THE SCOTT SPARK – NO COMPROMISES, ALL CLASS

Not all mountain bikes are created equal. Initially launched in 2008 and now on its fourth generation, the SCOTT Spark forges ahead in high-performance design, technology and innovation. Here’s why the SCOTT Spark is a cut above the rest.

Paid partnership with SCOTT Sports Africa

Everyone wants a marathon/XCO bike that’s light, responsive, agile, comfortable, adjustable, durable, affordable, beautiful, practical to service and with reliable after-sales back-up. Many brands usually compromise and sacrifice one or more of these features. But the SCOTT Spark delivers on all of them. No compromises. No shortcuts.

Integration

Integration is a key focus for SCOTT and nothing confirms this better than the unique integrated rear shock. With the Spark, SCOTT not only retained the Trunnion-mount (vertically orientated) shock, but integrated it into the seat tube with greater fortification, which doesn’t just support the existing efficient suspension action, but actually improves it. It also keeps dust and muck off your shock which ensure optimal efficiency.

Ample travel

SCOTT was the first top-tier brand to fully commit it’s XCO bikes to 120mm suspension at the rear. Adding to the increased travel is the custom tuning of the shock to give the rider buttery-smooth small-bump sensitivity and superb mid-travel support. It’s a highly effective rear suspension system that delivers consistent premium performance and not just rear-end ‘give’ that is offered with flex-stay designs.

TwinLoc adjustment

Launched in 2010, TwinLoc is SCOTT’s proprietary remote suspension adjustment system that works by connecting the shock, fork, and ultimately the frame, via a handlebar remote. With the remote, the rider has the ability to choose from three ride modes, Descend (120mm), Traction Control (80mm) and Lockout, effectively changing the bike’s geometry, suspension damping and spring curve simultaneously. TwinLoc ensures the rider gets to decide when to save energy and when to optimise control on any terrain.

Dropper seatpost as standard

Instead of speccing only it’s more expensive models with a dropper seatpost, SCOTT has added this increasingly desired feature to its entire Spark range. With race routes becoming more technical and steep and trails becoming more focussed on being stimulating rather than just long-distance toil routes, a dropper seatpost puts the rider in a great position of control on steep declines and through twisty, technical turns.

Refined carbon & aluminium frames

SCOTT’s engineers have perfected the art of carbon craft when it comes to bicycles. Through a combination of scientific and real-world testing they have established which areas of a bicycle frame require strength and stiffness and which can be super light. This led to the Spark having two distinct carbon zones – The Lightweight Zone and the Stiffness Zone. The Stiffness Zone is low down and forward and incorporates the headtube, downtube and chainstays. The Lightweight Zone is higher up and incorporates the toptube, upper seattube and seatstays.

Not content to stop at crafting carbon perfectly for the Spark RC, SCOTT has also ensured the same unique design carries across to its aluminium Spark models. Despite the challenge of integrating the shock into an aluminium frame, SCOTT has been successful by using advanced forming and pressing techniques – in line with the lengths a first-tier brand goes to in order to achieve a desired design outcome.

Big-brand components

While some brands look for ways to keep costs down and spec no-name brand components, or own-brand suspension, SCOTT stays true to delivering bikes with successful, market-leading component brands. Fox and RockShox are suspension brand specialists, SRAM and Shimano are drivetrain and brakeset brand specialists and Syncros, which is owned by SCOTT Sports, is a wheels and cockpit brand specialist. SCOTT’s engineers place high emphasis on component integration, ensuring the bike is designed to ensure the component is used to its full potential. With SCOTT, there are no shortcuts.

Two bottles

South Africans in particular appreciate that the SCOTT Spark accommodates two bottles inside the main frame. The integrated shock makes it possible to carry a bottle cage against the seattube. Having already achieved optimal suspension efficiency with its Trunnion-mount shock in 2016, SCOTT didn’t want to change this design to accommodate a second bottle, so it changed the frame design to be able to achieve both, ensuring SCOTT Spark owners don’t need to compromise and can have it all.

Brand success

For more than a decade, the SCOTT Spark has been the most successful bike in international XCO and Marathon racing, including multiple XCO World Cup races, multiple World Cup Series titles, multiple European Championship titles, multiple World Championship titles, multiple Olympic gold medals and multiple Absa Cape Epic stage wins and overall titles. Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo, racing for SCOTT SRAM, are currently in the country. focussed on claiming another Absa Cape Epic victory on the SCOTT Spark. SCOTT designs and builds fast, world-beating bikes. Period.

“The level of confidence that you get when you invest in a SCOTT Spark is unmatched. In South Africa, the Spark is our best-selling short-travel mountain bike. It’s designed to deliver the same owner/rider experience, from the base model right to the top-end model. We believe the Spark is the most forgiving XCO/Marathon bike. When you encounter unexpected technical sections, you want a bike that improves rider confidence, regardless of the rider’s ability. The Spark delivers that kind of control,” said Joggie Prinsloo, SCOTT Sports Africa Brand Manager.

“From a technology perspective, SCOTT is on another level. From creating TwinLoc to deliver on-the-fly ride-feel adjustment to designing a marathon bike with internal rear suspension to Nino Schurter already testing the RockShox Flight Attendant at the 2023 Absa Cape Epic, a year before it officially launched, SCOTT is a brand that leads. And for us, it doesn’t end with the bicycle sale . With two service centres, one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town, we pride ourselves on exceptional after-sales back-up to ensure SCOTT customers are happy bicycle riders,” added Prinsloo.

“For the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, we are in the hunt for another overall win. The current version of the SCOTT Spark has finished third (in 2024) and second (in 2023). Now it’s all focus on the win with Nino (Schurter) and Filippo (Colombo). Besides our victory quest, we have so many participants at the 2025 Cape Epic, such as Last Lion John Gale and many others, who are tackling this demanding race with the assurance of the SCOTT Spark’s reliability,” said Prinsloo.

“And because mountain biking in general and the Cape Epic in particular can be unpredictable, we will have sufficient stock covering all potential issues at the race. This will be available at each Cape Epic race village with Knipe Racing, the official SCOTT Western Cape Service Centre.