This new Scott Spark RC is a complete reimagining of the Swiss bikemaker’s top-tier XC bike. The Spark was the bike that legitimized wider 2.4″ tires and longer 120mm travel for cross-country race bikes. And now, it gets an all-new suspension design that seems inspired by even longer travel bikes to deliver more grip and control, and give riders more suspension tuning options, all without sacrificing ultralight weight!
2027 Scott Spark XC lightweight carbon 120mm XC race bike
The Scott Spark has won more elite-level cross-country races than any other mountain bike. We lost county how many World Cups, World Championships & Olympic titles. It also happens to be the single bike model we’ve covered most with Pro Bike Checks, limited editions & production bikes over the years, for that same reason. It certainly didn’t hurt that it was N1NO’s race weapon of choice for a decade. But Scott hasn’t set idly since they moved the rear shock inside the Spark’s frame 4 years ago.
We even spotted it on the XC World Cup in Nové Město just a couple of weeks ago.
As XC tires got bigger, rims got wider, and tire pressures went lower, the tires themselves have become flexier. So, Scott worked to better balance frame flex for more controlled handling when racers really push their bikes hard in the corners. Making a pro-level XC bike became more than just making it lighter and stiffer.
Scott have continued to refine that longer travel, bugger tire concept around 3 core XC race-ready development goals:
“Light Weight, Ride Dynamics & Seamless Performance“.
An all-new suspension design
Making a bike lighter without sacrificing strength or performance is always tricky. But Scott achieved weight savings again by integrating the rear shock further into the frame, and moving it deeper into the base of the downtube. There, where the frame is already reinforced against pedaling forces, it required less additional material to handle the extra forces from suspension movement. There was also the significant side benefit of shifting weight balance lower, while simplifying the suspension linkage design within the frame.
While it looks quite similar from the outside because of everything hidden inside and the lack of a rear pivot, in the end, the new Spark RC features an all-new suspension design. While the prior bike was a single pivot with a linkage driven shock, this new 5th-generation Spark adds a short-link rotating around the bottom bracket, with a pivot just below the crankset, making it a bit more complex. That means that chainstay length grows through the travel, effectively making this perform like a 4-bar, even though it also looks quite similar to a mid pivot swingarm design.
The secret is the reliance on a flex-pivot in the rear triangle, which Scott engineers carefully tuned to deflect just 1mm though the first half of the bikes travel, so its undamped spring characteristic would not effect the supple performance of the bike’s early travel. Then, for the remaining travel, it flexes 5-6mm more, increasing the suspension design’s spring rate for more support as the bike gets pushed harder, balanced by damping tuned into the rear shock.
The resulting kinematics feature higher anti-squat to give racers more support with bigger chainring. But to still deliver sensitive travel to ensure the rear tire stays connected to the ground for power transfer and solid cornering grip over rough racetracks.
Lightweight integration
Again, integrating the shock under cover inside the frame protects it seals from dust, dirt, water & mud infiltration for more consistent performance all season. The new design is open on top, both with a magnetic cover over the main body of the shock and a snap-on cover at the rear shock mount. The more-open asymmetric design ensures it is easier than ever to reach suspension adjustment controls, or to replace the AXS battery form Flight Attendant shocks. And there’s still an external travel indicator to speed up sag setup and see how much of the suspension you are using.
It also provides plenty of space to access internal frame storage. Scott’s tool & accessory arm at Syncros created a trailside repair kit, plus a minimalist L-shaped multi-tool that clips inside the frame with the bits you need to make cockpit & suspension adjustments without having to dig out bigger tools.
5-12% lighter top-tier, yet still lighter all-around even with Flight Attendant
Light weight was a big driver of the new Spark redesign, according to Scott engineers. And this generation frame is significantly lighter – anywhere between
The new 2027 Scott Spark RC HMX-SL frameset has a claimed painted weight of just 1427g without a shock, making it 1776g with the electronic lockout SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant shock. The previous 4th generation Spark HMX-SL frame weight claim was ~1624g without its shock, or 1870g with its lighter shock. Comparing framesets alone, that’s a 12% weight reduction (-197g) on an already light full-suspension XC bike. But in a real-world apples to oranges comparison of what top racers are actually riding, that’s 94g weight savings (-5%) while adding the huge functional upgrade of automated traction & lockout controls.
The new HMX frame without shock is also ~183g lighter than the previous HMX frame, still 80g lighter with the more advanced Flight Attendant shock vs. the old frame with its lighter mechanical lockout shock. And even the new standard HMF frame is ~111g than its predecessor, still 8g lighter with Flight Attendant now.
Tech details
- lightweight carbon XC bike with integrated shock inside & 3 layup options: HMX-SL, HMX & HMF
– 1427g HMX-SL frameset weight with carbon lower link & Ceramic Speed SLT bearings
– 1570g HMX frameset with alloy lower link & Ceramic Speed SLT bearings
– 1793g HMF frameset with alloy lower link, mechanical shift compatibility & stainless bearings
(note: weight claims for size M, painted with hardware and frame covers, but no shock.
SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant shock weighs a claimed 349g, or just 246g for the mechanical lockout version.) - 120mm of rear wheel travel paired to 120mm fork travel (rated for up to 130mm forks)
- 190x45mm rear shock inside, with modular covers to fit all possible shock options
- threaded BSA 73mm bottom bracket in the alloy link of HMX & HMF (all but one complete bike)
- PressFit BB92- PF92 bottom bracket in the carbon link of the HMX-SL frame
- max 40T chainring with 55mm chainline
- 29 x 2.6″ max tire clearance
- +/-0.5° angle-adjust tapered headset
- fully internal cable routing through the headset
- headset rotation lock-block integrated into the lower headset race pressed onto the fork steerer
- fully guided, flexible color-coded internal Octopus routing
- titanium frame hardware
- UDH derailleur mount
- 31.6mm seatposts with roadie-style wedge-expander integrated seatpost clamp
- no seattube bottle bosses with optional external adapter to fit long travel droppers
- removable clip-on mini rear fender
- integrated mini chainguide
- internal frame storage with included Syncros Save the Day kit: spare tube & multi-tool (only down to the Pro-level)
- hidden tool-free tire repair Syncros Tool & Tubeless Handlebar kit inside the bar end
- 4 frame sizes available (S-XL)
- Category 3 trail bike tested
MY27 Scott Spark RC – Pricing, options & availability
Scott has 8 models of the new 2027 Spark RC available in this summer’s lineup. All of which share the exact same frame design & features, but they come at 3 different levels of carbon inside – with only one complete bike build each for the lightest two layups.
HMX-SL carbon
At the top with the lightest HMX-SL ultra-premium highest-mod carbon layup is the $15,000 / 13,000€ Spark RC SL, with RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant suspension, a full SRAM XX SL Transmission with powermeter cranks, 4-piston Motive Ultimate brakes, the lightest-ever 1180g Syncros Silverton CF1 Vonoa carbon-spoke wheels, a special HMX-SL ultralight carbon Syncros 1-piece handlebar cockpit, and CeramicSpeed bearings at a claimed complete weight of just 9.9kg set up tubeless.
HMX carbon
The next level already steps it down to HMX which Scott still describes as a top-tier, hi-mod layup, just 143g heavier.
The $13,000 / 11,500€ Spark RC World Cup EVO gets a similar SID Ultimate Flight Attendant and XX SL powermeter build, the same Silverton CF1 wheels & CeramicSpeed bearings, but a standard HMF carbon Syncros 1-piece cockpit, all at a claimed complete bike weight of 10.5kg.
(All claimed weights for size M, set up tubeless but without the Save the Day repair kit & tools in the downtube.)
HMF carbon frameset, carbon cockpit & wheels
Then there’s the standard mix-mod HMF frameset that adds 223g more over the HMX.
A slightly more affordable $10,000 / 8500€ Spark RC World Cup keeps the same top Flight Attendant suspension spec, but steps down to the more affordable HMF frame, an X0 drivetrain still with a powermeter, conventional bearings, and new 1500g Syncros Silverton CF2 carbon wheels – at a claimed weight of 10.9kg.
Bringing price down under 5 figures across all currencies, there are two different builds at similar pricepoints – with or without automated suspension control.
The $8500 / 7300€ Spark RC Team Issue still gets the automated SID Ultimate Flight Attendant suspension including a powermeter, the carbon Syncros cockpit & CF2 wheels, but dials back its price with a wireless GX AXS Transmission at a claimed weight of 11.3kg complete.
The $9000 / 7300€ Spark RC PRO is even lighter though, swapping in mechanical-lockout Fox Factory suspension and a full Shimano XTR Di2 groupset but no powermeter. You still get the carbon Syncros cockpit & CF2 carbon wheels at a weight of 10.9kg complete.
HMF carbon frameset, alloy cockpit & wheels
The $7500 / 6700€ Spark RC Expert then sticks with Fox Factory suspension, but swaps in a more affordable XT Di2 with Deore bits combo, and scales back to an aluminum cockpit and alloy Syncros Silverton AL2 wheels at a weight of 1.8kg.
At $5500 / 4700€, the Spark RC Team goes back to the SRAM fam, with mechanical lockout SID suspension and a wireless electronic S1000 AXS derailleur paired with Eagle 70 drivetrain components, at 12.5kg.
And only one build gets a mechanical shift rear derailleur, but it’s key to not then that all of the HMF carbon frames are mechanical compatible. The $4500 / 3700€ Spark RC Comp gets mechanical lockout RockShox suspension, a mechanical shift Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain, and interestingly the only 2-piston brakes in the entire new Spark RC family – all at a total bike weight of 12.9kg.
All eight models are available to order now through your local Scott dealer bikeshop (not all specs available in all markets). Real in shop availability is officially ‘summer 2026’, which translates as already available now or coming very soon for most buyers.
