Scott Spark DC broadens its appeal
The Down Country label lives on with the Scott Spark DC.
What is Down Country? What indeed. Many have scratched their heads over this; many think the label a little naff, but its generally understood to mean a short-ish travel trail bike. To me, that’s 120mm to 130mm of travel but in this case it means 135mm.
I think I’ll let Scott have that.
The Scott Spark DC (i.e. Down Country) ups the ante a little over its more race focused cousin, the 120mm travel Spark RC.
Both use a super clean looking suspension system that pivots around the bottom bracket, with a longer shock stroke on the DC giving the extra travel.
Whether this means the RC is the same and can be similarly tweaked is unclear. I think not – the short linkage is likely to differ and I think the frames are subtly different too.
Either way, its a fine looking bike. The carbon frame conceals access to the shock under a smooth magnetic cover that keeps out the dirt and accommodates a wide range of shocks. This includes piggy back models. Cables are routed through the frame but mercifully avoid the through-headset nonsense we often see these days.
It has to be said Scott in the UK is a mystery to me. Often overlooked in favour of the chi-chi brands, its Spark is a proven race winner on the XC circuit. With those courses getting increasingly gnarly, a trail version promises to be no slouch. We should see more of them on our local trails.
In fact, its been a long time since I’ve seen a new bike that has appealed to me this much.
The base Spark DC 40 model – running a Deore 12 speed drivetrain, Syncros components and a Rock Shox Pike comes in at £3,499 in the UK. You can of course pay more for fancier models in the range, but generally it seems pretty well priced.
For a bike with a 65° head angle, a top tube of 629mm and a 1250mm wheelbase in size large, it promises to be a fast and poppy XC bike up and down hills. If I were looking to upgrade my alloy Bird Aether this would be very high on my shopping list.
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September 23, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Elliot says:
I quite like the look of this one. Not least because there’s been a tasteful improvement in Scott paint jobs. Their phase of computer generated clashing fluorescents went on far too long.
My understanding of the previous Spark is it didn’t pedal very well without the shock in the middle setting or locked out, so I’ve never seriously considered it. Apparently the new one is much better.
The RC looks good too, but unfortunately the seat tube angle is a lot slacker than the previous model.
Did you see the 32in Spark at the World Cup?
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September 27, 2026 at 10:53 pm
Matt says:
I’m with you on the Scott paint jobs of the past Elliot, they were pretty out there. The colours of the latest Spark look great, although I’ll pass on black.
I’d definitely be interested to try a DC out but the fact you can fit different shocks gives options for tunability. To be honest it looks quite accessible.
I’m still getting used to the concept of 32″, I’ll let others to go through the R&D pain before even thinking about it!
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September 23, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Gerard Griffin says:
Yeah, this is a clean looking bike. I really like the down country segment as I find some deeper travel bikes to be too much.
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September 25, 2026 at 8:32 pm
Dean says:
Hey, I have been trying to contact your group via the contact email page & not heard back. Would like to look at coming out for a ride! Can someone give me a shout!
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September 25, 2026 at 11:34 pm
JR says:
A nice looking bike, with the Surrey Hills winter mud I like the idea of the hidden shock.
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