Scott Spark 920 (2014)

29er XC bike bursting with technology

Pros

- Adjustments galore!
- Good mix of components

Cons

- Rocket Ron's are not my favorite tire

Review

Scott has just about finished with 26" wheels on their dual suspension bikes, and with every racer in the Mountain Bike World Cup riding and winning on 29er's now, you can see why. New geometry tweaks have allowed even shorter riders the option of riding bigger wheels, or settle for halfway with a 27.5" at the very least.

The new Spark 920 continues Scott bike's journey into 29er XC bikes, and it looks the goods too. This carbon framed platform is bursting with features: Twin Loc suspension adjuster, the new Nude shock from Fox, IDS-SL dropout system and an adjustable height bottom bracket make this bike versatile and purposeful beyond merely an XC rig.

There is no doubt this is a fast bike and has the stiffness and control you would expect for racing even with the larger wheels. Flick around the shock mount chip (effectively lowering the bottom bracket), point it downhill and it becomes a capable trail bike, at least within the limits of its 100mm travel.

Components are a good mix of Shimano SLX and XT (this model sits in the middle of the range), and Syncros covers most of the rest. I will mention the tires which I have ridden extensively and have to say they are far from my favorites. I find the Rocket Ron's tend to wash out easily in loose corners and would recommend replacing the front tire at least with something that hooks up a bit better.

Overall the Spark 920 is a super capable XC dually. Its myriad of adjustments, quality frame and components make it a great choice for XC and marathon riders and racers.