Scott Spark 730

Set and forget, or don’t forget to set; that is the question. There’s a grubby Spark hanging in the garage but I’m still not sure what the correct answer is, even though it’s my rhetorical question! This bike is uber cool, every bit unique, and it delivers what Scott believes is the ultimate in MTB suspension technology; manually controlled on-the-fly suspension travel adjustment.

At a glance the Spark looks like regular single pivot dually; a top tube mounted swing-link, nice profiles, sensible proportions and so on. The frame doesn’t conceal any particular tricks, but the two fireengine red cables sprouting from its bar mounted lever give the game away. Scott’s TwinLoc lever simultaneously controls the Fox CTD fork and the special ‘Nude’ rear shock—a Spark specific design that’s also made by Fox. The volume of the air chamber in the Nude shock can be adjusted on the fly, offering three travel modes; a plush 120mm of travel, a firmer riding 85mm travel setting and a lockout. Does this contraption make the Spark three bikes in one, or simply three shades of matte black unidirectional carbon? We were keen to find out…

For marathon events or XC racing the Spark is Scott’s go-to dually and it’s offered in both 27.5 and 29-inch flavours. Crosscountry legend Nino Schurter has even given his Scale hardtail a few days off during the 2014 World Cup season, opting to race his Spark dually instead. It’s fair to say that the Spark has some credentials on the race course. It also has some history, particularly the mindset that sits behind the Nude shock.

Back in 2004 (when high end bikes still came with rim brakes) Scott launched the Genius series of bikes; at the time they looked starkly different to anything else on the market. A huge pull shock sat between the rear wheel and seat tube—you couldn’t miss it! This shock had three settings, as per the current 2015 Spark. The original Genius was designed by Peter Denk, who has since moved on to work for Cannondale and you can now see Denk’s influence Cannondale Jekyll and Trigger models.

While the funky pull-shock has been dispatched, Scott has maintained an unwavering devotion to the three-mode rider-activated rear shock. It forms an obvious point of difference on the showroom floor and the concept is so simple—you, the rider, are in total control. Flick a finger and this bike will dance to whichever tune you’d like. It does sound pretty darn good but since 2004 there have been some dramatic advances in both suspension design and shock technology. The logic behind the Nude shock and TwinLoc system remains pure, but do we really need these levers and cables and corresponding rider distractions in 2015?

TRAIL OR RACE?

If we momentarily nudge the topic suspension philosophy to one side, the Spark also possesses an interesting combination of numbers that’s likely to hit a sweet spot for many riders. It may be a cross-country race machine but it’s got a fair helping of trail bike in its genealogy. If you asked for a slightly toned down trail bike, spliced with a lycra racer’s attention to weight, you’d come up with something pretty close to this.

Cross-country bikes are usually pigeonholed at the 100mm travel mark but the Spark offers up 120mm. In addition to this, the swing-link features an offset mounting bolt for the shock that allows you to vary the geometry; the head angle can be adjusted between 68.3 and 68.8-degrees. Either way, the numbers are slack for a bike that simultaneously carries serious XC podium aspirations.

I think the generous travel is a good move by the Scott team. A 100mm travel 29er (such as the Spark 29) is commonly accepted, so why not sneak in some extra travel for the 27.5 inch model; after all the smaller wheels don’t roll over obstacles as readily. The slacker head angle also makes sense; more ‘relaxed’ steering inspires confidence and bravado on the descents, while the shorter chainstays on the 27.5 bike prevents the wheelbase blowing out to truck-like proportions. The upshot is a nice mix of agility and stability rolled into one.

Depending upon the price point, the Spark is offered in a range of frame materials. To begin with the base models are all-alloy (from $3,399 to $3999). At $4,499 our 730 is the most affordable carbon option; it combines an alloy rear end mated with an HMF carbon front triangle. HMF is Scott’s base level carbon and the same frame also features on the $5,799 Spark 710. Above that the top models use Scott’s lighter HMX carbon in the main frame and include carbon fibre seat and chainstays too.

BREAD ‘N’ BUTTER BUILD

Whilst we only had the mid-level carbon frame with alloy stays, it was still impressively light at 2,380g for a large frame and rear shock combo. There are lighter frames out there, but this is very respectable for a 120mm travel setup that isn’t bank breakingly expensive.

Scott hasn’t gone too crazy with curves but they’ve still managed to keep the top tube very low whilst leaving plenty of room for a full size bottle in the front triangle. The two TwinLoc cables are kept out of the way for the most part; the cable to the fork is short and the one to the shock is routed internally through the top tube.

Both derailleur cables run through the down tube with no internal liner or guide. Thankfully the Spark has a decent size hole and cap just forward of the bottom bracket, so fishing the cables through is relatively easy, although the job is still more involved than bikes with internal guides. The rear brake hose is routed under the down tube, so bleeding and replacing is nice and easy.

The suspension pivot hardware is appropriately sized and the alloy bolts boldly state the required torque specs. Commonly available allen keys are used throughout; a handy thing if something does come lose  whilst you’re out in the boonies. Overall, the Spark should be a very easy frame to own and maintain for several seasons.

The trail bike that lives inside the Spark faces one significant hurdle; there’s no thought given to a dropper post. With no cables running along the top tube, you can’t even ‘piggyback’ off existing cable guides to make it work. With a little research  we found a few home-baked stealth routed adaptations. These typically ran  the cable along the down tube using the  brake hose as a guide before entering via a hole drilled into the plastic gear cable exit cover. Once inside, the cable was routed up into the seat tube for the stealth-style dropper post. While this is a nifty solution, any non-stealth dropper would require a bunch of zip-ties to secure the cable to the frame. The other consideration with adding a dropper post is handlebar clutter; how many dodads can you cope with on your handlebar before deciding to go cold turkey and buy a singlespeed?! 

Spec-wise the 730 is mostly Scott’s in house brand; Syncros. As fancy as the carbon main frame and special shocks are, the balance of the 730 leans towards utility rather than pizazz. The Syncros gear is decent alloy stuff with graphics that match the frame. I thought the saddle deserved special mention for being particularly comfy with a high quality finish. On the flipside, all six stem bolts as well as the a-headset top cap, shock mounting bolts and seat post clamp use a Torx T25 fitting. Why? Regular 4-5mm allen key fittings works just fine in these applications and even the most basic multi-tool has them.

Most of the running gear is Shimano Deore. The SLX crank and XT rear derailleur are the only deviations. On paper the XT derailleur appears to be an up-spec but it lacks the clutch mechanism that usually features on these units. The clutch reduces chain slap, keeping the drivetrain running quietly in rough terrain and also assists with chain retention. We’d take a lower spec SLX derailleur with a clutch in place of the XT version every time, especially on a trail worthy bike like the Spark.

With a 24/38 combo on the SLX cranks, there’s a rather large gear ratio jump between chainrings. However, the smaller 27.5 wheels keep the end gear ratio down, ensuring that you’ll spend most of your time in the big ring anyway. When you do need a granny gear, the 24-tooth will be waiting to soothe your tired legs.

CHOOSE YOUR TRAVEL

Whether you’re looking at the base model alloy Spark or a full-tilt HMX carbon version, the shared geometry and  suspension technology will ensure that you get a similar ride. There’s no point describing what this bike is like when it’s locked out, but the other two modes are pretty interesting.

Swapping between modes changes the effective air volume within the shock. This alters overall spring rate and as a result changes the sag point of the suspension. In  the max travel setting, the shock sags more,  so the neutral ride position has a lower bottom  bracket and slacker angles. The middle  setting raises the bottom bracket and sharpens  the steering, albeit only slightly. 

When fully open, the Spark feels quite linear  and will give all 120mm of travel without  a fight. It’s not the snappiest pedalling bike  in the longer travel setting but relatively low  12kg weight (without pedals) and snappy to  accelerate 27.5 wheels ensures that you’ll still  have a spritely feeling bike in the singletrack. 

Going down is a blast with the 120mm  setting. It sits down into its travel and feels  far more ‘trail’ than ‘race’, although the  Spark doesn’t seem as torsionally stiff as  some of the more trail oriented competition.  Hanging off the back helps to slacken out  the front end even more, and the low weight  lets you loft the Spark and pop from line  to line with total ease. There is room in the  frame for more aggressive rubber too—add  some bigger treads with a dropper post and  get excited. Fit it with a shorter stem and  Spark would be a ball for dedicated trail use. 

Point the bike uphill for a proper climb  and it’s really worth hitting the TwinLoc  lever. Some bikes employ drivetrain forces  to counter unwanted suspension movement  – generally referred to as ‘anti-squat’.  Get the amount of anti-squat just right and  a bike can have soft and supple suspension  yet still pedal with minimal bob (of  course strong anti-squat forces can detract  from the suspension performance too, but  we won’t go there now). With the Spark,  it is more reliant on the manual suspension  control to tame unwanted bob. If you  don’t hit the button for a serious out-ofthe  saddle uphill assault, the back end will  sink and wallow with each pedal stroke. 

Once stepped down to the 85mm travel  mode, the Spark takes on a more attentive  persona. The short travel rear end feels relatively  snappy and taut. Pedalling is more  responsive and out of the saddle efforts are  rewarded with a sharp reply. Bear in mind  that you still have 120mm of travel on tap  up front too, albeit in the slightly firmer  ‘Trail’ mode, so the middle TwinLoc setting  isn’t solely reserved for climbing. It can be  an effective option for pedally singletrack  and many XC race situations. 

When it comes to climbing, the 85mm  setting is almost perfect. It’s enough travel  to let you squish your body weight onto  the saddle and regulate traction as needed,  and firm enough that you can answer an adversary’s acceleration without having that soggy trail bike feeling. You can dart up rocky scree and steps with bursts of torque that’s more in line with a hardtail than 120mm travel machine, and still use the traction of the dually to your advantage. The challenge is deciding when to hit the NOS button. 

 Some people dislike bikes that have a lockout controlled on-off personality. In situations where the trail is constantly changing you can have a hard time keeping up with all the modes and button pressing. In this regard the Spark has two saving graces; the 120mm travel fork will get you through most situations that this bike can handle, so long as the rear end isn’t completely locked out. Secondly, the snappy feeling 27.5 wheels make up for some of the pedalling lag that you get in the 120mm travel setting, so it still feels responsive when you’re ducking in and out of the trees. There’s always a setting that suits the trail immediately in front of you, but if you’re in the ‘wrong’ setting it’s not a total disaster on the Spark.

To my total surprise, I actually logged two personal best times on flat to uphill singletracks that I must have ridden over 100 times before. Both PBs were done in the 120mm travel setting, and neither felt like I was melting my face off due to excessive speed. There simply must be merit in having 120mm of active travel on hand for cornering and pedalling over rocks and roots, combined with the reduced effort required to accelerate the 27.5-inch wheels. It seems that the reduced roll over of the wheels when compared with a 29er is negated by the extra travel available, and acceleration is enhanced too.

The Spark is a really hard bike to place. It races through the singletrack and can bomb descents, and so long as you push the buttons as required, it will climb with urgency too. It would be superb for 24 hour racing, especially on technical singletrack heavy courses, so long as you can do 24 hours worth of TwinLoc flipping. For shorter, high intensity riding, it’s easy to get caught up in the trail and forget to change settings. Not a disaster, but not a complete optimisation of the machine either. In spite of this, the Spark put a massive grin on my face every single ride. Yeah, that was a lot of fun, levers and all.  

Thumbs Up

• Agile climber, and bomber on the descents

• Generous suspension travel for an XC race bike

• Silky smooth through singletrack

Thumbs Down

• Reliant upon remote suspension adjustments for best performance

• Lacks designed-in dropper post cable routing

• A clutch derailleur would have been nice 

SPECIFICATIONS

Frame: HMF Carbon with alloy seat and chainstay

Shock: Scott Nude 120/85mm Travel

Fork: Fox Float 32 Evo CTD 120mm travel

Headset: Ritchey Pro Tapered

Handlebars: Syncros 7075 Alloy flat 700mm

Stem: Syncros 7075 Alloy

Shifter: Shimano Deore

Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT

Cassette: Shimano HG50 11/36 10-speed

Chain: KMC Z10

Cranks: Shimano SLX 24/38

Bottom Bracket: Shimano

Pedals: N/A

Brakes: Shimano Deore

Rims: Syncros XC37

Hubs: Shimano Deore

Spokes: Black Stainless Steel

Tyres: Schwalbe Rocket Ron 2.25

Saddle: Syncros XR2.0

Seatpost: Syncros FL2.0 Alloy

Weight: 12kg without pedals (Large frame 2,380g)

Available Sizes: S, M, L (tested) & XL

Price: $4,499

Distributor: Sheppard Industries 1300 883 305 www.sheppardcycles.com