tyres, and spokes and get you LBS to do the build for you. Otherwise there are some pretty good complete wheelsets out there depending on your budget. Just make sure you reuse your current cassette (unless you are planning on buying a new chain too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share Just take note if you are planning on going 27.5+ tyres (2.8 - 3.0 inch wide) your frame and fork spacing will have to be boost.And that was my next question !! ???? So in plain english. What do i need to do/change ? Will it work nicely or will I cause some cockup somewhere ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstar scott Posted December 17, 2016 Share The reason for doing this.....(from a newbie) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share The reason for doing this.....(from a newbie) ?Hence I'm not going to answer you !! Don't want a newbie like myself confusing another newbie ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted December 17, 2016 Share And that was my next question !! ???? So in plain english. What do i need to do/change ? Will it work nicely or will I cause some cockup somewhere ?If your frame and fork is not boost (ie: 148mm rear, and 110mm front) it cannot be done. Simply will not be wide enough. Only way to go 27.5+ is to get a new frame and fork. Normal 27.5 with tyres up to 2.4" wide will fit no problem if your frame and fork is normal spacing... What year is your Spark? EDIT: So in plain English, if you wanna go normal width 27.5 do what I said in my first post. If you wanna go plus tyres and your stuff is boost compatible do the exact same this just with wider tyres, if not - get a new bike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share If your frame and fork is not boost (ie: 148mm rear, and 110mm front) it cannot be done. Simply will not be wide enough. Only way to go 27.5+ is to get a new frame and fork. Normal 27.5 with tyres up to 2.4" wide will fit no problem if your frame and fork is normal spacing... What year is your Spark? EDIT: So in plain English, if you wanna go normal width 27.5 do what I said in my first post. If you wanna go plus tyres and your stuff is boost compatible do the exact same this just with wider tyres, if not - get a new bike...Ok. I didnt get the "boost" part. It is a 2016 Spark 950. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted December 17, 2016 Share Ok. I didnt get the "boost" part. It is a 2016 Spark 950.It's the new standard in hub spacing.. Your bike is not boost, so unfortunately you can't go 27.5 plus. But you will be able to go 27.5 with tyres up to 2.4" width. I personally wouldn't reccommend it though, the geometry of that bike is optimised for a 29er wheel, thus if you go 27.5 your bike will handle "funny". Your chainstay will be too long for the wheels, and your bottom bracket height will be reduced - could lead to rock strikes coz your pedals are closer to the ground, and you will roll slower. My reccommendation if you really want to have a bike that can do both is to look at the 2017 spark or 2017 spez stumpies. But in my honest opinion your bike is great, and upgrading now will mean losing alot of money on your current ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share It's the new standard in hub spacing.. Your bike is not boost, so unfortunately you can't go 27.5 plus. But you will be able to go 27.5 with tyres up to 2.4" width. I personally wouldn't reccommend it though, the geometry of that bike is optimised for a 29er wheel, thus if you go 27.5 your bike will handle "funny". Your chainstay will be too long for the wheels, and your bottom bracket height will be reduced - could lead to rock strikes coz your pedals are closer to the ground, and you will roll slower. My reccommendation if you really want to have a bike that can do both is to look at the 2017 spark or 2017 spez stumpies. But in my honest opinion your bike is great, and upgrading now will mean losing alot of money on your current ride.Thanx man. Appreciate the advice. When I bought my first 29" (Scott Spark) I was planning on doing "road races" & gravel road races. And I fell for the whole advantage on the long open road sales pitch. However these days 99% of my time is spend on off road/single tracks & the 29" doesn't handle that well. Hence I started playing with the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted December 17, 2016 Share Thanx man. Appreciate the advice. When I bought my first 29" (Scott Spark) I was planning on doing "road races" & gravel road races. And I fell for the whole advantage on the long open road sales pitch. However these days 99% of my time is spend on off road/single tracks & the 29" doesn't handle that well. Hence I started playing with the idea.From the sounds of it a different wheels size alone won't solve your problem. If that is where you are spending most of your time you will prob be alot happier on a 27.5 trail bike with some more travel. I ride trail and have a Spez Stumpy 27.5 plus bike - awesome tool for the job. But not the greatest on long rides... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share From the sounds of it a different wheels size alone won't solve your problem. If that is where you are spending most of your time you will prob be alot happier on a 27.5 trail bike with some more travel. I ride trail and have a Spez Stumpy 27.5 plus bike - awesome tool for the job. But not the greatest on long rides...Shot man ! Thanx for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisan Posted December 17, 2016 Share Thanx man. Appreciate the advice. When I bought my first 29" (Scott Spark) I was planning on doing "road races" & gravel road races. And I fell for the whole advantage on the long open road sales pitch.However these days 99% of my time is spend on off road/single tracks & the 29" doesn't handle that well.Hence I started playing with the idea. I think the handeling issue is more of a setup issue. 29'ers - and especially the "old" Spark designed for technical XCO racing - can do technical stuff quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesahunter Posted December 17, 2016 Share I think the handeling issue is more of a setup issue. 29'ers - and especially the "old" Spark designed for technical XCO racing - can do technical stuff quite well.Ja. I thougt It might me the guy behind the bars . . . But was living in denail !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Vegmot Posted December 17, 2016 Share Try to borrow someone else's wheelset; if you ask nicely on the hub, I'm sure someone will be willing to help out... All the above posts are in theory, and, while theory is a good thing, it's just well... theory... Try to test it, if it works, great! If it doesn't, thank the person who's wheelset you borrowed and know that you tried. Don't just chuck ideas because they might not work in theory, if it doesn't cost you money it's not going to cause anybody or anything damage-try it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted December 17, 2016 Share the 29" doesn't handle that well. Swap the insert around on the rear triangle of the spark and you will have better handling - at least it will be more similar to smaller wheels when the headset angle is steeper - but there is nothing wrong with 29er handling - needs to be treated more like an mx bike- they do turn but needs more body english - upside is they roll over small bumps better and have more traction. And I am sure they can be made to go faster in single track than a 26 or 27.5 bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted December 17, 2016 Share The spark has reasonably short chainstays, so that won't be a problem. Chainstays length and it's effect on handling is independent of wheelsize, it's just that some suspension designs limit the chainstays length when utilising larger wheels (trance 29er is a case in point) so don't worry about that. The ONLY ways it will affect your geo is by dropping the BB by about an inch or so, depending on what tyres you get for the new wheelset. As has been said before, you won't be able to go 275+ due to the width of the chainstays and fork at the crown, but you'll be able to fit up to a 2.5 (again, depending on the tyre) in the frame. Your pedals will be closer to the ground and you may encounter more pedal strikes, but your centre of gravity will be lower and as a result you may be able to corner better. Personally, I'd not do it. If you're not liking the handling, change up the bar and stem for a wide & short combo and stick some grippy tires on it, and increase the fork travel to 120. That should spice things up a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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