For us, Scott’s previous e-Genius was best suited to trail centres and exploring. It was a fun and fast ride but it was a bit lightweight and not really specced for pushing you out of your comfort zone on a descent – it didn’t even come with a dropper!
For 2018, Scott has completely overhauled the bike and added some really nifty features that show they finally understand what e-biking is all about.
Shape and Purpose
The frame is pretty obviously modelled on the new Scott Genius, that was unveiled to the public last week, except the downtube has been beefed out to incorporate an integrated battery and motor. Despite being 30mm shorter than the previous E-Genius, the chainstays are still a bit longer than on the push bike but this really is no bad thing in our book.
This is designed to be a longer travel version of the Scott E-Spark but we would argue it kind of makes the W-Spark redundant. Why would you want less travel on an ebike? Certainly not for pedalling efficiency…
It’s very similar to the new Genius with a trunnion mounted shock on a Horst link system. It’s a platform that’s been proven on the Scott Spark and we had very positive first impressions on the new Genius.
The motor comes from Shimano (a change over from Bosch last year) which allows for the integration of Di2 shifting. The modes are ‘Eco’, ‘Trail’ ‘Boost’ the new ‘Walk’ mode that has the motor moving the bike at up to 5kmh as you push it – a big help when you’re faced with hike-a-biking in big Alpine terrain.
