SCOTT Sports have been innovating and adapting since 1958 and they also happen to be one of our favourite brands here at Hargroves. Alongside their illustrious heritage, SCOTT is well known for being one of the world’s best brands for reliable performance mountain bikes.
In today’s blog we take a deep dive into the company, the bikes we stock and why here at 99 Bikes, we love their range so much.
History
SCOTT didn’t start life as a cycling brand. Their founder Ed Scott actually kicked things off in the ’50s with the world’s first aluminium ski pole. That first product was rapturously received and put the company on an upward trajectory, leading to where they are now, at the top of the sporting world with some of the most elite competition MTBs bearing the founder’s surname.
In 1978, after twenty years of successful innovation and new products rolled out for skiing, cycling and motocross, the company expanded and moved to Switzerland. It wasn’t until 1991 though that SCOTT introduced themselves to the world of mountain biking, developing the industry-innovating Unishock suspension fork, which was closely followed by their first full-suspension mountain bike.
Now in 2020, SCOTT Sports are best known for their reliable mountain bikes and for the sponsored riders who race on them, namely eleven-time XC world champion Nino Schurter and 2018 world champion Kate Courtney.
Key models
The SCOTT MTB range has come a long way since the Unishock, with some truly epic frames available. Leading the charge in the cross-country category is the Spark RC, SCOTT’s “winningest” offering ridden by the very fastest riders. The top-end model, the SL, goes for £11,000, but there are versions of the frame available for as little as £2,294 on our website. There’s also a version for women, the SCOTT Contessa Spark.
The Scale RC should not be overlooked either, its SCOTT’s fiercely competitive hardtail option and comes in a narrower range of price points. Starting at £2,799 and reaching up to £6,199 for the AXS-equipped World Cup model, these are some seriously lively hardtail machines. If you’re loving the look of the frame but want to explore different specifications, we also offer the frameset only options.
If we move things over to the adrenaline-soaked world of downhill, SCOTT’s star performer is the Gambler. Brendan Fairclough and Neko Mullally choose the Gambler when in action in DH World Cup races, but it’s also a popular steed for the amateurs who desire pro-level performance. Sitting at the top of the tree is the 900 Tuned model, which packs SCOTT’s HMX carbon frame, plus a Fox 40 Factory Float 203mm fork and DH X2 200mm shock – it’s a bike that can absolutely monster the hardest, most technical competition runs. If you don’t need quite that much firepower, the 930 might be the one for you. At £3,399 it’s still a premium machine, but you can’t put a price on victory!
Last but not least in this by no means extensive rundown of the SCOTT’s key MTB models is the Ransom. As SCOTT themselves put it, “For us, Enduro is about climbing up to the trailhead and coming back down as fast as possible. Big days in the mountains, epic single-track, and winning stages – that’s what we’re after.” We couldn’t have described the philosophy behind the Ransom any better than that. We stock both the men’s Ransom and women’s Contessa Ransom, with a range of prices from £6,999 for the 900 Tuned down to the 930 Full Suspension model at £2,699.
That’s almost all you need to know about Scott bikes. Why not come down to one of our shops and check them out for yourself? Our friendly staff will help you find the right bike to fit your requirements.
