Which Bike Should You Buy? Scott Spark RC XC V Spark 910 Trail Showdown

[@shredntread9600]

Great comparison. I have the Scott Spark 900AXS (Trail) bike. After a couple of months riding tight techy stuff, I often would get hung up on certain moves and parts of the trail. What I found is in the lower Head Angle position, or stock position 65.9 degrees the bike wants to fall over once it turns to a certain point. This made it tough negotiating the techy stuff. I decided to turn the headset cups to the steeper position, which I believe is just under 67 degrees. this made a world of difference for me and riding the bike with 130 fork. I absolutely love this bike!! Just ordered my wife the 2022 Scott Contessa RC WC bike on discount !! I cant wait for her to ride this bike up a climb. Keep Shred'n !!

[@matthoyle2344]

I noticed this too with my Spark 950, but thought it was just me.

[@yoavmiller216]

Honest down to the hurl. Now that's commitment. great job, as always.

[@ivanteo1973]

i think you need to rotate the bottom cup as well for the slacker angle. The top will have the notch pointing at you, and the bottom cup pointing away from you.

[@katalinagirl]

Yeah I noticed that as well in the video that he didn't adjust the bottom cup.

[@ferencvarju651]

Not long ago I borrowed a Spark 910 from a friend, which I came to love so much that I actually bought one for myself. This video tickled the restless tinkerer in me, and I’ve swapped the FOX 34 fork to a SID Select. If you play around with cable tension, it can even cooperate with the twinloc, so it was a good fit. What I’ve found is that putting the SID in was a transformative experience in a positive way. The handling became more balanced because of the 6mm lower front end and touch steeper seat angle, and the damping matches so much better with the fox 5T nude on the back. It feels amazingly balanced. Maybe the 34 really was too much fork for this bike. I always felt that it just starts to come into its element by the time the Nude on the back gets exhausted. It’s just a more aggressive trail fork than what this bike as a whole is capable of doing. Now the 34 is on my Top Fuel, and there it really opens up more descending capability as that bike has a true mini-enduro rear suspension tune to match.

[@federicogrigolon5316]

fantastic bike, I bought the aluminum frame, perfect for the recreational use I do, it goes up as if it had the motor and it goes down very well. The result is 12kg with flat pedals and basic fork, Sid select 35, I would like to do an update on the handlebar by opting for the sincross but for me it's already okay, a wonderful bike with excellent characteristics, the all-rounder MTB that imprisons the true spirit of trailriding. great job as always great man

[@krip77krip]

I changed the cranks on my 910 to 165 and it became a new bike! Before I was hitting rock several times every ride and now it almost never happens.

[@MW-ud8zp]

Hardcore. Didn't expect puking footage but it's totally adding to the video haha

[@GuyKesTV]

Ryan made me film that 🤣

[@richardnordqvist7765]

Great video! I wonder if it's that simple though. The World Cup weighs 10.7kg and features a HMX Frame, Carbon rims and the finest RS SID RL3 Select +. That's a top tier bike that should really be compared to the 900 Tuned (11.3kg). I'd say it was expected to see the World Cup come out on top - anything else would have been surprising. I wonder what would have been the outcome with the Team Issue AXS vs 910? Both feature HMF Frames and the Team Issue has the lower spec RL3 Select.

[@GuyKesTV]

I’ve ridden the Team Issue extensively and in terms of ride feel and fork performance there’s very little difference. I weighted the World Cup with the bottle to make the weight comparable with the Team Issue too. The significant difference is how well the RockShox fork and shock work together while the Fox pairing doesn’t seem to gel as well.

[@richardnordqvist7765]

@@GuyKesTV Thanks, so you would rate the Team Issue higher than the 910 then? I’ve read reports saying the Rock Shox setup was too harsh, and also a lot of problems with the SID fork (bushings). Now I’m really confused between the two.😬

[@morrisizing]

@@GuyKesTV thanks interesting to know. I have a team issue on order for XC purposes, but hoped putting in my lighter wheels and bar would close the gap a little to the World Cup.

[@hambo76]

What's making the squeaking noise at 38:25?

[@katalinagirl]

Perhaps the headset adjustment since this is the RC team version that they modified the slack angle. It also sounds like rubber though so I have to wonder if the tire might be rubbing or something else to make that kind of sound?

[@ParzivalHB]

I think it’s the bottom bracket. It has consistent rhythm probably from pedal stroke.

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

I don't think it's BB bearings. There's a video of Guy testing a Spark with BB squeaks and he would have said it was the BB like he did on the other video. He did mention that the bikes been ridden hard for months by various journalists

[@jeremymcbride8729]

I am facing this exact dilemma. Thank you very much Guy.

[@GuyKesTV]

Hopefully it helped Jeremy, but any more questions just shout

[@jeremymcbride8729]

@@GuyKesTV I’m trying to decide between the 910, 900 Tuned, or the RC World Cup. I have a 2021 Spark 950 at the moment and I’m wanting to get into more XC racing next year. Massive decision to make. Done a heap of research and I cannot decide. Might need some more time to think.

[@jamesgrabowski6871]

I love the idea of them but I don't think I could live with the cable routing or the press fit bottom bracket. I need my bike to be quiet. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the carbon wasp truffle.

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

Pressfit better than threaded. Threaded bb relies on the glue/bonding being applied appropriately as not to fail in later years.

[@Hondamark2]

For once a proper back to back comparison done simultaneously, well done. From a new 910 owner I’m suprised how close you reckon the RC version is on the descending. I loving mine but the tyre availability for the front is a bit concerning. Could you approach Scott UK and ask the question on our behalf if we can get a replacement for instance even if we have to return our original damaged or worn out soft front tyre? I’ve switched out the XT drivetrain as the rear mech was feeling a bit sloppy after only a few months use so gone over to GX

[@DS-nw1wc]

Wow big effort well done 👍

[@MajklBrozman]

Hi please what a Size frame bike on video ? :) scott spark world cup

[@marksandoval5361]

So, you think that the Rock Shox race bike had better suspension than the Fox trail bike. Why?

[@katalinagirl]

I'd like to hear the answer to this as well as I have an RC Team version with the Fox 34 120 variant with ant XT drivetrain. I'm modifying to a slacker front using their Hixon integrated carbon bar with a 15mm rise along with setting it up in the slacker position by changing the headset cups. Always so many variables.

[@daytch9485]

I don't get it, and the same with some road bikes. If the cables are already pretty much exposed just run them into the frame at the head tube and skip the 90° bends to a more complicated than needs steer tube routing

[@simonchaddock3694]

I have a 910genius nice bike

[@field.palmer]

Great review, thank you. I have the Spark rc gx axs team and love it. I put on carbon bars at 760 and really like the feel. I haven't slackened it yet. I'm a bit confused about the angles. With the top and bottom caps turned 180 does the RC slacken to 66? Just confused about the 0.6 degree adjustment and the stock configuration of 67.2.

[@GuyKesTV]

Hey Field, yeah it is confusing with the +/- 0.6 degrees! Basically the top cap is offset by 0.6 degrees so with it in stock position it’s 0.6 degrees steeper than the frame (67.2) but with it rotated 180 it’s 0.6 degrees slacker (66) You can buy a separate cup that has no offset so gives you 66.6. Hope that makes a bit more sense 👍🏻

[@field.palmer]

Got it. Thank you for your reply. I just want to add that mine came with the extra neutral cup included, but not installed.

[@GuyKesTV]

@@field.palmer oh cool, thanks for letting me know. I’d missed that in the Scott info as I’ve just been getting bikes from the demo fleet. I’ll update the written review ASAP. Enjoy experimenting anyway. I love the RC in 66

[@joestankevicius2914]

Great video. Did I miss it -> What sizes are the bikes and what are the rider heights? Thanks!

[@GuyKesTV]

Sorry Joe, we’re both 180cm / 5‘11 and 70kg / 155lbs. Bikes are size large

[@checoperezugalde22]

Hi guy, which ones do You prefer, this ones or epic 8 and epic 8 Evo???

[@GuyKesTV]

The Scott is still a top bike with a unique look but I think I’d go Epic 8 now

[@gototrails]

Is it worth upgrading the spark rc wc 10.2kg 2020 to the new 2022 frame? 11.7kg

[@GuyKesTV]

If you really you want the hidden shock or the ability to swap the geometry around then yes. Otherwise the ride is very very similar (new bike is maybe fractionally stiffer and has more travel than the old RC but that's still a great bike) so from a pure performance point of view I'd say stay with what you've got.

[@gototrails]

@@GuyKesTV thanks for the advice. I'll stay with mine Spark👍

[@thelmaviaduct]

Are either in stock???

[@marksandoval5361]

If both bikes had the same tires and were adjusted to the slackest headtube angle setting, I don't think you would see much difference?

[@GuyKesTV]

That’s why we did the slacked out and switched front tyre runs at the end. That was a real sweet spot set up 👌🏻

[@richardwilliams4998]

fairly stiff price difference between those two though. 2.7k I reckon.

[@GuyKesTV]

Hi Richard that’s why I weighted the RC with the bottle to replicate the £4999 RC Team Issue AXS (but with a dropper which would make them both pretty much the same price 👍🏻

[@richardwilliams4998]

@@GuyKesTV wheels?

[@GuyKesTV]

@@richardwilliams4998 TBH there’s not much in the weight difference as the demo bike had an alloy front anyway and the rear tire was tubed after I pinch flatted so it squares away

[@richardwilliams4998]

@@GuyKesTV hmmm. So don't buy the model up, just don't pack a bottle. Save the thick end of three grand

[@laeliush7310]

Great comparison, exactly what i was looking for! Could you tell me how they "feel" compared to the 22 Trek Topfuel? The geometry seems to be pretty similar. Buying a new bike is so hard nowadays....🙃

[@GuyKesTV]

Excellent, glad it was useful. Unfortunately the only Top Fuel I’ve ridden is the alloy one which weighs 2kg more than the 910 and feels a lot slower as a result. The suspension is super fluid too so it feels more like a mini enduro bike in a lot of ways. I’m getting the new Fuel Ex next week though so that should be interesting 👌🏻

[@hambo76]

@@GuyKesTV I'm really looking forward to seeing that! Hopefully you can get on the new Norco Fluid FS too.

[@laeliush7310]

@@GuyKesTV Looking forward to seeing that, thanks alot for answering!

[@GuyKesTV]

@@laeliush7310 no worries boss 👌🏻

[@Monkey_slapping_keys]

Probably neither as both look a right pain to work on and are likely pretty costly. Still, enjoy the content Guy so 👍

[@GuyKesTV]

TBF they’re not as bad as you might think. The relevant dials/valves are just behind the belly door. But yeah, a LOT more going on than other bikes! And thanks for the 👍🏻 anyway 🙏🏻

[@esquifo1]

UNA GRANDE Y LIBRE

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

To all bike manufacturers, I will NEVER buy your bike that has cables routed through the headset.

[@katalinagirl]

Why not?

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

It's easy to work on. It's all the Scott specific parts why I hesitate buying one

[@mtbeliever5833]

You guys are out of shape.

[@Andy-co6pn]

Can you not buy a wicked Will soft from a Scott dealer ? Pretty crap if you wear it out and can't get a replacement until 2024 . I'd like to try out that Fokker Triplane controller on the bars, I guess its intuitive after a few rides ?

[@GuyKesTV]

I’ll check with Scott 👍🏻 the levers are much less of a Fokker than I thought they might be. The only time Ive got the dropper and lockout mixed up in several months riding the different Sparks was a summit sprint on a really long ride when I was knackered. That was a leg exploder though 🤣