What bike.... Santa Cruz superlight 29 vs Scott Spark 930

hillseeker

I am currently looking for a new mtb. Main purpose will be XC, endurance / marathon and a little trail fun. In Switzerland.

I am currently looking at above two both 2013 models Rougly same price and equipment spec. Reason for currently looking at those two, tbh, is that it is from a local dealer i like and trust, and they will give me a decent discount on both.

So, are they comparable? I think so. Both in the short travel, xc type category. But one has the flavour of bespoke the other maybe a little main stream. One is tried and trusted alloy and simple suspension the other high tech carbon.

The Scott has the twinloc which i like the idea of, coming mainly from a road background. But is it just compensating from a poorer designed suspension?

Thoughts on either or how they compare?

thelonegroover

The Scott is much lighter and a more modern design.

njee20

But I don't think they pedal very well, unless you use the TracLoc constantly - not necessarily a bad thing, but not for everyone. IMO there are better bikes if you just want to sit on it and pedal.

hillseeker

njee20 wrote:

But I don't think they pedal very well, unless you use the TracLoc constantly - not necessarily a bad thing, but not for everyone. IMO there are better bikes if you just want to sit on it and pedal.

Thats interesting. What is causing that?

supersonic

Low pivot design - not much 'anti squat' makes it bob a bit. However, it has little pedal kickback, something the SuperLight has (ie the pedals kick back over bumps as the chain extends from the pivot being higher). but it bobs less.

hillseeker

supersonic wrote:

Low pivot design - not much 'anti squat' makes it bob a bit. However, it has little pedal kickback, something the SuperLight has (ie the pedals kick back over bumps as the chain extends from the pivot being higher). but it bobs less.

Thats interesting. Based on your experience how does the Scott compare against its other "main stream" rivals, i.e. the Epic, the Superfly, etc? For the untrained eye the suspension design looks pretty similar.

supersonic

I've not tested them all - but if you can, I would ;-). It is true to say though that they all use a suspension system that concentrates on less pedal feedback and more damping in the shocks.