2012 Scott 29 Elite Reviewed on South Mountain

March 28th, 2012 4:40pm

  Whether you like it or not, 29ers are here to stay and now make up 50% of the MTB market. Even though I have been riding only 26" bikes, I figured I need to try these out for myself and see what all the fuss was about. So I have been busy testing 29ers of all types and configurations to see what my next purchase is going to be.  A 29" or a 26".

Scott bikes may not have invented the 29er but they do make fine products. From their long history in moto, goggles and other various outdoor sports - Scott has been a premier brand in Europe and the US. It wasn't until they dropped the first sub 900 gram carbon road frame on us about 6 years ago that they came streaking to the front of pack and have continued to be a leader in the cycling world.

Move forward to the present day and Scott has created a solid line up of new 29er bikes that have some great features and have been winning world cups for a couple of years now including the opening round in South Africa this year. The new Scott Spark lineup is refined from their top-of-the-line carbon bike all the way down. So when I got a chance to ride a dual suspension 29er, I jumped at the chance.

One of things I forgot to mention in this video is that the bike has an adjustable bottom bracket.  With the simple flip of a chip in the bottom bracket you can drop the bottom bracket height by 7mm and slacken the head tube by .5 degree. I tested the bike in the factory setting mode.

Here are my findings on the Scott Elite 29....

On the rocks at South Mountain in Arizona, the Elites dual suspension and 29 wheels worked very well. A better set of tires would have let us push it to the limits. The Elite is XC raceable and all day trail worthy.

The Scott Elite 29  -  A great Value

Scott Elite 29 specs

Frame: Spark alloy 6061, tapered headtube
Fork: Rock Shox Reba RL air, lockout, 120mm
Shock: DT Swiss M210 ABS, lockout, 120mm travel
Group set: Shimano XT / SLX
Brakes: Avid Elixir 5S disc
Wheels: Scott Pro / Shimano FH-M525SL hubs

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