SCOTT SPARK 900 TUNED AXS £8,199

Another month, another cool and deliciously desirable cross country bike is released, this time from Scott in the shape of the brand new Spark. It’s a bike bursting with innovation and great ideas, and follows hot on the heels of the Juliana Wilder and Santa Cruz Blur to really make downcountry an exciting category right now.

First up, and most obvious by its absence, is the integrated shock, cleverly hidden away inside the front triangle. This technology was pioneered by Bold Cycles, another Swiss brand that Scott bought back in 2019, so none of us should be too surprised to see this kind of application two years later. What is surprising is the incredible attention to detail and the deft touches that could well make the Spark practical as well as pioneering.

We’ll get to that in a minute; first though, take a look inside the Spark’s frame and the advantages to playing sardines with your shock become more obvious. With the shock mounted lower, the bike’s weight and centre of gravity also drops, while those shorter links and space for larger bearings on the seat tube are designed to increase stiffness. And without the need for mounting points on the down tube or top tube, Scott can also shave off a few grams in weight. All pretty decent gains, and that’s without even acknowledging how the shock is completely cosseted from mud or rock.

Those clean lines are complemented with a single-pivot suspension design that uses flex stays, something we’ve found ideal for short-travel bikes like the Spark. Indeed, Scott has used a very similar design in the past for the Spark.

The new Spark RC/900 range is immense, with 21 derivatives to choose from, but it basically covers everything from full-on XC race bike builds to pumped-up XC or downcountry trail bikes. The RC race bikes have 120mm front and rear, while the 900 series bikes we’ve pictured here comes with an extra 10mm in the fork – there are 13 models of the downcountry bike on offer, from the Ultimate Evo AXS bike at £11,999 right down to the alloy models starting at an affordable £2,199 for the 970.

Those deft touches then.

Move over cynic, the mechanic inside us is screaming that an internal shock will be tricky