With a year of Olympic hopes and having XCO Worlds nearby to their Austrian HQ in neighboring Czech Republic this coming weekend, KTM bikes decided to take their cross country racing capabilities up a notch for 2017. So they have reworked both their XC carbon hardtail and carbon full suspension bikes, both introduced just last year, with new trimmed down and optimized layup schedules, and a premium build kit that goes for higher performance than anything they’ve done before. The new Sonic-level complete bikes take over from the current top Prestige, and aren’t afraid to mix up some spec to get the best balance of performance and light weight. Check out the details and actual weights after the break…
The Scarp is KTM’s top XC racing full suspension bike, and this new version is a no-holds-barred 29er race machine. The frame uses KTM’s Straight-Line-Link suspension design, with a carbon rocker arm, a high single pivot, and flat flexing chainstays. The 90mm rear travel setup has oversized chainstays with a goal of building a efficient pedalling platform and max drivetrain stiffness.
The new Scarp 29″ Sonic uses a new performance UD carbon material and new layup that trims its weight down to around 1700g for the all carbon frame. KTM kept the same Scarp mold as the bike that they introduced last year, and was able to work the weight savings just through the use of newer fibers and rearranged fiber orientations based on feedback they took from their race teams. What is also nice on the Scarp front is that the new lighter frame tech will go to the other carbon Scarp frames as well next year, not just being limited to the Sonic version.
Like the lesser Scarps, the new Scarp 29″ Sonic gets Boosted wheels, tapered fork, press fit bottom bracket and fully internal cable routing. This and the Sonic hardtail both get a premium race oriented build kit that essentially shares all of the same light components.
The Myroon is KTM’s elite XC hardtail, and like the Scarp Sonic, the Myroon 29″Sonic is built to win races. Again the new Myroon 29″ Sonic uses a new performance UD carbon material and new layup to drop the weight down about 120g to just 1090g for the new Sonic carbon frame. Like the Scarp, it stays with the same Myroon mold, and does it all in new layup. Unlike the full suspension though, the lighter carbon hardtail will be exclusive to the Sonic-level bike.
The Myroon 29″ Sonic also shares the same basic features with the other carbon Myroons. Like the Scarp that means Boost spacing, the tapered fork, press fit bottom bracket and fully internal cable routing with flexible ports/caps.
To get the bikes to race weight, KTM specs Fox’s newest Kashima-coated 2017 Factory suspension components that conveniently match up well with KTM’s orange livery. Up front that means the Boost-spacing 100mm travel Fox 32 step-cast fork, with lockout just for the hardtail, and for the Scarp the Fox Float out back.
Balancing weight savings and performance, KTM wasn’t afraid to mix up component suppliers to get the best of both worlds. That gives both Sonic bikes SRAM’s new XX1 Eagle 12 speed drivetrain for the pinnacle in lightweight race power to the rear wheel.
But to stop everything they went with Shimano XTR braking with IceTech + Freeza rotors for the best braking performance available to the lightweight crowd.
In a first for KTM, they partnered with DT Swiss to spec their first stock carbon fiber wheelset on a mountain bike. The DT XRC1200 wheels get a special color-matched finish and pair well to the Di-cut DT 240s hubs, and carry light Schwalbe Thunder Burt tires.
Contact points are another place to save weight, and KTM goes with a carbon railed Selle Italia SLR saddle and house brand foam grips. To hold those in place they’ve tipped Ritchey Logic and their Superlogic line-up for the cockpit. Both Sonic bikes get Superlogic carbon offset seatposts, flat bars, and C260 stems.
All that attention to detail and trimming gets the complete bike weights down pretty low. We weighed medium versions of both Sonic bikes, and with the caveat that they had standard weight tubes installed in them vs. the light Schwalbe ones that will ship with the bike, they hit remarkable close to their claimed 8.1kg & 9.1kg weights. Actual weights on our scale were 8.27kg/18.23lb for the Myroon 29 Sonic, and 9.21kg/20.3lb for the Scarp 29 Sonic.
