It’s Friday lunchtime – and that means it’s time to have a rummage through what’s landed in the office this week…
Scott Spark RC
In issue 71 of Singletrack Magazine we’re having a grouptest of carbon fibre race bikes – and this rather lovely Scott Spark RC is both carbon fibre and racey. The frame is made from ‘HMX-Net’ fibres, with a lightweight alloy rocker link to drive the Nude2 shock, which Scott say has much improved damping over previous versions.There’s 120mm of travel either end, which should be enough to tame most race courses or stay comfy over the course of an endurance race.
As you’d expect from a bike that is heading towards the six grand mark, the build kit is rather bling, with a SRAM XX drivetrain, DT Swiss XR-RS wheelset and a liberal coating of Ritchey carbon fibre bits.
Price: £5,699
From: Scott
Dropouts on the carbon fibre rear end are interchangeable for 142, 135x12mm 135QR items. Bike comes stock with the 142×12 option – a good thing in our opinion.
The Nude2 shock can deliver either 85mm or 120mm of travel as well as a full lockout. It’s all controlled via the TwinLoc remote, which also integrates with the custom Rock Shox SID RLT3 fork.
Tidy Ritchey stem and Twinloc remote….
The integrated post brake mount is neat too..
Flipping the lower shock mount around adjusts the geometry, dropping the BB by 7mm and slackening the headangle by 0.5° – not a feature you usually see on racy bikes…
NiteRider MiNewt.350 Cordless light
Super bright, self-contained handlebar mounted raygun from NiteRider. It charges via USB, making it ideal commuter fare – though we’re testing it on our version of ‘commuting’, which includes miles of unlit towpath and a smattering of ‘proper’ trails, too. Look out for a Grinder soon (assuming we don’t fall in the canal and lose it).
Price: £99.99
From: 2Pure
Intrepid Apparel Mission shorts
Intrepid may not have been around that long, only launching at the 2011 World Champs in Champery, but they’re producing a range of mountain bike kit that’s been getting a glowing reception. These Mission shorts are designed to be used for anything from cross-country to downhill, being made from a lightweight but durable stretch material with cuffed legs designed to fit over pads.
Price: £79.99
From: Intrepid Apparel
Muc-Off Dry Shower
Bit of a stinker? No shower nearby? This Dry Shower could be the answer to you post commute/ride woes, as well as if you’ve been a dirty stopout. The paraben, formaldehyde and alcohol free formula is designed to kill pongy bacteria, using a coconut based foam to clean and moisturise, all without water.
Price: £6.99
From: Muc-Off
Crank Brothers Iodine 3 saddle
This is the new saddle from Crank Brother, handmade in Italy. The leather cover is protected by synthetic material on the tail and the 7mm hollow Cromo rails are easily replaceable in the event of a crash. The nose is designed to flex to make it more comfy on steep climbs too…
Price: £79.99
From: 2Pure
Bike cleaning sprays
Yet more cleaning products for our filthy grouptest. From left to right; Pedros Pro J citrus degreaser, 475ml, £14.99, from 2Pure. Bike Medecine Golden Degreaser, 237ml, £9 from Purple Extreme. Muc-Off Nano Cleaner, 1l, £6.99 from Muc-Off. Pedros Oranj Peelz, 475ml, £11.99 from 2Pure.
Kaaboom Dirt Busting bag
Someday a real rain will come and wash the scum from the streets – but should that happen, there’s no guarantee your bike will get cleaned. This pack might be a better bet, containing 1.1l of biodegradable cleaner, a 200ml concentrated refill and 400ml of citrus degreaser. You also get a sponge and detailing brush to get all the fiddly bits sorted.
Price: £19.99
From: Fisher Outdoor Leisure
Teva Links shoes
Jenn has got these fetching ‘Lunar Rock’ coloured versions of the Teva Links in for winter flat pedal slipping and sliding. With their Ion-mask waterproofing treatment on the leather and mesh uppers, gel ‘Shoc Pad’ in the heel and sticky Spider365 rubber sole, they should be a comfy and grippy place to be during the wet season.
Price: £85
From: Teva
Scott Lyric sunglasses
Need to look like a cult leader or an OU Professor on acid? These Scott sunglasses could be the perfect accessory, as well as doing normal stuff protecting your eyes from the harsh light of the sun. The ‘soft touch’ frame feels really quite nice and they come in a selection of colours and lenses.
Price: £TBC
From: Scott
Muc-Off C3 Ceramic Lube
This lube creates a ceramic layer on your chain, which Muc-Off say will keep it running smooth and quietly even in wet conditions thanks to the mix of Boron Nitride Compounds, Fluoropolymers & Nano Ceramic particles.
Price: £9.99 for 120ml, £6.99 for 50ml
From: Muc-Off
Zipvit supplements
Starting at the top, the Zipvit Opti Burner (£14.99 for 90) is said to optimise fat burning, backed up with a list of research proven ingredients that includes raspberry ketones, cayenne powder vitamins B12 and B6. If only any of us were anything other than pure, lean muscle eh?
The Zipvit ZV Boost (£9.99 for 90) capsules contain 500mg of Beetroot, a rich source of nitrates, which are said to ‘improve cycling time trial performance’ by reducing the oxygen cost of exercise.
The ZV Max capsules (£19.99 for 120) are designed to be used in the run up to a race. They load your body with phospates, which have been proven to boost oxygen uptake and they claim that they can increase your VO2 max by up to 12% and your anaerobic threshold by 12% in a matter of days.
The ZVo Electrolyte drink is used by the Cervelo team and contains Glutamine to strengthen your immune system as well as seven key electrolytes. It’s free from artificial flavours, colours and preservatives too.
From: Zipvit
Garmin Edge 200 cycle computer
The Edge 200 is a GPS enabled cycle computer tracks time, distance, speed, location and calories burned. As well as providing accurate statistics for rides, the computer can also be used to race against previous times you or others have set using the ‘Courses’ feature. The lithium-ion battery will last up to 14 hours on a single charge and the memory can store around 1,000 laps…
Price: £129.99
From: Garmin
Comments (36)
Comments Closed
I want that Scott.
£7 for a tiny can of Febreze?
Ah, but it says “Muc-Off” on it, that’s alright then, it’s quite cheap compared to £30 for a box of brushes and some glorified fairy liquid!
I want the San Miguel
when did justin,the darkness,hawkins join the staff
The Scott is nice. In keeping with tradition though the carpet needs work!
Cranks Bros in wholly mud-inappropriate design shocker!
Next, they’ll design a brake system made of soap. It’ll be fabulously over-engineered, super light weight, and smell wonderful. Then someone will try to use it in the rain.
Joe Higgins designed that Scott.
Inbetween frames of snooker?
are the rails replaceable on any other “italian made” saddles? Never thought to ask and have some near new write offs in the box.
I like the look of those intrepid shorts, thanks!
Brant: Joe Higgins from the Isle of Wight? Boy done good…
Love the Intrepid shorts but where is the girlie version?
I see Jon fixes broken chains with his teeth too 😉
Oh and Jen, what’s the fit like on those Teva links? Love a pair but I’m a 5 and they only start at 6 🙁
Mamadirt, I’m a 6 and found the fit on the small side.
Oooh, cheers 🙂 . Worth a try then I reckon, certainly with thicker socks for Winter.
got my tevas last week,
super warm even after submersed in saddleworth bog
Drool.
[adds Scott Spark RC to “when I win the lottery” list]
at 6k can scott not find another way of holding things onto the frame than a 1pence zip tie
Jon: yes, that Joe. Very happy for him.
That Scott’s a stunner, hopefully get to ride one soon 🙂 Joe’s done us Oilanders good – LT’s a good ride too
Wheels are too small on that Scott.
my GOD that Scott is pretty.
That Spark is gorgeous, have to think about an excuse to upgrade my 2010 RC frame. Interesting they’ve dropped the integrated seatpost from the RC model.
I really want that Scott!
“Wheels are too small on that Scott.”
Comes in a 29″ variery also
Well I am a sad man and want to see how that C3 Ceramic lube performs and how easy it is to clean off the drivetrain compared to say Finshline Wet Lube.
When is 71 out? could do with a good read and see what you have to say about the spak
oops Spark 😉
Okay… I saw this on friday, but declined to comment. Then Monday morning – it’s back again.
That Scott. It’s making me moist.
‘Cranks Bros in wholly mud-inappropriate design shocker!’
Comes in black too http://www.crankbrothers.com/saddles_iodine3.php
Good God! All that clothing and the glasses are minging, do they really expect anyone but a colour blind chav to wear it?
just found out my local scott dealer has a test spark coming in december and only in a 29 guise, wonderful, test booked! It will take my 29 cherry and also give me a view on the bike as a whole.
Forgive my ignorance, but what’s that bolt on the Spark’s frame at the Top Tube / Seat Tube junction?
That’s probably the main top pivot that you’re talking about there Jambon.
Woah! Stealthy!