Mt Bikes, Scott vs. Santa Cruz

Triathlon Forum
1

Short version - recommend between the Santa Cruz Superlight, Santa Cruz Blur LT2, and Scott Genius 40 for cross county riding on rocky trails and a possible 100 mile race with smooth singletrack and loads of climbing.

Long version-
Does anyone have any experience with the Scott Genius mt bikes? I need to get a new mt bike to replace a older Santa Cruz Superlight that my friend wants to buy back from me. I’m not a real serious mountain biker, but enjoy getting out for some rides in the local park, usually 1-4 hours in length. Our local park (Annadel, for those of you in northern CA) is quite rocky and rough in a lot of places and I’ve liked riding the full suspension superlight after years of getting beaten up on my hardtail. I’m also considering participating in a local 100 mi mountain bike race around Lake Sonoma, which is fairly smooth single track, but a lot of steep short climbs.

The bikes I’m looking at are- The new Santa Cruz Superlight, The new Santa Cruz Blur LT2, and the Scott Genius 40.

I’ve been happy with my current superlight, although more suspension would be nice on some of the local trails and I don’t like bashing the cranks on rocks all the time with the lower bottom bracket. This bike also has a great history of being a good basic design with low maintenance and solid functionality.

The Santa Cruz Blur LT2 has gotten great reviews, but I’m concerned the weight and extra suspension will be sluggish on the climbs, especially if I end up doing that 100 mi race. Plus it’s about $1k more than the superlight.

A friend of mine can get me a deal on a Scott Genius 40 so it’s comparable in price to the Blur LT2. I like the idea of the shock lockouts and lighter weight, but am concerned about maintenance, frame longevity, etc. The bike doesn’t have nearly the number of user reviews on the web that the Santa Cruz bikes have.

Does anyone out there have experience with it, or have any recommendations between these three bikes?

Please don’t suggest any other bikes (except maybe a Specialized, so I can patronize a local shop). I don’t know a lot about mt bikes, and don’t want to take the months to learn about them and test ride different bikes. I want a bike I will enjoy riding (especially climbing), and that will be dependable.

Thanks!
J

2

DUDE if you can swing a Scott, you will not be disappointed. By far one of the best bikes I have ridden. Understandably I road the full carbon rig, it was unreal. I have had a Stumpjumper, an epic, and a couple others and if I could afford it, I would throw a scott name in there

3

I also think that Scott is a good brand in MTBs. A Spark or Scale over the Genius is IMO better if you want to do ‘loads of climbing’.

I bought a Scale 30 last year (pic below) and I really like this bike. I bought it just to try out MTB riding and after my first race I am
definitelly hooked. My left hand is still recovering from a hard fall but I am ready to hit the dirt again in a few days.

Sergio

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2056/scottscalearundelslbh2fc4.jpg

4

I have ridden a Scott Genius 20 and I will say it climbs really well for a 6" travel bike. But this is the carbon version and should weight 3-4 lbs less than the Genius 40 model. IMO I would recomend the SCOTT SPARK for the type of riding you are doing. It has less travel (4 1/2") but still should be plenty for the riding you are doing in Norcal. It is lighter weight than the Genius and also comes with a lockout for the rear shock.
Either way go for the Scott, the more money you spend the lighter and better it will climb!!

5

An extremely uneducated opinion, which I toss out for feedback:

Given what I’ve read about the trade-offs between rear shock optimization of the Blur XC (check out “Jerry’s Corner” on the web site: good stuff) and the Specialized Epic (with the “brain suspension”), I’m suspicious of any dual suspension design whose goal is to be the lightest. That to me implies designing the suspension takes a back seat to eliminating hardware. To me, no suspension is better than seriously compromised suspension. Maybe if the view is to keep it locked out until a descent, then fine, but the vast majority of wins on the top pro circuit last year were on hard-tails, especially once you eliminate Sauser on his Specialized Epic. And these guys ride on some technical stuff. So I don’t trust the Scott Scott as being the best choice. In any case, with the Addict anyway, it’s documented Scott lies about its bike weights. Not that it isn’t light.

I think for the top-level guys, weight’s a big deal on mountain bikes. But for me, if I unclip once because I can’t handle a feature, it blows away an entire race worth of advantage for a pound saved. So first priority is to get the ride quality I want. After that, I could contemplate gram-shaving. But I already gram-shave on my road bike, so that’s expensive enough :).

6

funny how you can rarely give feedback to someone on this thread looking for help without some ahole thinking he is a ‘no it all’.

Ok dj, if my opinion is so uneducated lets put it on the table tough guy:

I’ve raced mountain bikes since 1988.
I ride 5000 miles a year on my mountain bike.
I have raced in the expert class for 12 years now.
I’ve raced locally and been to national events.
I’ve done twelve - 24 hour races.
I’ve worked in the bicycle industry for 11 years.
Ive ridden on GT, Dean, Trek, Specialized, Pro Flex, Santa Cruz, Giant, Scott, IF, Haro.
I’ve raced hard tails made of AL, Carbon, Ti, Steel.
I’ve raced full susp made of AL, Ti, Carbon.

Oh, and I have weighed and tested just about every frame ever sold (that really matters)…Scott is one of the few company’s that doesn’t bs about weight.

If you have to unclip because you can’t handle a feature you are not smart enough to ride a bicycle…

Get some.

7

dude. first, take a pill. second, get some better reading comprehension.

8

Thanks for helping prove my second point.
There really should be an ‘ahole’ forum.
There sure are plenty of you.

9

Oh, yes, I’m such an asshole. I used some sarcasm to point out your error. God forbid.

But, I’m not the one who went off on someone without reason while making claims at how awesomely skilled and proficient I am with mountain bikes and riding. But, hey, you’re a mountain bike god, and now everyone knows how awesome you are.

10

I’m was on this forum and this thread to try and help.

Why are you here other than to waste peoples time?

11

Neither of your selections have 29 inch wheels, why are you focusing on old technology - do you have Scott bars on your TT?

Specialized makes one http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=39216&eid=99

With a 29’er, you don’t need full suspension, just ride bigger tires, which are faster anyway. It’s not carbon, so you can let loose on down hills (trust me, you will question carbon at 30+mph down hill over rocks); and it will be lighter up hill.