Scott Spark RC World Cup EVO Bike

The Scott Spark RC World Cup EVO Bike is Scott's production flagship cross-country mountain bike — the specification that sits one tier below what the World Cup race team runs, and the one most riders will never actually outgrow. It arrives as a completely redesigned machine for 2027, built around a frame architecture that looks unlike anything else in XC racing and a drivetrain that brings integrated power measurement to the top of the mountain bike market.

The defining feature of the fifth-generation Spark RC frame is where the rear shock lives. On conventional XC full suspension bikes, the shock sits vertically inside the seat tube. Scott's engineers repositioned it horizontally above the crankset, driven through a linkage that pivots near the bottom bracket. The BB area is already the most structurally reinforced zone of any carbon frame — concentrating the suspension forces here eliminates the additional reinforcement required around a conventionally placed shock, which reduces total frame weight and improves structural efficiency. The frame is built from HMX Carbon in a Gen5 layup, the same material grade used in the RC SL frameset and two tiers above the entry-level HMF carbon found lower in the Spark lineup. CeramicSpeed bearings are fitted at every pivot, titanium hardware is used throughout, and the Syncros Octopus Gen2 system routes all cables cleanly through the headset. A Syncros-Acros headset with ±0.5° of adjustability allows the rider to fine-tune the steering character without changing forks.

Both suspension units run RockShox Flight Attendant, an electronically managed system that uses inertial sensors in the fork crown and rear shock to detect terrain and rider input, then switches between Lockout, Pedal, and Descend compression modes automatically. SRAM AXS Rocker Pod controllers on the bar allow manual override when preferred. The RockShox SID Ultimate fork and SIDLuxe Ultimate rear shock are tuned specifically for the Spark RC's suspension geometry — the fork's Race Day 3P damper is developed for XC race use, stiff enough to sprint efficiently on smooth terrain and responsive enough to maintain traction through the short, sharp trail hits that send a locked-out bike skipping wide. Travel is 120mm front and rear, and the rear shock dimensions are 190×45mm.

The drivetrain is SRAM's top-tier mountain groupset. The XX SL Eagle AXS Transmission rear derailleur mounts directly to the UDH interface and uses a direct-connection cassette carrier system designed for better impact resistance and mud clearance — meaningful at the XC race level, where mechanical reliability under pressure matters as much as weight. The crankset is the SRAM XX Eagle AXS with an integrated spider power meter, so training load and race-day output are captured without adding a separate unit. A 34T chainring pairs with the XS-1299 10-52T cassette, and the CeramicSpeed Alpha BSA bottom bracket reduces friction at the crankshaft interface. Stopping power comes from SRAM Motive Ultimate 4-piston hydraulic brakes with SRAM CLX Centerline rotors — 180mm front, 160mm rear.

DT Swiss XRC 1200 Spline carbon wheels are tubeless ready across all frame sizes. Front and rear tires are the Maxxis Aspen 29×2.4 Race Edition in the MaxxSpeed compound with a 120TPI folding bead — fast on hardpack and compacted dirt, tubeless-compatible from the box. The RockShox Reverb AXS dropper seatpost (31.6mm) handles trail descending without cable interference, and the Syncros IC-M100-SL2 integrated HMX Carbon cockpit — 740mm wide, 7° backsweep — keeps the front end light and clean. A Syncros Celista Cut Out saddle with carbon rails completes the contact points.

The Spark RC World Cup EVO is available in sizes S through XL. Chainstay length holds at 434mm across all four sizes, and the 65.9° head tube angle places this firmly in XC race-geometry territory. Claimed complete bike weight is 10.5kg. One colorway: Rush White/Carbon Black. For a rider who races XC, trains with power, and wants fully automated suspension on a World Cup-grade platform, the Spark RC World Cup EVO is the answer.