[chancewag]

Hey all,

I've found two Sparks for sale - one the 940 and the other 900 - priced $500 apart. The specs seem very similar (the 940 is on stock rims, the 900 on mercury 3's), the only difference i can tell is the carbon frame which saves the 900 5 pounds off the 940's aluminum.

I am not looking to race but do have marathon/all day endurance rides in mind.

Is it worth an extra $500 to go from a 30lb rig to a 25lb one?

 

[brankulo]

$100 per pound of weight savings is actually not that much.

 

[Suns_PSD]

Bargain price.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[blkangel]

It isn’t just the carbon frame. The carbon frame isn’t 5lbs lighter than the alloy one. The Mercury wheels while not the best are fairly light and for for sure lighter than the stock wheels.

So if you plan on upgrading wheels anyway you will have less than a 5lb difference if you got the alloy and upgraded the wheels.

 

[mtbbiker]

Usually a carbon frame is at most 1lb difference. I bet there's got to be much better components or the weight is wrong. Yes, if the 25lb bike is confirmed to be the actual weight and the light weight parts are not going to compromise your riding style, then it's worth it!

 

[MSU Alum]

My limit is $1 a GRAM!
You'd be a crazy man not to spend the extra $500.
If you don't, we don't even want to hear about it.

 

[chancewag]

Thanks for all the great replies.

Interesting note about carbon frames being ~1lb different than their aluminum counterpart. I compared the spec weight between the 900 and 940 from Scott's website, so yes, different components must also come into play.

 

[acedeuce802]

It depends on how important that $500 is to you, and if you are ever going to do upgrades. Without considering your situation, 5 lbs for $500 is crazy cheap. In general, upgrades generally cost between $0.50 to $5.00 per gram of weight savings. Say you replace aluminum handlebars with carbon, that's usually on the cheaper side at $0.50 to $1.00 per gram. Things like carbon cranks and wheels, lighter forks, etc are much higher. In your case, you'd be spending about $0.22 per gram of weight savings, not to mention a stiffer frame, likely better shifting drivetrain, better damping fork, etc..

Are these used or new? Because on the other hand, I'd rather have a 30 lb bike (if it has okay components) that's from 2018, rather than a 25 lb bike that's from 2010 (not sure how far back the Spark's go).

 

[Nurse Ben]

Hey all,

I've found two Sparks for sale - one the 940 and the other 900 - priced $500 apart. The specs seem very similar (the 940 is on stock rims, the 900 on mercury 3's), the only difference i can tell is the carbon frame which saves the 900 5 pounds off the 940's aluminum.

I am not looking to race but do have marathon/all day endurance rides in mind.

Is it worth an extra $500 to go from a 30lb rig to a 25lb one?

Yes, $100 a pound is worth it, but it's not very likely that the frame difference alone would save that much, more like 1-2#.

I suspect the weights are not accurate.

Edit: just looked at the two bike specs and there is more difference than just frames: step cast fork is significantly lighter, same with wheels and tires. Still, I doubt it's a five pound difference.

That said, the 900 is clearly a better bike, but the 940 is a good bike as well. For $500 more you get much better wheels, a better suspension, a better frame, and a lighter bike.

This ^ is worth $500 to me.

More to the point, aluminum and carbon ride differently, so I'd test ride them and see which one rides best.

 

[Forest Rider]

25lbs is pretty light. Have you actually weighed the 2 bikes to ensure you are saving 5lbs between the two. Doubtful since they are used for sale.

Just making sure you don't get the 'lighter bike' and it's marginally lighter than the other bike.

 

[chancewag]

really appreciate the input. i'll go for the 900 then. thanks!

 

[John Kuhl]

Good choice.

 

[kosmo]

For me, YES!

In fact, if somebody can save me 5 pounds off my bike for $500, I'll throw you a 10% Genius Fee!

 

[fmendes]

I want to save about 20 lb by changing my diet. Cheaper, healthier and will make me faster.

 

[stiingya]

yea that's pry BS. But still, I'd pay the extra 500 if you got it for the better parts spec.

 

[kk2]

Hell Yes !!!