NEW: Scott Spark DC | First Ride in Lenzerheide

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the brand new Scott Spark DC out in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Watch the video or get a deeper dive with the rest of this blog post! Downcountry gets another notch on its belt – the Spark DC is one hell of a bike.

Shop Scott Spark DC at wheelbase.mom

Chris’s Ride Review

I am a huge fan of my trail bike (160mm/142mm) and couldn’t wait to ride this new super-lightweight platform and see how it compared to something a little bigger.

I thought this bike was going to feel and handle like an XC bike. Having spent a few days riding it across all terrain from bikepark to high alpine – it has that responsive XC bike feel on flat/climbing sections where maintaining speed is key. Pumping and aggressive cornering is highly rewarded, the bike responds giving you huge amounts of speed through sections where you want to go faster.

When you point it downhill and open the taps, it feels like a trail bike. What was most surprising about this bike was the amount of grip. Speaking to the engineers behind the bike, they learnt a lot from the Spark over the years, and it’s one of Scott’s best-selling bikes for a reason. The DC utilises a low pivot point, with all the moving parts, strength and carbon layup focused into one single area, they are able to make this bike insanely light, as the rest of the bike needs very little material to keep its strength. While this is the first thing you’ll notice about the Spark, the weight. In my opinion the weight is the secondary benefit, and grip is the main benefit. What exactly causes it, I’ve no idea. Whether it’s the flexstay moving in the final 50% of the bike’s travel or the low pivot point allowing the wheels to yaw, some kind of magic is at work with the rear end of this bike. The bike comes specced with Maxxis Aspen EXO on the rear and a Forekaster on the front. While suitable for the bike’s intended use case, I do not associate this tyre combo with unlimited grip. Fast rolling yes, but grip? I set off fairly steady feeling out the bike, but by the end of the first lap – I was comfortable picking high lines and less grippy lines whenever I wanted. Credit to the engineers at Scott for this magic ride feel.

SRAM Motive’s are the perfect choice for this bike, keeping that weight low while providing plenty of stopping power. My first time riding them will not be my last!

If climbing all day, the bike’s weight will also be a huge advantage – coupled with Flight Attendant this is a FAST bike, and covered up a lack of aerobic capacity on my end. Grip, reward for pumping and aggression and a climb-all-day feel is a hell of a combination.

Scott Spark DC | Features

Shock Cover / Save The Day Toolkit

A magnetic cover protects the shock from dirt and grit, don’t worry it’s dead silent and isn’t going anywhere. Save The Day Toolkit is tucked away under the bike’s magnetic shock cover. While the bike is insanely light Scott have made sure its a bike that can be ridden all day and you’ll never be caught short without an allen key. included in the toolkit is: xxxxx

Cable Routing

2 options available: run it as it comes with the cables routed through the headset for the cleanest silhouette or if that’s putting you off, the rectangular Scott badge comes off and is replaced by another cover which the cables can run through the frame. Nice.

Flexstays

A word that has always sounded like a weakness, proves itself in mountain biking yet again on the Spark DC. Grip, lots of grip! It negates the need for a pivot point on the chainstay which both keeps the weight down and the helps the back end delivers grip through the off camber and corners. The handling is 10/10.