SCOTT SPARK

PRICE: R135 000 / SCOTT-SPORTS.COM

The pedigree of the Scott Spark is hard to deny. Thanks to riders such as Nino Schurter and Kate Courtney, for the past few years the current iteration has been the bike with the most wins at the highest level of mountain biking.

So it’s no surprise that when you throw a leg over the Spark, you immediately notice the aggressive race geometry and features. From the striking one-piece bar and stem down to the carbon Syncros wheels, this bike is ready to rocket to the top of any XC course in record time – provided you find a worthy pilot.

Scott hasn’t really followed the long-and-low trend that’s creeping into the XC world; instead, they’ve focused on making a pure race machine. The result is one of the lightest production full-suspension bikes on the market, with a claimed weight of just over 10kg.

They set out to build a 29er worthy of Nino Schurter – that’s made immediately apparent by the bike’s incredible uphill efficiency (enhanced by the ability to fully lock out the suspension using the Twinloc remote) and its love of staying on the ground and rolling fast. With this generation, Scott has slackened the geometry slightly, with a 68.5-degree head angle, but they’ve still maintained the agile and lively feel of an XC bike.

We’ll say it again: the Spark truly shines on the uphills. And let’s face it, that’s where it all counts in most XC races.

The World Cup AXS build is the top-spec model in the range. The first thing that strikes you is the bold, hi-vis yellow paint job, as well as the signature onepiece bar and stem. The carbon Syncros wheels are lightweight but solid, and the wireless AXS groupset is the best that SRAM has to offer. Likewise the Rockshox SID Ultimate fork with 100mm of travel, which is exactly the same as the one Nino uses.

Build kit aside, it’s time to focus on why you really ride a bike: how it feels. The first thing you’ll notice is that the Spark begs for speed – it feels like you’re getting the maximum out of every rotation of the pedals. Point the Spark up a jeep-track climb, lock the suspension, and it seems almost as efficient as a road bike. Leave the suspension in the middle position, and it will soak up just enough of the rough stuff on a technical singletrack climb; then open it up, and let rip downhill.

Downhill, however, is the only place this bike may be a little outgunned. Not everybody has Nino’s bikehandling skills. Mere mortals must remember that this is a race bike; it’s obviously not going to steamroll through rock gardens like your favourite trail rig. Descending requires riding that’s a little more focused and deliberate.

That said, the bike is incredibly planted on singletrack – so much so that when you’re hopping over logs or rocks, it’s like it wants to touch back down immediately and keep the pedals turning. – Trevor Raab