Scott’s all-new stealthy lightweight trail ebike is pretty wild… with the lightest complete Scott Lumen eRIDE eMTB build in the realm of many regular (but more affordable) mountain bikes. The new Lumen is powered by the latest lightweight & ultra-quiet TQ motor, combining smooth pedal-assist that riders can tune to their liking and a compact internal battery that’s big enough for most rides, but still externally expandable for longer days on the (e)bike.
2023 Scott Lumen ultralight trail eMTB
It has an all-new name because it really is an all-new ebike platform, but you’d be excused for thinking this looks a lot like last year’s bold Scott Spark redesign. It is direct evolution of turning Scott’s “world’s fastest” XC & light trail bike into a versatile lightweight trail ebike with slightly more travel.
With the same integrated Bold-style shock tweaked to add 10mm of rear wheel travel and fit it all inside, Scott has managed to further integrate the small TQ HPR50 bottom bracket motor and a 360Wh battery, tucked almost completely out-of-view inside the carbon frame.
What’s new?
The downtube is a slightly larger diameter and the seattube of the frame from the bottom bracket to the rocker link pivot is slightly bigger. The difference is apparently a 17% increase in the overall volume of the ebike frame.
But the difference is so minimal, you likely couldn’t tell unless the two were sitting right next to each other. And outside of the small TQ display in the toptube, you really wouldn’t know this was an ebike.
The low-key nature of this Lumen eMTB is even more pronounced when you ride it. Not only is the TQ drive system pretty well hidden inside, it also has a surprisingly natural ride feeling and is incredibly quiet. Ride it up a gravel road climb to access the trails and you won’t even here the motor yourself over the noise of the tires on the ground. Really only on smooth dirt will you (and those you ride with) hear the gentle whine of the electric TQ pedal-assist motor.
Tech Details
The new Lumen features a top-tier, hi-mod HMX carbon full-suspension frame built around the TQ HPR50 powertrain. The bike itself gets 130mm of single pivot rear wheel travel with flexing seatstays and a revised hidden internal linkage, paired to 130mm forks. To fit everything inside around the motor, it does get a bit tight.
But Scott created a small shock valve extension that makes it still quite easy to access & adjust the trunnion-mount shock via the large BB access port. The poor thing does end up upside down for suspension setup, though. The result is also a low center of the bike’s weight, wide-set main bearings, and all the crucial suspension and powertrain bits protected from muddy rides.
The unique Scott/Bold suspension layout leaves room for 2 water bottle in the frame, or 1 regular water bottle & 1 160Wh TQ range extender external battery so you only carry the extra battery weight on the rides when you really need it.
The Lumen features fully internal cable routing through the headtube, with integrated on-piece Syncros cockpits on the two top models, plus an external sag indicator on the left rocker pivot to make setup easy enough.
There’s even a small window in the seattube so you can see the o-ring on your rear shock to see if you are really getting all of the travel out of the ebike.
The Boost-spaced ebike also gets a UDH for future-proofing & easy derailleur hangers in the meantime, 55mm chainline, an e*thirteen chain guide, Scott’s TwinLoc 2 3-position travel adjust remote suspension lockouts (Lockout-Traction Control-Descend), plus a +/-0.6° Acros Angle adjustable flip-chip headset to fine-tune the geometry setup in the four stock frame sizes (S-XL).
Riding Impressions
The feel of riding the new lightweight Lumen ebike is much like that of riding a regular trail bike – only the climbs go by much faster. The secret to the natural ride is the smooth transition on & off of the 250W x 50Nm max pedal-assist from the TQ motor. We’ve broken down the unique harmonic pin ring drive tech inside the TQ HPR50 before, but a lot of its feel also comes down the rare ability to individually adjust the maximum power output, the relative ratio of pedal-input:motor-assist, and the ability to tweak the speed of the pedal response.
Set one mode for peak power & slower response for the most natural ride feel, another for high assist ratio & faster pedal response to get the quick boost you need on tight technical climbs, and the third mode can be dialed-back even further for longer battery life with more work done by the rider.
The options are endless, and it’s very easy to customize the ebike for how you want it to ride inside of the TQ app. And the Lumen gets a low-profile handlebar remote to cycle back and forth through the different modes.
Out on the trail, the TQ-powered Lumen is simply a smooth-riding ebike that disappears underneath you. With the almost silent operation, weight competitive with regular bikes, and just enough support power & range… it really just feels like a mountain bike.
The trick to the light weight is a mix of everything, from the MHX carbon frame to the 1800g TQ motor, to the smaller 360Wh internal battery. And of course on my halo-build, the super expensive one-piece carbon wheelset.
No extra weight to have to maneuver around under you, or no strange weight balance necessitating a different style or riding or braking. Just ride it hard like a regular trail bike, and conquer the climbs in record time (likely with the same high heartrate as before). The ride isn’t so much easier, as the uphills are just faster, and your own endurance seems to last longer.
Is it really that light?
Starting at just 15.5kg / 34.1lb, the 2023 Scott Lumen eRIDE eMTB is legitimately as light as a regular mountain bike. In fact, two days before I test-rode this new 130mm trail ebike last month, I was pedaling a 160mm enduro bike up hills that weighs 500g more. Sure, the ebike had a bit less travel, less bulletproof tires, and went downhill a bit slower… but on the climbs I flew on the new Lumen!
The 15.5kg bike is a crazy high-end build though, with only premium components. I measured a real weight of a size small bike without pedals but with a front fender at 15.59kg on my scale, while my size large bike with crankbrothers pedals, fender, and a Wahoo mount tipped the scale at 16.39kg.
The only real drawback here is the price…
2023 Scott Lumen – Pricing & availability
That superlight test ebike I rode was the top-tier Lumen eRide 900 SL with Fox Factory suspension, an XX1 Eagle AXS groupset, XTR brakes, the add-on external battery included, and the ultra-premium one-piece carbon Syncros Silverton SL2 30mm internal wheels for price of 15,999€… $16,000 or 16,000€.
And before you say, “that’s a ludicrous amount for an ebike”, don’t forget that the regular Scott Spark RC SL mountain bike that Nino Schurter races (and keeps winning rainbows on) is also $15,000€…
Plus, while that is over the top, the “entry-level” Scott Lumen eRide 910 is literally less than half the price at 7000€ with more reasonably-priced Fox suspension, a Deore/XT drivetrain mix, and more reasonable 30mm internal Syncros alloy wheels…. and still weight claim of just 17.6kg
In between, there are two 900-level ebikes – one standard bike with GX Eagle AXS for 10,000€ (16.3kg) & one Contessa model with a nicer paintjob and XT mix also for 7000€ (17.6kg) – all of which share the same light HMX carbon frameset, TQ HPR50 motor, and 360Wh internal battery.
Pick whichever one is in your budget, they’re all pretty light and will effectively ride the same.
