Factory riders have ridden new stuff for about a year before we get it. How long has he been on a 120mm set-up?

 

I don't know how long he's been riding it, but he said on Pinkbike that he's riding 120mm in the rear with a 110mm fork. He must have some custom SID.

 

since 2019 team riders can choose between 100mm and 120mm. For 120mm they need just a other rear triangle for the existing rc. nothing really new.

 

Well, you'd think it'd be time for an upgrade in the next few years, if not less. The previous generation Spark was around through 2015? But then, if it ain't broke...

I wonder what--if anything--they're doing with Bold, the Swiss bike company they bought last year (feels like it was longer ago than a year)? Would they absorb that tech into Scott? Or keep it as a parallel product / range? I believe it had an internally mounted rear shock, which has pluses and negatives.

 

Well, you'd think it'd be time for an upgrade in the next few years, if not less. The previous generation Spark was around through 2015? But then, if it ain't broke...

The current Spark was first released as a 2017 model, so 2021 would be the 5th year. If i'm not mistaking their Addict didnt change between 2015 and 2019. If the bike was planned for the 2020 Olympics they cant just hold it back for 1 year.

I have my eye on a new bike for next year so lets hope they change it in 2021. I'm not very keen on spending a lot of money on a bike knowing i'll have the 'old' frame after 1 year.

 

Perhaps in 2021 we will see a new Spark, because it is an Olympic year..

 

If I had to guess, I’d say the next Spark will be all about integration in partnership with SRAM/RockShox. Electronic wireless shifting tech applied to the TwinLoc system. Crazy one piece handlebar/stems with hydraulic lines running through them. Maybe even take the concept slightly further by hiding the shock like that brand they bought. Maybe a proprietary wireless Reverb integrated with the frame ala BMC.

And of course one centimetre more reach and a slightly steeper seat angle.

 

Mmm interesting. The only two negatives about the spark are the low BB and 1 bottle cage. The first point fixes nino by using a larger travel vs front.

 

I was expecting a new bike in 2020 for the olympics to be announced soon. Not sure if that is going to happen now w/ the olympics delayed but if you have a product on the line to be manufactured and ready to sell I don't think you can just hold off for a year to release it with that inventory just sitting in a warehouse somewhere. They would have already placed the orders for new versions and no old versions to sell. I don't know but I was hoping to see it soon since Sea Otter was supposed to be last weekend (I think).

 

It would make sense that they'd have a new bike for the Olympics. Although, if it was going to be shown at Sea Otter, you'd think the shops would have already seen it and placed orders.

 

I think this summer's race season was supposed to be the debut of a new Spark RC that would go on sale next winter as a 2021 model. With racing on hold who knows when we'll get news of it but expect to be able to buy a slightly revised Spark RC with 120mm travel before next spring.

 

Huh. That would be a bit of a bummer. I love my 120mm spark and actually am sending off my suspension to Fox Factory Tuning program to be updated to the 2019 tunes, evol air shaft, updated evol air can but I was thinking we would see a whole new bike. It's awesome as it is but it was released in 2016 so I'm a bit surprised if they don't update it fairly soon. One nice thing is the longer it sells in the current format the easier it is to get parts.

With this suspension upgrade I'm doing I've realized that the volume spacer in the shock is custom to the Nude shock along with the sizing for the eyelet bushing spacer. Can find the parts in europe but no one sells them in the US except direct from Fox.

 

The thing with the Spark is its geometry is still spot on. The head angle is slacker than some newer gen XC bikes, it is long and low, so what are they going to update exactly?

 

Steeper seat tube, .5° slacker head tube, longer reach. Those are the things I want and expect to see.
Apparently it will also get 20mm more rear travel and 10mm more at the front. I didn't see the need for this but Nino must have preferred it in testing.

 

2 bottle cages? Lighter, integration

 

The 2 cages is interesting, I would prefer 2 for marathon racing, but the downside is exposing the down tube to more rock strikes like the Canyon Lux.
It is already one of lightest frames out there, so don't see too much change there.

 

Why is the downside more exposed with 2 cages?

 

The only option would be to move the shock to the top tube to free up space, but that doesn't work if your frame is too compact anyway (eg Santa Cruz Blur)
So you need to lift the top tube, but can't go too high else people will complain (especially with droppers)

So, to keep the bottle low, you make the down tube protrude forward to make space for the bottle to be down low by the BB (like the Canyon Lux).

The looks might not be as good, and anything to put the down tube into harms way seems to be a negative.

 

FWIW, Topeak makes a bottle cage holder that goes around the seatpost, which is a pretty nice solution, besides raising the center of gravity a bit when the bottle is full. But that's how I run two bottles on my '14 Spark SL. Your riding buddies may accuse you of being a closet tri-geek.

That said, I'm not riding as much these days, so I've been relying on my Camelbak for on-the-fly hydration.

 

I use a wolftooth b-rad on my 2020 Spark RC900. Holds two large bottles inside mainframe. Only minor issue: can contact calves on standing forward sprint.

 

Cannondale debuted a scalpel the same time the Scott launched the current Spark. Cannondale just brought out the new scalpel today. The have a 100 and 120 version that use the same frame. 100 version has a 68 degree head tube and the 120 has a 67, with 74.5 and 74 degree seat tube angles. Their claiming frame weight are kind 1900g. Something like this would welcome changes to the spark.

 

I’d really like to see something like what giant does, an sx of sorts.
120f/100 or 110r for shreddy or endurance type stuff.

 

Just to keep this convo going...so is the spark going to be updated for 2021?? I'm looking for the ultimate xc race bike and I think I've narrowed it down to the Spark.

 

(assuming we're talking Spark RC) Anyone who answers is only making an educated guess but the more likely guess is "yes" based on Nino being given a 110/120mm Spark to race for 2020. If he does enter a race this year the rules require the frame he uses to be released within a year.

If the RC gets updated the regular Spark will almost certainly as well, or get absorbed into the new Spark and Genius (which is equally old). Since its introduction I've felt the separate "RC" monaker confuses the Spark line, which was always an XC race bike with more travel than others.

 

I hope you’re right, cuz I’ll snatch up a rc900pro when they start blowing them out in the fall to make room for the new run.

 

I doubt that the bike Nino is running would be the all new model. I would expect there would be more changes to the form of the frame than we have seen on his bike. My guess is that he is running the current bike with a 45mm stroke shock (as labeled on his bike), with a slight offset in the mounting hole eyelet to raise the bike a hair, and prevent the seatstay bridge from hitting the seat tube at full compression.

 

A friend saw a post on Facebook from someone who claimed to be working for Scott in the usa. A new frame should be released in the early summer of 2021, so no changes on the 2021 model.

 

Specialized's new Epic + Epic evo are supposedly debuting in 2 weeks or so... would be interesting to see if the release date is similar for the Spark.

 

In the latest Pinkbike podcast, they talked about an upcoming XC bike comparison (split into full race and “downcountry”). They alluded to a few new models that were under embargo until the article comes out. Should be interesting.

 

In the latest Pinkbike podcast, they talked about an upcoming XC bike comparison (split into full race and "downcountry"). They alluded to a few new models that were under embargo until the article comes out. Should be interesting.

Yes - my thoughts exactly when I heard the PB guys talk about some yet to be released bikes in for testing. I say any day there will be a new Specialized or Scott product - they had planned to release around the original Olympic schedule. Im only guessing tho.

Personally I am interested in the new Tarmac SL7.

 

I cured myself of all want for an rc this past week.
That bb is too low. I have never smashed my pedals into more things.
The rest of the geo felt pretty spot on, and it’s definitely quick, but it’s not a bike for me, sadly. If it had a flipper chipper like the old sparks, or my current genius I might be down...

 

somebody has to know something.

 

hopefully, it's something like this...

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-2021-specialized-epic-and-epic-evo.html#cid2624087

 

Any updates? Last year the 2020 models leaked here on the 5th of July if I recall correctly. I’m sure someone has the 2021 dealers guide, no?