15 years. It's been an amazing period of 15 seasons on the bike riding my Litespeed Sewanee. I still like the bike very much. It is a very unique bike (at least in my city and my country) with many non-mainstream components and custom tuning. I invested a lot of effort and love to build this bike to what it is today, but time (and technology) flies and I decided to go with the 29inch wheel standard, 120mm front and rear suspension, and 1×12 electric (and wireless) drivetrain.
As always, I wanted to start with the frame set. Well, that was the idea, but the cost of ANY frame set is close to the full price of a mid-spec bike. So, the final decision was – for the first time ever – to get a complete bike and then rebuild it step-by-step into my new dream bike.
Episode I – Rise of the Machine
The story begins. Welcome the SCOTT SPARK RC, model year 2024. This is being my new dream bike. Why SCOTT? Because SCOTT sets the benchmark for the innovation and technology, and I had some personal “conditions and wishes” that best suited the SPARK model. My first requirement was a full carbon frame. No compromises. The hidden FOX shock is a benefit that I welcome very much. A FOX suspension fork is a necessary component (personally I have nothing against Rock Shox suspension, but I prefer FOX on my bikes). Hidden cables integration is the development step that I accept. Next, I wanted a new frame with the UDH interface. Last, but not least, the two water bottles option is a personal lesson I learned riding Sewanee in hot summers. Anything else is less important and I'm sure I will change it over time.
I'm starting to ride the bike as it is. The priority is to adjust the bike and adapt it perfectly to my needs. At the start of the 2025 season I'll be doing some level of customization and component upgrades. Due to the regular warranty period of 2 years, I plan to significantly adapt and tune the bike/frame during the winter 2026/2027.
Let me share my progress on customization and upgrades in the next episodes. Stay tuned for the next episode, I'll be back :)
